Reuters Sports News Summary

07/29/2016 3:57

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

IOC warned Rio on construction contracts five years ago: documents

The International Olympic Committee warned organizers of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro five years ago that construction contracts they drew up could give developers incentives to cut corners, presaging problems with athletes' housing that drew complaints from several countries this week, documents showed. Rio's city government, responsible for the vast majority of infrastructure projects for the Games, has used public-private partnerships, or PPPs, to get private firms to cover the cost of building venues in return for permission to build real estate on the sites.

London to host Nuggets and Pacers NBA clash

London is to host a regular-season NBA game for the seventh time when Denver Nuggets play Indiana Pacers in January, the National Basketball Association said on Thursday. The Pacers lost in the first round of last season's playoffs, while the Nuggets failed to make it that far. Neither team has played in Britain before.

Dominant Japan duo put women wrestlers in the spotlight

With Japanese grapplers Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho on course for fourth successive gold medals in their respective classes, it is perhaps appropriate that women wrestlers will have more chance to shine on the mat at the Rio Olympics. One of the few sports still extant with their roots in the Ancient Olympics, wrestling has included women only since the return to Athens in 2004, when they competed in four freestyle classes.

MLS wants to be 'guinea pig' for video reviews

Major League Soccer in North America is fast-tracking plans to use video reviews to aid referee decisions, commissioner Don Garber said on Thursday. Garber has long been a proponent of using video to ensure crucial calls are correct, and the league recently hosted a visit to New Jersey by officials from the international rule-making body IFAB for the first ever live trials.

Sabers rattle as Russo-American rivalry hits piste

Olympic fencing in Rio de Janeiro promises dramatic duels in a storied rivalry. Russia and the United States have brought many of the hottest hands in the sport, stepping out of the shadow of traditional powerhouses such as France and Italy.

German Jaeger shoots record-breaking 58 on Web.com Tour

German Stephan Jaeger completed a historical first when he shot a 12-under-par 58 on the PGA Tour's secondary Web.com Tour in California on Thursday. Jaeger became the first player to shoot 58 on either of the main North America-based circuits, bettering the 59 recorded six times on the PGA Tour and five times on the secondary one.

Golf: Few stars left to shine in men's field

Sweden's Henrik Stenson and the United States' Bubba Watson will be vying for a gold medal in golf's return to the Olympics after 112 years, an event with less buzz than many in the sport had hoped for due to some high-profile no-shows. Watson and Stenson, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the Olympics field of 60 players, will be missing some familiar foes, since the top four men in the world -- Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy -- have controversially decided not to play in the competition, which takes place between Aug. 11 and 14.

Shooting: Finger on trigger, eye on legacy at Rio

Cementing legacy will be on the mind of a select group of Olympic shooters, including an American trio, when they arrive at next month's Rio de Janeiro Games with all guns blazing. Californian shotgun shooter Kim Rhode, who boasts a collection of over 5,000 first-edition children's books, has a similar appetite for Olympic medals.

Wawrinka advances to Toronto quarter-finals

Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka won a hard-hitting battle with American Jack Sock on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Rogers Cup with a 7-6(3) 6-2 triumph. Wawrinka and Sock held serve throughout the first set to force a tiebreak that was won easily by Wawrinka who went on to dominate the second set where he charged out to a 4-0 lead and dropped just five points on serve to take the match.

Brazil raises infrastructure financing for Olympics

Brazil's National Monetary Council, known as CMN, said on Thursday it changed regulation to raise the limits of financing to infrastructure projects linked to the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. In a statement, the CMN, the country's highest economic policy body, said it authorized up to 5.4 billion reais in credit for projects related to the Olympics through the state development bank BNDES. The statement did not say what the previous limit was.

07/29/2016 3:57