Reuters Sports News Summary

08/06/2016 0:58

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Cycling: American BMX racer bounces back from broken hand

BMX cyclists might have the fastest first two seconds of any event in the Olympic Games - coming out of a gate on an eight-meter high wall and going from zero to 56 km per hour in just two beats. For American racer and two-time Olympian Connor Fields, those two seconds account for 75 percent of his training and often determine if he can win the race which usually lasts less than 40 seconds.

In favela above opening ceremony, pride and disappointment

They could see the fireworks but they have felt no impact from the Olympic Games. Residents of the Mangueira favela or slum, which overlooks the Maracana Stadium where the 2016 Olympic opening ceremony was held, expressed a mix of pride and disappointment as the Games opened in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

Swimming: Lifeguards at the Olympic pool? It's the law

It is safe to say Michael Phelps has no need for a lifeguard watching over him in the Olympic pool but the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 18 gold medals among his career haul of 22, will have one anyway at the Rio Games. And so will the rest of the world's greatest swimmers in a situation that has caused some mirth in the run-up to the competition.

American TV viewers slam NBC for delaying Rio broadcast

American TV viewers used social media on Friday to vent their anger at U.S. broadcaster NBC for delaying the screening of the opening ceremony of the Rio Games by an hour and then going to repeated commercial breaks during the show. NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp, has the U.S. media rights for South America's first Olympic Games and said it decided not to show the ceremony live because its producers and commentators wanted time to put it into context for Americans.

Party time in Rio after rollercoaster run-up to the Games

With a little bit of chaos and a last-minute sprint on preparations, Rio de Janeiro was ready on Friday to revel in a moment seven years in the making: the opening of the Olympic Games. At an evening ceremony in the famed Maracana soccer stadium, Brazil will declare open the 31st Summer Olympic Games and the first ever in South America. They will run until Aug. 21.

Kerry confident Rio Olympics will be 'safe, sound, secure'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he is confident the Olympics Games will be "safe, sound, secure" and said the United States and Brazil are working together to ensure they are. Kerry, meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister José Serra in Rio before the opening of the Games later on Friday, told reporters he was sure Brazil will deliver "not just a great venue but a great Olympics."

Golf: Four share halfway lead at tight Travelers Championship

American Daniel Berger drove the green at the short par-four 15th hole for a two-putt birdie that put him into a four-way tie for the lead on Friday halfway through the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Joining Berger, who won his first PGA tour title at June's FedEx St. Jude Classic, on seven-under 133 at TPC River Highlands were fellow American Russell Henley, South African Tyrone van Aswegan and Australian Marc Leishman.

Yankees Teixeira to retire at end of season

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is retiring at the end the season, he said on Friday. Teixeira, a power-hitting switch hitter and outstanding fielder who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, is completing an eight-year contract with the Yankees in his 14th season after coming up with the Texas Rangers.

Brazil casts aside crisis in rousing Rio Games opening

Brazil unfurled a vast canvas celebrating its rainforest and the creative energy of its wildly diverse population in welcoming the world on Friday to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, all to the pounding beat of samba, bossa nova and funk. Brazil's interim President Michel Temer declared open the first Games ever in South America. But in a display of the deep political divisions plaguing Brazil, he was jeered by some in the crowd at the famed Maracana soccer stadium.

U.S. officials face tough questions over gymnastics abuse report

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on Friday defended USA Gymnastics against criticism it turned a blind eye to sexual abuse and said it had no plans to conduct an investigation itself. In their opening news briefing of the Games, the USOC leadership faced questions about a report in the Indianapolis Star on Thursday that said top USA Gymnastics officials failed to alert authorities to allegations of sexual abuse by coaches.

08/06/2016 0:58