Reuters Sports News Summary

08/15/2016 0:56

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

U.S. swimmer Lochte says gun held to forehead in taxi hold-up

Armed robbers posing as police officers held a gun to the forehead of U.S. gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte in a taxi hold-up in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, feeding concern over safety at the first Olympic Games in South America. Lochte was returning to the Athletes' Village from a party hosted by the French Games delegation, with swimming team mates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, when armed men carrying police badges pulled them over.

Scowling Gatlin booed by Rio crowd

American Justin Gatlin felt the full force of the crowd's ire on Sunday and scowled back in response before finishing second to Usain Bolt in the Olympic 100 meters final and miss out on becoming the oldest man to win the event. The 34-year-old Gatlin, who has served two career doping suspensions, played the sullen yin to Jamaican superstar Bolt's exuberant yang, glowering both times he was introduced to boos as he entered the Olympic stadium.

Colombia's Ibarguen wins triple jump gold

Triple jumper Caterine Ibarguen won Colombia's first Olympic gold medal in athletics on Sunday, building on several years of dominance by sweeping to victory with a season's best leap of 15.17 meters. "It's the biggest dream to achieve this," said Ibarguen. "I'm very happy and proud."

Imperious Bolt completes amazing 100m treble

For 9.81 glorious seconds on Sunday, all the ills that have dogged athletics recently were forgotten as Usain Bolt stormed to victory in the 100 meters final to become the first man to win three successive Olympic titles on the track. The Jamaican superstar trailed arch-rival Justin Gatlin, roundly booed by the Rio crowd for his doping past, until the 70 meter mark but then swept past the American, finding time to pat his chest as he crossed the line a meter clear.

IOC plays down Rio problems, says Games deliver on promises

Organizers for the Rio Olympics have delivered on their promises, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday, playing down persistent problems that have plagued the first South American Games since the start. Games organizers have had to deal with a seemingly endless list of issues affecting venues and infrastructure alike as the country grapples with its worst recession since the 1930s.

Gymnastics: Whitlock bags historic golds for Britain, Biles shines again

Gold medals for Britain in Olympic gymnastics are like London buses - you wait 120 years for one and then two come along at once - with Max Whitlock ending the long wait for a champion by claiming victory in the floor exercise and pommel horse finals. While the two top prizes saw Whitlock match Kohei Uchimura's gold haul at the Rio Games, with the Japanese great failing to add to his team and all around triumphs as he missed out on a medal in the floor final, there was no stopping Simone Biles.

Brilliant Van Niekerk smashes 400m world record

South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk ran the fastest single lap in history to win the Olympic 400 meters gold medal in 43.03 seconds and break Michael Johnson's 17-year-old world record on Sunday. Running an extraordinary race in lane eight, the 24-year-old world champion got off to a flier and was streaking clear on the back straight before upping his pace even further to better American Johnson's 1999 mark of 43.18 seconds.

Briton Murray outlasts Del Potro to land gold

Britain's Andy Murray beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5 in a compelling Olympic tennis final on Sunday to become the first player to win two men's singles gold medals. The world number two and his Argentine opponent shared a long hug at the net, with both man trying to hold back the tears, after a punishing, see-sawing, four-hour contest played out in front of a boisterous crowd at the Olympic Tennis Centre.

Exclusive: CAS upholds appeal by Russia's Klishina against Rio Games ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday upheld an appeal by Russian long jumper Darya Klishina against her ban from the ongoing Olympic Games in Brazil by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Russian track and field suffered a final humiliation in Rio on Saturday when the sport's governing body suspended Klishina, the nation's only athlete to have so far survived a blanket ban for doping, three days before she was due to compete.

Basketball: U.S. on top after nervy win over France

The U.S. men's basketball team closed out pool play with an unbeaten record but a nervy 100-97 win over France on Sunday confirmed that getting to the top step of the Olympic podium will not be an easy climb. "Personally I felt we were going to dominate these games that they were going to come easy," American guard Paul George told reporters. "But you start playing better competition, you see these teams are pretty good."

08/15/2016 0:56