Reuters Sports News Summary

08/16/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Volleyball: Undefeated U.S. women oust Japan chasing first gold

The U.S. women's volleyball team crushed Japan in straight sets on Tuesday to stay undefeated and boost their hopes of a first Olympic gold medal. A U.S. victory against Serbia in the semi-finals would set up a probable final against favorites Brazil, who have beaten the United States in the gold-medal match during the past two Olympics.

Brazil fans ask: What now for women's football?

Brazil's Olympic women's football team was showered with joyous attention until their heart-breaking semi-final elimination on Tuesday which brought forward a key question: Was the interest the start of something big or another false dawn? Brazil does not have a season-long women's league, forcing 13 of those in the 18-strong squad to ply their trade overseas.

Third in the medals table, China faces worst haul since 1996

Heavy defeats in sports dominated by China in previous Olympics have left the country languishing in an unfamiliar third place in the medals table, with some predicting that Rio 2016 could see the country's worst haul since 1996. Chinese athletes have so far failed to defend their gold medals in sports from badminton to diving, being unceremoniously kicked out at early stages or having to make do with silver or bronze, leading the country to rank behind the United States and Britain.

Cycling: Britain's Kenny wins keirin gold to take haul to six

Britain's Jason Kenny won the men's track cycling keirin on Tuesday, taking his gold medal haul to six and equaling Chris Hoy's record for the country's most Olympic titles. In a tense race around Rio's boards, Kenny had too much pace down the final stretch, recovering from a slow start to finish just clear. It was his third triumph in Rio, having won in the team sprint and the men's sprint before the keirin.

Russia stripped of 2008 relay gold due to positive retest

Russia was ordered on Tuesday to return its gold medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics 4x100m women's relay after Yulia Chermoshanskaya tested positive for a banned substance in a re-analysis of her sample. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) disqualified her for testing positive for steroid use.

Gymnastics: Biles wins record-equaling fourth gold with floor victory

Simone Biles showed off her sassy moves and explosive tumbles on the floor exercise to win a record-equaling fourth gold at the Olympics on Tuesday. A day after a wobbly performance on the balance beam ended the American's hopes of leaving Rio with a record haul of five golds for a female gymnast, she was back to her hip-shaking best to capture the floor title with 15.966 points.

Basketball: U.S. women rout Japan to reach semi-finals

The United States steamrolled to their 47th straight Olympic win routing Japan 110-64 on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals of the women's basketball tournament and a step closer to a sixth consecutive gold medal. With an overall record of 64-3, Olympic losses are rare for the U.S. but Japan could lay claim to one of them.

Gymnastics: Zonderland keeps going despite heart-stopping fall

Four years after tasting Olympic victory, "Flying Dutchman" Epke Zonderland came crashing to earth on Tuesday when he lost his grip on the horizontal bar and tumbled flat on his face - yet somehow still managed to pick himself up. Zonderland blamed faulty timing for the moment of cruel drama in the gymnastics arena that caused him to plunge to the mat, drawing gasps from the crowd. He lay there face downward for several seconds, his legs splayed out behind him.

Sailing: New Zealand 49er men clinch gold; women's medal-hunt tight

The New Zealand duo of skipper Peter Burling and crew Blair Tuke clinched gold in the men's 49er two-person skiff class one day ahead of the final medal race, continuing their dominance of the event. Burling and Tuke, the only team to finish every one of their first ten races in the top ten, have built an insurmountable 34 point lead over the second place team heading into the medal race, Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel of Germany.

Gymnastics: U.S. duo give coach ideal sendoff with floor medals

U.S. team coordinator Marta Karolyi could not have ended her gymnastics coaching career on a better note as two of her students, Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, claimed gold and silver in Tuesday's floor exercise. Karolyi and her husband Bela, who count the first ever gymnast to score a perfect 10, Nadia Comaneci, among their many pupils, are credited with turning the United States into a gymnastics powerhouse after defecting from Romania in 1981.

08/16/2016 19:52