Reuters Sports News Summary

08/17/2016 12:55

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Judge orders U.S. swimmer Lochte, teammate not to leave Brazil

A Brazilian judge has ordered U.S. swimmers Ryan Lochte and James Feigen not to leave the country, saying they gave conflicting accounts of how they were robbed at gunpoint outside the Rio Games at the weekend. Judicial sources say they believe the pair are no longer in Brazil.

Farah survives scare to reach 5,000m final

Briton Mo Farah survived another stumble to get through to the final of the 5,000 meters on Wednesday and remain on course for the prized Olympic distance double-double. Farah recovered from a fall to win the 10,000 gold four days ago and almost went down again in the last lap of his heat on Wednesday after being clipped by American Hassan Mead, who did fall to miss out on qualification.

American Eaton and Canada's Warner in decathlon battle

American defending champion Ashton Eaton and Canadian world record holder Damian Warner kicked off the battle for decathlon gold on Wednesday, with Eaton making up for a second place 100 meters finish with a strong long jump and shot put. Warner set an Olympic best of 10.3 seconds for the decathlon 100m on the event's first day, easily bettering the 10.46 of Eaton, who normally counts on his speed to post high scores.

Brazilian police arrest Irish IOC member in ticketing probe

Brazilian police arrested a member of the IOC's executive board, Ireland's Patrick Hickey, in his hotel in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into ticket touting at the Olympics. Police said in a statement they had discovered evidence linking Hickey to an international scheme to illegally pass Olympic tickets to touts who were reselling them at well above their original price.

Semenya cruises through 800m heats

Hot favorite Caster Semenya qualified for the Olympic women's 800metres semi-finals with supreme ease on Wednesday and will no doubt be braced for another wave of discussions about her gender should she go on to take the gold medal on Saturday. The South African has dominated the event this season and there has even been speculation that she could take down Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1983 record of 1 minute, 53.28 seconds - the longest standing athletics world record and widely considered to have been chemically enhanced.

Athletics-Kenya's Kipruto wins men's 3,000m steeplechase

Kenya's Conseslus Kipruto stormed to a dominant victory in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase final on Wednesday, ensuring the East African nation maintained its iron grip on the event it has won in every Games since 1984. The 21-year-old had long been touted as the young pretender to Kenya's steeplechase crown but he produced a final lap sprint that saw him grab gold in an Olympic record of 8 minutes 3.28 seconds.

Badminton: Champion Lin survives to set up Lee showdown

Twice-Olympic champion Lin Dan survived a huge scare against India's Kidambi Srikanth in the men's badminton singles in Rio on Wednesday to set up a semi-final with Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei, the man he beat for the gold medal in Beijing and London. China's Lin, bidding for an unprecedented third successive title, was pushed to the limit in the 68-minute battle with world number 11 Srikanth but ratcheted up the pressure in the deciding game to close out the match 21-6 11-21 21-18 at the Riocentro.

Beach volleyball: Walsh Jennings has perfect run spiked

Brazilian duo Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk dished out a first ever Olympic loss to American great Kerri Walsh Jennings amid a fevered atmosphere on Copacabana beach to reach the final of the women's beach volleyball. The Brazilians won the semi-final 22-20 21-18 after midnight on Wednesday with key saves from Seixas and big blocks by Bednarczuk too much for April Ross and 38-year-old Walsh Jennings, who was aiming for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event.

Athletics: Jamaica, Kenya and U.S. strike gold

Jamaica, Kenya and the United States added to their athletics medal tallies in the 110metres hurdles, women's 1,500m and men's triple jump on Tuesday, while Russia's sole track and field competitor survived to compete another day at Rio. Athletes from Kenya, Croatia and Canada also claimed Olympic gold in a largely empty stadium, where announcers urged rowdy Brazilian fans to restrain themselves after provoking a French pole vaulter with a chorus of boos the night before.

Athletics: Miller laughs off social media furor over 'that dive'

Shaunae Miller can afford to see the funny side of the storm that erupted on social media after she threw herself over the line to beat American Allyson Felix in the Olympic 400 meters final on Monday. The athlete from the Bahamas launched herself into a headlong dive to deny Felix by 0.07 seconds, provoking a torrent of largely hostile reaction from U.S. viewers, many apparently unaware that the tactic was entirely legitimate.

08/17/2016 12:55