Reuters Sports News Summary

08/18/2016 0:55

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Farah survives scare to reach 5,000m final

Mo Farah survived another stumble to battle through to the final of the 5,000 meters on Wednesday as the Briton remained on course for a prized Olympic distance 'double-double'. Farah recovered from a fall to win the 10,000 gold last weekend and almost went down again on the last lap of his heat in the shorter race after being clipped by American Hassan Mead, who did fall and missed out on qualification.

Beach Volleyball: U.S. beat Brazil to take bronze

American beach volleyball duo Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross came from a set down to beat Brazil 2-1 and clinch the bronze medal at the Rio Games on Wednesday in front of a hostile crowd. Walsh Jennings, the sport's most successful player ever with three gold medals, dominated at the net during the second and third sets as the Americans overpowered Brazil's Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes 17-21 21-17 15-9.

Basketball: Spain, U.S. set for a sizzling semi-final

The United States and Spain finally lived up to expectations, posting blowout wins on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Olympic men's basketball tournament as France and Argentina lost much more than a game. While the United States and Spain have struggled to reach their full potential at times on the Rio hardwood, Australia and Serbia have delivered much more than expected in also reaching the last four.

American Bartoletta lands long jump gold

Tianna Bartoletta of the United States leapt a personal best of 7.17 meters to claim gold in the women's long jump on Wednesday. Her American team mate and defending Olympic champion Brittney Reese battled it out with Serbia's Ivana Spanovic for second place, ultimately taking silver with a jump measuring 7.15 meters on her last attempt.

Volleyball: U.S. men make semis seeking revenge

A less experienced U.S. men's volleyball team demolished Poland in straight sets on Wednesday and moved up to the semifinals looking to avenge early upsets that almost knocked the Americans out of the Rio Games. Brazil ousted their sport archrivals Argentina in a four-set battle in front of an ecstatic and boisterous home crowd of 10,000 at Rio's Maracanazinho stadium.

Brazil police pull U.S. swimmers from flight amid robbery probe

Brazilian police stopped two U.S. Olympic swimmers from boarding a flight home on Wednesday to question them about how they and two team mates were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro at the weekend, after a judge raised doubts over their accounts. There was confusion over the whereabouts of a third swimmer, James Feigen. One police source said he too had been stopped at the airport, but another police source later said officers had gone there to pick up Feigen, who had a reservation on the same flight, but did not find him.

Murray and Nadal roll, Raonic outslugs Isner

Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray picked up where he left off in Rio by drubbing Argentina's Juan Monaco to take his place in the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday. Murray, who with his gold medal triumph at the Rio Games became the first player to repeat as Olympic singles champion, notched his 19th successive match victory by a 6-3 6-2 margin in what amounted to a nice workout for the 29-year-old Scotsman.

Rollins leads U.S. hurdles sweep

Brianna Rollins gave the United States its first track medal of the Rio Olympics when she won the 100 meters hurdles final on Wednesday, leading Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin across the line for an American podium sweep. Favorite Rollins, who owned the fastest personal best in the field, ran an almost flawless race from lane six to add Olympic gold to her 2013 world title by a couple of paces in 12.48 seconds.

Jamaican sprint power on show as Thompson completes double

Elaine Thompson maintained Jamaica's incredible stranglehold on Olympic sprinting on Wednesday when she added the 200 meters gold to the 100m title she collected earlier at the Rio Games, while Usain Bolt remains on course for a track 'triple-triple'. After winning nine of the 12 sprint events in 2008 and 2012 combined, Jamaica have now won the first three in Rio and, with Bolt impressively advancing to the 200m final and their relay teams oozing talent, they could take all six.

LeBron envies Team USA at Rio Games

LeBron James opted not to play for Team USA at the Rio Games but the greatest player of his generation said he misses the Olympic stage and has left the door open to joining the national squad at the 2020 Tokyo Games. James, who decided to skip what would have been his fourth Olympics after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA title in June, said in an ESPN interview that he is keeping an eye on his team mates at the Rio Games.

08/18/2016 0:55