Reuters Sports News Summary

08/18/2016 12:56

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

U.S.' Eaton holds lead in bid for decathlon gold

American Ashton Eaton held onto his lead in the decathlon on Thursday, trailing nearest rival Canadian Damian Warner in the 110 meter hurdles but edging him in the discus as he looked set to repeat London's gold medal performance. Eaton, who typically counts on his blazing running speed to offset mid-pack throws, finished the day's first event, the hurdles, in 13.8 seconds, a stride behind Warner, who lived up to his record as the world's fastest decathlon hurdler.

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.

Ex-NFL star Sharper sentenced to 18 years in prison in drug, rape cases

Former National Football League star Darren Sharper was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in federal prison in a case stemming from accusations that he drugged and raped women in four states while working as a television analyst. Sharper, 40, who retired from the NFL in 2011 after helping lead the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl championship, had pleaded guilty in federal court in Louisiana in May 2015 to distributing controlled substances to three unsuspecting women and then having sex with them while they were incapacitated.

U.S. get second chance after baton bungle

The United States will get a second chance to qualify for the women's 4x100 meters final after appealing against their disqualification in their heat after a bungled handover. The reigning Olympic champions and world record holders will run a separate heat on Thursday evening and have the chance to qualify for the final if they achieve the qualifying time after arguing that Allyson Felix was impeded just before the second handover.

Pistorius case set for next week; defense says 'enough is enough'

Oscar Pistorius' lawyers will argue that "enough is enough" when his case resumes in court on Aug. 26 to hear an appeal by state prosecutors against his six-year murder sentence on the grounds it is too lenient. In court papers filed by Pistorius' lawyers on Aug. 11 and seen by Reuters on Thursday, his defense team says it will argue "a continuation of this matter is inimical to the interests of justice, patently unfair and that enough is enough."

Video shows U.S. swimmers in dispute with gas station guards

Brazil TV aired a closed-circuit television video on Thursday from a gasoline station in Rio de Janeiro showing four Olympic swimmers involved in a dispute with employees, over what a security sources said was damage to the premises. The images broadcast on Globo TV appeared to show the swimmers, including Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen, being prevented from leaving the station by security.

'Black girl magic' gives U.S. hurdles sweep

Like many black American women, Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin have faced a good few hurdles of the metaphorical kind in their lives. On Wednesday at the Rio Olympics, though, they successfully traversed 10 very physical barriers - 33 inches of polycarbonate and metal - to give the United States gold, silver and bronze in the 100 meters hurdles.

Clement wins 400m hurdles but Culson in tears

Kerron Clement, of the United States, held off fast-finishing Kenyan Boniface Tumuti to win the men's Olympic 400 meters hurdles on Thursday. Running with a relaxed, easy rhythm, Clement was the clear leader going into the closing meters, but had to dip on the line to deny Tumuti as the Kenyan came up fast on the outside, with Turkey's Yasmani Copello taking bronze.

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.

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.

08/18/2016 12:56