Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Athletics: American Crouser wins shot gold with record throw
American Ryan Crouser hurled the longest throw of his life to win the men's shot put final on Thursday, breaking the Olympic record and snatching gold. The 23-year-old set three personal bests in the final and his longest throw of 22.52 meters shattered an Olympic record set by East Germany's Ulf Timmermann in 1988.
Peerless Bolt powers to 200m gold
The incomparable Usain Bolt once again proved utterly unbeatable on the Olympic track on Thursday, powering his way to a third straight 200 meters gold and remaining on course for an extraordinary "triple-triple" of sprint titles. The Jamaican simply laid waste to the best of the rest in the sprinting world to win his eighth track gold medal in what he has said will be his last individual race at the Olympics before his retirement next year.
Kerber's march to the top continues in Cincinnati
Angelique Kerber moved a step closer to turning a dream goal into reality with a hard-fought win over Barbora Strycova to reach the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open in a hot and humid Cincinnati on Thursday. The Australian Open champion's 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over the Czech put the German world number two just three wins away from leapfrogging Serena Williams, absent from this event, at the top of the WTA rankings for a first time.
Murray sails on as Nadal, Wawrinka fall in upsets
Olympic champion Andy Murray restored some order at the Western & Southern Open by cutting down South African giant Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals on an upset-filled Thursday in Cincinnati. Rafa Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, two of the other headliners at the U.S. Open warm-up event, fell to a pair of young guns on a hot and steamy day on the Ohio hardcourts.
Brady cuts himself out of preseason start
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady knocked himself out of Thursday's preseason game against the Chicago Bears after he cut his thumb on a pair of scissors by accident, according to media reports. Brady, who will miss the first four Patriots regular-season games while serving his Deflategate suspension, was trying to pry something from the bottom of his cleat prior to taking the field when he cut himself, according to CSN New England.
Basketball: U.S. heads to women's final against Spain, maybe without Bird
The United States beat France 86-67 on Thursday to secure their ninth trip to the women's Olympic basketball final, where they will meet medal game debutantes Spain. In pursuit of a sixth consecutive gold medal, the world number one United States encountered more resistance from feisty fourth-ranked France than they have from other opponents here. They also suffered with the absence of team anchor Sue Bird, benched by a sprained knee.
Volleyball: Serbian women knock out U.S. favorites
The Serbian women's volleyball team eliminated the world's top-ranked team the United States on Thursday in a shock upset after the undefeated Americans lost their top player to a leg injury. Serbia, competing for Olympic medals for the first time, will face China who are playing for their third gold after overcoming the Netherlands in four sets.
Get 'Average Joe' to try decathlon, says Eaton
Double Olympic champion Ashton Eaton threw out a challenge on Thursday to come up with ways to make the decathlon more exciting, suggesting that most spectators fail to grasp the intensity of the arduous event. Spread over two days, the decathlon tests the attention span of sports fans and is based on a complex points system that computes the athletes' total rankings across 10 track and field disciplines.
Muhammad continues U.S. hurdle streak
Dalilah Muhammad of the United States led from start to finish to take the Olympic gold medal in the 400 meters hurdles on Thursday and complete a U.S. double in the women's and men's events. Denmark's Sara Slott Petersen won the silver medal ahead of Ashley Spencer of the United States, with world champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic managing only fourth.
U.S. says sorry as swimmers leave Brazil to jeers
Two U.S. Olympic swimmers flew home from Brazil on Thursday after a local crowd jeered them, calling them "liars" and "fakes," and police accused them of fabricating a story about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Games. Their departure marked what the U.S. Olympic team hopes will be the closing stages of an incident that has embarrassed the host city, angered the police and government, unleashed a storm on social media, and dominated news coverage of South America's first Olympics.
© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
