Rio 2016: Highlights from Olympic Games

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Rio 2016: Highlights from Olympic Games

Rio de Janeiro - The latest on the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro:

By Web Report

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Published: Sun 21 Aug 2016, 7:21 AM

Last updated: Wed 18 Dec 2019, 1:32 PM


China defeats Serbia for women's volleyball gold
China rallied from one set down to defeat the upstart Serbians for gold in women's volleyball at the Rio Games. 
China took a 23-22 lead in the fourth set Saturday night when Ting Zhu's kill sent Maja Ognjenovic to the floor with a hard ball to the face, and the match was over shortly thereafter. Lang Ping raised both arms in the air and Fangxu Yang sprinted over to embrace her. Many more hugs followed. 

The 19-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 win means China's coach Jenny Lang Ping becomes the first person to win volleyball gold as a coach and player.
Lang Ping captured an Olympic title with the 1984 Chinese national team in Los Angeles then later spent a four-year stint coaching the Americans. Spain's Susana Rodriguez and Patricia Rolf of the US made the first all-female referee tandem for a gold-medal match.
US sets record for most medals in road Olympics
The Rio Games will go down as the best ever on foreign soil for the Americans, who topped their mark of 110 medals at a road Olympics set in Beijing eight years ago.
When Saturday's events were complete, the US was at 116 medals in Rio - with two more guaranteed Sunday, one from men's basketball and the other from women's boxer Claressa Shields.
The US has 31 medals in track and field, with only Sunday's marathon left. Kenya has 12, Jamaica 11.

And swimming was even more one-sided, with 33 medals for Americans there, compared with 10 for second-place Australia.
All that's left in the medal race to decide is the overall winning margin - which will be the largest at a non-boycotted Olympics since the US won 67 more medals than anyone else at the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
Rio Olympics 2016 - Recap: Day 14
 
Wrestling world champions Akgul, Sadulaev bag titles
Turkey's world wrestling champion Taha Akgul claimed the men's freestyle 125kg title at the Rio Olympic Games, while Russian Abdulrashid Sadulaev added the 86kg gold to his medal collection.
In the men's heavyweight final, Akgul on Saturday posted a 3-1 victory over Komeil Ghasemi of Iran. Akgul scored two of his points off the shot clock and the other by step out with 1:15 left, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a battle of two-time world medalists, Geno Petriashvili of Georgia captured the bronze medal with a 31-second 10-0 technical fall over American Tervel Dlagnev. Belarus' Ibrahim Saidov bagged the other bronze by leveling with Levan Berianidze of Armenia 2-2 and won on criteria.
The men's 86kg final saw Sadulaev shut out Selim Yasar of Turkey 5-0 after the Russian got a point off the shot clock, scoring a takedown and followed it up with a gut wrench.

American J'den Cox defeated Cuban Reineris Salas Perez to claim the bronze medal while Azerbaijan's Olympic defending champion Sharif Sharifov had to settle for a bronze beating Istvan Vereb of Hungary 5-1.
Paul Chelimo disqualification from 5000m overturned upon appeal
The governing body for track and field says Paul Chelimo, who originally finished second in the men's 5,000-meter race, was disqualified for a lane infringement.

The IAAF says Mohammed Ahmed of Canada and Muktar Edris of Ethiopia also were disqualified for the same reason.
The decision to disqualify the trio allowed Bernard Lagat of the United States to take bronze in the race behind winner Mo Farah and second-place Hagos Gebrhiwet.
LaShawn Merritt, US men win gold in 1600-meter relay
LaShawn Merritt anchored the US 4x400-meter relay team to win an Olympic gold medal and regain control of the event at the games.

Four years after the Bahamas beat the US team, the Americans finished with a time of 2 minutes 57.30 seconds. The Jamaicans brought the baton home .86 seconds later. The defending champion Bahamas took bronze in 2:58.49.
Arman Hall, Tony McQuay, and Gil Roberts set up Merritt for the win. The veteran already has two gold medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and eight world championship gold medals stretching as far back as 2005.
He won bronze in the 400 earlier this week in Rio.
Bernard Lagat gets bronze
After three runners were disqualified from the men's 5,000-meter race, 41-year-old American Bernard Lagat ended up with a bronze medal.

Lagat became the oldest person in a running event to win a medal at the Olympics. Jamaican great Merlene Ottey was 40 when she won a bronze medal in the 100 and a silver in the 4x100 relay at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Lagat says "it's hard to imagine. To me, things happen. But I guess if the rules are like that, then whatever decision they want to make, I'm going to accept."
Radik Isaev wins men's +80kg taekwondo gold
Azerbaijan's Radik Isaev has won the men's heavyweight taekwondo gold medal at the Rio Olympics after defeating Niger's Abdoulrazak Issoufou in a cagey final where both fighters struggled with their timing and distance.

Isaev won 6-2. He is the current world champion and was the only fighter able to challenge Issoufou on the mat on Saturday. Although Issoufou stands at six feet nine inches tall, Isaev is just two inches shorter and was able to find ways to counter Issoufou's long reach and swinging head kicks.
Isaev ultimately was able to land two head shots on the hulking Issoufou that proved enough to secure victory.
Earlier in the day, Isaev defeated South Korea's Cha Dong-Min, a gold medalist at the Beijing Games.
The men's bronze medals were won by Brazil's Maicon Siqueira and South Korea's Cha Dong-Min.
I over-exaggerated that story: Ryan Lochte
American swimmer Ryan Lochte says he "over-exaggerated" what happened at a Rio de Janeiro gas station and acknowledged his "immature behavior" got him and three teammates into a mess that consumed the final days of the Olympics.
In a portion of an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer that aired Saturday, Lochte continued backtracking from a story he initially described as an armed robbery. Police have said the swimmers vandalized a bathroom and armed guards confronted them and asked them to pay for the damage.
 
Lochte said "whether you call it a robbery or whether you call it extortion or us just paying for the damages, we don't know. All we know is that there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money."
But he admitted that he understood that he was being told that the Americans had to pay for the damages or the police would be called.
DISQUALIFICATION : Paul Chelimo of the United States, who crossed the line in silver medal position behind Mo Farah in the Olympic 5,000 meters, is among those disqualified from the race. It was unclear what his infraction was.
Allyson Felix is gold again in women's 4x400 relay
Allyson Felix won a women's track record sixth Olympic gold medal, helping the United States win the 4x400-meter relay.
Felix, who also won gold in the 4x100 relay and silver in the 400 meters, ran the final leg of the race as the Americans won in 3 minutes, 19.06 seconds. Courtney Okolo ran the first leg, followed by Natasha Hastings and Phyllis Francis.
Jamaica took silver and Britain got bronze.
Thomas Rohler wins gold in men's javelin throw
Thomas Rohler of Germany won his first major title with his penultimate throw of 90.30 meters to clinch the Olympic javelin gold medal.

Behind him, Julius Yego of Kenya took silver with a throw of 88.24, despite having to retire injured late in the competition. Defending champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze with 85.38.
China's Zheng Shuyin wins women's + 67kg taekwondo gold
China's Zheng Shuyin has won the women's taekwondo heavyweight gold medal after defeating world number one Maria Espinoza of Mexico in a slow-moving final where both fighters were on the defensive.
Zheng defeated Espinoza 5-0.
At times, both Zheng and Espinoza appeared unwilling to spar and the referee penalized both for passivity. 
Zheng used her considerable height advantage over Espinoza - she is six inches taller - to block Espinoza's attempted jabs and to sneak in her own kicks. Espinoza previously won two Olympic medals: a gold at Beijing and bronze in London.
Zheng won a bronze at the Asian championships in April. Her Olympic gold medal is China's second in taekwondo at the Rio Games; Zhao Shuai took the men's 58-kilogram division Wednesday.
The women's bronze medals were won by Britain's Bianca Walkden and Jackie Galloway of the US.
Ruth Beitia wins gold medal in women's high jump
Ruth Beitia won her first major championship at 37, taking gold in the Olympic high jump with a leap of 1.97 meters.
The Spaniard took gold on a countback, beating Mirela Demireva of Bulgaria into second place while Blanka Vlasic took bronze.
Chaunte Lowe, a perpetual contender without a global title, also cleared the same height as Beitia but fell just outside the medals.
Mo Farah of Britain became the first runner in 40 years to win back-to-back long-distance doubles at the Olympics by taking gold in the men's 5,000 meters.
Farah already won the 10,000 meters at the Rio de Janeiro Games to go along with his two gold medals from the same events in London four years ago.
The last man to win both distance races in consecutive Olympics was Finnish great Lasse Viren at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games.
Farah won 13 minutes, 3.30 seconds. Paul Chelimo of the United States took bronze and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia got bronze.
Bolt, Phelps exit leaves Olympic void
Walking down the steps and away from the track on Saturday night with the previous night's 4x100 meters relay gold medal around his neck, Bolt stopped and stretched out his massive arms in the "To The World" pose. And - surprise - the crowd loved it.
His Olympic farewell victory ceremony with his three relay teammates had up to that point been muted by his standards, with little more than a wave and a salutary clapping for the tens of thousands in the stands of the Olympic Stadium, where he had only arrived a short time earlier after again proving just how fast he is.

Bolt made it in record time to Olympic Stadium from Maracana Stadium across town, where he had been watching the men's soccer final and Brazil's Neymar, who saluted Bolt with his own "To The World" after scoring in the game.
Caster Semenya wins 800m gold for South Africa
Caster Semenya of South Africa won the 800 meters Olympic gold medal, fighting from behind to overtake Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi on the final bend before cruising home.
Semenya won in a South African national record 1 minute, 55.28 seconds, while Niyoinsaba of Burundi was 1.21 seconds behind. Margaret Wambui of Kenya took bronze in 1:56.89.
Semenya has become the unwilling face of the controversial debate in track and field over women with very high levels of testosterone being allowed to compete. She is believed to be one of several female athletes at the Olympics with a condition called hyperandrogenism.
The IAAF was last year forced to drop rules that regulated their testosterone levels.
Medical dilemma on the track
Caster Semenya, the unwilling face of track's dilemma dealing with hyperandrogenism, wins Olympic gold in the women's 800 meters.
Matt Centrowitz of the United States ran from the front and held off Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria at the line to win the gold medal in the men's 1,500 meters.
 
Centrowitz won the silver medal at the 2013 world championships and took fourth at the 2012 London Games.
His last lap on Saturday was 50.62 seconds.
Nick Willis of New Zealand took bronze.
The last American to win the men's 1,500 was Mel Sheppard at the 1908 London Olympics.
Kenya favorite Asbel Kiprop fell halfway through the race and could not get back into medal contention. He finished sixth. 
Neymar hands Brazil football gold medal
For Brazilians, it's the perfect finish to an imperfect Olympics.
In Brazil vs. Germany for men's soccer gold, Neymar gives the hosts a 1-0 lead. But the Germans tie it and ultimately it goes to penalty kicks.
Germany makes its first four. So does Brazil. 
Then Germany is stopped on its fifth, and the stage is set for - who else? - Neymar to set off a national celebration. His shot sails into the back of the net, Brazil wins and the roar could be heard all over Rio as Neymar collapsed on the field in a quivering mass of joyous tears.
The 60,000-capacity Olympic Stadium was only a third full 20 minutes before the opening event of the track and field evening program, when one giant roar made it clear why there was a lack of attention.
When Germany missed its fifth penalty in a shootout against Brazil in the men's soccer final miles away at Maracana Stadium, the crowd suddenly roared.
Following the game on their smartphones or over the radio, all Brazilian eyes and ears were turned across town.
The roar was even bigger when Neymar slotted the decisive kick, and fireworks started cracking around the Olympic Stadium.
Neymar buried the final penalty kick and host country Brazil won its first-ever Olympic men's soccer gold medal with a 5-4 shootout following a 1-1 draw with Germany.
The crowd at iconic Maracana Stadium roared and Neymar fell to the field sobbing after he was mobbed by his teammates.
Neymar scored in the 27th minute as Brazil took a 1-0 lead in Saturday's match. Max Meyer scored the equalizer for Germany in the 59th minute.
MEDAL ALERT: Brazil wins soccer gold medal in penalty kicks, clinched by Neymar.
Germany and Brazil are into penalty kicks knotted 1-all in the gold medal match at the Olympics.
Neymar scored in the 27th minute as Brazil took a 1-0 lead in Saturday's match. Max Meyer scored the equalizer for Germany in the 59th minute.
Brazil is looking for its first gold medal in soccer. Germany is playing soccer in the Olympics for the first time since 1988.
Germany and Brazil are in overtime knotted at 1-all in the gold medal match at the Olympics.
Neymar scored in the 27th minute as Brazil took a 1-0 lead in Saturday's match. The crowd at the iconic Maracana Stadium - which included Usain Bolt - roared when Neymar's free kick bounced off the crossbar and into the goal.
Max Meyer scored the equalizer for Germany in the 59th minute.
Brazil is looking for its first gold medal in soccer. The Brazilians finished with the silver medal three times and the bronze twice. Four years ago, it lost to Mexico in the final in London.
Germany was playing in the Olympics for the first time since 1988, when U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann was on the team. It won the bronze at the time, when it competed as West Germany. It has never won the gold.
Dusan Mandic scored four times and Serbia beat Croatia 11-7 to win the gold medal in men's water polo.
Serbia was the favorite coming into the Rio Games, increasing the pressure on the players to bring home the country's first Olympic title in perhaps its favorite sport.
The former Yugoslavia won three gold medals and Serbia and Montenegro lost in the 2004 final in Athens, but Serbia finished third in each of the previous two Olympics.
No settling for bronze this time around. After opening with two draws and a loss to Brazil, Serbia closed with five straight victories. Branislav Mitrovic made 12 saves in Saturday's final.
Sandro Sukno scored three times for Croatia, which won gold in London.
Italy beat Montenegro 12-10 for the bronze medal.


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