Tuesday 17 May 2016

Countdown to Rio 2016: Olympic sport this week

Tom Daley

Latest headlines

Daley strikes gold
Diving: Tom Daley secured the third individual European diving gold of his career as Great Britain won a best-ever haul of 11 medals at the championships in London.
Daley, who also won the non-Olympic mixed 3m synchronised event and took silver in the men's synchronised 10m platform, said: "Winning feels great but I feel in the best place ever, which is a huge boost ahead of Rio."
There was also a gold medal for Jack Laugher and Chris Mears in the synchronised 3m springboard, while Laugher and platform diver Tonia Couch took individual silver.
In addition, there were bronze medals in Olympic events for Georgia Ward, Grace Reid and 3m synchronised pair Rebecca Gallantree and Alicia Blagg.
Great Scott
Sailing: Giles Scott won his fourth World Championship title in the Finn class to become the second most successful sailor in the competition's history, behind fellow Briton Ben Ainslie.
Scott, 28, finished 38th in the opening race but won three of the following six to take gold for the fourth time in six years.
He said: "We came here not to test anything but to perform well, and to be able to do that sends a bit of a message out."
Justin Gatlin
Bolt 'rusty' as Gatlin lays down marker
Athletics: Double Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt said he was "race rusty" as he kicked off his season by running 10.05 seconds at the Cayman Invitational.
On the other side of the world, American Justin Gatlin ran his first sub-10 second 100m of the year to win the Diamond League in Shanghai in 9.94 seconds.
In the 800m in Shanghai, Olympic champion and world record-holder David Rudisha was fifth behind fellow Kenyan Ferguson Rotich, who won in 1:45.68.
Action from Fiji v Samoa in the World Series rugby sevens
Samoa staged a thrilling fightback against Fiji in rugby sevens' World Series

News in brief

Anti-doping: Russia's sport minister Vitaly Mutko said his country is "very sorry" and "ashamed" of cheating athletes who were not caught by its anti-doping systems but insists that not lifting its international competition ban would be "unfair and disproportionate".
Archery: Britain's team for the European Championships in Nottingham later this month has been named. The men's recurve team comprises triple Olympian Larry Godfrey, Patrick Huston and Kieran Slater, while the women's recurve archers will be Amy Oliver, Naomi Folkard and Bryony Pitman. The Nottingham event will be the last opportunity for GB to qualify quota places for Rio.
Canoe slalom: Great Britain women's K1 trio won gold as GB ended the European Championships in Slovakia with four medals - although they failed to finish on the podium in any of the Olympic events.
Britain's world champion David Florence missed out on qualification for the final of the men's C1, while he also failed to reach the C2 final with partner Richard Hounslow - the pair won Olympic silver in 2012.
Equestrian: Showjumper John Whitaker, whose first Olympics was back in 1984, laid down a marker for Rio after finishing second in a competitive Grand Prix at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
Meanwhile, Great Britain's team could only finish sixth in the Nations Cup leg in La Baule, France, which was won by reigning world and European champions the Netherlands. There was a bright spot with a double clear round from Nick Skelton's returning Big Star, who has been plagued with injury since winning gold at London 2012.
Fencing: James Davis ended the World Cup season in style by taking bronze in the foil in St Petersburg. Davis beat Rio team-mate Laurence Halsted and Olympic silver medallist, Alaaeldin Abouelkassem of Egypt, before losing to Russian Dmitri Rigin in the semi-finals. Britain's team finished eighth. British number two Richard Kruse had to pull out with a back injury.
Gymnastics: World champion Max Whitlock leads a five-strong British men's team who will compete at the European Championships, which start in Bern on 25 May. Whitlock is joined by Olympic silver medallist Louis Smith, Dan Purvis, Kristian Thomas and Nile Wilson, who were all part of the British team which won a historic team silver at the World Championships in October.
In the women's team, former European champion Becky Downie is joined by her sister Ellie, Claudia Fragapane and Ruby Harrold, who were all part of the British team who won world bronze last year. Amy Tinkler has been left out to concentrate on her school exams and is replaced by Rebecca Tunney.
Rowing: Olympic champion Katherine Grainger's hopes of competing in a fifth Olympics in Rio are in jeopardy after her doubles sculls partnership with Vicky Thornley was dissolved following their failure to finish on the podium at the European Championships earlier this month. Grainger, 40, must now hope she can win a place in the European gold-winning women's eight.
Tennis player Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic said a busy schedule and personal circumstances were behind his Olympic selection withdrawal
Rugby sevens: Samoa fought back from 26-7 down against Fiji to win the penultimate World Series leg in Paris. Despite the defeat, Fiji have increased their lead over South Africa at the top of the overall standings to 14 points with just one event to go.
Meanwhile, Great Britain have named 15-a-side internationals Cory Allen, Mark Bennett and Joe Simpson in their extended sevens squad for the Rio Olympics.
Tennis: World number 22 Bernard Tomic has ruled himself out of competing for Australia at the Olympics. His move comes after criticism from Australia's chef de mission over his behaviour, with compatriot Nick Kyrgios also warned that he is being monitored. Spain's Feliciano Lopez, who is ranked 23 in the world, has also decided not to compete.
Andy Murray, who had lost 12 of his past 13 matches with Novak Djokovic, beat the world number one 6-3 6-3 to win the Italian Open in Rome. Serena Williams claimed the women's title to end a nine-month drought without a title.
Triathlon: American Gwen Jorgensen got back to winning ways in the fourth round of the World Series in Yokohama, Japan. Spaniard Mario Mola won his third race of the season in the men's event. There were no Britons in the women's race while in the absence of the Brownlee brothers, the highest British finisher was Adam Bowden.
Dafne Schippers
Dafne Schippers was the runner-up in Manchester last year

This week's events

Athletics: World 200m champion Dafne Schippers will compete over 100m at the Great CityGames in Manchester on Friday as she aims to go one better than her runner-up finish to Britain's Dina Asher-Smith in the 150m last year. In the men's 100m, Britain's Richard Kilty and CJ Ujah will take on fast-rising American star Trayvon Bromell. BBC coverage details can be found here.
Meanwhile, Usain Bolt is scheduled to run his first European race of the season when he takes part in the 100m at the Golden Spike in Ostrava.
Badminton: The Thomas Cup takes place in Kunshan, China, with England's men's team headed by Rajiv Ouseph and doubles pair Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis. No non-Asian country has ever won the title since the prestigious event made its debut in 1949.
Canoe sprint: Britain's Olympic 200m champion Ed McKeever will have one last opportunity to secure a place at this summer's Games at the European qualifiers in Duisburg, Germany (18-19 May). The first World Cup event of the year follows that event on the same course (20-22 May).
Cycling - mountain bike: The second round of the mountain bike World Cup is in Albstadt, Germany (21-22 May). Switzerland's reigning overall World Cup champion Nino Schurter and Annika Langvad won the opening round in Australia last month.
Cycling - road: The second week of the first Grand Tour of the season, the Giro d'Italia (May 6-29) continues with Gianluca Brambilla in the leader's pink jersey after the ninth stage. The Women's WorldTour moves on to America with the Tour of California (19-22 May), the second of four stage races in this year's inaugural event.
Hockey: Great Britain's men's team take on world champions Australia, who top the current world rankings, in a three-test series which gets under way in Narrogin, Western Australia, on 21 May.
Rugby Sevens: The men's World Series concludes in London (May 20-22). Fiji lead South Africa by 14 points in the overall standings. Former rugby league and NFL star Jarryd Hayne will join up with the Fiji squad in London.
Adam Peaty
Adam Peaty is looking to add to his medal collection at the European Championships
Sailing: Britain's Nick Thompson continues the defence of his laser world title in Mexico (12-18 May). Thompson led the event after the qualification stage.
Swimming: After the synchronised swimming and diving events last week, it is the turn of the swimmers this week at the European Championships. Great Britain topped the medals table at the 2014 competition in Berlin, and with the likes of three-time world champion Adam Peaty in London this week expectations are high for the class of 2016. BBC coverage details can be found here.
Shooting: The third World Cup of the season in the pistol and rifle events takes place in Munich (19-26 May).
Taekwondo: Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones and world champion Bianca Walkden head the British squad at the European Championships in Switzerland (19-22 May). Lutalo Muhammad will fight for the first time since December after injury.

No comments: