China edged out Germany to win the first track cycling gold of the Tokyo Olympics in the women’s team sprint on Monday after earlier breaking the world record. China set a new world best of 31.804sec in the heats and were then too quick for Germany in the final, their 31.895 just ahead of the […]
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Canada shock USA to reach Olympic women’s football final
Jessie Fleming scored a second-half penalty as Canada upset four-time Olympic women’s football champions the United States 1-0 in Kashima on Monday to reach the final for the first time. Fleming’s 74th-minute spot-kick earned Canada a first win over their neighbours since 2001 and set up a clash with Sweden or Australia for the gold […]
China’s Su blasts into Olympic 100m final, Bromell out
China’s Su Bingtian ran an Asian record of 9.83 seconds to qualify for the men’s Olympic 100m final on Sunday, while US medal hope Trayvon Bromell missed the cut. Su, 31, shattered his previous best of 9.91 to storm to an impressive semi-final win over American Ronnie Baker in a photo-finish. Italy’s Lamont Jacobs finished […]
Australia revel in upsetting US in Olympic medley relay
Veteran Australian sprinter Cate Campbell said winning the women’s 4x100m medley relay gold medal on Sunday was all the sweeter because they dethroned arch-rivals the United States. The Americans were two-time defending champions but the Australian team of Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon and Campbell proved too hot too handle. They touched in a […]
Sprinters seek post-Bolt gold on Day 3 Of Olympic athletics
The third day of athletics at the Tokyo Olympics takes place on Sunday. AFP Sport looks at five stand-out events: – Men’s 100m – Final – The Tokyo Olympics are the first since Athens in 2004 to take place without Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, winner of eight golds. Bolt retired after the 2017 world championships in […]
Pigossi and Stefani claim Brazil’s first Olympic tennis medal
Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani won Brazil’s first ever Olympic medal in tennis on Saturday with a hard-fought victory over Russians Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina in the women’s doubles bronze-medal match. The pair, who were last-minute call-ups for the Games, saved four consecutive match points in the deciding tie-break to win 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 […]
Judo medallists stripped of Olympic passes over Tokyo sightseeing trip
Two judo silver medallists from Georgia were stripped of their Tokyo 2020 accreditation for breaking coronavirus rules by leaving the Olympic Village, an official from their National Olympic Committee said Saturday. It is the first case since the Games began of athletes being punished for breaking strict anti-infection rules, which forbid team members from leaving […]
Denmark badminton ace Axelsen moves into Olympic semis
Denmark’s world badminton number two Viktor Axelsen cruised into the Olympic men’s singles semi-finals on Saturday, but compatriot Anders Antonsen was unable to join him. Axelsen beat China’s Shi Yuqi 21-13, 21-13 to set up a clash with Guatemalan world number 59 Kevin Cordon, who kept his fairytale run going with a 21-13, 21-18 win […]
US hurdlers sparkle at Olympics, Nigerian sprinter cast out for doping
The good and the ugly side of Olympic athletics were on show on Saturday as Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad sparkled on the track while Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare was thrown out of the Games after failing a doping test. McLaughlin and Muhammad, her predecessor as women’s 400 metres hurdles world record holder, should put […]
Harrison makes smooth start at Olympics as she chases first major gold
World record holder Keni Harrison got off to a trouble-free start in the Olympic 100m hurdles on Saturday as she began her latest bid for a long-awaited major championship gold. The 28-year-old American has been the pick of a powerful group of US hurdlers in recent years, clocking a world record of 12.20sec in 2016. […]