Day 7 of Rio Olympics: death, doping and disrespect

[rooster59]

Day 7 of Rio Olympics: death, doping and disrespect

 

ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer

 

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — No gold for Hope Solo, but plenty of bitterness.

 

The United States women's soccer team was eliminated by Sweden in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals Friday. This was a startling loss for a U.S. team that had won every gold medal since women's soccer became an Olympic sport 1996. It was the first loss of the year for the four-time Olympic champions.

 

Solo, the U.S. goalkeeper, was angered by Sweden's defensive style and branded the team a "bunch of cowards."

 

"The best team did not win today," she said. "I strongly and firmly believe that."

 

Said Sweden coach Pia Sundhage: "It's OK to be a coward if you win." Sundahage once coached Solo when the Swede was in charge of the U.S. national team.

 

Even as another round of rain made for a steamy day once the skies cleared in Rio de Janeiro, South America's first Olympic Games lingered under clouds of grief, doping and disrespect.

—Brazil's government declared a day of official mourning for a Rio Olympicspolice officer who died after being shot in the head making a wrong turn into one of the city's slums.

—A Chinese swimmer, Polish weightlifter and Bulgarian steeplechaser have been sanctioned for doping offenses at the Olympics, which are being handled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the first time.

—And in a serious breach of judo etiquette with political overtones, an Egyptian judoka refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after his loss.

 

Day 7 of the Rio Games features a heavy slate of medal action in swimming, track and field, track cycling, fencing, judo and more.

 

Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia set a world record in the 10,000 meters with a stunning solo run to win the first gold medal in track.

 

Rafael Nadal reached the semifinals in his bid for a second Olympic singles gold. The Spaniard overcame his Brazilian opponent and a raucous, flag-waving home crowd. Nadal, the singles champion at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Marc Lopez are to play in the men's doubles final later Friday.

 

Also, Michael Phelps looks to add to his gold medal haul in the men's 100 meter butterfly finals 24 hours after winning the 200 individual medley final for his fourth gold of 2016.

 

Fellow American Katie Ledecky will return to the pool for the 800 freestyle, where she set anOlympic record Thursday. She's looking to complete a sweep of the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles for the first time since the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Other highlights from Day 7:

BRONZE BOXER : Nico Hernandez's chance for a gold medal ended Friday when he lost to Uzbekistan's Hasanboy Dusmatov by unanimous decision. With a gnarly gash over his left eye, Hernandez had blurred vision and needed stitches. His consolation: his bronze medal in the light flyweight division ends a medal drought for the American boxers that stretched to 2008. "We said when we get there, we're going to medal," Hernandez said. "We're finally here."

PUIG'S PUSH : Tennis player Monica Puig is one victory from Puerto Rico's first gold medal inOlympic history. Puig continued her surprising run by reaching the women's singles final, eliminating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Puig is ranked 34th and unseeded but is assured of no worse than a silver medal.

AUTO ACCIDENT : A German Olympic canoe coach is fighting for his life after a car accident left him with serious head injuries. Stefan Henze, a canoe slalom silver medalist at the 2004 Games, underwent emergency surgery in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. He and a team official were heading to the athletes village when their taxi was in a wreck.

 

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-08-13

[daveAustin]

Quote

Day 7 of the Rio Games features a heavy slate of medal action in swimming, track and field, track cycling, fencing, judo and more

 

And zero mention of the British world record in the cycling and the men and women GB rowing teams from the yankee-centric Associated Press... just more of the same boring swimming coverage. pfft.

[boomerangutang]

I think the article leans too much to negatives.  It's put out by AP which, being a news outlet, knows that negative stories get more attention than positive.

 

"Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia set a world record in the 10,000 meters with a stunning solo run to win the first gold medal in track."

 

I watched it on TV.  I prefer close races, but Ms Ayana was amazing.  She was 50 meters ahead of 2nd placer (her team mate).  The commentator made a good point:  runners who get lapped should then quit running in the inside lane.  Almaz, on her final dash, had to run outside of four runners abreast (about 2.5 meters wide) who were being lapped for 2nd time.  That's not right.

 

....and Ms Puig from Puerto Rico, what a great celebration she will spark at PR!

 

....and Fiji winning the rugby gold!  First ever O medal.   Big party there, for sure.

[thai3]

Not watched any of it and don't intend to, one big self indulgent yawn for the last few.

[Dustdevil]

Many people on TV are just cynical for cynicism's sake, thinking they're wise and intellectual.

[Usernames]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

 

And zero mention of the British world record in the cycling and the men and women GB rowing teams from the yankee-centric Associated Press... just more of the same boring swimming coverage. pfft.

 

Individual excellence in swimming is much more interesting and awe inspiring than bikes and boats.

Edited August 13, 2016 by Usernames

[Jingthing]

Here's the video of the bad sport Egyptian:

 

https://www.facebook.com/521248807933259/videos/1203636859694447/

 

[IAMHERE]

5 hours ago, daveAustin said:

 

And zero mention of the British world record in the cycling and the men and women GB rowing teams from the yankee-centric Associated Press... just more of the same boring swimming coverage. pfft.

Doping, death and disrespect.

My guess is that GB didn't have any of this type news, so was left out for that reason not that the AP is anti GB.