TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2016 SPORTS Veterans provide the thrills on Rio’s Olympic lagoon

RIO DE JANEIRO: British crews In the men’s single skulls final, the event at 2012’s Games, Also extending a remarkable win- extending a five-year unbeaten run topped the medals table in the defending champion Martin Drsydale had broken away with a commanding ning record were the over 39 races. Olympic rowing regatta with three of New Zealand was pushed all the lead by the race’s midway point and women’s eight. The crew came into Despite the veterans’ dominance, golds but rowers from New Zealand way by Croatia’s Damir Martin. The only widened the distance between the Games as huge favourites, there were still some hard-fought and the United States also put in decision went to a photo-finish after themselves and the rest of the pack appearing unbeatable after winning contests and the battles for silvers mighty performances to provide they crossed the line at the same as the race went on. gold at both the 2012 and 2008 were often intense. plenty of thrills in the spectacular set- time, with Martin seeming to surge The victory reaffirmed their status Games, and they powered to the top In the regatta’s final race, Britain’s ting of the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. forward. The gold went to Drysdale. as one of the greatest rowing partner- medal again. Under coach Tom men’s eight defeated their rivals in The day’s programme was twice The New Zealander’s compatriots ships of all time. They have not lost a Terhaar, they have won every race for the favoured German boat to claim called off when high winds made the Hamish Bond and Eric Murray main- race since they teamed up in 2009 10 years. gold, leaving with two golds water too rough but the sun shone for tained their unbeaten streak, easily but afterwards Bond admitted the Britain’s Helen Glover and Heather overall to share second place in the an exciting final day which saw the winning the men’s pair. pressure was taking its toll and he Stanning successfully defended their rowing medals table with New regatta’s most breath-taking action. Bond and Murray, who took gold in would need to think about his future. Olympic crown in the women’s pair, Zealand. —Reuters

Rio 2016 - tops and flops

RIO DE JANEIRO: Who hit, who missed at derful free-kick opener by mimicking the the Rio Olympics: sprinter’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ pose in front of the delighted Jamaican. Neymar then HITS stood down as captain. “This is one of the USAIN BOLT best things that has happened in my Despite coming into Rio with concerns life...now the critics have to swallow what over his fitness, the superstar crowd pleas- they said,” said Neymar. er romped to a “triple triple” of gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. The Jamaican FLOPS also sealed his status as track and field’s NOVAK DJOKOVIC greatest showman, posing for numerous World tennis number one Djokovic, selfies while even trying his hand at looking to complete a career ‘Golden javelin in an eerily quiet Olympic Stadium Slam’ of Olympic gold and the four majors, once the crowds had left. “There you go. was knocked out in the first round by a I’m the greatest,” said Bolt, who kissed the rejuvenated Juan Martin del Potro who finish line on the Olympic Stadium track went onto make the final. Djokovic left on his final Games appearance. In a per- the arena in tears and at 29 years old, his fect finish, Sunday was also his 31st birth- Olympic haul remains a modest bronze day. from Beijing in 2008.

MICHAEL PHELPS LEE CHONG WEI The US swimmer also had his doubters Malaysia’s Lee suffered a third consecu- on the eve of Rio, but left with five more tive badminton final defeat after ’s golds to take his total to a stunning 23. “I Chen Long beat the world number one in don’t think you’re going to see another straight games. “Today leaves me with Michael,” said coach Bob Bowman. Phelps, some regrets,” said Lee, putting on a brave watched by fiancee Nicole and baby son face following his defeat to second- Boomer, ended his career with no regrets ranked Chen, who became Olympic after flirting with retirement coming away champion for the first time. The Malaysian from the London Games four years ago. “It has never won a world or Olympic title definitely was a lot more emotional than I and will retire without that elusive gold was in 2012,” said the 31-year-old. medal. His country is also still waiting for a first gold medal in any sport. MO FARAH Britain’s Mo Farah, born in Somalia but CAMERON MCEVOY/CATE CAMPBELL RIO DE JANEIRO: USA’s flag-bearer holds her country’s national flag during the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 nurtured in London, captured a “double Double Australian swim disappoint- at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro Sunday. —AFP double” of 5,000m and 10,000m golds to ment for McEvoy and Campbell, the over- emulate Finland’s Lasse Viren, who did the whelming favourites in the 100m same double at the 1972 and 1976 freestyle. McEvoy was the man widely Games. Farah, 33, last lost a race at a major tipped to seize gold after posting a world- competition when he was beaten by leading 47.04sec in April but was relegat- Biles and Uchimura Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan in the 10,000m at ed to seventh-failing to break 48 seconds. the 2011 world championships in Daegu, In the women’s event, world record holder South Korea. Campbell faded to finish sixth after lead- ing the field at the turn. soar, China crash SIMONE BILES American gymnast Simone Biles AARON COOK marked her Olympic debut with a record- The former British number one in taek- equalling four golds but just short of the wondo represented Moldova and was RIO DE JANEIRO: There were tales of the China’s loss was the rest of the world’s gain as Nadia Comaneci. record five she sought. “It’s been a long seeded second in the welterweight com- expected - featuring Simone Biles and Kohei nine nations shared gold-medal success, with “Look what he’s achieved for such a long journey, but I’ve enjoyed every moment,” petition. But he crashed out in the first Uchimura - and tales of the unexpected in gym- the Americans topping the table thanks to the time. Undefeated for eight years (at world cham- said the 19-year-old Texan whose early life round. It was his first Olympics since nastics as China lost the plot and departed the breathtaking tumbling skill of Biles. pionships and Olympic Games). That’s his lega- struggles had not set her out as the future Beijing in 2008 after being controversially Rio Olympics without a gold medal. Biles was undeniably the breakout star of Rio cy,” said the Romanian great. face of women’s gymnastics. The only blip overlooked by British selectors for London Eight years after China obliterated the oppo- as she lived up to all the pre-Olympic hype by With the next Olympics taking place in his standing between her and history was a 2012. “I’m absolutely devastated - all that sition to win nine of the 14 golds on offer in winning a record-equalling four golds - in team, homeland, Uchimura is not done yet and few slip on the beam on the penultimate day hard work and sacrifice by myself and my Beijing, including seven of the eight men’s titles, all around, and exercise - for a female would bet against him becoming the first gym- of competition, which gave her bronze. parents, I just feel I’ve let everyone down,” rival nations rejoiced in Rio as they completed gymnast at a single Olympics. nast to complete a hat trick of Olympic all She was the fifth woman to win four gold he shrugged. the Asian nation’s fall from grace. Had it not been for a slipped foot in the beam around triumphs. at the same Games after Hungarian Agnes The first signs of their decline were evident at final, that tally would been five golds, but While Japan has a rich legacy in the sport, Keleti (1956), Soviet Larissa Latynina RENAUD LAVILLENIE the London Games when China captured only instead she had to make do with bronze as gold medals for Britain in Olympic gymnastics (1956), Czech Vera Caslavska (1968) and Defending champion and world record four golds, but that still allowed them to top the claimed the most unexpected of are like London buses: you wait 120 years for Romanian (1984). holder in pole vault, the Frenchman 2012 gymnastics medals table. In Rio that tally victories to become the first female Dutch gym- one and then two come along at once. Max slumped to a shock loss to Brazilian dwindled to just two bronzes - both in the team nast to grab an individual gold. Whitlock ended the long wait for a champion by NEYMAR Thiago Braz da Silva. He was booed when finals - with world champion You Hao’s fall fol- Uchimura lived up to his ‘Supermura’ moniker claiming victory in the floor exercise and pom- The Barcelona superstar scored in the he competed and booed when he stood lowing his parallel bars dismount providing a by first guiding Japan to the team gold before mel horse finals. 1-1 draw in the final against Germany and on the podium holding the consolation of candid snapshot of China’s nightmare outing. becoming the first gymnast in 44 years to cap- There was also gold medal success for then converted the winning penalty to a silver medal. He didn’t help his case by Teammate Deng Shudi summed up China’s ture back-to back Olympic all around titles. Germany’s Fabian Hambuchen (horizontal bar), give the hosts a first ever football gold. comparing the Rio jeers to the treatment misery. “I don’t know what happened. My brain Now unbeaten in the event since picking up ’s Oleg Verniaiev (parallel bars, North With Bolt looking on from the stands at received by Jesse Owens at Hitler’s 1936 is empty,” Deng said after his country failed to a silver at the 2008 Olympics, with the 27-year- Korea’s Ri Se-gwang (vault), Greece’s Eleftherios the Maracana, Neymar marked his won- Olympics in . —AFP win a gymnastics gold for the first time since old also having won six successive world titles, Petrounias (rings) and ’s returning to the Olympics in 1984. he was hailed as “the greatest of all time” by (asymmetric bars). —Reuters Weightlifting faces ‘painful’ few months

RIO DE JANEIRO: The International other nations for 12 months from Weightlifting Federation may need a around September or October for dop- painkiller to get over the next few ing violations stemming from the 2008 months as it moves to ban several coun- and 2012 Games. tries over doping and tries to change a “We had to react. It will be very culture of drug taking. painful for me to suspend some coun- Weightlifting has long been afflicted tries but we will do this,” IWF president by high-profile positive tests for illegal Tamas Ajan told AFP in an interview last substances and one medallist from the week. Rio Olympics has already been stripped “We wish weightlifting to be a clean of his podium finish for doping. sport and there’s only one way. We have Kyrgyzstan’s Izzat Artykov won to ban all the countries which violate our bronze in the 69kg contest but later test- rules,” he added. ed positive for the stimulant strychnine, Ajan said the suspensions would be becoming the first Olympian from the just “the start”, but added that there was Brazil Games to have a medal revoked. a twin approach to the problem that RIO DE JANEIRO: Dagmar Wozniak of the United States, right, dances with other athletes during the closing ceremony in the He claimed that a rival competitor included educating as well as punishing Maracana stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. —AP had spiked his drink and said he would countries and athletes. appeal the decision but the ruling “Not only do we suspend countries meant that the weightlifting competi- but we also organise many anti-doping Cool teenager, emotional tion ended under a familiar doping seminars to help them. We give assis- cloud. tance so they can change completely,” Eleven weightlifters who previously he explained. Italian and new champions served doping bans, including three Ajan has a fight on his hands howev- gold medallists, won medals at Rio, er. “Unfortunately there are some coun- while four others were sent home for tries who use forbidden substances as a RIO DE JANEIRO: Bookended by a no-nonsense Her American team mates with much more Kuwaiti men’s double trap shooter Fehaid failed tests before they were due to part of their training programme,” he American teenager and an emotional Italian experience and medals, like twice Olympic Al-Deehani won the first gold ever for an ath- compete. Another, a Mongolian said, pointing the finger at some former man, the shooting gold medal winners were an champion Vincent Hancock in the men’s skeet lete competing under the Olympic flag after weightlifter who didn’t threaten the Soviet republics. assorted lot of first-time Olympians and dark and Matt Emmons in the 50 metre rifle three Kuwait was banned by the International podium, also failed a dope test, the By the time 2020 comes horses who left many favourites in the dust. positions, failed to qualify for the finals. Olympic Committee. His countryman, Court of Arbitration for Sport around the IWF doesn’t want to be in a topped the medal count, with four of the 15 “I don’t really have an explanation for it,” said Abdullah Al-Rashidi, was a Brazilian crowd announced on Sunday. situation similar to the one it’s in now golds, followed by Germany with three. Emmons on the final day of competition. “I really favourite for his charm and distinctive facial The IWF is cracking down on doping. where medallists are being retrospec- Powerhouse China took home seven, but just felt we brought a pretty darn good team here.” hair. With chants of “Mustache,” he went on to one gold, and the United States had an utterly American skeet shooter Kim Rhode did make win a bronze in skeet. Wrapping it all up was In June, it adopted a resolution that said tively stripped of medals following disappointing run with one gold and two history with her bronze, tying an Olympic record 28-year-old Italian Niccolo Campriani who any country which returns three or more reanalysis of samples. bronze. That sole American Olympic title was with her sixth medal in six Games. won two golds in rifle shooting. He said the positive drugs tests from the reanalysis “Improved laboratory techniques won by 19-year-old Ginny Thrasher, who came Vietnam won its first gold medal ever when key to his success was that he was an emo- of samples from the last two Olympics have created a situation where the sport out air rifle blazing to win the first gold of the Hoang Xuan Vinh won the men’s 10 metre air tional man from the Mediterranean where would be suspended for a year. can get cleaner and cleaner,” said Ajan. Games. Her cool confidence wowed the crowd pistol gold and later picked up a silver in the 50 one learns to deal with emotions from the The governing body plans to ban “The next two years are a very, very at the Olympic Shooting Centre in Deodoro. metre event. age of two. —Reuters Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and several sensitive period,” he added. —AFP