SPORTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016 US close in on 1,000th gold RIO DE JANEIRO: Triple jumper James Connolly won the United States’ first gold medal at the 1896 Summer Games and it is expected that on Sunday or Monday a still unknown American will claim a milestone 1,000th gold to bookend 120 years of Olympic domination. To underscore the United States’ status as the Olympics undis- puted superpower, at the current rate of winning medals (going back to 2000) it will take almost a century and 21 more Summer Games for the next nation to reach the 1,000 gold plateau, with China finally hitting the mark in 2100. The 1,000 medals would also represent almost one-quarter of the total gold award- ed at the Summer Olympics with no other RIO DE JANEIRO: Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana poses next to a scoreboard showing her new world record in the women’s 10,000-meter final country even reaching half that number. during the Summer Olympics. — AP The US arrived in Rio sitting on 977 gold and, according to Olympstats.com, the for- Ethiopia’s Ayana shatters world record mer Soviet Union with 473 ranks second with Germany a distant third with 288. “I was at the Casa Italia event the other night and they were approaching their Egyptian judoka jeered 200th gold medal, I think they have one more to go, so it just goes to show the scale TRACK & FIELD of accomplishment our athletes have after handshake snub RIO DE JANEIRO: Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana achieved over the many years,” said United smashed the world record to win the Olympic on social media and from hardline Islamist States Olympic Committee chairman Larry 10,000 meters title yesterday, blowing away groups in his homeland to withdraw from the Probst. With the US medal machine already the competition in one of the greatest ever fight. He refused to speak to journalists after humming, piling up gold in the swimming long-distance races at the Games. In only her his fight. Unlike some other Muslim and Arab pool and gymnastics, the milestone could second competitive 10,000m, Ayana domi- JUDO nations, Egypt has no history of withdrawing go to one of the Rio Games biggest names nated from the start and halfway through the from judo bouts against Israelis. Sasson has like Michael Phelps or Simone Biles or it race she surged away from the leading pack, RIO DE JANEIRO: Egyptian judoka Islam El faced another Egyptian, Ahmed Wahid, twice could belong to an unknown competing in injecting staggering pace to finish in 29 min- Shehaby was jeered out of the Olympic arena in the last year, each fighter winning once. The men’s Greco-Roman wrestling or sailing. utes 17.45 seconds. Her time was 14 seconds in Rio yesterday after refusing to shake hands Egyptian Olympic Committee had insisted before the fight that El Shehaby would com- It would seem likely the historic moment inside the 29:31.78 set by China’s Wang with his Israeli opponent. El Shehaby was pete. will come in the pool or athletics stadium Junxia in 1993. beaten by Or Sasson in their heavyweight first with those two sports accounting for more round encounter but at the end of the bout, On Sunday, Saudi Arabian Joud Fahmy It was the first time in seven years that a withdrew from her 52kg first round bout than half the US gold production. Phelps, he refused to either bow to the Israeli or shake female athlete had run 10,000m in under 30 against Christianne Legentil of Mauritius the most decorated Olympian ever, has his hand. In judo it is customary to both bow minutes and the first four all achieved the to opponents-a sign of respect in Japan-and ahead of a possible second round clash with made the biggest individual contribution, feat. The first 13 women across the line shake hands after a bout is over. El Shehaby Gili Cohen of Israel. The Saudi Olympic chipping in with 22 golds and counting. The clocked personal bests, including five nation- had been well beaten but stood impassively Committee claimed she was injured. United States’ Olympic domination has not al records. Kenya’s world 10,000m champion as Sasson tried to shake his hand. Most famously in the Olympic dojo, then- been all-encompassing. Vivian Cheruiyot tried in vain to keep up with As he left the mat area, El Shehaby was world champion Arash Miresmaeili pulled out No American has ever stood atop the Ayana but had to settle for silver while called back to the centre by the referee to of the competition after failing to make the podium in field hockey, triathlon, bad- Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba, the defending bow. But he was then loudly jeered out of the 66kg weight limit after being drawn against minton, handball, table tennis and modern Olympic champion, grabbed bronze. All three arena by angry supporters. International Judo Israeli Ehud Vaks in the first round.—AFP pentathlon as well as polo and lacrosse, women ran inside the old Olympic 10,000m Federation spokesman Nicolas Messner said which are no longer on the Olympic pro- record. fighters were not obliged to shake hands after gram. The United States has hosted four Cheruiyot, Kenya’s most decorated female a bout. “In the past, it is not sure that a fight Summer Games in St Louis (1904), Los athlete, also fell short in the 2012 London between those two athletes would have taken Angeles (1932, 1984) and Atlanta (1996). The Games where she took bronze, meaning east place. This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to be opposed to first Games of the Modern Olympics pro- African country’s wait for its first women’s Israel,” he said. “There is no obligation for duced the fewest golds (11) while the 10,000m gold medalist continues. The 31- year-old Dibaba, who returned in 2016 from a shaking hands at the end of the fight, but it is Soviet-boycotted 1984 Los Angeles compulsory to bow, that’s why the Egyptian Olympics generated the most (83). “I think two-year layoff following the birth of her son, was seeking to become the first woman in was called back to bow and he did. what it means is we have just a great sport- “Nevertheless, his attitude will be reviewed Olympic history to win an individual athletics ing culture and a really amazing system of after the Games to see if any further action event three times in a row. Ayana will now sport in our country,” said Alan Ashley, the should be taken.” turn her attention to her preferred 5,000m USOC chief of sport performance. “It is very RIO DE JANEIRO: Israel’s Or Sasson (white) com- distance, in which she is favorite to win and exciting to think of it in those terms and to History of rejection petes with Egypt’s Islam Elshehaby during their become only the second woman after Dibaba realize that we are on the doorstep of that The 32-year-old El Shehaby, a world cham- men’s 100kg judo contest match of the Rio to claim gold in both the 5,000 and 10,000 in amazing achievement.” — Reuters pionship medalist in 2010, had faced pressure 2016 Olympic Games. — AFP the same Games.— Reuters .