media_artricles :: 2016

US gets another shot at relay

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):

12:40 p.m.

The United States was given an extra shot to qualify for the final of the 4x100 after the team successfully protested that Allyson Felix had been bumped just ahead of a botched handover.

The IAAF said the U.S. team would be allowed to run on their own in the evening session at 8 p.m. and try to qualify on time.

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12:35 p.m.

A male weightlifter from Kyrgyzstan has become the first athlete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics to be stripped of a medal after a positive doping test.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport says Izzat Artykov tested positive for strychnine after winning the bronze medal in the 69-kilogram division.

The court says he has been stripped of the medal and kicked out of the games.

CAS referred the case to the international weightlifting federation for possible further sanctions against Artykov, who could face a two-year ban from the sport.

Luis Javier Mosquera of Colombia is in line to be upgraded from fourth place to the bronze medal.

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12:35 p.m.

Two-time world champion Kerron Clement finally has an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles.

The 30-year-old American won the world titles in 2007 and '09, sandwiched around his Olympic silver medal in Beijing, but hadn't been back on the podium of a major championship until winning Thursday's final in a season-best 47.73 seconds.

Boniface Mucheru Tumuti took silver for Kenya, 0.05 behind, and Turkey's Cuban-born Yasmani Copello, the European champion, won bronze in 47.92.

Javier Culson, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Puerto Rico, was disqualified for a false-start.

Four of the finishers produced national-record times, including Tumuti and Copello.

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12:30 p.m.

MEDAL ALERT: Two-time world champion Kerron Clement of the United States has won the Olympic title in the men's 400-meter hurdles, winning a fast final in 47.73 seconds.

Boniface Mucheru Tumuti took silver for Kenya, 0.05 behind, and Turkey's Cuban-born Yasmani Copello, the European champion, won bronze in 47.92.

Four of the finishers crossed in national-record times.

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12:25 p.m.

Si Yajie of China has topped another round of Olympic diving in the women's 10-meter platform.

The 17-year-old totaled 389.30 points over five dives in the semifinal round Thursday, not far off her leading score in the preliminaries.

The scores don't carry over to the afternoon final, but Si will have the favorable last spot in the order after establishing herself as the clear favorite to win China's sixth gold in seven diving events at Rio.

Jessica Parratto of the United States posted the second-highest score at 367.00, followed by 15-year-old Ren Qian of China with 362.40.

The top 12 moved on the final. Parratto's teammate, Katrina Young, finished 13th.

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12:17 p.m.

A Brazilian police official is telling The Associated Press that American swimmer Ryan Lochte fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro.

The official, who has direct knowledge of the investigation, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about an ongoing probe.

He said that around 6 a.m. on Sunday, Lochte, along with fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen, stopped at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca, a suburb of Rio where many Olympic venues are located. One of the swimmers tried to open the door of an outside bathroom. It was locked.

The official says a few of the swimmers then pushed on the door and broke it. A security guard appeared and confronted them.

The official says the guard was armed with a pistol, but he never took it out or pointed it at the swimmers.

According to the official, the gas station manager then arrived. Using a customer to translate, the manager asked the swimmers to pay for the broken door. The official says after a discussion, they did pay him an unknown amount of money and left.

Police plan an afternoon news briefing on the incident. A message seeking comment was left with Lochte's attorney.

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Associated Press reporter Mauricio Savarese in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

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12.15 p.m.

The United States is seeking to be reinstated into the final of the 4x100 meters, claiming that Allyson Felix was bumped by a rival runner just ahead of a botched handover.

The U.S. team crossed the line well behind all other teams in their relay after Felix picked up the baton and handed it over to English Gardner. Replays showed how Felix lost balance just before the handover.

"I got bumped coming into the exchange zone and it completely threw me off balance," said Felix. "I tried to hold it together to get to English. Maybe if I had one more step I could've, but I was falling."

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12:05 p.m.

Tyson Gay helped the U.S. men qualify fastest for the final of the men's 4x100-meter relay, only minutes after the American women's team dropped the baton in the heats.

The former 100- and 200-meter world champion was part of the American team that placed second at the London Games but was stripped of the medal because of his doping violation.

The Americans — with Justin Gatlin sitting out the heats — got the baton around in 37.65. Japan won the second heat in an Asian record 37.68 to qualify second fastest, shaving 0.14 off the regional mark China had set in the first heat.

Usain Bolt didn't run in the heats, but his Jamaican teammates qualified by placing second to Japan.

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UPSET ALERT: The United States is out of the 4x100-meter relay following a botched handover between Allyson Felix and English Gardner.

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11:45 a.m.

The United States is out of the women's 4x100-meter relays following a botched handover between Allyson Felix and English Gardner on the far side of the track.

Felix seemed to stumble as she entered the exchange zone and could not catch third runner Gardner, flipping the baton in desperation. It hit the ground as Gardner and Felix crashed into each other. Gardner held her head in desperation as Felix went to pick up the baton and hand it over.

The U.S. team did finish the race as last. At the same time Jamaica easily won their first heat. The Dutch team was also out.

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11.25 a.m.

The Olympics are over for Dafne Schippens and she has herself to blame because of a botched handover during the women's 4x100 meter relay.

Second in the Dutch relay chain, she first went too early to take the baton and then had to slow down to stay within the handover zone, losing costly time.

Even though she ran fast, it was all too late and the Dutch finished only sixth in their heat, not enough to qualify.

Schippers came into the championships as 200 world champion and 100 silver medalist counting to do at least as well in Rio.

She disappointed with a fifth place in the 100, and said she had a groin strain to blame. She picked up silver behind Elaine Thompson of Jamaica Wednesday and was hoping for at least a place in the final.

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11:20 a.m.

Who says journalists have to ask the questions?

The post-race news conference for the men's 1,000 meters kayak double turned into a chit-chat between the medalists about everything from race strategy to the color of the boats.

When the moderator opened up the floor for questions, Australia's Ken Wallace took the microphone, with a question for the German gold medalists.

"How did you go so fast in the third 250 meters?" said Wallace, who got bronze in the event with Lachlan Tame. "You blew us away."

"We know you have a great finish so we tried to escape," replied German paddler Marcus Gross.

"By the way it's a nice pink boat they have," Wallace said of the Germans.

"It's cool," said Gross, asking the Australians which color they would prefer if they could choose.

"I think a red one would be nice," Wallace said.

As the conversation continued, the six medalists realized that all of them except Tame would race the next day in the four-man 1,000 meters kayak event.

"Have a beer for us," Wallace told his team mate.

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11.15 a.m.

Brazil shot putter Darlan Romani gave the sparse crowd at the Olympic Stadium something to cheer about in the early morning sun when he set a national record to qualify for the final later Thursday.

Romani threw 20.94 meters to be an automatic qualifier along with Ryan Crouser of the United States, who had the top mark of 21.59. World champion Joe Kovacs also went through as automatic qualifier with a throw 20.73.

Double world champion and London 2012 silver medalist David Storl of Germany only got through with 20.47.

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10:35 a.m.

The Jamaicans are resting Usain Bolt for the first round of the Olympic 4x100 relay Thursday. He does have a 200-meter final to try and win later in the evening.

So instead, the two-time defending champions will roll out Jevaughn Minzie, Asafa Powell, Nickel Ashmeade and Kemar Bailey-Cole.

The Jamaican women's squad looks like this: Simone Facey, Sashalee Forbes, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

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10:20 a.m.

Women's badminton has seen a major shift in power as Carolina Marin of Spain beat Li Xuerui, the defending Olympic champion from China.

Marin on Thursday won the first game of the semifinal match 21-14 then took the second 21-16. Marin will play for gold Friday against the winner of the other semifinal, either Japan's Nozomi Okuhara or P.V. Sindhu of India.

Marin is world No. 1 but her win is significant because China had been badminton's powerhouse, sweeping all five badminton gold medals at the 2012 London Games. Li's gold was a very big part of that dominance.

Rio has seen China's best hopes regularly bounced, including Wang Yihan, the women's silver medalist in London.

China had two shots at bronze Thursday.

The women's doubles bronze medal match saw South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun and Shin Seung-chan beat China's Tang Yuanting and Yu Tang.

Later, in men's doubles, China's Chai Biao and Hong Wei will play for bronze against Marcus Ellis and Chris Landridge of Britain.

In Thursday's women's doubles gold medal match Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan face Denmark's Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl.

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10:30 a.m.

Danuta Kozak has won her second canoe sprint gold medal in the Rio Olympics.

The Hungarian was outstanding in the women's 500 meters kayak single Thursday, raising her right fist in a victory celebration after crossing the finish line almost 2 seconds clear of her closest competitors.

Emma Jorgensen of Denmark got the silver in a photo finish ahead of Lisa Carrington of New Zealand.

Kozak also won gold in the 500 meters kayak double with Gabriella Szabo.

Spain took its second gold of the flatwater canoe competition when Saul Craviotto and Cristian Toro won the men's 200 meters kayak double.

Britain's Liam Heath and Jon Schofield got the silver medal after edging Lithuanian paddlers Aurimas Lankas and Edvinas Ramanauskas by 14 hundredths of a second.

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10.20 a.m.

Olympic and world champion Ashton Eaton has a 103-point lead after six events in the decathlon.

Eaton earned 1,000 points for finishing the 110-meter hurdles in 13.80 seconds to open the second day of the decathlon competition, lifting his tally to 5,621.

Damian Warner of Canada moved back into second spot by edging Eaton to win their hurdles heat in 13.58. The world championship silver medalist has 5,518 points with the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters remaining.

Kevin Mayer of France was third, 214 behind Eaton, following a 14.02 in the hurdles. Kai Kazmirek of Germany slipped two spots to fourth, 225 off the lead.

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10:15 a.m.

In perhaps the most stylish opening fight of the taekwondo competition of the Rio Games so far, Turkey's defending Olympic champion in the men's 68-kilogram division, Servet Tazegul, literally spun his way into the quarterfinals on Thursday morning.

The fifth-seeded Tazegul overwhelmed Chilean fighter Ignacio Morales with a steady stream of spinning kicks, landing his first back kick within 15 seconds of the match starting. Less than a minute later, Tazegul threw a tornado kick — where the fighter spins before launching a roundhouse kick off the back leg — and then followed that up with a sweeping axe kick off his front leg.

Morales never found his rhythm and managed to score only once. The fight was suspended after the second round with a score of 14-1; taekwondo matches are automatically halted when one athlete racks up a 12-point advantage.

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10:15 a.m.

Three American Olympic swimmers planned to meet with Brazilian law enforcement Thursday to discuss a reported robbery targeting 12-time medalist Ryan Lochte and his teammates, a U.S. Olympic Committee official said.

USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky said Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were released by local authorities after being pulled from a flight at the Rio de Janeiro airport, with the understanding that discussions would continue amid uncertainty over what truly took place during a late outing the night Olympic swimming wrapped up at the Rio Games.

Fellow teammate Jimmy Feigen also plans to talk to officials, Sandusky said, as he navigates a judge's order that keeps him in Brazil. The order similarly called for Lochte's passport to be seized, but the star swimmer had already returned to the United States before authorities could enforce the decision.

A lawyer for Conger and Bentz said Thursday that they won't be allowed to leave Brazil until they provide testimony to investigators. The swimmers didn't speak to reporters as they left the airport, shuttled away by a black car waiting outside. They departed for an unspecified location in Brazil and had yet to testify, said attorney Sergio Viegas.

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10:05 a.m.

The British Olympic team says an athlete was robbed while returning to their accommodation in Rio de Janeiro.

The British Olympic Association was responding to a Guardian report that the unnamed athlete was held up at the gunpoint after a night out in Rio. The BOA declined to say if the incident was reported to police.

In a statement, the BOA said "we can confirm there has been an incident of theft involving a Team GB athlete returning to their accommodation. All members of our delegation, including the individual concerned, are accounted for, and are safe and well."

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9:55 a.m.

Defending Olympic champion Yuri Cheban of Ukraine has won the gold medal in the men's 200 meters canoe single.

Cheban beat Valentin Demyanenko of Azerbaijan in a sprint to the finish line.

But the biggest cheers at the Lagoa stadium erupted when it was announced that Brazil's Isaquias Queiroz got the bronze in a photo finish — his second medal at the Rio Olympics.

Cheban fell out of his canoe as he pushed himself past the finish line. Queiroz also ended up in the water in the finish area.

Earlier, Max Rendschmidt and Marcus Gross of Germany won gold in the in the men's 1,000 meters kayak double. Serbia's Marko Tomicevic and Milenko Zoric took the silver and Ken Wallace and Lachlan Tame of Australia the bronze.

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8:10 a.m.

A German marathoner criticized for holding hands with her twin sister as they crossed the Rio Olympics finish line has been awarded a belated first place for a race in her home country.

Hannover marathon organizers on Thursday declared Anna Hahner the winner of the April event after Kenya's Edinah Jerotich Kwambai was penalized for using an excessive dose of asthma medication.

Hahner told The Associated Press it was a "special coincidence" she had received the news shortly after Sunday's race. German officials had accused Hahner and her sister Lisa of being unsportsmanlike in Rio, where they came in 81st and 82nd.

Hahner dismissed suggestions the twins hadn't given their all in Rio, saying "we didn't think but acted on our feelings."

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7:40 a.m.

Twenty-five gold medals are waiting to be won at the Rio Olympics on Thursday, with the marque event featuring Usain Bolt in his favorite race, the 200 meter sprint.

The Jamaican superstar is aiming for his 8th gold medal.

Other top track events include the women's 800 meters and 400 meter hurdles and the men's 400 meter hurdles, the decathlon and shot put.

On the sand, two-time Olympians Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo of Italy face Brazilian favorites Alison and Bruno in the men's beach volleyball final.

Four golds each are being awarded in sailing and canoe sprint and Chinese divers are expected to go 1-2 in the women's 10-meter platform. Belgium also takes on Argentina in the men's field hockey final.

In semifinals, the U.S. women face Serbia in volleyball and France in basketball.

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7:10 a.m.

The reigning king of track is back in his kingdom, lining up at Rio's Olympic Stadium for what he hopes is his 8th gold medal.

The biggest drama about Usain Bolt in the 200 meter sprint Thursday may not be whether he wins, but whether he cracks the once-thought-untouchable 19-second barrier. The Jamaican sprinter already owns both the world record at 19.19 seconds, and Olympic record at 19.30.

His challengers include Canadian Andre De Grasse and LaShawn Merritt of the United States.

In other medal events, Kerron Clement of the United States and Jamaica's Annsert Whyte compete in the 400 meter hurdles while American Ashton Eaton is leading after the first day in the men's decathlon.

South Africa's Caster Semenya runs in the women's 800 meters while American runners are seeking gold in the women's 400 hurdles. Joe Kovacs of the United States is favored in the shot put, and the women will compete in javelin.

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