London Olympics2012: U.S. skeet shooter Kimberly wins gold medal

29 July 2012

LONDON :(AP) -- Kimberly Rhode won the gold medal in women's skeet shooting Sunday, making her the first American to take an individual-sport medal in five consecutive Olympics.

Rhode tied the world record and set an Olympic record with 99 points. Wei Ning of China took silver with 91 points and Danka Bartekova of Slovakia got bronze by beating Marina Belikova of Russia in a shootout after they tied with 90 points.

Rhode won a gold medal in double trap at Atlanta as a teenager in 1996, took bronze in that event four years later at Sydney, re-claimed the gold at Athens in 2004 and won the silver in skeet at Beijing in 2008.

In qualifying, Rhode set another Olympic record, missing only one of her 75 shots. Rhode led by four points entering the final, and the way she was connecting Sunday, there was no way she was getting caught.

USA Shooting touted it as the biggest day in shooting history.

Hard to argue with that.

Rhode was a perfect 25-for-25 in each of the first two qualifying sessions, then ran her streak to 65 straight hits before her lone qualifying misfire. Several people watching on a chilly, rainy day at the Royal Artillery Barracks sighed in disbelief at the miss, which Rhode shrugged off with ease.

When qualifying was complete, she flipped the last of the empty shells from her gun, gave a brief fist-pump, followed by a wave and a smile. Rhode thanked several well-wishers as she walked away, moments before rain started falling significantly harder.

The field started with 17 women from 17 nations, before getting pared to six for the final later Sunday.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina be suspended after failing drugs test

29 July 2012

LONDON: Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide, theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC) announced on Sunday.

Galiulina underwent a drugs test on July 25, four days before the start of the women's artistic gymnastics competition.

"Once the results of the B sample have been received, a definitive decision will be announced by the disciplinary commission," said the IOC.Like some other diuretics, furosemide is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned drugs list as it can be used as a masking agent to disguise the use of other drugs.

It is the second case of doping at the London Olympics, after Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku tested positive for a banned steroid.

More than a dozen other athletes have already been expelled for pre-competition doping offences, but Pulaku, 19, was the first to fail a test since arriving for the Games.

Among the pre-Games doping casualties were Morocco's Mariem Alaoui Selsouli, one of the favourites for the women's athletics 1500m gold medal, who failed a test for a banned diuretic.

World anti-doping chiefs have unveiled a new test for human growth hormone, with a detection window of weeks rather than hours, which they hope will snare drug cheats at the Games.

A total of 15 athletes were caught doping at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the most at a Summer Games since the IOC began outlawing drugs at the 1968 edition in Mexico City.

Saudis hail women in Olympics parade despite men first

29/07/12

RIYADH - Saudi commentators on Saturday hailed the first ever participation of women from the ultra-conservative kingdom in the Olympics, but criticised placing female athletes behind the men in the opening ceremony.
"The kingdom is shining with its sons and daughters in London," wrote columnist Jamal Khashoggi on his Twitter page. "Finally, the Saudi team has men and women," wrote female journalist Haifa al-Zahrani on her page.
Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Islamic sharia law and imposes constraints on women, agreed to send women athletes to the Olympics on condition that they respect a strict dress code.
During Friday night's opening ceremony at the Olympic stadium in London, the two women, judoka Wojdan Shaherkani and US-raised 800m runner Sarah Attar, walked behind their male colleagues in the Saudi team.

Federer advances in latest bid for singles medal

July 28, 2012 

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Fourth-time Olympian Roger Federer overcame a jittery patch to win his opening match at the London Games, beating Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Federer seeks his first singles medal, although he and Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka did win the gold in doubles in 2008.

Back on his favorite stage Saturday, the top-ranked Federer was a point from victory in the second set, then lost three of his next four service games. But Federer was in fine form at the finish on the same Centre Court where he won Wimbledon for a record-tying seventh time less than three weeks earlier.

Albanian Pulaku becomes first doping cheat

Jul 28, 2012

LONDON : Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be ejected from the London 2012 Olympics after testing positive for an anabolic steroid, the International Olympic Committee said on Saturday.

The 19-year-old, who was due to compete in the men's 77kg class, joins a string of athletes who were banned for doping violations before the start of the Olympics.

He now faces a possible two-year sanction by the international weightlifting federation.

Pulaku tested positive on July 23 for Stanozolol - an old, relatively cheap and easy-to-detect drug which, like other anabolic steroids, is designed to mimic the effects of the male sex hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.

Higher levels of testosterone cause anabolic changes in the body, including an increased rate of protein synthesis. This in turn can boost muscle growth and an ability to recover more quickly between bouts of strenuous exercise.

The drug was detected in Pulaku's urine sample. His personal coach and uncle, Sami Pulaku, said neither he or Pulaku denied the presence of the steroid and that the decision would not be contested.

"Of course it is always a sad day when a cheating athlete is caught," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. "I hope there will not be more."

It was the same steroid that saw Greece's world indoor high jump champion Dimitris Chondrokoukis withdraw from the Games on Thursday after a positive test for the drug which Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson used before the 1988 Seoul Games.

Johnson was sent home in disgrace after metabolites of the anabolic steroid were found in his urine sample following his victory over Carl Lewis in the 100 metres final in world record time.

TARNISHED HISTORY

Pulaku is the latest in a long line of weightlifters to have tested positive for drugs in Olympic Games with the sport having been tarnished by its doping history.

The IOC had urged federations and national anti-doping agencies to up pre-Games testing to avoid any cases during the July 27-Aug. 12 sporting festival.

"We do target the key sports and the key athletes and I am entirely comfortable that we have done that," said Adams.

Since the start of the Olympic period the IOC has conducted 1001 drugs tests, of which 715 are urine and 286 blood tests.

Hungarian discus thrower Zoltan Kovago, a silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games, will also miss the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday he had failed to provide a sample when requested.

Moroccan 1,500 metres runner Mariem Alaoui Selsouli will miss the Games after a positive test for a banned diuretic. Nine track and field athletes were also banned for doping violations on Wednesday.

London Olympics2012:Ogogo dedicated his opening victory to his ailing mother

Jul 29, 2012

LONDON - British middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo dedicated his opening victory at the Olympics on Saturday to his ailing mother, laid low by a brain haemorrhage last month.

The 23-year-old clinched a 13-6 first round win over Dominican Republic opponent Junior Castillo Martinez and immediately turned his thoughts to his mother back in Britain.

"This one is for my mum," he said. "She had a brain haemorrhage six weeks ago and she is still in bed, so I don't think she would have watched the bout but I can't wait to ring her."

He added: "It's a bit of a family affair actually as one of my sisters is due to go into labour today."

Ogogo next fights world champion Ievgan Khytrov of Ukraine.

"That doesn't bother me. I've never fought him before but I have the best coach in the world and with this crowd behind me I have the beating of him," he predicted.

Later on Saturday Vijender Singh, India's 2008 Olympic bronze medallist in the category, also reached the second round taking a 14-10 victory over Kazakh Danabek Suzhanov.

"I am delighted to make it through to the next round, he was a tough opponent and now its on to the next challenge," said the 26-year-old, who lost controversially to Ogogo in the 2010 Commonwealth Games semi-finals.

"I want to go home with a different coloured medal this time.

Singh, though, is likely to have a tough second round encounter with American Terrell Gausha, who looked to be on his way out before he rallied in the final 10 seconds to knock Armenian opponent Andranik Hakobyan down twice.

"I have a mental clock in my head as I have been around this game for a while," said the 24-year-old. "It was a little too close for comfort.

"He may have had the longer reach but I had the bigger heart."

While Gausha left it late his compatriot Joseph Diaz Junior showed why he is one of his team's brightest medal hopes with an impressive opening round win in the bantamweight division.

The 19-year-old, who has pledged to have a successful boxing career to help his family financially, defeated tough Ukrainian Pavlo Ishchenko 19-9.

But it was a bitter-sweet victory as he next meets top seed Lazaro Alvaro Estrada of Cuba on Wednesday.

"I felt great out there. I said to myself he is just like me, he sweats like me and he bleeds like me," said Diaz, who is coached by his father.

"It means a lot to me that my family are in the crowd.

Diaz admitted that he had sacrificed going to Friday's late-night opening ceremony because of being up first on Saturday.

"I am not here for the opening ceremony; I am here for the gold medal," said Diaz, whose country are seeking just their second gold medal in boxing since the 1996 Games.

He lost to Estrada in the quarter-finals at last year's world championships.

"I have a different gameplan to the time I fought him and lost. He is the top seed and it is a difficult task but this fight has settled my nerves and I am going to put on a good show on Wednesday."

Irishman John Joe Nevin demolished Dennis Ceylan of Denmark, his country's first Olympic boxer in 16 years, romping to a 21-6 win and threatens to go further than he did in Beijing where he failed to make the quarter-finals.

Even Nevin, whose compatriot Darren O'Neill also reached the second round in the middleweights, was taken aback by the margin of victory.

"Probably I wasn't expecting to win by as much but when I perform at my best I can beat anyone," said the 23-year-old.

"He was even talking to me in the ring in the last round, saying 'you're boxing brilliant John Joe'. It gave me a little bit of a buzz. I was talking to him to try and slow him down as well."

London Olympics 2012:Judo crowned two new Olympic champions

July 28, 2012

(AP) LONDON - Judo crowned two new Olympic champions on Saturday.

In the men's 60-kilogram division, Russian Arsen Galstyan surprised spectators and opponents alike when he took the gold.

Galstyan defeated the category's two favorites to win the medal: top-ranked Uzbeki fighter Rishod Sobirov in the semifinal, and Japanese judoka Hiroaki Hiroaka in the final.It took less than a minute for Galstyan, 23, to score a match-ending ippon over Hiroaka. It was the first Olympic medal for the Russian, who won bronze at the world championships. The bronze medals were won by Sobirov and Felipe Kitadai of Brazil.

On the women's side, Brazil's Sarah Menezes beat defending Olympic champion Alina Dumitru of Romania in a final that had both fighters on the defensive.

Menezes frequently had her hands up like a boxer as both struggled to get a dominant grip. Neither had much success throwing the other off balance, with Menezes using her flexibility to avoid being tossed on her back. In the last minute of the match, the Brazilian finally managed to throw Dumitru.

Menezes, 22, finished 19th at the Beijing Olympics and won a bronze at last year's judo world championships. Before arriving in London last week, Menezes said she planned to skip the Olympics' opening ceremonies to ensure she would be ready to fight on Saturday.

The women's bronze medals went to Hungarian Eva Csernoviczki and Charline van Snick of Belgium.

First gold medal of London 2012 won by China shooter

28/07/12

China, so vibrantly ubiquitous as hosts and chief medal hoarders four years ago, picked up where they left off as Yi Siling won the first gold medal of the 2012 Olympic Games. Yi took the women's 10m air rifle gold in a thrilling final inside Woolwich's main dimpled shooting arena, a last shot score of 10.5 sealing victory ahead of the 30-year-old Pole Sylwia Bogacka and China's Yu Dan.

At the moment of victory Yi held her rifle above her head in both hands and took the cheers of a 2,000 strong crowd after a thrilling three-hour performance of sustained and unflinching precision, infused with some genuine competitive zeal as she overhauled Bogacka in the final three shots.

And so China's parpingly jaunty anthem was the first to be heard in triumph at London 2012. Jacques Rogge appeared from the wings in his traditional International Olympic Committee role of dispensing the first medal of an Olympics, to a stirring burst of Chariots of Fire and flanked by a trio of pageboys carrying the medals on dinky floral platters. There were huge Chinese-inflected cheers as Dan received her bronze, warm applause for the popular Bogacka, and then a great thrumming roar for the gold medallist, who waved both arms above her head in unconstrained, puppyish delight.

It had been a gripping final. After the mob-handed coconut shy of the qualifying round, this was a pared-down eight-woman field engaged in unforgiving rapid-fire competition. Bogacka had finished top in qualifying and she opened up a small lead at the start of the final and even looked favourite for gold with three shots to go. At which point – perhaps even spooked by the overly booming and intrusive PA announcer declaring that "The pressure's. On. Now" just as the competitors were about to take aim – she fluffed the vital shot.

Yi's own 10.7 drew gasps but a second later Bogacka followed with a calamitous 9.7, handing the Chinese a decisive 0.7 lead. What a shot it was from the gold medallist at exactly the right moment, although Bogacka did rally on the final shot to take the silver away from Dan.

And as Wenlock bodypopped energetically to the in-house music, it was Yi – also the first woman to qualify for these Games – who prepared to receive London's opening gold. The departing Rogge was mobbed outside the venue by the roving platoons of Chinese media but seemed very happy with what he had seen of London's opening moments.

"It was very well prepared," the IOC president said. "There was a lot of suspense at the end. The crowd was very well prepared and very knowledgeable. It's a very good start and a very encouraging start forChina for what I think will be a very strong show."

London Olympics 2012:The Color of Sports

Masquerade: a woman with an union Jack flag painted on her face arrives for the opening ceremony

London 2012 Olympics: Fireworks

U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps barely qualifies for 400-m. individual medley

 28/07/12

(AP) LONDON - Michael Phelps barely qualified in the 400-meter individual medley on the opening day of Olympic swimming Saturday, squeaking into the final by seven-hundredths of a second.

"That one didn't feel too good," he said.

Phelps wasn't the only surprise of the morning at the Aquatics Centre, where Queen Elizabeth appeared briefly.

Olympic champion Park Tae-hwan of South Korea won his 400 freestyle heat, but was disqualified for a false start. Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world record holder in the event, failed to make the final.

"That's the Olympics," said Canadian Ryan Cochrane, who barely made the 400 free final. "It's always a surprise, every single heat. You just have to focus on your own race."

South Korea officially protested defending champion Park Tae-hwan's disqualification. The protest went to FINA's technical swimming committee, which upheld the disqualification. South Korea then took it to a jury of appeal, which will now decide the case.According to FINA rules, the jury of appeal includes all 22 members of the FINA Bureau, plus honorary members and the FINA president or vice president.Park was first to touch the wall in his heat Saturday and appeared bewildered when told of the disqualification. "I don't know why," Park said. "I need to speak to my coach to find out."Sun Yang of China led the heats, while Ryan Cochrane of Canada took the last qualifying position in eighth. Cochrane could miss out on the final later Saturday if Park is reinstated.FINA rules state: "Any swimmer starting before the starting signal has been given, shall be disqualified. If the starting signal sounds before the disqualification is declared, the race shall continue and the swimmer or swimmers shall be disqualified upon completion of the race."First night starts with a splash: Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte
The best way to beat Michael Phelps? Keep quiet, says Olympic champion Dara Torres
Michael Phelps drops 200 freestyle, gives up bid for 8 golds in LondonPhelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his 400 IM preliminary heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years ago in Beijing, when Phelps won a record eight gold medals.But it was only good enough to secure the last spot in the evening final, when Phelps will swim in Lane 8 instead of the middle of the pool.

"The only thing that matters is just getting a spot in," he said. "You can't win the gold medal from the morning."

London 2012 Olympics: Fireworks

A memorable moment of the history

London 2012 Olympics: Firework

LFireworks light up Tower Bridge as the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony takes place

London Olympics:Egypt and Brazil playing for national pride

26 July 2012

Football coach Hany Ramzy hopes the Olympics can put a smile back on the faces of the people of EgyptThursday's First Round Group C encounter between Brazil and Egypt in the men's Football, sees both teams aiming for Olympic glory for very different reasons.

Eqyptian coach Hany Ramzy hopes success at London 2012 can put a smile back on the faces of people in Egypt following difficult recent events.

"Everyone knows what has happened in Egypt over the last 18 months," said Ramzy.

"For us it's a positive for us to be at these Olympics, we have to show to the world that even if we have had trouble in our country we are still proud to play for our country and we can show football in Egypt is still alive.

"We will show the world we will fight for our pride."

Group C opponents Brazil are also playing for national pride as they seek to win their first Olympic gold medal.

National coach Mano Menezes believes his Brazil squad are better prepared than at previous games and will be buoyed by their recent 2-0 friendly win over Great Britain.

The game kicks off at 19:45 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Thursday.

Archers prepare for action

26 July 2012

The world's best archers will begin their bid for Olympic Games glory at Lord's Cricket Ground on Friday - just hours before the London 2012 Opening Ceremony takes place.All 128 archers - 64 men and 64 women - will shoot in a preliminary ranking round that determines seedings for the Individual and Team events.

The men's ranking round begins at 9am.

All archers had a chance to familiarise themselves with the venue on Wednesday, getting their only opportunity to shoot in the elimination range before the knockout matches get under way.

After his own practice session, Great Britain's Simon Terry said: 'We hope (being the Host Nation) brings us an advantage, but we're just going to keep our cool out there.'

Bolt backed for London 2012

26 July 2012

Despite recent injuries, Dawes is confident world record holder Bolt will be in peak condition as he attempts to retain both individual titles and help Jamaica keep their 4 x 100m crown.

"He's back fully," Dawes said. "He has been training very, very hard and his performance is on track.

"We expect he'll be fully fit by the time the Olympics come around."

Dawes believes Bolt and sprint rival Yohan Blake could reach new heights inLondon for the Jamaican team.

"Both of them are at the top of their game.

"If the conditions are ideal, then we are going to see something fantastic. We may see records go.

"They are 100% fit and 100% raring to go. They are mentally fit and they are going to be going all out."

First up for Bolt will be the men's 100m's on 4 August in the Olympic Stadium, with his defence of the 200m title starting three days later on 7 August. The men's 4 x 100m Relay starts on 10 August.