Kiwis dominates
RIO DE JANEIRO – Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand reaffirmed their domination of the men’s pairs class yesterday, romping home to win Olympic gold and extend their long unbeaten streak.
Murray and Bond, who also took gold in the event at the 2012 London Games, have now notched up 69 successive wins in coxless pairs.
Cycling contender
IO DE JANEIRO – Britain’s Mark Cavendish will be a major contender for the Olympic omnium after his outstanding stage victories in last month’s Tour de France, medal rival Roger Kluge believes.
Germany’s Kluge took the silver medal in the world championships in London this year when Cavendish struggled and finished sixth, but he expects the Briton to mount a much stronger challenge in Rio.
Murray through
RIO DE JANEIRO – Defending champion Andy Murray survived a scare to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s Olympic tennis tournament with a three-set victory over Fabio Fognini yesterday.
Murray won 6-1 2-6 6-3 after rallying from a 3-0 third-set deficit against the Italian, who won eight straight games before the Briton regained control.
Spain’s Rafa Nadal also booked his spot in the last eight with a 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Poland reigns
RIO DE JANEIRO – Poland’s Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj edged past Britain’s Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley in the final meters of the race to snatch the gold medal in the women’s double sculls at the Olympic rowing regatta yesterday.
The nail-biter saw the two boats neck-and-neck for much of the race. Britain led Poland by just .64 seconds at the halfway mark and appeared poised to win.
Unbeaten run
O DE JANEIRO – Defending champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning extended their five-year unbeaten run in the women’s pair in the Olympic rowing regatta yesterday, beating the United States’ crew by a good length to reach the final.
The Britons, who are also world champions, led from the start and were barely troubled by Felice Mueller and Grace Luczak. South Africa’s Lee-Ann Persse and Kate Christowitz took third place to qualify for the final, comfortably ahead of the rest.
Spain’s first
RIO DE JANEIRO – A year ago, Mireia Belmonte was injured and unsure whether she would even be able to compete at the Rio Olympics.
Now, after a come-from-behind victory in the 200 metres butterfly, the 25-year-old is the first female swimmer to win a gold medal for Spain and a contender for a fifth career medal if she qualifies for today’s 800 freestyle final.
