The Fiji Times

Olympics-Athletics-Warholm destroys world record to win 400m hurdles gold

TOKYO (Reuters) -A world record had been predicted but Norway’s Karsten Warholm had to utterly destroy it to hold off American Rai Benjamin and take gold on Tuesday in the men’s 400 metres hurdles, in what will go down as one of the all-time great Olympic races. Last month, Warholm broke Kevin Young’s 29-year world...

Olympics-Canoe sprint-New Zealand’s Carrington, Regal win women’s kayak double 500m gold

TOKYO (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington and Caitlin Regal won the gold medal in the women’s kayak double 500 metres competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. Poland’s Karolina Naja and Anna Pulawska claimed the silver medal while Hungary’s Danuta Kozak and Dora Bodonyi took the bronze medal.

Olympics-Hockey-Belgium wins spot in men’s hockey finals, India to fight for bronze

TOKYO (Reuters) – World champions Belgium earned a spot in the men’s hockey finals at the Tokyo Games after beating India 5-2 on Tuesday, giving the 2016 Rio Olympic silver medallists a fresh chance at securing a gold medal. Belgium took the lead less than two minutes into the game when defender Loick Luypaert scored...

Ho passes away

Former International Table Tennis Federation-Oceania president and Fiji Table Tennis Association president Anthony Ho has passed away. Ho who was born on Thursday, November 24, 1960, passed away on the morning of Thursday, July 29, 2021, at the age of 60 years old. Commencing from his teenage years, Ho was dedicated to the sport of table tennis and only recently had his...

Weightlifting-China matches record with seven golds at one Games

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – China won its sixth and seventh gold medals in weightlifting on Monday, matching Russia’s record from the 1976 Games, as Li Wenwen and Wang Zhouyu triumphed in the women’s heaviest weight categories at Tokyo 2020. The 21-year-old Li had a dominant lead in the +87kg event, lifting 320kg in total...

Athletics-American Allman all smiles after winning discus gold

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – One throw was all it took for the Valarie Allman of the United States to win Olympic gold in the women’s discus on Monday, with an effort of 68.98 metres. Germany’s Kristin Pudenz had a personal best 66.86 metres for silver and Cuba’s Yaime Perez took bronze with 65.72. It...

Weightlifting-Hubbard makes history as first transgender Olympian, but exits early

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard made history on Monday by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete at an Olympic Games, but she suffered a disappointing early exit from the women’s +87 kg final after three no lifts in the snatch. At 43, Hubbard was the oldest competitor in the...

Organisers investigating after athletes drinking violates COVID-19 curbs

Tokyo Games organisers said they are investigating after a group of athletes were found drinking alcohol in the Olympic village this week, violating measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The athletes were caught drinking in a park in the athletes’ village on Friday night, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told a news conference, adding...

Athletics-Jackson out of 200m after rookie heats blunder

Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson will not be able to add to her bronze from the 100 metres after a terrible error in the heats of the 200 on Monday, where she eased up too much and was overhauled on the line to finish fourth. Jackson, third-fastest in the world over the distance this year, did not...

IOC says looking into gesture used by U.S. athlete Saunders on podium

The International Olympic Committee is looking into the gesture U.S. athlete Raven Saunders made after the shot put silver medallist raised her arms in an X above her head, a potential breach of rules banning protests on medal podiums. The IOC is in contact with World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport, and...

Wrestling-Mensah-Stock stuns defending champ Dosho, marches into semis

Reigning world champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock stormed into the semi-finals of the women’s wrestling competition with consummate ease on Monday, winning both her matches by technical superiority on her Olympic debut without dropping a point. The United States’ Mensah-Stock took just over two minutes to overpower 2016 Olympic champion Sara Dosho of Japan in a 10-0...

Italy hails new sprint king as drama unfolds at airport

Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the most coveted crown in athletics on Sunday, giving Italy its first 100 metres gold on a night of high drama in Tokyo. As Jacobs stormed to the first Olympic title of the post-Usain Bolt era, the fate of a Belarusian sprinter’s Tokyo Games was playing out at a nearby airport....

Seeking asylum, Belarus athlete walks into Poland’s embassy in Tokyo

A Belarusian athlete who refused to board a flight after she said she was taken to the airport against her wishes walked into Poland’s embassy in Tokyo on Monday. read more Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, would seek asylum with Poland, said a member of the local Belarus community who was in touch with her. The sprinter...

Tokyo Olympics: It was the race of his life – then he fell

Isaiah Jewett wanted to show the world who he is, and he believed the place to do it would be the final of the men’s 800 metres. In the past three months, he had graduated from USC, won an NCAA championship and, with a bold move, pulled an upset to make the toughest team in...

Tokyo Olympics: ‘Unbelievable’ – Italy’s Jacobs reacts to shock 100m sprint gold

Lamont Marcell Jacobs became the first Italian to win the most coveted crown in athletics, in a shock victory in the men’s 100m final. Gianmarco Tamberi made it double gold for Italy with an emotional, and unusual, high jump victory. Until the Tokyo Olympics few Italians had even heard of Jacobs, who has made impressive...

Zverev finally takes global title

World number five Alexander Zverev won the biggest title of his career when he crushed Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-1 to win the men’s singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The 24-year-old, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title, was in stunning form as he demolished Khachanov in 79 minutes to become...

Schauffele finally wins big

American Xander Schauffele held on despite a record-breaking round by Rory Sabbatini to win gold at the Olympics. Schauffele rallied after a bogey on the par-5 14th hole to shoot a 4-under 67 to finish the tournament at 18-under 266. Sabbatini, of Slovakia, fired an Olympic-record 10-under 61 but had to settle for a second-place...

Olympics-Belarusian sprinter says she was taken to airport after criticising officials

A Belarusian sprinter has appealed to the International Olympic Committee for help, claiming her country’s officials are trying to fly her home from the Olympics against her will. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya says she was taken from her hotel to Tokyo airport, after criticising Belarus Olympic team managers on social media. Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete...

Fijiana’s bronze win in Tokyo demonstrates immense talent of Fijians – Narube

Former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor and Unity Fiji Party leader Savenaca Narube says the performance by the Fijiana women’s 7s rugby team in Tokyo spoke volume of the significant talent of the Fijian people. He said to emerge from the lower half of the seeded teams in the competition only to narrowly miss out...

Olympics-Sailing-Choosing sailing over ‘footy’ pays off for Australian Wearns

ENOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Matt Wearns’s decision as a promising young athlete to choose sailing over Australian Rules football paid off handsomely at the Enoshima Yachting Harbour on Sunday when he was crowned Olympic champion in the men’s Laser class. Wearns started the competition poorly but bounced back with a superb stretch of results in...

Olympics-Swimming-Dressel caps off ‘terrifying’ Games with fifth gold

TOKYO (Reuters) – Caeleb Dressel brought the curtain down on his Tokyo Games by winning a fifth gold medal on Sunday and said that the high expectations, pressure to perform and a rollercoaster ride of emotions had made the Olympics a “terrifying” experience. The American won the men’s 50m freestyle on Sunday by nearly half...

Olympics-Swimming-Mckeon of Australia wins women’s 50m freestyle gold

TOKYO (Reuters) – Emma Mckeon of Australia won the gold medal in the women’s 50m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. Sarah Sjoestroem of Sweden won the silver and Pernille Blume of Denmark took the bronze.

Olympics-Tennis-Organisers seek to extend Games’ schedule to 11 days for Paris onwards

TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Tennis Federation (ITF) wants to extend the Olympics schedule for the sport to 11 days from nine to ensure adequate rest for players and to manage hot summer conditions for the Paris 2024 Games and beyond. Organisers moved the start of matches to later in the afternoon midway through the...

Olympics-Hockey-Australia to face Germany in semis, Argentina, Netherlands out

TOKYO (Reuters) -Australia reached the semi-finals of the men’s hockey tournament after beating the Netherlands in a dramatic penalty shootout in sizzling conditions at the Tokyo Olympics, joining Germany who booked a quarter-final victory over Argentina. A powerful performance by goalkeeper Andrew Charter, who kept a clean sheet in the shootouts – won 3-0 by...

Olympics-Tokyo heat roasts outdoor athletes amid heat-stroke risk

TOKYO (Reuters) -As competitors battled for the podium on the third day of Olympic athletics on Sunday, it was Tokyo’s stunning heat that perhaps dished out the most pain. Punishing conditions greeted athletes and officials as a trackside thermometer touched 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) and the humidity hovered around 60%, with sun beating down on...

Olympics-Swimming-‘Surreal!’ says Australia’s McKeon after picking up seventh medal in Tokyo

TOKYO (Reuters) – Australia’s Emma McKeon experienced pride and disbelief in equal measures after winning two more golds at the Tokyo Games on Sunday as she became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympics. The 27-year-old from Wollongong, New South Wales set an Olympic record to win the 50m freestyle...

Olympics-Athletics-Thompson-Herah’s run was “almost perfect”, says coach

(Reuters) – “Almost perfect” – that’s how Jamaican sprint coach Stephen Francis described Elaine Thompson-Herah’s performance as she retained her 100 metres title at the Tokyo Olympics in a scorching 10.61 seconds to become the second fastest woman ever. “Almost perfect, but we’ll work on it,” Francis said when he greeted Thompson-Herah in the halls...

Fiji’s athletes can be groomed to become Olympians – Lenoa

If there is one take-away from Fiji’s successful defence of its Olympics gold medal in sevens rugby – it’s the potential that athletes in Fiji can be trained and groomed to become Olympians. That’s the reflection of Fiji Association of National Olympic president (FASANOC), Makarita Lenoa after Fiji beat New Zealand 27-12 in the men’s...

Swimming Fiji more than proud of swimmers’ performance in Tokyo

Swimming Fiji president Ben Rova (pictured) said the association was more than proud of the performances by their swimmers at the Tokyo Olympics despite a heavily marred preparation season due to the pandemic. “They had overcome a lot and to put in such remarkable performances is all we could ask of them and we are...

Other Sports

Olympics-IOC awaiting report from Belarusian Olympic committee