Banned governing body that’s fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history
VILLEPINTE, France (AP) — The allegations that Olympic boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting failed an eligibility test for women’s competition have been made by only the International Boxing Association. That’s also the only governing body that has ever been completely banished from the Olympics. The entire boxing world has already learned to expect almost anything from the Russian-dominated organization, whose untransparent tests have been seized upon by those criticizing the female boxers amid wider clashes about gender regulations and perceptions in sports. The IOC has decades of bad history with the beleaguered governing body, and it has exasperatedly begged non-boxing people to pay attention to the sole source of the allegations against Khelif and Lin.
Simone Biles and Leon Marchand headline memorable moments at the halfway point of the Paris Olympics
PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics at the halfway mark have brought the world “The Pommel Horse Guy,” a rugby star and social media sensation who wants to be on on reality show “Love Island” and “The Real John Wick” in the form of a 51-year-old Turkish shooter. These Olympics have been full of memorable moments since the dazzling opening ceremony: a gender controversy in boxing, the Seine River was too dirty for the triathlon swim to go on as scheduled and Leon Marchand led France with four golds in four swimming events. And of course, Simone Biles has dazzled while winning two gold medals with more still up for her taking.
Noah Lyles closes strong to advance in 1st round of the 100 in Paris as he pursues an Olympic double
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the 100 meters at the Olympics but still advanced and kept alive his hopes for the sprint double. The world champion got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was .06 behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter being trained by Carl Lewis. The second-place finish means Lyles won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals Sunday. If he advances there, the 27-year-old American will race for the gold medal later that evening.
Olympic cheers fill the air as fans return for a 10,000-meter masterpiece and more at the track
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda took the lead with a little more than a lap left in a masterpiece of a 10,000-meter race to finish in an Olympic-record 26 minutes, 43.14 seconds in front of a roaring crowd on an electric opening night at the track. The world-record holder raced in the middle of a strung-out pack for most of the 25 laps on the calm, cool evening at the Stade de France. Then he took off, and held the lead over the final 500 meters against a crowd of Ethiopians who set a blistering pace all night. Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi beat American Grant Fisher in a sprint to the line for silver. Fisher’s bronze medal marked the first for the U.S. in the longest race at the Olympic track since Galen Rupp took silver in 2012.
Simone Manuel flops in the 50 free, fails to advance out of the heats in Olympic swimming
NANTERRE, France (AP) — In another disappointment for the American swim team, Simone Manuel has been eliminated in the preliminaries of the 50-meter freestyle. Manuel posted the 18th-fastest time in the hectic sprint over one length of the pool, not good enough to make it to the evening semifinals. The first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming touched in 24.87 seconds, 0.15 out of the time she needed to crack the top 16 and a whopping 1.02 behind the fastest qualifier, Sarah Sjöström of Sweden. The United States comes into the next-to-last day of the competition with 21 medals but only four golds, falling short of expectations for the world’s dominant swim nation.
Denied a spot in Paris by Dutch Olympic committee, Dewi Weber leads Portland Classic after a 62
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Denied a spot in Paris because the Dutch Olympic committee didn’t think she was good enough to contend, Dewi Weber shot a 10-under 62 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Portland Classic. Weber qualified for the Olympics under International Golf Federation standards, but was left out because of the country’s separate standards for all sports to meet a realistic chance of a top-eight finish. Playing only her second LPGA Tour event of the year, Weber had nine birdies in an 11-hole stretch in her afternoon round at Columbia Edgewater, making seven birdies in a row on Nos. 5-11. She closed with a birdie on the par-4 18th for a two-shot lead over first-round leader Polly Mack and past champion Andrea Lee.