Blitzboks produce the upset of the Olympics, ousting All Blacks in dramatic fashion

Blitzboks produce the upset of the Olympics, ousting All Blacks in dramatic fashion

The Springbok Sevens side produced the upset of the Olympic Games tournament as they gave their heart and soul for a 14-7 win over top seeded New Zealand on Thursday night to book their place in the semifinals. The difference in the side from 24 hours earlier, when the Kiwis beat them in a pool game 17-5 and dominated proceedings was not just chalk and cheese, it was […]

July 26, 2024 15

Sport

Denmark’s Rune pulls out of Olympic tennis with injury

Denmark's Holger Rune said Wednesday that a wrist injury has forced him to withdraw from the Olympic Games tennis tournament. The former world number four has struggled for form this season, failing to reach a final since the first week of the year and slipping to 16th in the rankings. "I am really sorry that I will be unable to play the Olympics," the 21-year-old said in […]

July 25, 2024 11

Sport

Chaos, crowd trouble as Morocco beat Argentina in men’s Olympic football opener

Chaos and confusion reigned on Wednesday as Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening game of the men's Olympic football tournament, but only after a late equaliser for the South American side was disallowed and the final minutes were played out in an empty stadium following crowd trouble. Argentina thought they had escaped from the Group B match in Saint-Etienne with a 2-2 draw when Cristian Medina scored […]

July 25, 2024 5

Sport

Canada football staff sent home over Olympic drone scandal

An assistant coach and an analyst with the Canadian women's football team were sent home from the Olympics Wednesday for their part in a spying scandal. The analyst, 43-year-old Joey Lombardi, was also given a suspended eight-month prison sentence for flying a drone over a New Zealand training session this week in Saint-Etienne. Lombardi pleaded guilty when he appeared in court in Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, the court told […]

July 25, 2024 6

Sport

Emerging talents primed for Paris but Olympic boxing on the ropes

Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather and Lennox Lewis are among the boxing greats who have cut their teeth at the Olympics, with a new generation of fighters eager to follow in their footsteps in Paris. But there are serious questions over whether the sport will even remain on the Olympic programme. Boxing made its debut at the modern Olympics in 1904 and has been contested at every Summer Games […]

July 25, 2024 7

Sport

Blitzboks need loads of luck to stay in Olympics after two losses

When it mattered, the Springbok Sevens simply weren’t good enough. That’s the verdict after day one at the Paris Olympics, where the Blitzboks crashed to a 17-5 defeat to add to their narrow 10-5 loss against Ireland, leaving them with an uphill climb, and needing plenty of luck to make the playoffs of the tournament. Because after those two losses the Blitzboks need to beat Japan in their final […]

July 25, 2024 6

Sport

Crouser set for his shot at Olympic history

Ryan Crouser likes making history, whether by breaking decades-old world records or Olympic landmarks, and the genial American can post a new first in Paris by becoming the only three-time Olympic shot put champion. The 31-year-old will enter the Games on the back of three injuries and finishing second to European champion Leonardo Fabbri in the final Diamond League meet, in London, before Paris but he can […]

July 24, 2024 18

Sport

Macron says France is ready to host Paris Olympics

President Emmanuel Macron said France was ready to host the Paris Olympics as he visited the Athletes' Village on Monday, four days before the Games begin. The Games return to the French capital for the first time since 1924, largely using temporary venues constructed in the centre of the city. "We are ready and we will be ready throughout the Games," Macron said. "We have been working on […]

July 23, 2024 24

Sport

Fast, not furious: Richardson eyes Olympic redemption

Three years after hitting rock bottom, Sha'Carri Richardson heads to the Olympics poised to conquer the pinnacle of her sport. The 24-year-old Texan arrives in Paris as the reigning world champion over 100m, and the fastest woman in the world this year with a brisk 10.71sec under her belt. Factor in the relative disarray of her main rivals, and it's easy to see why Richardson is a heavy […]

July 23, 2024 8