Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | As sprint legend Usain Bolt partied into the early hours and hung out with movie stars at the Commonwealth Games, it wasn’t so much fun for the Jamaica track team he left behind. At their first major competition since Bolt retired after a decade …
Read More »‘Embracing everybody’ – Commonwealth boss signals Games rebranding
Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | Commonwealth Games Federation president Louise Martin urged all multi-sports tournaments to follow its lead and have equal medals for men and women as she insisted the competition still had a role in the modern era. Martin said a rebranding exercise is under way for …
Read More »Athletes from Uganda and Rwanda go missing at Commonwealth Games
13 African athletes, including Ugandans, go missing at Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | Five more African athletes may have vanished from the Commonwealth Games, organisers said Thursday, after eight competitors from Cameroon were suspected of fleeing a day earlier. Gold Coast organisers confirmed reports that athletes …
Read More »Cameroon athletes vanish from Commonwealth Games
Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | A total of eight athletes from conflict-hit Cameroon are now missing from the Commonwealth Games in Australia, team officials said Wednesday. Three weightlifters and two boxers were initially reported to Australian police after not being seen since Tuesday, triggering suspicion they had fled with no …
Read More »Samsung denies Olympics bid corruption allegations
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean tech giant Samsung on Tuesday denied allegations it illegally lobbied International Olympic Committee members to vote for Pyeongchang to host the 2018 Winter Olympics over the German and French cities of Munich and Annecy. Corruption allegations surrounding Pyeongchang’s successful Olympic bid have …
Read More »New-look Kenya look to turn page at Commonwealth Games
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya will try to remain the top track and field nation at the Commonwealth Games despite bringing a new-look team after many of their top performers opted out. The Kenyans, who are also recovering from a major doping scandal which prompted wide-ranging reforms, have come …
Read More »G’day! Rain, royalty, protests as Commonwealth Games open
Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | A heavy downpour, a giant floating whale and Aboriginal protests marked the start of the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday as Australia flagged off 11 days of competition in the resort city of Gold Coast. Britain’s Prince of Wales declared the Games open at …
Read More »World Cup hosts Russia ‘not a footballing nation’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Former Russia coach Leonid Slutsky has some blunt advice for the World Cup hosts: admit that you are not a “footballing nation” and move on. Slutsky’s stark assessment came in the wake of two humbling home defeats to Brazil and France last month. Pundits and …
Read More »Commonwealth organisers roll out red carpet – and condoms
Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | About 225,000 condoms, 17,000 toilet rolls and free ice cream: welcome to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games village, where athletes and officials will want for little. Ahead of Wednesday’s opening ceremony, thousands of competitors and support staff are pouring in to their temporary home …
Read More »Commonwealth Games to restore Australia’s reputation, say organisers
Gold Coast, Australia | AFP | Bullish hosts Australia said the Commonwealth Games will restore the country’s battered sporting reputation on Saturday after a cricket ball-tampering scandal which drew criticism from around the world. Sport-mad Australia’s image took a bruising after a plot to alter the ball was revealed in …
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