Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s been partying hard for five years, hosting a string of international mega-events that end this Sunday with the Paralympics. So is it time for the hangover? There was the 2014 football World Cup, the Confederations Cup, the Rio+20 United Nations environmental summit, …
Read More »Paralympians, poor Rio kids teach each other about overcoming limits
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | French Paralympians got a taste of Rio’s tough realities in a visit to a favela Friday but the impoverished children greeting the disabled athletes got an eye opener of their own. Foreign celebrities and sports stars often follow a well-beaten track from Rio’s …
Read More »Doping: WADA urges Russia to stop hacks of top athletes
Montreal, Canada | AFP | The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) called on Russia to help stop the hacking of its computer systems as medical records of 25 more athletes including three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome were revealed on Thursday. The Kremlin reacted immediately by saying it was ready …
Read More »Bahraini Jebet smashes 3000m steeplechase world record
Paris, France | AFP | Kenyan-born Olympic champion Ruth Jebet obliterated the 3000m steeplechase world record Saturday as Dafne Schippers got back to winning ways in the 200m at the Paris Diamond League. On a sultry Parisian evening, Jebet’s performance was the standout, the now-Bahraini having transferred allegiance to …
Read More »Kenya sports minister disbands Olympic committee
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s sports minister, under fire after a series of scandals and embarrassments at the Rio games, on Thursday announced the disbanding of the country’s Olympic committee. “I do hereby disband the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) with immediate effect,” Hassan Wario said at a …
Read More »VIDEO: Sports minister Bakkabulindi commends Uganda Rio Olympics team
VIDEO: Fresh from Brazil where Uganda ended without a medal at the just concluded Rio 2016 Olympics, the state Minister for education and sports Charles Bakkabulindi has lashed out at critics of the team. Speaking at the launch of the 2016 Africa Blackball pool championships that Uganda will host later this year, …
Read More »Olympics protest runner Lilesa fails to return to Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Olympic marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa failed to return to Ethiopia Monday night despite assurances he would not be punished for his Rio protest over political repression in his country. An AFP journalist at the airport in Addis Ababa said Lilesa was not onboard …
Read More »Olympics: ‘Good-time’ Indian officials under fire for Rio flop
New Delhi, India | AFP | As Olympic under-achievers India head home from Rio having failed to win a gold medal, its gate-crashing, selfie-taking officials have been accused of failing to help its athletes taste success. A string of below-par performances saw India win just two medals at the Games, …
Read More »Britain flexes sporting ‘superpower’ muscle
The British government and lottery fund has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on sporting success in the past two decades. And it has paid off. London, United Kingdom | AFP | Twenty years after a stinging Olympic failure, Britain has risen from the ashes to become a sporting “superpower” …
Read More »Olympics: Groundbreaking Games for women in Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | From the dizzying gymnastics heights of African-American Simone Biles to Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik and Brazilian golden girl Rafaela Silva in judo — Rio proved a groundbreaking Games for women. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps had already arrived in Rio as global superstars …
Read More »