Rio Games

Expectant mom Vollmer hits the water in Mesa

Los Angeles - Arab Today

Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer, expecting her second child in July, was delighted to be racing, even though she didn't make it out of the heats of the 50m freestyle at the Mesa Pro Swim. "Time didn't matter, place didn't matter. I've loved being here," Vollmer told reporters after she clocked 27.59sec -- the 55th fastest time in the preliminaries.Read more

Police free Hackett after drunken rage sports

Sydney - ArabToday

Police released troubled Australian swimming star Grant Hackett without charge Wednesday as the Olympic gold medallist's family voiced fears for his mental health. The fallen star's father Neville called police to their home at Southport on the Gold Coast after a bout of heavy drinking led to "uncontrollable rage", the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. “Grant’s got a medical problem and itRead more

Bolt, Phelps cap era of excellence

Los Angeles - Arab Today

Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps towered over the 2016 Rio Games, capping an era of sustained excellence that promises to reverberate through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and beyond. From Beijing in 2008 through London 2012 and, finally, in Rio, Bolt and Phelps captivated both die-hard fans of their sports and casual spectators attracted like moths to the Olympic flame. MoreRead more

High-stakes summit eyes anti-doping overhaul

Lausanne - Arab Today

Top figures in world sport met Saturday in a bid to overhaul the global fight against doping, as the Olympic movement aims to recover from a damaging crisis triggered by Russian cheating. Relations between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the body it created to promote clean competition, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), hit historic lows ahead of this summer'sRead more

Isinbayeva confident of winning top Russian post

Moscow - Arab Today

Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, who retired last month after the blanket ban on Russian athletes from the Rio Games, said Thursday she expects to be elected head of the country's disgraced athletics body. "We have to act together. Together, we must defend our country, its honour and dignity, and then everything will be possible," the 34-year-old wasRead more

Isinbayeva confident of winning top Russian post

Moscow - Arab Today

Syrian refugee living in Greece to compete at Rio Paralympics

Athens - Arab Today

Syrian refugee Ibrahim al Hussein who is living, working and training in Greece will be one of the two refugees who will compete at the Rio Paralympics in September, forming the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, the Hellenic Paralympic Committee announced on Friday. "We are very happy that our proposal for the formation of such a team with refugees was acceptedRead more

Australia sets aside woes for Rio 'champions' welcome

Sydney - Arab Today

Australia set aside squabbles over under-performing athletes on Wednesday to welcome home the Rio Olympics team as heroes. Generous public funding for a return of just half the expected medal tally -- Australia's worst performance since Barcelona in 1992 -- have sparked recriminations. But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made light of such woes in leading the tributes at a packedRead more

Olympic flag arrives in Tokyo for 2020 Games

Tokyo - Arab Today

The Olympic flag arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan's capital gears up to host the 2020 Games, with officials promising smooth sailing after Rio's sometimes shaky 2016 instalment. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike carried the flag during a ceremony at Haneda airport after stepping off a plane from the Brazilian host city, accompanied by a delegation who picked up aRead more

Enduring images of the 2016 Rio Games

Rio de Janeiro - Arab Today

The enduring images of the 2016 Rio Games: - Sealed with a kiss - Swimming great Michael Phelps regained his cherished 200m butterfly Olympic crown, dominating a grudge match with Chad le Clos in which the 2012 champion from South Africa was relegated to fifth place. Phelps, 31, held off the challenge of young rivals Masato Sakai of Japan andRead more