2016-olympics Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Katie Ledecky Turned Bryce Harper Into A Medal Rack
Strong-as-hell swimming champion Katie Ledecky is from Washington D.C., and the Nationals invited her to come throw the first pitch tonight before their game against the Orioles. She arrived, as well she should, decked out in all five of her recently-acquired Olympic medals. Thankfully, Bryce Harper...

Team Great Britain Thought It Was Being Helpful By Providing The Luggage
I have few rules of airplane travel, but they are inviolable. Get to the airport ass-early, because having to wait around is worth the stress of worrying you won’t make it through security in time. Sit at the front of the plane so you can board later and get off faster. Only do carry-on if at all po...

The Calculus Of Enjoying Almaz Ayana's World Record
The Olympic 10,000 meters was eyeballs out, hands down the fastest, deepest women’s 25-lap race I have ever seen. But instead of cheers, before the race was even over, half of the commentariat lit up with shouts of “Dirty!”...

Why Don't They Just Make The Whole Airplane Out Of Olympic Venues?
By now everybody knows the modern Olympic Games system—whereby competing cities bid for the right to piss the GDP of Iceland into shabbily constructed venues that will host esoteric sports competitions for three weeks and then persist as rotting, uninhabited, politically radioactive civic boondoggle...

Neymar Flipped His Shit On A Heckling Fan Right After Winning Olympic Gold
Brazil has a complex, often combative relationship with its national soccer team. Winning their first Olympic gold medal, as they did on Saturday, to some extent cooled the beef, but obviously not entirely. So this video of an irate Neymar shouting at a fan on the pitch immediately following Brazil’...

NBC's Closing Ceremony Broadcast Edited Out More Than An Hour. Here's What You Missed.
As in years past, NBC went heavy on the razor blade in trimming down last night’s closing ceremony to a time that allowed for commercials and a Very Special Episode of The Voice. The festivities in Rio took two hours, 43 minutes to complete; NBC aired one hour, 40 minutes of them. That left 38% of t...

Marathon Silver Medalist Feyisa Lilesa Says "Maybe They Will Kill Me" If He Returns To Ethiopia After Olympic Protest
As he crossed the finish line to win the silver medal in the Olympic marathon, Feyisa Lilesa crossed his forearms above his head in an “X,” a gesture of protest that resonated back home in Ethiopia. Lilesa said it was a risk. “If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me,” he said after the race...

Jerry Colangelo Says USA Basketball Will Reign Until "Other Countries Get Their Acts Together"
For a team that won group play games by margins as slim as three, three, and six points, Team USA didn’t make this Olympic basketball tournament feel particularly dramatic. Polishing off Serbia 96-66 was the exclamation point on another dominant run through knockout play, and another gold medal, and...

Japanese Prime Minister Becomes Mario For Tokyo 2020 Segment
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe became Super Mario tonight in the traditional portion of the closing ceremony that previews the next Olympiad. Mario was joined by Pac-Man and famous anime figures, as well:...

Tongan Flag-Bearer Returns For Closing Ceremony
Remember Pita Taufatofua, the Tongan flag-bearer who captivated us at the opening ceremony weeks (feels like months) ago? He returned for tonight’s closing ceremony, fresh off losing his taekwondo bout by mercy rule. ...

Carmelo Anthony Gets Emotional After Winning Third Gold Medal
As expected, the U.S. men’s basketball team crushed Serbia to win its third straight gold medal today, and Carmelo Anthony—playing in this fourth Olympics—became the first man in history to win three basketball golds. His post-game interview with NBC’s Ros Gold-Onwude was an emotional one, bringing ...


Wrestling Bronze Medal Match Ends In Controversy; Mongolian Coaches Strip In Protest
Today’s 65kg freestyle wrestling bronze medal match between Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov and Mongolian Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran ended in controversy as Ganzorigiin was assessed a penalty for celebrating his victory early, costing him the victory. A subsequent penalty point came after the Mongolian...

Claressa Shields Defends Olympic Gold
Claressa Shields is the first-ever American to defend an Olympic gold medal in boxing after her middleweight unanimous decision over Dutch boxer Nouchka Fontijn. ...

Perhaps NBC Could Focus On The "Live" Part
NBC’s Olympics ratings are down 17%....

American Galen Rupp Earns Bronze In Only His Second-Ever Marathon
Before today’s running of the men’s marathon, U.S. runner Galen Rupp had only tackled 26.2 miles once—at the U.S. Olympic trials, which he won with a time of 2:11:12. He finished third today in Rio, at 2:10:05....

The Dangers Of Being A Bike-Riding Spectator
Have something you think we should know? Email us at [email protected], or contact our writers directly, or use our SecureDrop system. You can also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter!...

Bicycle-Riding Spectator Totally Psyched About Catching Eliud Kipchoge's Hat<em></em>
The men’s marathon traditionally closes each Olympiad, and here’s a spectator riding alongside the leaders who snatches an impressive memento: Eliud Kipchoge’s hat....

Ryan Lochte On Why He Lied To NBC About Being Robbed: "I Was Still Intoxicated"
Ryan Lochte appeared on Brazil’s Jornal Nacional news program tonight and attempted to explain his claims of having been “robbed,” stating that his description of the events to NBC on Sunday morning was provided under the influence of some incredible drunkenness....

Paul Chelimo Earns Silver In 5,000m, Learns He Was Disqualified On Live TV, Then Gets Reinstated
U.S. runner Paul Chelimo thought he was giving an interview in recognition of his earning the 5,000m silver medal behind Great Britain’s Mo Farah. Instead, he was informed on live television by NBC’s Lewis Johnson that he had been disqualified for “infringement of the inside border.”...