Olympics may shine but plenty to lament in recession-hit Rio
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Across a busy street from the Maracanã stadium, host of two World Cup finals and next month the stage for the opening of the first-ever Olympics in South America, squats the massive concrete complex of the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
Flying Frenchman Alaphilippe on the rise
BERN (Reuters) – After a decade in the shadows, France has begun producing world-class riders again — and Julian Alaphilippe is one of the country’s brightest diamonds.
Sauber F1 team announces change of ownership
LONDON (Reuters) – The struggling Sauber Formula One team announced a long-awaited change of ownership on Wednesday, with founder Peter Sauber retiring and handing over control to the Swiss investment firm Longbow Finance.
Brazil probes Olympics threats after group backs Islamic State
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s intelligence agency said on Tuesday it was investigating all threats to next month’s Rio Olympics after a presumed Brazilian Islamist group pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) less than three weeks before the Games.
Visa to sponsor refugee athletes in Olympics
(Reuters) – Visa Inc, operator of the world’s largest payments network, said on Wednesday it had signed sponsorship deals with all ten members of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) refugee team, essentially becoming their first corporate spons…
Three Italians banned and fined for match-fixing
(Reuters) – Italian tennis player Marco Cecchinato has been banned for 18 months and fined 40,000 euros ($44,024) for match-fixing, the Italian tennis federation has announced.
Nadal confident ahead of Rio despite lack of match practice
(Reuters) – Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal is optimistic he will be ready for the Rio Olympics despite heading into next month’s Games having not played a competitive match since May 27 due to a left wrist injury.
Ten majors before I can be compared to Sweden’s Ibrahimovic: Stenson
(Reuters) – Sweden’s first male winner of a major golf championship, Henrik Stenson, joked that he needed to win another nine such titles before he could be considered as successful as Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Russia expects final IOC decision on Rio Games on July 24: TASS
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Olympic Committee head Alexander Zhukov said on Wednesday he expected the International Olympic Committee to make a final decision on Russia’s participation in the 2016 Rio Games on July 24, TASS news agency reported.
IOC ‘reluctant’ to ban Russian team from Olympics: Pound
(Reuters) – The IOC seems reluctant to ban the entire Russian team from next month’s Olympic Games, despite mounting concern over doping violations, the co-author of the report that led to Russia’s ban from track and field events said on Wednesday.
