Other Sports

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Bolt not worried about failure at 2016 Olympics

Usain Bolt is not worried about tarnishing his career by failing to retain his 100 and 200 metres Olympic titles in Rio de Janeiro in three years' time.
"In life you don't always get what you want," the Jamaican told Reuters television after visiting FIFA president Sepp Blatter at the headquarters of football's world governing body.
"It wouldn't be the greatest moment, but I would understand because I've had my time, I've been dominant for a long time."
"So, if I get to Rio and it doesn't happen, I would have to understand because I'm getting older and there are greater athletes coming up," added Bolt who turned 27 a week ago.
"I know the athletes have to work harder to step their game up, and be the best. For me, I'll be happy for the sport because it would mean its stepping up and moving on."
Earlier, Bolt, who will compete in the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Thursday, was handed a ticket for the 2014 World Cup final by Blatter along with a furry toy depicting the tournament mascot, a grinning blue and yellow armadillo named Fuleco.
"To go to Rio and win again would be a feat in itself, because it would be the first time anybody has ever won three times in a row so that would also add to my greatness," he said.
"As an athlete you are always pushing the limit and for me I want to continue pushing the barrier," added Bolt, who won the 100 and 200 metres double at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and will be approaching his 30th birthday in Rio in 2016.
"At the end of the day I want to be remembered among the greatest athletes, Pele, (Diego) Maradona, Michael Johnson."
Bolt also commented on a suggestion that he could take up a sports administration role after retiring as an athlete, but said he might be "too lazy" for the role.
"I have thought about it, I have to admit I'm slightly lazy, but we'll see where it goes," he said.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Boston Marathon to accept 9,000 extra runners in 2014

Next year's Boston Marathon will include an additional 9,000 runners, amid a groundswell of support and interest in the wake of the bombing attack this year which killed three people and cut the event short, the marathon's organisers said Thursday.
Boosting the field size to 36,000 runners at the April 21, 2014, race would make for the second-largest turnout in its history, since 38,708 runners toed the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts at the race's 100th anniversary in 1996.
"We understand many marathoners and qualifiers want to run Boston in 2014, and we appreciate the support and patience that the running community has demonstrated because of the bombings that occurred this past spring," said Tom Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race.
The increase, a one-time break from the race's normal cap of 27,000 runners, will help to accommodate the 5,624 athletes who were still on the course this year, when a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs exploded amid thousands of spectators, volunteers and athletes at the finish line and brought the race to a halt.
The attacks prompted an intense investigation, with law enforcement officials combing both the scene and thousands of still and video images received of Boston's best-attended sporting event.
Three days after the April 15 attack, FBI officials released photos of two men they believed were responsible for the bombing in a plea for the public's help in identifying the suspected bombers. The pair, later identified as brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, tried to flee Boston that night, first killing a university police officer in a failed attempt to steal his gun and later engaging in a firefight with police in Watertown, Massachusetts that ended with older brother Tamerlan, 26, dead and younger brother Dzhokhar fleeing the scene.
Most of the Boston area was locked down for the following day while police searched for Dzhokhar, who was found hiding in a boat in a suburban back yard. Now 20 years old, the surviving brother is awaiting trial on charges, including the murder of four people and using a weapon of mass destruction.
Tsarnaev, a naturalized US citizen, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and may face execution if convicted.
Entry into the Boston Marathon is a prized goal for many US runners, who must meet strict age-graded qualifying times in other marathons to earn a spot at the starting line.
To accommodate an expected surge of interest, race organisers are introducing a staggered registration system, in which runners who have posted times at least 20 minutes faster than the normal qualifying time for their age group will be able to register on September 9, those who have beaten their minimum qualifying time by 10 minutes will enter on September 11, and those who have run marathons five minutes faster than their qualifying time can register on September 13.
After that, if spots remain, runners who have met their normal qualifying times will have an opportunity to register.
The stricter times could make for a faster-than-usual average field in the 2014 edition of one of America's most elite marathon events.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Ben Johnson heads campaign to 'clean up sport'

Who better to head a campaign to stop doping and clean up sport than former sprinter Ben Johnson? Indeed, Lance Armstrong has also been tipped to play a key role.
A quarter of a century after the most infamous race in athletics history, the Canadian is headlining a campaign to put an end to doping in sport, and an Australian entrepreneur by the name of Jaimie Fuller is behind the dream.
Johnson recorded a staggering time of 9.79 seconds in Seoul’s Olympic Stadium in what was branded as the ‘dirtiest race in history’ with six of the eight runners associated with doping.
But now, with that shadow still cast over the sport of athletics and beyond, Fuller has formed a partnership to join with Johnson, a man he reportedly says “personified doping” for the project #ChooseTheRightTrack.
In an interview with the Independent, Johnson said: "The world caved in on me… it cost me everything… I doped and I am sorry… pressure to be the best is all-consuming."
The plan is to take Johnson back to Seoul and on 24 September, the anniversary of the 100m final, for him to stand in lane six, the same lane, the same stadium, and unroll a petition calling for greater action in the war on drugs to "improve the waning credibility of world sport".
Fuller, as in cycling, where he has campaigned vigorously to end Pat McQuaid's tenure in charge of the sport, believes truth and reconciliation as one of the cornerstones of a new sporting world.
He also believes that Armstrong will one day – once the American's legal battle with the United States government is resolved –play a part in the clean-up process.
"I spent three days with him a few weeks ago," Fuller said. "He'd love to [get involved]. He's the one person in the sport of cycling that can contribute the most.
"One of the challenges we face is that you are talking about athletes that move through the system after they retire and they go into administration and management roles and these guys too have participated in doping practices.
“Quite often these are the guys standing holding the flaming torch and the pitchfork screaming, 'Hang him, hang him, ban him for life'. And it's that hypocrisy that needs to be dealt with.
"Use the combination of carrot and stick; the carrot is the incentive of no retribution, no punishment; and the stick is if you don't take advantage of this and we discover either through testimony of others or through some new technology [that you've doped] then you are going to be hung, drawn and quartered."
He added: "I'm not looking for fame or media attention. I'm just trying to help the situation. I'm trying to help myself and clear my name once and for all and say, 'This is the problem, I'm not the problem, I'm a small solution of the system that I was involved in'."
Johnson is the headline act for Fuller's campaign, a campaign that hopes to eradicate doping in sport once and for all.
"Most athletes want to win. It's a temptation,” Johnson said. “Once you go across that bridge there's no turning back.
“You want to win a gold medal? Be fastest in the world? You keep asking yourself these questions. This is the price you have to pay, but this is what you can get in the end, on the other side.
"As a young kid, it's a path I took. It's the way my life is. I chose that path and that's the way it is. Yes, I do have some regrets. What I did was wrong. I'm trying to change that."

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Bolt wins 100m in Zurich Diamond League

Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt outsprinted fellow Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade and American Justin Gatlin to win the 100 metres at the Zurich Diamond League meeting.
Bolt, running into a slight headwind, made his customary sluggish start before accelerating away from the field to win in 9.90 seconds.
Ashmeade was second in 9.94 with former Olympic and world champion Gatlin two hundredths of a second further back. Gatlin finished second behind Bolt at this month's Moscow world championships.
"I am tired," Bolt told the BBC. "But the good thing is that everybody else is tired. But I'm happy, I've come out victorious and I'm continuing winning."
Another Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who became the first woman to sweep the world 100, 200 and 4x100 sprint titles in Moscow, won the 200 metres in 22.40 seconds.
Fifteen Diamond Race trophies were awarded along with the $40,000 first prize accompanying them before a capacity crowd of 26,000. The second of this year's Diamond League finals will be held in Brussels September 6.
American world champion LaShawn Merritt defeated Grenada's 2011 world gold medallist Kirani James in the men's 400 metres to add $40,000 to his bank balance.
Meseret Defar won the battle of the Ethiopians in the women's 5,000 metres, beating compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba to the finish in 14 minutes 32.83 seconds.
Dibaba took the 10,000 gold medal in Moscow, but opted out of the 5,000 which Defar won with ease.
On Thursday, Dibaba took the lead with 600 metres to run only to see Defar ease past her on the final bend.
Ukrainian world high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko, who has been edging closer this season to Javier Sotomayor's world record of 2.45 metres, failed with an attempt on the Cuban's mark after winning the event on a countback with 2.33. It was his 11th attempt in the past two months to break the record which has stood since 1993.
New Zealand's world and Olympic champion Valerie Adams won the women's shot put which was staged in the city's main railway station on Wednesday.
Adams set a meeting record and a year's personal best of 20.98 metres.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Proctor shows her class to win Diamond League race in Zurich

Shara Proctor ended her season on a high by winning the Diamond League title in Zurich, beating all three World Championship medallists from Moscow earlier this month in the process.
Proctor, who finished sixth in Russia, produced a best leap just seven centimetres shy of her personal best, 6.88m, to win in Switzerland and claim the overall Diamond League prize.
The 24-year-old was a clear winner over world silver medallist Blessing Okagbare as she leapt 6.76m for second while bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic was third with 6.73m.
And Brittney Reese, who won a third successive world title in Moscow and also took gold at the London 2012 Olympics, was all the way down in seventh with a best effort of 6.37m.
With no long jump scheduled for the Diamond League finale in Brussels next week, Proctor finished top of the pile with 17 points, three ahead of Okagbare in second.
And Proctor posted on Twitter afterwards: "Season done on a good note. Time to live a normal life for a couple weeks. Thanks guys for your amazing support all."
Elsewhere in Zurich, Adam Gemili narrowly missed out on becoming the first Briton in history to run under 10 seconds for the 100m and under 20 for the 200m.
Gemili, who clocked 19.98seconds in the 200m semi-finals at the worlds, lined up in the 100m in Switzerland but could only manage 10.06, which placed him eighth.
That was still a season’s best in a race won by multiple Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt in 9.90 but there was to be no knocking Gemili's spirit about his performance or fine season to date.
"A season's best and nearly a personal best so I'm happy. It feels great and a learning experience," said Gemili.
"I fell out of the blocks and lost about a tenth of a second or so. I tried to drive out of the blocks but stumbled and had to pick myself up.
"My drive phase was limited and in a field like this you can't do it. It is a great learning experience and I'm happy.
"It is great to come into a race like this and I now know that, if I can execute, I can do well and I will take that forward into the future."
World sprint relay bronze medallist Ashleigh Nelson and Bianca Williams both ran personal bests of 11.33 and 11.36 respectively in the pre-programme 100m in Zurich.
Nelson returned for the final event of the evening, the women's 4x100m relay, where she joined forces with world bronze medallists Dina Asher-Smith, Annabelle Lewis and Hayley Jones and finished sixth.
William Sharman, who reached the 110m hurdles final in Moscow, placed eighth, as did Nigel Levine in the 400m while Olympic bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz was ninth in the high jump.
Elsewhere Chris Tomlinson was fourth in the long jump, Michael Rimmer and Andrew Osagie sixth and seventh respectively in the 800m, Steph Twell 13th in the 5,000m and Meghan Beesley seventh in the 400m hurdles.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Ben Johnson to return to Seoul in anti-doping role

Disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson will return to Seoul later this month in an anti-doping ambassadorial role, exactly 25 years after his infamous 100m Olympic run in the South Korean capital.
Johnson won gold in a world record time of 9.79 seconds but was stripped of his victory three days later after steroids were detected in his system, in what remains one of sport's most high-profile doping cases.
Now on a world tour to promote "Choose the Right Track" campaign, a brainchild of the Australian-owned sports company Skins, Johnson will return to the same Seoul Olympic Stadium on Sept. 24 on the 25th anniversary of what he called "my greatest and also my worst moment in history".
"I'm still living with the bad choices I made," the 51-year-old wrote in an open letter on the campaign website.
"I was a drugs cheat and I only have myself to blame. I put chemicals inside my body without fully appreciating what it might do.
"It ruined my career. It ruined my reputation. It ruined my life. It also may have caused me some physical harm.
"Fast forward 25 years and athletes are still testing positive week after week - still making the same mistakes I made. Athletes' perceptions need to change. The system needs to change," he said.
Johnson backed punishment for dope cheats but also sought better education and support for the athletes.
"25 years is long enough," he added.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Johnson-Thompson yet to discover what athlete she is

Katarina Johnson-Thompson insists while comparisons between herself and Jessica Ennis-Hill continue to be drawn she is yet to discover if her already promising progression will follow such a successful path.
The 20-year-old heptathlete ended a fantastic season with a fifth-place finish at the World Championships, following on from European under-23 gold in July, producing a huge personal best of 6449 points in the process, only 20 short of Ennis-Hill's British under-23 record.
By recording personal bests in no less than four of her seven events in Moscow, Johnson-Thompson proved she will certainly be another British name to watch out for at the senior world level and is certainly one for the bigger stages.
And, with next summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow her next major target, Johnson-Thompson believes exceeding her expectations in Russia has given her the belief a podium finish is a real possibility.
"I think Jess is a different athlete than me. She was one of the athletes who added 1,000 points onto her junior score and I think certain athletes can progress quicker," said Johnson-Thompson, who is a Home Nation ambassador for SSE, an official partner of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
"Athletes like Jess can just add points year on year and I don't know what athlete I am at the moment but hopefully I can progress each year and do well in Rio 2016 but 2020 is realistic for me.
"I haven't really had time to digest the World Championships but I just know that I came higher than what I expected. I wanted to be in the top eight but then there's also a bit of disappointment because I knew I was so close to a medal.
"I think that I stepped up a lot in Moscow, I came fifth and it was my aim to come in the top eight, so I think now I can start looking at medals at the Commonwealth Games especially.
"It's still a year away but as soon as the major championships of this year finish you start to look on to the next.
"I say this most years but the throwing events are my weakest and that's where I am losing points on all the other athletes so I want to improve on that and just get more consistent."

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Bolt planning to retire after Rio 2016

Usain Bolt is planning to retire from athletics after the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist told the Associated Press: “I think it will be a good time to retire, on top and just been dominating for so long.”
Bolt now has his sights set on winning gold in Rio and breaking his 200m world record of 19.19 seconds, conceding that his 100m mark of 9.58 seconds would probably prove too tough to beat.
“If I want to be among the greats of (Muhammad) Ali and Pele and all these guys I have to continue dominating until I retire,” said Bolt.
The Jamaican won three golds at the world championships in Moscow last month and will complete his season at the Brussels Diamond League on Friday in the 100m.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - IOC to consider action over Isinbayeva gay comments

The International Olympic Committee will consider taking action against pole vault world champion Yelena Isinbayeva, a Youth Olympics ambassador, after her comments in favour of Russia's new gay law triggered a major controversy last month.
The Russian, who won the world title in Moscow in August, caused a major stir with her comments about homosexuality.
"We will consider this in due time," IOC president Jacques Rogge told reporters when asked whether the Russian athlete was an appropriate ambassador for the Youth Games given her recent comments.
Isinbayeva, a double Olympic champion, had been critical of foreign athletes' reaction to Russia's gay law.
"We consider ourselves, like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys ... it comes from the history," she had said at the time. "I hope the problem won't ruin our Olympic Games in Sochi."
Isinbayeva is also the ceremonial mayor of the Olympic village at the Sochi 2014 winter Games and will be a torchbearer in the relay at the event.
Rogge did not elaborate on what kind of action and when it may be taken against the Russian but ruled out pressing the government further on the matter. Rogge is due to step down on September 10.
"We have received oral and written assurances (from the Russian government)," he said. "We are staging the Games in a sovereign state and the IOC cannot be expected to have an influence in the affairs of a sovereign state.
Critics say the law is one of a string of repressive measures introduced by President Vladimir Putin in the first year of his third presidential term that clamp down on dissent, violate gay rights and restrain non-governmental organisations.
This is not the first time Rogge, who is stepping down after 12 years in charge with a successor to be elected next week, has had to deal with controversial laws in a country where the Games are being staged.
The IOC was under constant fire in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Games over the country's human rights record and its restrictions on the use of the internet, among other things.
"We have clearly expressed our views on situations in countries but we are restricted in our powers and actions as guests," he said in his last solo press conference in charge of the IOC.
Asked whether he had enjoyed his years at head of the world's biggest multi-sports organisation, Rogge said: "Have I enjoyed it? Not always. Was it exciting? Definitely."

 

[Smallville22]

Olympic Games - 2020 Games: Host city Tokyo or Istanbul, Madrid eliminated

Madrid was eliminated in the first round of voting to decide the host of the 2020 summer Olympic Games, leaving Tokyo and Istanbul to battle it out in a final round of voting.
The winner is due to be announced at 1700 local time in Argentina (21:00 British time), when IOC President Jacques Rogge will open a sealed envelope following a second round of secret voting.
Madrid had been many commentators' favourites to win the right to stage the Games with a bid focused on being ready, dependable, safe and relatively cheap.
With 80 percent of the necessary investment already made, they had appeared to be an easy option for the IOC, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy telling IOC members earlier on Saturday "numbers don't lie".
But the safe option was clearly not enough for the IOC who put Tokyo ahead after the first vote. Madrid and Istanbul tied in second place and then competed in a head-to-head vote to determine who would go through to the second round.
In a slightly confusing series of announcements, some supporters of the Istanbul bid initially thought they had been awarded the Games before Rogge clarified that they had merely progressed to the second round.

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Years of sprinting starting to take toll, says Bolt

The main aim next season for world and Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt is to stay injury free as years of dominating the 100 and 200 metres have begun to take their toll on the tall Jamaican's body.
"I remember going to my doctor and he told me I had to pay close attention to my back. I know I have to be more focused on staying in shape," the 27-year old told a news conference in Brussels after the last Diamond League meeting of the year.
"The older you get the harder it is to come back from injury. I gotta stay injury-free during the season that's the main factor," added Bolt who was dogged by a hamstring problem earlier this year.
The world record holder once again defeated his rivals over 100 metres on Friday but performed fewer of his trademark theatrics and, after overcoming a slow start to win in 9.80 seconds, conceded he was getting tired.
"I've been smiling ever since I came to the stadium because I knew it was the last one of the season. I'm just happy to be done and looking forward to going home," said Bolt, who will take a few weeks holiday before beginning his training again in mid October.
With no Olympics or world championships being held next year, Bolt has yet to make up his mind whether to participate at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
As a hard season, during which he won gold in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay at the world championships in Moscow last month, came to a close, Bolt said he still loved being the centre of attention and the showman of athletics.
"I never get tired of this. This is what I do, I'm not trying to be someone I'm not. It's something I love to do. The crowd makes it easy," he said.
"It's all about the crowds. I love meetings that have great crowds. I give them energy, they give me back energy. It's all about putting on a great performance for them."

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - Bolt shows supremacy in Brussels season finale

World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt powered away late in the race to win the 100 metres in 9.8 seconds at the season-closing Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Bolt, who won 100, 200 and 4x100 relay golds at last month's world championships was one of several Moscow medallists in action.
After a poor start, the Jamaican's acceleration over the second half of the race was again the difference in a 100 metres featuring six of the finalists from the world championships.
American Michael Rodgers was second in his season's best of 9.90 and Jamaica's world bronze medallist Nesta Carter was third. Justin Gatlin, second to Bolt in Moscow, finished fourth.
World finalist James Dasaolu clocked 10.15 to come eighth, while British pair Chris Clarke and James Ellington were seventh and eighth respectively over 200m.
"It wasn't a perfect season, wasn't the best season of my career," Bolt, who struggled with a hamstring injury earlier in the year told the BBC.
"But the main thing is, I finished on top and dominated.
"It wasn't a perfect start. If I'd got a better start it would've been 9.7," added Bolt.
His compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has been the dominant women's sprinter this year and the world and Olympic champion set a meeting record of 10.72 as clear winner of her 100 event.
"I don't think about times, I just focus on execution. I know once I've executed what I can do, I know that I'll set a good time," Fraser-Pryce told reporters.
Jamaican Warren Weir, silver medallist to Bolt in the 200 in Moscow, edged compatriot Nickel Ashmeade over the longer sprint for victory in 19.87 seconds.
Trinidad and Tobago's Jehue Gordon, surprise winner of the 400 metres hurdles world title, took victory in 48.32 seconds and Kenya's Milcah Chemos set a meeting record of 9:15.06 in the women's 3,000 steeplechase.
Kenyan Nelly Jepkosgei clocked a world leading time of 2:35.43 in the rarely run 1,000 metres, in the same stadium Russian Svetlana Masterkova set the world record of 2:28.98 in 1996.
Ohuruogu came home fifth in the 400m as American Natasha Hastings took the line ahead of world silver medallist Amantle Montsho.
"I thought it would be quite nice to keep the momentum going and I knew I had some good runs still in me," said Ohuruogu, after clocking 50.95 seconds.
"But it's mentally tough and a bit harder to get back up after what has happened. But I did want to come out and run fast, but I wasn't quite sharp enough."
However, Martyn Rooney silenced the home crowd by claiming the scalp of Belgian favourite Jonathan Borlee in the men's 400m, clocking a season's best 45.05 secs.
"I'm really happy to win here. I've been ill for a week-and-a-half but to finish with a season's best, I'm happy with that," he said.
"It's a bit late in the season but gives me something to build on for next year."

 

[Smallville22]

Rugby Championship - Ruthless South African thrash Australia in Brisbane

A ruthless South Africa overcame their Suncorp Stadium hoodoo to thump Australia 38-12 in their Rugby Championship clash.
South Africa's first win at the Brisbane venue was carried out in style, scoring four tries to nil to ensure Ewen McKenzie's miserable start to his Wallabies coaching career continued.
Coenie Oosthuizen, Jean de Villiers, Zane Kirchner and Willie Le Roux all scored tries for the Springboks, with Morne Steyn putting in a typically assured kicking performance to maximise the damage.
The Wallabies remain winless in the championship following two earlier losses to New Zealand, while the Springboks are riding high after three straight victories.
South Africa reaped rewards from their very first foray into attacking territory as Oosthuizen barged over the line following a scrum.
Video replays gave the on-field referee no reason to believe the giant forward had failed to plant the ball and he was awarded the first try of the match.
Willem Alberts inexplicably booted the ball down field after a penalty was blown for the Wallabies to earn himself a spell in the sin bin, then Christian Lealiifano slotted the kick to make it 7-3 after nine minutes.
Steyn slotted a penalty from 45 metres to restore the South Africans' lead to seven points.
Lealiifano and Steyn swapped penalties as the match see-sawed, with neither side sharp enough in possession to take control for sustained periods.
Israel Folau was penalised right in front of his own sticks for not releasing the ball, gifting the Springboks another three points from the boot of Steyn.
The visitors took a deserved 16-6 lead into the break over a Wallabies side who showed plenty of attacking intent but lacked the composure to turn it into points.
A bright start to the second half saw Australia attacking the Springboks' line, and they soon won a penalty which Lealiifano converted to cut the margin to seven points once more.
Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper was controversially sin-binned 10 minutes into the second half for driving Bryan Habana into the turf with a late tackle.
Springboks captain de Villiers touched down for a try following a flowing passing movement and a clever chip over the top from Habana to put the visitors well in control with 20 minutes remaining.
Another sharp South African attacking move down the right resulted in a try to Kirchner, who received an inside ball from Le Roux.
The winger then galloped down the right passage to score a five-pointer of his own moments later and put the result beyond any doubt.

 

[Smallville22]

Olympic Games - Tokyo awarded 2020 Games

Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games after beating Istanbul in the final round of voting - becoming the first Asian city to host the event twice.
The Japanese capital, considered the frontrunner, was chosen ahead of Istanbul at the International Olympic Committee's meeting in Buenos Aires.
As outgoing IOC President Jacques Rogge announced the result, the normally reserved Japanese delegation - headed by Princess Takamado - who was particularly impressive during their presentation to members - temporarily lost their cool.
Tokyo staged the Summer Olympics in 1964 while Japan were also hosts of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
They were bidding for the fourth time having been unsuccessful in their candidature for the 1960 and 2016 Games.
Despite being seen as warm favourites in the race, recent history confirms such status invariably means disappointment.
However, despite concerns over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo's message of delivering a 'safe and stable' Olympics clearly resonated with the 103-strong IOC membership.
Tokyo's presentation was passionate and emotional, unlike their much criticised attempt four years ago in Copenhagen, and the countries obvious enthusiasm for Olympic sport also won over IOC members Madrid, bidding for the third straight time, were eliminated in the first round of voting, but only after a dramatic revote.
They polled exactly the same number of votes as Istanbul but, following a secondary ballot, which went 49-45 against them, the Turkish city progressed, ultimately unsuccessfully, to the final two.
It was the fifth time Istanbul had applied to host the event - having previously lost out in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

Official Voting Results

Tokyo - 60

Istanbul - 36

 

[Chopper3000]

Even the IOC know that the Olympics cannot go to a bunch of syphilitic Turks. I'm amazed quite frankly by their understanding of the situation.

 

[Smallville22]

GP2 - Leimer beats Bird to take series lead

Fabio Leimer took the GP2 series points lead by fending off charging poleman Sam Bird to win a thrilling Monza feature race.
Russian Time driver Bird lost his advantage off the startline as fellow front-row man Leimer (Racing Engineering) leapt into the lead using the medium-compound tyre, which gave him a better launch than Bird's hard rubber.
They ran divergent strategies as a result, with Leimer pitting from the lead on lap 12, despite suffering from a vibration at the rear of his car in the opening stint, switching onto four new hard tyres.
On the harder tyres, Bird stayed out until lap 20 to switch to four fresh mediums. However, his right-rear wheel proved tricky to attach and he was slow to rejoin, and his 36.6-second lead over Leimer was turned into a 4.1s deficit.
"What happened in the pitstop guys?" asked Bird rhetorically on the radio later. "That was a shame."
Despite cutting Leimer's lead to half a second with three laps remaining, Bird's softer tyres then seemed to wilt in the closing laps, and he could not get close enough to make a move. He finished 0.8s behind at the finish.
Bird also reported he had "too much understeer in the first and second Lesmos. He was just unstoppable compared to us. It was a fun race though."
Leimer now leads the championship with 153 points, eight ahead of Bird, while former points leader Stefano Coletti is now 18 points adrift.
"I want to focus race by race, and then we'll see what happens at the end of the season," said Leimer.
Coletti was running fifth when he received a drivethrough penalty for speeding in the pits, and would later retire with a handful of laps remaining.
Bird's team-mate Tom Dillmann finished third, over 5s in arrears, ahead of Stephane Richelmi and Julian Leal, who all ran long first stints.
James Calado suffered a terrible start but salvaged sixth position, chased home by fellow Brit Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
Caterham duo Alexander Rossi and Sergio Canamasas, along with Vittorio Ghirelli, rounded out the point scorers.
It was a disastrous race for Carlin. Jolyon Palmer was in the mix for the podium until his left-rear wheel fell off at Lesmo 1 after his pitstop, while title-contending team-mate Felipe Nasr suffered a hydraulic leak that forced him out of a points-paying position.

Results - 30 laps:

Pos Driver Team Time/Gap

1. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 47m48.311s

2. Sam Bird Russian Time +0.806s

3. Tom Dillmann Russian Time +6.137s

4. Stephane Richelmi DAMS +9.902s

5. Julian Leal Racing Engineering +15.400s

6. James Calado ART +18.748s

7. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Hilmer +24.007s

8. Alexander Rossi Caterham +30.276s

9. Sergio Canamasas Caterham +40.272s

10. Vittorio Ghirelli Lazarus +44.906s

11. Daniel de Jong MP +46.540s

12. Johnny Cecotto Jr Arden +47.382s

13. Jon Lancaster Hilmer +47.635s

14. Rio Haryanto Addax +48.003s

15. Sergio Campana Trident +50.194s

16. Rene Binder Lazarus +1m02.186s

17. Daniel Abt ART +1 lap

18. Dani Clos MP +1 lap

 

[Smallville22]

GP2 - Quaife-Hobbs grabs maiden GP2 win

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs scored his first GP2 Series victory in the Monza sprint race on Sunday morning, leading from start to finish after poleman Alexander Rossi made a poor getaway.
Hilmer driver Quaife-Hobbs took full advantage from the start as Rossi stuttered away and third-placed starter James Calado (ART) failed to get off the line at all.
Julian Leal leapt into second for Racing Engineering ahead of Russian Time's Sam Bird, but both were hit by Stephane Richelmi at the first corner and lucky to escape damage.
As Richelmi pitted for a new front wing, and DAMS team-mate Marcus Ericsson also suffered a puncture, Quaife-Hobbs extended a 1s lead by lap four.
The track was then hit by a brief rain shower on lap nine, which caused both Leal and Bird to overshoot the Rettifilo chicane.
Rossi, who had recovered in fourth after his poor start, got a great run through Curva Grande and passed both of them with a brave lunge at Roggia.
The gap between the leaders fluctuated as the rain continued to fall sporadically, but Quaife-Hobbs held on, despite flirting with the gravel at the final corner, to win by 1.8s from Rossi.
Leal kept Bird at bay for third, with Bird's team-mate Tom Dillmann in fifth. Crucially, championship leader Fabio Leimer grabbed the two points for fastest lap on his way to sixth, which halved the points that Bird should have gained by finishing two places ahead of him, so the difference between them is now six points.
Rio Haryanto just missed out on fastest lap by 0.05s in seventh, having also saved his tyres until the end, with Johnny Cecotto Jr just grabbing the final point from Dani Clos.
Erstwhile series frontrunners Stefano Coletti and Felipe Nasr fought out a brilliant duel for 12th after their disasters yesterday, but again recorded zero points and have it all to do to overhaul Leimer and Bird.

 

[Smallville22]

WTCC - Chilton and Tarquini win in California

The two WTCC races at the Sonoma Raceway produced a pair of winners for whom the victories meant far more than the chance to spray the champagne and savour their moment in the winner’s circle.
In Race 1, Tom Chilton, driving one of the RML Chevrolet Cruze cars, qualified on pole position for the first time in his WTCC career and then converted that pole position into his maiden WTCC victory, beating a determined Tiago Monteiro who put in his best performance in the season so far.
Then, in Race 2, Gabriele Tarquini made a return to the winner’s circle, nearly five months after his first victory at the wheel of the Honda Civic. His success earned Honda the Manufacturers’ title with three race meetings remaining.
Three other drivers shone during the California weekend: Alex MacDowall and Mehdi Bennani shared victories in the Yokohama Trophy and also claimed brilliant overall results: fourth in Race 1 for the Briton and second in Race 2 for the Moroccan.
Norbert Michelisz claimed another podium result, the fifth for him so far this year and managed to keep a fighting Yvan Muller at bay for much of the race.
Muller moved another step forward towards his fourth WTCC Drivers’ Championship and only Tarquini’s victory denied him the mathematical certainty of the title.
However the current margin of 143 points over the Italian means that is a long way from being threatened. Michel Nykyær also remains in contention, though only theoretically, as he lies 163 points behind Muller with 165 still to be awarded.
The fight for the Yokohama Trophy is closer than ever, with Nykyær and James Nash on equal points and MacDowall only 29 points behind the pair.
The championship will resume in two weeks for rounds 19 and 20 at Suzuka, Japan on September 22.

 

[Smallville22]

WTCC - WTCC debutants Honda win Manufacturers’ Championship

Gabriele Tarquini’s victory in the second race at Sonoma meant that Honda mathematically grabbed the WTCC Manufacturers’ Championship on their first full season in the series.
Tarquini made a return to the winner’s circle nearly five months after his first victory at the wheel of the Honda Civic, meaning his team wrapped up the title with three race meets left.
"The Manufacturers’ title is a great reward for everyone who has worked so hard on this programme, whether at the tracks or in Japan, Italy and Hungary," William de Braekeleer, Motorsport Manager Honda Motor Europe, said.
"We are really happy in this first year we could get already two victories, two pole positions and 12 other podium results.
"This title is a nice present to be offered to Honda when we visit Japan in two weeks."

 

[Smallville22]

Athletics - World champion Ohuruogu struggles in Diamond League

World champion Christine Ohuruogu admitted the mental hangover of her success in Moscow impacted on her performance at the Diamond League in Brussels.
Ohuruogu came home fifth in the 400m as American Natasha Hastings took the line ahead of world silver medallist Amantle Montsho.
"I thought it would be quite nice to keep the momentum going and I knew I had some good runs still in me," said Ohuruogu, after clocking 50.95 seconds.
"But it's mentally tough and a bit harder to get back up after what has happened. But I did want to come out and run fast, but I wasn't quite sharp enough."
However, Martyn Rooney silenced the home crowd by claiming the scalp of Belgian favourite Jonathan Borlee in the men's 400m, clocking a season's best 45.05 secs.
"I'm really happy to win here. I've been ill for a week-and-a-half but to finish with a season's best, I'm happy with that," he said.
"It's a bit late in the season but gives me something to build on for next year."
World finalist James Dasaolu clocked 10.15 secs to come eighth in a 100m won by Usain Bolt in 9.80 secs, while British pair Chris Clarke and James Ellington were seventh and eighth respectively over 200m.
"For me it was about executing the start and I didn't do that as well as I would've liked to," said Dasaolu.
"I gave it my best, but maybe I was a bit distracted. When you look at my goals for the season I wanted to run sub-10 seconds, which I have done twice and I made the final in Russia."
Kenyan world champion Milcah Chemos won the women's 3,000m steeplechase as Eilish McColgan clocked her third fastest time ever, 9:15.06, to come eighth while Rhys Williams also finished eighth in the 400m hurdles and Andrew Osagie took the same position in the 800m, won in a world leading time by Mohammed Aman.
"I raced on Tuesday and ran a bit quicker. It has been a long season and everyone has tired legs," said Williams, after clocking 50.13 secs.
"I set myself high standards, I will have a few weeks off and then keep pushing on, determination is not an issue."
Elsewhere, world bronze medallist Tiffany Porter came fourth in the 100m hurdles while Hannah England avoided a mass pile-up in the 1500m to cross the line fifth - and admitted she could have done better.
"I felt really good with 500 metres to go but I had to jump over a lot of girls," she said. "I had to take a few steps on the inside so I didn't know if I was going to get disqualified.
"Some of the girls were trying to get out at the pack and I have no idea how I didn't fall over.
"I took a few steps on the inside, but I had no choice. It was either that or go down and it's a shame that's the last track of the season."