Women’s 4x100m: USA Granted Re-run after Obstruction

USA’s women’s 4x100m relay team has been granted a re-run at the Olympic Stadium here in Rio after being obstructed in the earlier race this morning.

The solo re-run will take place at 11:00pm Nigerian time (7.00pm here in Brazil), with the composition and running order of the team to remain the same. USA will have the opportunity to qualify by time, with 42.7 seconds the time to beat.

According to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) statement, the USA team will be given the opportunity to run once again following the disqualification of Brazil for obstruction.

Television pictures appeared to a show a collision between Brazil and the USA moments before the second exchange.
Allyson Felix and her teammate, English Gardener lost hold of the baton and stood in amazement before Gardener picked it up and USA finished out of the qualification places.

“I think I got propelled at about 20 miles an hour,” Felix said afterwards. “It’s going to mess up the momentum and the handover.”

Olympics: Brazil dump Honduras to reach football final

Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympics history, as Brazil coasted into Saturday’s gold medal football match with a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras at Rio’s iconic Maracana.

A rematch with the Germans is in store should the world champions see off 1996 winners Nigeria in Wednesday’s other semi-final, later in Sao Paulo.

Neymar had been much criticised for his lacklustre displays in two 0-0 draws to start the tournament, but his transformation back from the nation’s whipping boy to golden boy was capped by his determination to open the scoring after just 15 seconds.

The Barcelona star hounded defender Johnny Palacios to rob possession on the edge of the Honduras box and goalkeeper Luis Lopez’s attempt to atone for his teammate’s error only ricocheted the ball off Neymar’s midriff and into an empty goal.

For a moment, Neymar’s bravery looked like it may have come at a cost as he had to be stretchered off after being winded in the challenge.

However, there was no repeat of his tears of anguish when carried off with two broken vertebrae in his back that ended his World Cup participation in a brutal quarter-final against Colombia two years ago.

The 24-year-old was soon back terrorising the Honduras defence as he teed up Luan for an effort Lopez managed to repel, before Bryan Acosta and Allans Vargas were booked for taking their uncompromising attempts to stop Neymar too far.

However, it was Manchester City’s new £27m ($36m, 31 million euros) wonder kid Gabriel Jesus who piled on the pain for Honduras with two more goals before the break.

Luan’s lovely through ball was prodded past the helpless Lopez by Jesus for his second goal of the tournament on 26 minutes.

Nine minutes later, Neymar turned provider with a precise pass down the left that Jesus burst onto before crashing the ball into the roof of the net.

Neymar was even whipping the near capacity 78,000 crowd into a frenzy as he uncharacteristically crashed into tackles, with Brazil relieved from the burden of expectation that appeared to weigh heavy on the young squad early in the competition.

Luan missed a huge chance at the start of the second period when he fired straight at Lopez with Jesus waiting for a tap-in to complete his hat-trick.

However, Brazil didn’t have long to wait for a fourth when Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos took advantage of some awful Honduras marking to sweep home a corner six minutes into the second-half.

Fittingly, in their best performance of the tournament, Luan converted a fine team goal for Brazil’s fifth as Gabriel Barbosa slipped in Felipe Anderson to cross low to the far post.

And Neymar capped a fine display with his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

Victory also guaranteed Brazil a fourth Olympic men’s football medal, but after bronze in 1996 and 2008 and the shock of losing to Mexico in the London 2012 final, only gold will suffice for an expectant nation back at the Maracana on Saturday.

Rio Olympics: Nigeria to play Germany in semi-finals

Mikel Obi

Team Nigeria captain Mikel Obi scored a goal and set up Aminu Umar as Nigeria’s U-23 national team on Saturday night defeated Denmark 2-0 in Salvador to reach the semi-finals of the men’s football event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Nigeria will now play Germany, who defeated Portugal 4-0, in the semi-final on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.

The U-23 team, the 1996 football champions of the Games, set up a clash with the Europeans, who were beaten 4-0 by Brazil in their final Group A game. Group B leaders Nigeria had defeated Japan and Sweden 5-4 and 1-0 respectively, before losing their final Group B game to Colombia 2-0.

It was a revenge of sorts for the African champions, who were thrashed 6-2 by the Danes at the Suwon Invitational tournament in South Korea in June.

Coach Samson Siasia brought on Aminu Umar for the injured Oghenekaro Etebo, while South Africa-based goalkeeper, who kept in the defeat to Colombia, also returned to the bench as Emmanuel Daniel retained his place back in the starting line-up.

Denmark had rattled the Nigerians as early as the 11th minute when Kasper Nielsson’s ferocious volley crashed against the woodwork with goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel beaten.

But the 1996 Olympic champions stunned their European counterparts just four minutes later with Mikel grabbing the opener after good work by the dangerous Imoh Ezekiel.

Nigeria’s preparations in Atlanta as well as their participation at the Games have been trailed by controversies, with the squad arriving in Manaus from just six hours before their opener against Japan, after being stranded for days in the US.

The team skipped training on Thursday and threatened to boycott the game against Denmark on unless they were paid their outstanding allowances at the Games, as well as the unpaid five months salaries and allowances of the coaches.

They were paid their allowances before the game on Saturday.

Olympics: Nigeria beat Sweden, qualify for quarterfinals

Nigeria's player Sadiq heads the ball to score his team's first goal during the football match between Sweden and Nigeria for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 in Arena Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil, August 7th, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / RAPHAEL ALVES

The Nigeria U-23 football team on Monday qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games football event after a 1-0 victory over Sweden.

Determined to dictate the pace of the match, the Dream Team VI went on an early rampage with Umar Sadiq and Mikel Obi forcing saves from Sweden’s goalkeeper, Linde Andreas, in the 9th and 10th minutes respectively.

Oghenekaro Etebo, who banged four goals past Japan’s goalkeeper in their first game of the competition,  was denied time after time by Andreas.

Sadiq finally broke the deadlock at the 39th minute when he nodded home a looping cross from Stanley Amuzie.

Both sides had chances throughout the game but could not find the back of the net.

Nigeria top the Group B table with six points  ahead of Colombia; who have a game in hand and a point, Sweden are third with one point, while Japan are bottom of the log with no point and a game in hand.