World record holder Osleidys Menendez suffered a shock defeat in the women's javelin at the Pan American Games on Thursday as chaotic organization continued to dog the event.
However, former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios lived up to his top billing in the tennis, demolishing an opponent whose total prize money this year totals just US$118.
Menendez, world champion in Edmonton two years ago, was one of the few athletes with any pretensions of breaking a world record at the games.
PHOTO: AP
Instead, the Cuban finished third with a throw of 60.20m, more than 11m short of the world record she set at Rethymnon in Crete two years ago.
The tearful 23-year-old was at a loss to explain her performance. which casts doubts over her chances of defending the world championship in Paris later this month.
"I can't talk now," she told reporters.
Kim Kreiner of the US won win a throw of 60.86m followed by Lavern Eve of Bahamas with 60.68m.
Juan Ignacio Cerra, injured in a motorcycle accident last year, gave Argentina their first athletics gold medal by winning the hammer with his last throw after trailing James Parker of the US for most of the competition.
"It was my only good throw, all the others were wrong and I'm very happy to give a gold to my country, which is the most important thing," he said after producing a winning throw of 75.53m.
Parker was second with 74.37m.
Venezuela also claimed their first athletics gold as Nestor Nieves won his duel with Canada's Joel Borgeois down the final straight to win the men's 3,000m steeplechase.
In a similarly thrilling finish, Teodoro Vaga of Mexico broke clear of Brazil's despairing Marilson dos Santos to snatch the men's 10,000m after the two had broken clear for the last third of the race.
Temperamental Chilean Rios, who needed only 48 minutes to win his opening match on Tuesday, continued to coast in the tennis with a 6-0 6-3 win over El Salvador's Jaime Cuellar.
"I didn't have too many difficulties," Rios admitted afterwards.
Back at the athletics stadium, Brazil's Hudson de Souza finally received his gold medal -- nearly two days after winning the men's 5,000m.
The ceremony followed an official protest by Brazil, who also complained that the medals for the 800m on Wednesday night were awarded immediately after the race without runner-up Osmar dos Santos being told.
Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) president Carlos Nuzman said that security forces were fighting amongst themselves and said he feared for the delegation's safety after chaos at Wednesday's basketball final against the Dominican Republic.
Brazil claimed the arena was filled beyond its 10,000 capacity.
"Today, I'm worried about the safety of the Brazilians, athletes and non-athletes," he said. "The problem here is not the facilities but the organization."
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS