Doubts linger as it’s ‘too easy for her’
IT took less than five minutes after Almaz Ayana had crossed the line in the 10,000m final for it to start. And not much longer for one of her rivals to say what everyone was thinking.
Athletics
Aussie’s tear-jerking interview
BRONZE-medallist Dane Bird-Smith choked up speaking about his father. He had no idea his dad had just been arrested.
How legend got ‘beat down’ Aussie into final
FABRICE Lapierre just made the Rio long jump final and has long been touted for an Olympic medal, yet had all but quit the sport after London 2012 – until a guru fixed him up.
Our top coach who’s treated like an outcast
CATHY Freeman’s mastermind, Nic Bideau is one of Australia’s top athletics coaches but he’s persona non grata in official circles. Here’s why he’s not allowed inside the inner sanctum.
Last hurrah for four megastars of the track
THE megastars who’ve held track and field together in recent times while the sport has crumbled around them are preparing for a final goodbye in Rio
Cathy’s beautiful letter to Rio team
CATHY Freeman has told the Australian track and field team to be “free, strong, brave and bold,” in an inspirational letter to athletes in Rio.
Another gold for Jared Tallent
JARED Tallent has received another gold medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal by disgraced Italian walker Alex Schwazer.
US athletes sidestep doping issue
THE US track and field team introduced a new sport to the Olympic program at its first media call in Rio. The sidestep.
Who will stand up as our next track star?
THERE was a sweetness and a shallowness to the arrival of Australia’s athletics team in Rio.
‘The winner might not be known for 10 years’
DISCUS thrower Dani Samuels reckons no matter who stands on the Olympic dais next week the real winner of her event might not be known for 10 years.
‘Superhuman’ leaves world in awe
SHE’S just 19, but Simone Biles is the most dominant athlete in Rio. Everyone else, no matter how talented, can only watch her in awe.
Bolt slammed for not speaking out
GERMANY’S Olympic discus champion Robert Harting has criticised Usain Bolt for not speaking out more in the fight to clean up athletics.
Brave Hoskins back on bike after horror fall
EXCLUSIVE: Melissa Hoskins proves that her Rio Olympics are not over. Despite needing crutches to walk she has climbed back on her bike 48 hours after a horror training crash.
Athletes back Mack’s drug cheat stance
AUSTRALIA’s athletics team have strongly backed their swimmers drug crusade, branding it a bold step forward for sport.
Where is everyone? Bolt turns ticket salesman
RIO is playing host to some of the world’s greatest athletes, yet some stands at the venues are virtually empty. Usain Bolt as posted a plea to help change that.
‘Great’ Britain? Stuttering Poms go quiet in Rio
RUBBING the nose of a famous old rival in the dirt is normally considered extremely poor sportsmanship. But when it comes to the struggling Poms, normal doesn’t apply …
US gold medallist takes shot at Gatlin
US SWIMMER Lilly King, inspired by Mack Horton to “call out” Russian drug cheat Yuliya Efimova, has declared that compatriot and world champion sprinter Justin Gatlin should not be competing in Rio.
Bolt’s brilliant Rio press conference
THE Usain Bolt brigade has rolled into Rio, and judging by his latest press conference, he is determined to make his last Olympics one to remember.
‘She’s nice, but never thought: I’m a sexy thing’
YOU’VE all watched Michelle ‘Jiggling’ Jenneke in action. But there’s plenty about her you don’t know as she arrives in Rio for her first Olympics.
Pistorius taken to hospital
OSCAR Pistorius was treated for minor wrist injuries at a hospital and has been returned to the South African jail where the Olympian is serving a six-year sentence.
Olympic daily wrap: Aussies strike gold and go top!
A one stop round up of what went down on day 1 of the Games: Aussie medals in the pool and shooting range, a NSFW injury and robbers who messed with the wrong guys …
Patterson bans media ahead of Olympic debut
THE intrigue around Eleanor Patterson continues to grow with the high-jumper becoming the only team member to enforce a media ban in the lead-up to her Olympic debut.
Tallent competing in ‘cleanest’ race of career
OLYMPIC champion Jared Tallent believes he will be competing in the “cleanest” race of his career when he defends his 50km title in Rio.
LaCaze reminisces about crazy stage bomb
WHEN the Olympic Games party gets underway at the opening ceremony, one Aussie athlete will be happily tucked away and inevitably fighting the urge to break into samba.
Medal blow as Tallent withdraws from 20km
AUSTRALIA’S medal hopes have taken an early hit with Jared Tallent forced out of the 20km walk due to a niggling hamstring injury.
London 400m hero misses Rio by 0.2sec
TWO tenths of a second has cost Steve Solomon in his final attempt to qualify for the Rio Games, while Australian 800m record holder Alex Rowe also failed to make the cut.
Aussies march out of opening ceremony
AS few as one in three Australian Olympic athletes will march behind golden girl Anna Meares at next month’s Rio opening ceremony.
Balancing motherhood and Olympic training
Eloise Wellings is a mother first, and an Olympian second, and she talks exclusively with Swoop about juggling her family and training commitments.
Dubler embraces power of social media
NOT every elite sportsman is keen to tell the public of the day in make-or-break competition that he cried four times. But Cedric Dubler embraces the reaction he gets from social media.
Champ misses history bid by tiniest margin
THE brutal competitiveness of the US Olympic trials was in clear focus as Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix failed to make the team for Rio and a chance at double sprint glory.
Patterson raising the bar on her path to Rio
RISING high jump star Eleanor Patterson is trading the tranquillity of country Victoria for the bright lights of London as she ramps up her Olympic campaign.
It’s Belgium or bust for Solomon
FOUR years of planning has come down to one race in a small town in Belgium for Steve Solomon.
Boyd to ‘dial-in’ on Rio rivals in Europe
AUSTRALIAN pole vaulter Alana Boyd says she will do homework on her Olympic rivals while competing in Europe this month.
Tallent to lead Aussie aths in Rio
WALKER Jared Tallent has replaced fellow gold medallist Sally Pearson as captain of the Australian athletics team for the Rio Olympics.
Young star leaping toward Olympic success
SHE’S the high jumper about to emerge from her country cocoon in Rio. In our series on athletes to watch, meet the intriguing Eleanor Patterson.
An inspiration to the next generation
AS SA marathon runner Jess Trengove prepares to compete at the Rio Olympics, she is inspiring the next generation to do the same.
Police ban Usain Bolt gesture
USAIN Bolt’s trouble-making act has been banned by police because the Olympic champion was causing too many fights.
The best is yet to come: Pearson
SALLY Pearson has turned her focus to the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast following her heartbreaking injury withdrawal from Rio.
Could Pearson have new role at Rio?
SALLY Pearson could be headed to Rio as a mentor and has refused to rule out a tilt at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Hamstrung Sally ’devastated’ to miss Rio
SALLY Pearson’s heart sank when she felt two squeezes in her hamstring as she went over a hurdle on Monday. Scans the next day confirmed her worst fears.
One last big carrot for broken Sally
THE reality is a spate of recent sub-par performances broke Sally Pearson, says Scott Gullan. And there’s still a big carrot that will drive the champ before she farewells the sport.
Victoria Mitchell: How to eat like an Olympian
Victoria Mitchell says diet can be the difference between winning and losing, and she speaks exclusively with Swoop about what are her go-to foods, and what she avoids.
London Games hero racing Rio clock
STEVE Solomon was one of Australia’s biggest success stories from the London Olympics. But the 400m runner is facing a race against time to make Rio.
Mighty jump to send Kurtis to Rio
ADELAIDE teenage pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall has leapt into Rio Olympic selection in Germany on the weekend with a giant PB as he prepares for the under-20 world championships.
Sprint finish for Rio hopefuls
ATHLETES Tom Gamble and Nik Bojic will go to Thailand to try to notch Olympic qualification after just falling short with in their respective performances at Cairns.
Russian women’s results ‘fall through floor’
JUMPS coach Gary Bourne says Russian long jump results have “fallen through the floor’’ this year since their samples were taken out of the country for anti-doping testing.
Drug whistleblower faces court after Rio ban
IT hasn’t taken Russia long to blow the whistle on the whistle blowers after Russian investigators started legal action against a former Moscow laboratory chief.
‘Russia’s ban boosts my confidence’
MELISSA Breen, Australia’s fastest women’s sprinter, says Russia’s Olympic athletics ban boosts her confidence that she’ll run against a field of clean rivals in Rio.
Hurdles keep on coming for Sally
IF Sally Pearson even makes it to the final of the 100m hurdles in Rio it will be the greatest accomplishment of her career, writes Mike Colman.
I had an inkling I raced drug cheats: Shirvington
MATT Shirvington, Australian sprint champion and Sydney Olympian, talks to Robert Craddock about drug cheats, role models and why Usain Bolt can fly.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/olympics/athletics/page/17