Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

News Recap:  Week Ending August 30 2015

8/31/2015

 
Picture
The IAAF Worlds End
All in all, a successful World Championships ended in Beijing this weekend. Although, not quite a success for Team USA as they probably had hoped, finishing with only 18 total medals, behind 2013's 25 and 2011's 26. What's more, USA only won six gold, compared to Jamaica's and Kenya's seven each. Granted, Jamaica's strength of 12 total was driven by Usain Bolt's three and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's two, but Kenya's total haul included new events for them - the javelin with Julius Yego, and the 400m hurdles with Nicholas Bett. The shifting sands of sports power continue to move around...
Bolt did provide the highlight of the week, with his two individual golds and the relay win, to bring him to 11 (!) total Worlds gold in his career. Fraser-Pryce won the women's 100 for the third time, and GBR's Mo Farah won the 5,000 / 10,000 double for the second time (and third time including the '12 Olympics). Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa won the 400, and then promptly needed hospitalization for exhaustion (he's okay), launching a new star to watch in a competitive field ahead of Rio. Canada won eight medals, including two golds in men's field events. Poland also won eight medals, and also proved a field power - with seven medals. Ashton Eaton of the USA won the decathlon with a world record mark. Compatriot Allyson Felix won the 400 to prove the intrigue of a 200 / 400 attempt at the Olympics. And finally, Jessica Ennis-Hill of Great Britain won the heptathlon after missing 18 months of competition. All in all, a well-prepared field provided 15 world-leading marks, including one world record. For those of us watching closely, it all just wets the appetite for Rio and has us curious for how much of a preview these Worlds are...

Picture
World Judo Championships Also End
Athletics wasn't the only major world championship this past week, as the World Judo Championships also concluded, in Kazan. Not unexpectedly, Japan came out on top of the medal table, with seventeen total, including eight gold and the team titles for both men and women. Poland was a surprise finalist in the women's team event, while Mongolia made strong showing overall with four medals, tying Germany for fourth behind South Korea and France. Overall, 24 nations earned at least one medal across the sixteen events.

Picture
Nigeria Wins AfroBasket
Nigeria won their first AfroBasket title, as well as their second straight Olympic qualification. Great to see more competitiveness on the continent, as usual Olympic participants Angola had to settle for second place. They, along with Tunisia and Senegal, will move onto FIBA's Olympic Qualification Tournament for another chance at Rio.

Japan Wins Asia's U-19
The Asian Football Confederation held its U-19 tournament for women in Nanjing, with Japan defeating North Korea in penalties in the final. South Korea beat China 4-0 to win the third place match. This was the eighth AFC U-19 women's tournament since 2002, and the fourth title for Japan.

Picture
EuroHockey Tournaments End
In other Olympic qualification news, the biennial European championships for field hockey finished in London this weekend, with potential Rio 2016 berths on the line. On the women's side, England defeated the Netherlands 3-1 for their first title, and officially earned the European slot at the Olympics. As they had already qualified through the World League semi-finals, the next best team in that competition - India - now moves up into Rio. Similarly on the men's side, as the Netherlands won the European title, next-best Spain moves onto Rio from the World League.

Australia Dominates Oceania Boxing
The Oceania Boxing Championships ended in Canberra as well, with the host Australians making the most of their usual strength, making nine of ten finals. The tournament also served as Worlds qualifying, as the two finalist in each division also earned spots at the Worlds in Doha later this year.


Comments are closed.

    About This Blog

    Highlights from the world of Olympic sports, focused on the athletes, and as seen through the cheeky lens of this one particular, passionate fan.

    Navigate It

    ​A Little Roundup
    Biweekly links to select Olympic sport headlines and news, with a focus on the athletes

    Let's Get Social
    Biweekly selection of intriguing, provocative social posts from Olympic sport athletes
    ​

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Weekly roundup of features on emerging Olympic sports athletes to keep an eye on

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own thoughts on Olympic sport news and athletes sometimes!
    Read more about me.

    Picture
    At Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park
    Header: Kallimamaro stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896

    Follow Me

    Picture
    Tweets by @GamesandRings

    Picture

    Picture

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Channel
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​
    Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    ​AP Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    Tokyo 2020
    ​Beijing 2022
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Ice Hockey
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly