Aarde Cini Stuff

Usain Bolt won the men's 200 metres title at a third consecutive Olympics with a dominant performance and moved another step closer to his target of clinching three gold medals at the Rio Games here. The Jamaican legend registered a season's best time of 19.78 seconds at the Olympic Stadium to clinch his second gold medal of the Rio Games here on Thursday. Bolt had earlier won the men's 100m title to become the first athlete in the history of the Olympics to win the showpiece event three times in a row. This was also Bolt's eighth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics. Andre de Grasse of Canada took silver with a time of 20.02 while Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre got the bronze with 20.12. Adam Gemili of Britain and the veteran Churandy Martina of the Netherlands came within a hair's breath of a podium finish before settling for the fourth and fifth positions respectively. Bolt, who had won the 200m title at the 2008 and 2012 Games as well, now needs to win the men...

Russia's Darya Klishina cleared to compete as 'neutral Russian long jumper Darya Klishina has been cleared to compete as a "neutral" athlete at the Rio Olympics. In total, 136 Russians applied to an IAAF doping review board for "exceptional eligibility", as the country's athletics federation is banned from international competition. But the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has told the state-run TASS news agency only US-based Klishina was successful. The ROC has appealed against the ban and named a 68-strong team for Rio. A final decision on their eligibility is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport by 21 July. Should it fail, athletes such as double Olympic champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and world champion 110m hurdler Sergey Shubenkov would miss the Games. Klishina must still have her participation approved by Olympics organisers. The 25-year-old is a two-time European indoor champion and 2014 outdoor bronze medallist. She finished 1...

Olympic 110m hurdles champion Aries Merritt has failed in his attempt to qualify for the Rio Games - less than a year after having a kidney transplant. The world record holder led with two hurdles to go at the US trials but missed the required top-three place by a hundredth of a second. The 30-year-old had only competed in three previous meets this year. "To be where I am is a miracle, but it's a pity because in six weeks I'll be in much better shape," he said. "I thought I had finished second or third. When it came up fourth I was shocked." Merritt, who tore his groin in June, asked for the photo finish to be reviewed but the result stood. Devon Allen was the surprise winner in 13.03 seconds, with Ronnie Ash and Jeff Porter both clocking 13.21secs to claim the other two Olympic slots. Merritt won bronze at the World Championships last August and days later had an operation to receive a kidney from his sister. A "complication" led to further surger...