Archive

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola RIO DE JANEIRO – Olympic boxer Gary Russell already knows what he’s going to do with his light welterweight gold medal if he wins it: he’s going to dedicate it to Muhammad Ali. Ali was many things to many people. He was a boxer, an activist, a humanitarian and much …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Two Team USA judokas will have a special guest, dear friend and distinguished coach in attendance as they seek gold medals in Rio. Yoshihiro Uchida coached Olympic qualifiers Marti Malloy and Colton Brown at San Jose State University. The 96-year-old coach plans to be in attendance for their matches in …

By Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris RIO DE JANEIRO — Carmel High School graduate Rajeev Ram’s improbable Olympic journey will continue.Ram and his men’s doubles tennis partner, Brian Baker, won their first-round match against French pair Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Despite an extended delay created by high winds earlier in the day, the pair breezed …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program RIO DE JANEIRO – Adam Krikorian gathered his women’s water polo team Thursday morning in the Olympic Village. He shared with the team the news he had learned the previous night: Blake Krikorian, one of his two older brothers, had died unexpectedly at the age of …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola RIO DE JANEIRO – There will be no encore for Lexi Laird. The former IUPUI swimmer failed to advance past the 100-meter backstroke heats Sunday at the Olympic Games. She spent 63 seconds in the pool in her first and what will be her only Olympic appearance. She plans to compete through the end …

By Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris RIO DE JANEIRO – Virginia Thrasher won the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition with a score of 208.0, an Olympic record. The 19-year-old West Virginia student became the first gold-medal winner of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Throughout the competition, Chinese shooter Du Li was in hot pursuit, never falling …

RIO DE JANEIRO – After I sat down in my second-row seat in the upper deck of the Maracana for the Opening Ceremony, what I saw made me smile. Yes, the Opening Ceremony, with its messages of celebrating diversity, acceptance and saving the planet, was great, the last of which seemed over the top in …

RIO DE JANEIRO — “I only speak American, British, New Zealand and Australian.” So said a volunteer as several hundred media members grew increasingly antsy and anxious, waiting in the security line to get into Maracana Stadium for the Opening Ceremony Friday night. The volunteer hasn’t mastered his Barack Obama impression, but his southern U.S. …

By Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris RIO DE JANEIRO — Some athletes would be intimidated by being the only athlete from their country competing in a particular event. Not so for USA Fencing’s Jason Pryor, Olympic rookie and lone wolf in men’s epee. While he feels a team bond with the athletes in other weapons, at …

RIO DE JANEIRO – “For me?” I was not prepared for the question. Not after the overnight flight, seeing the first light of a new day shortly after the view from the previous flight had featured a bright red sunset. Not after the walk through the airport terminal, the discovery of the first of many …