Rio Olympics
Río round-up day 2: Phelps gold, Djokovic out, Brazil held by Iraq
Michael Phelps wins his 19th Olympic gold medal in the pool, Djokovic dumped out by Del Potro, Brazil held to humiliating draw by Iraq, and a horror crash in the cycling
Phelps grabs 19th Olympic gold
US swimming legend Michael Phelps extended his record gold medal tally in a day of Olympic drama that saw world records, a first title for Kosovo and a heart-stopping crash. Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, inspired the United States to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay before he starts his personal campaign on Monday.
The 31-year-old Phelps -- who has now won 19 gold medals -- roared with delight and hugged his team-mates after they came home ahead of defending champions France in silver, with Australia third. It was a fairytale moment for Phelps, who came out of retirement for one last crack at the Olympics. He will be in the 200m butterfly heats on Monday having seen the relay display cap a superb night of swimming with three world records broken.
Brazil held to humiliating draw by Iraq
Brazil face another embarrassing exit from a tournament on home soil after Neymar slumbered through a second 0-0 draw of Rio 2016 against Iraq.The Olympic hosts need to beat group leaders Denmark on Wednesday to win to avoid a stunning exit, just two years after their devastating 7-1 World Cup defeat by Germany.
Neymar was expected to ease Brazilian football's wounded pride by delivering a first ever Olympic gold for the five-time world champions.However, the Barcelona star was eclipsed. And just as in their opening stalemate against South Africa, Brazil were booed from the field in Brasilia on Sunday as they paid for their profligacy in front of goal.
Djokovic dumped out by Del Potro
World number one Novak Djokovic was dumped out of the Olympics in the first round Sunday, losing for the second successive Games to Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. Four years ago in London, the giant Del Potro had defeated the Serb in the bronze medal match and he repeated the shock Sunday in a stunning 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) victory.
The 27-year-old Del Potro, whose ranking has slumped to 145 after a succession of wrist operations pushed him to the brink of retirement, started the day by getting stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes at the athletes village. But that inconvenience did not shake the 2009 US Open champion out of his big-hitting stride as he shocked the top seed to set up a second-round clash with Portugal's Joao Sousa.
Dutch cyclist in intensive care after horror crash
Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten lay helpless in intensive care after suffering three cracked vertebrae in a stomach-churning high-speed crash while leading the Olympic women's road race.The 33-year-old was 10km from Olympic gold when she tumbled over her handlebars and crashed into on a concrete curb on tricky descent that some have said was too dangerous for the Games.
Van Vleuten was left in a motionless heap on the side of the road as other stunned competitors raced by. She was expected to spend at least 24 hours in intensive care in a Rio hospital before doctors decide the next steps. The Dutch Cycling Federation initially said she was conscious and had been taken to hospital. "Heavy concussion and three small fractures in her lumbar spine. She continues 24 hours in i.c. (intensive care)," the federation said on Twitter. The federation added that she was "conscious and speaking".
