Canoe: Germany’s canoe slalom coach Stefan Henze is still in critical condition some 24 hours after a car crash near the Rio Olympic park, team officials said yesterday. The 2004 Olympic silver medallist suffered life-threatening head injuries when a taxi he was in along with a team mate crashed head on into a concrete barrier in the Barra de Tijuca neighbourhood of the city early on Friday. “There have been no changes to the situation in the last twelve hours which means that he has very, very serious injuries, and his condition is life-threatening,” team doctor Bernd Wolfahrt told reporters. “This can be clearly said.”
Rowing: Britain took the men’s eight gold in the Olympic rowing regatta yesterday, leading all the way from their great rivals and defending champions Germany in the grand finale to the event. The result means that Britain top the medals table in rowing with three golds, while Germany and New Zealand have two apiece. Winning in 5:29.63, Britain at one point led the pack by more than two-and-a-half seconds. Germany closed the gap slightly towards the end, claiming second just 1.33 seconds behind the gold-medal winner. The Netherlands added to their rowing medals at the 2016 Games with a bronze finish.
Cycling: The two fastest women’s track cycling pursuit teams locked horns for gold at the Olympics last night but the expected close battle ended in a romp for Britain as they crushed their American rivals in another world record. After trailing early on the quartet of Laura Trott, Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and Joanna Rowsell-Shand cranked up the pace to devastating effect, winning in 4:10.236 – nearly two seconds quicker than the world record they set in the heats. Canada beat New Zealand for bronze.
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Shooting: Young Italian Gabriele Rossetti (picture) gave his country its third gold medal in Olympic shooting with a perfect score in the men’s skeet event yesterday. The compact 21-year-old, a first-time Olympian and police officer, had perfect 16s in the semi-final and final, defeating 26-year-old Marcus Svensson of Sweden by just one shot. Crowd favorite Abdullah Al-Rashidi, a Kuwaiti competing under the Olympic flag, won the bronze, his first medal in six Olympic Games.