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Showing posts from July 3, 2016

‘The city should not be this way’: fears over violence in Rio with Olympics near

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Amnesty has noted a rise in police violence since April. After pledging to pacify the favelas, is a new policy undoing years of hard work? Security at the Olympics will see 20,000 national guard, army and navy personnel alongside 65,000 police officers. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex Shutterstock T he archbishop of  Rio de Janeiro  was on his way from the Christ the Redeemer statue to the airport when his journey was interrupted by a gunfight that erupted on either side of the road. For 10 minutes, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta sheltered on a kerb behind his chauffeur-driven car as police and gangsters traded shots that crackled through the lofty, leafy neighbourhood of Santa Teresa. “People were scared of stray bullets,” he recalls of the incident last month. “And there was a sense of disappointment that the city should not be this way.” Such experiences and sentiments are all too common in Rio, the Olympic host city, where violent crime has long been a feature of the socia...

With seven athletes, Tanzania become first nation to confirm Olympic team for Rio 2016

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Fabian Joseph (Center) is among the team Rio 2016 celebrated an important milestone on Thursday (7 July) after receiving the first official team entry for the Olympic Games. Tanzania, a nation of about 50 million people in East Africa, confirmed that it will send seven athletes to the first edition of the Games in South America. “We are delighted and excited to receive the first official entry from a National Olympic Committee,” said Melina Xanthopoulou, Rio 2016’s sport entries manager. “Tanzania’s team will be smaller than most, but they will be warmly welcomed here in Rio and we wish them the best of luck.” The athletes who will represent Tanzania are: Fabiano Joseph (men’s marathon), Saidi Juma Makula (men’s marathon), Alphonce Felix Simbu (men’s marathon), Sara Ramadhani (women’s marathon), Andrew Thomas Mlugu (men’s judo, -73kg), Magdalena Ruth Alex Moshi (women’s swimming, 50m freestyle) and Hilal Hemed Hilal (men’s swimming, 50m freestyle). More than 200 nation...

Rio 2016 Olympic show to cost 'less than London'

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The chief executive of the company hired to stage the opening ceremony of the upcoming Rio Olympics has told the BBC the show will cost less than London's in 2012 Antonio Abete adds he's 100% confident everything will go ahead as planned. At a time of economic crisis in Brazil, they're doing it on a strict budget. But his team are promising a spectacle that will be bigger and better than London 2012, which cost $40m (£31m), and was directed by Danny Boyle. Mr Abete works for Filmmaster Events, and is answerable to the International Olympic Committee for delivering a show that will be watched by a global audience of around three billion people. "The budget is completely different. We cannot say the real numbers, firstly because we are not allowed, but secondly because it's really difficult to know what the real number is. "It's much less than London. It's because in Brazil everyone knows what the situation is, economically and politically...

Rio Olympics 2016: Any unidentified aircraft will be shot down, warns Brazil's Defence Minister

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Representational image / Getty images Brazil's government has warned that it will shoot down any unidentified aircraft that violates the protected airspace around facilities of the Olympics Games at Rio in August. "We are not playing," said Defence Minister Raul Jungmann while introducing the Olympics Games security plan at a press conference at Rio on Wednesday. The plan involves security provided by 41,000 soldiers during the event, 21,000 of them here and the rest in the other five cities where the football matches will be held. At the request of the regional government of Rio, 3,000 more soldiers have been added to the initial figure of 38,000, reports  Efe . The armed forces will deploy 12 large ships and 48 smaller vessels, 70 armoured vehicles, in addition to 28 helicopters, 1,169 vehicles and 174 motorcycles. The soldiers will patrol main streets and avenues in the city, as well as the airport, train and bus stations and areas surrounding the compet...

Countdown to Rio 2016: Cavendish reigns, but Bolt's Olympic dream is in doubt

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Mark Cavendish wore the Tour de France's coveted yellow jersey for the first time after winning this year's opening stage Road cycling:  British Olympian Mark Cavendish won two of the first three stages of this year's Tour de France, moving him joint second on the event's all-time list with 28 victories. Cavendish will ride on the track in the omnium in Brazil in a bid to win a first Olympic medal but it was a different gap in his incredible CV - the Tour de France's coveted yellow jersey worn by the overall leader - that he ticked off with his first-stage victory. The Manxman's subsequent triumph on  stage three  moves him level in the competition's history with Frenchman Bernard Hinault; only 34-time stage winner Eddy Merckx of Belgium is ahead of him. INJURY JOLT FOR BOLT Athletics:  Usain Bolt's attempt to become the first man to win the 100m, 200m and relay at three consecutive Olympics is in doubt after he suffered a hamstring tear  du...

Holili Youth Athletics Club yamkumbuka Mwl Timothy Kamili

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Timu ya Holili Youth Athletics Club ikijiandaa na mashindano madogo (Trials for Kamili Gado) kwa kumbukumbu ya mpendwa wao aliyechangia maendeleo ya club hiyo Ni mwaka moja leo umetimia tangu wadau wa mchezo wa riadha Tanzania walipoondokewa na kocha wao maarufu Timothy Joseph Kamili ( wa pili kushoto) katika ajali mbaya iliyotokea Holili mkoani Kilimanjaro 'Pole wanafamilia, pole Domician Rwezaura, pole Holili, pole Riadha Tanzania, pole wadau wote wa riadha Tanzania' Mungu aiweke roho ya marehemu mahala pema peponi amina. @ gidabudays

Serengeti Boys Coach Eyes Finals Despite Tricky South Africa Test

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Serengeti Boys: The light at the end of tunnel  Dar es Salaam — Serengeti Boys head coach Bakari Shime is targeting nothing less than the final of the 2017 African Youth Championship (AYC). His confidence stems from the manner in which the Tanzanian Under-17 teams annihilated Seychelles over the two legs to progress to the second round of the qualifiers. Tanzania advanced to the second round whose finals will be held in Madagascar in style, recording a goal aggregate of 9-0. The Tanzanian boys, who had competed at the AIIF Cup in India prior to the AYC qualifiers, won the first leg 3-0 at the National Stadium before completing the job with a 6-0 win in victoria on Saturday. But they will have to do it the hard way if they are to qualify for the prestigious finals, coming up against the runners-up of the 2015 edition, South Africa, next month. Should they see off mighty South Africans, they will face either Namibia or Congo in the third round, which will take place in ...

‘Welcome to hell’: Violence rocks Rio a month before Olympics

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Welcome to Rio de Janeiro RIO DE JANEIRO — A month before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America’s first Olympic Games, two cellphone videos have brought home the grim reality of rising violence in the city's teeming favelas — the poor communities that are home to almost a quarter of its population. In one clip, small children cower in fear in a cable-car gondola while a gun battle rages below — at 4 o'clock on a Monday afternoon. The clip hit the Internet on the same day that Mayor Eduardo Paes told CNN that the state government is doing a “terrible” job with security. By Monday night, the video was on the front page of Brazil’s biggest news site, the Globo network’s G1. That morning, police and firefighters organized a protest at Rio’s international airport over violence and unpaid salaries. “Welcome to hell,” a banner read. “Police and firefighters don’t get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.” It was their second demon...

Uganda’s Kiprotich relishes Rio clash with mentor Kipchoge

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Stephen Kiprotich trains in Kaptagat PHOTO/Charity Wanja London 2012 Olympics and Moscow 2013 world marathon champion; Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich is looking forward to defending his title against his mentor and training partner -Eliud Kipchoge- the two-time London winner who has been installed as the runaway favourite for Rio 2016. It will be first time the pair will be racing each other as marathoners and only the second time in their careers they will start against each other since the second heat of the men 5000m at the 2007 Osaka Worlds in Japan. Kipchoge qualified for the finals by clocking 13:33.37 and went on to win silver at the finals in 13:46.00 while it was the end of the road for Kiprotich who failed to make it for the finals after stopping the timer in 14:04.22 for 29th overall. Speaking to  Citizen Digital  after a light morning training session at Global Sports Camp in Katagat, Eldoret last week; Kiprotich is confident he will hold on t...

'Super bacteria' discovered in Rio's waters as Olympics near

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Despite health concerns and it being only a month until the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, neither Picao nor international Olympic authorities recommend moving the sailing venue Rio de Janeiro (CNN) A group of Brazilian scientists have detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off of some of Rio de Janeiro's most stunning beaches, one month before the city is due to host the 2016 Olympic Games. According to lead researcher Renata Picao, the "super bacteria" entered the city's waterways when sewage coming from local hospitals got channeled into the bay. "We have been looking for 'super bacteria' in coastal waters during a one-year period in five beaches," Picao told CNN during a visit to her lab. "We found that the threats occur in coastal waters in a variety of concentrations and that they are strongly associated with pollution." The news comes as Rio prepares to host hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists during ne...

SIX WORLD LEADS ON THIRD DAY OF US OLYMPIC TRIALS

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Jeffrey Henderson in action  Americans usually celebrate with fireworks on 4 July, their Independence Day. In Eugene on Sunday (3), the fireworks came a day early. The US Olympic Trials were so eventful on Sunday that LaShawn Merritt’s time of 43.97 in the 400m or Vashti Cunningham becoming USA’s youngest Olympian in 36 years did not even merit headlines. Six of seven finals produced the best marks in the world this year. Allyson Felix stayed on course for a 200m/400m Rio double that was once imperilled by an ankle injury. The 30-year-old Felix, who was fourth coming out of the last bend, burst down the stretch to win the 400m in 49.68. It was the fastest time since her 49.26 in winning the world title in Beijing last year. Phyllis Francis was second in 49.94, taking half a second off her PB. Courtney Okolo came to the trials as the world leader (49.71) and finished sixth in 50.39. Times for third through sixth were the fastest ever at the US Trials. “It’s been a tough...

KENYA NAMES OLYMPIC MARATHON TEAM

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Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge in action The names of the six athletes who will represent Kenya in the marathon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were confirmed by Athletics Kenya on Tuesday (10). World Marathon Majors champion Eliud Kipchoge leads the men’s team, having won last month’s London Marathon in 2:03:05, the second-fastest time in history on a record-eligible course. The 31-year-old will have the opportunity to complete his Olympic medal collection, having taken bronze in 2004 and silver in 2008 in the 5000m. Stanley Biwott and Wesley Korir join him on the team for Rio and both will be making their major championships debut. Biwott won the 2015 New York Marathon and then finished second at this year’s London Marathon in a personal best of 2:03:51. Korir was the top Kenyan finisher at this year’s Boston Marathon, placing fourth in 2:14:05 behind a trio of Ethiopian athletes. The 33-year-old set his personal best of 2:06:13 when finishing fifth at the 2012 Chicago Maratho...

Tanzania Olymic Team: Sara Ramadhani adds the list

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Sara Ramadhani in one of her victories Tanzania Olympic Team is getting ready for this year's Summer Olympic Games scheduled to take place between August 5th 2016 and 21st August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Perfect gender balance has been equalized when Sara Ramadhani made the team to become the only woman to make the team for the runner’s side. Sara Ramadhani has just been asked to join the team last week while her other teammates have been enjoying the training camp at West Kilimanjaro since January 2016. It still not known how and why Sara Ramadhani missed to be in the camp all this time! The other Marathoners who are going to represent The Land of Kilimanjaro include Alphonce Felix Simbu , Said Juma Makula and Fabian Joseph Naasi. The team will also include the Swimming and Judo who are being invited via Universality program.   @ gidabudays

Olympic Spirit on top of Mt Kilimanjaro

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Our National Olympic Camp is located in West Kilimanjaro, Mt Kilimanjaro is the tallest in Africa, in addition; Mt Kilimanjaro is the World's Tallest Free Standing Peak. We are arranging a trip to climb to Uhuru Peak and raise two flags on the Roof of Africa, I mean Tanzanian Flag and the Olympic Flag. Objectively for fundraising and patriotic reasons; regardless of what we expect out of Rio Olympic Games but with the knowledge that as one Olympic Games ends; the nation should get ready for the next. Where in the world can you find the greatest creatures with endurance than the Land of Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti? Source:  Gidabuday Sports Tourism Foundation   @ gidabudays