Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Weightlifting

Darren Barnes and Jacob Horst Win National Championships on Day One

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On the first day of the USA Weightlifting National Championships two divisions decided their national champions. In the men’s 56kg division Darren Barnes was the national champion fairly easily lifting 110kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk to total 240kg and win by 25kg over Brey Kobashigawa and Andrew Cheung. Jacob Horst was the winner in the men’s 62kg division leading the field by 4kg after a 106kg snatch and then lifting 132kg in the clean and jerk to finish with a 238kg score and defeat Dillon Casillas by 9kg.

Caleb Williams was the top competitor in the men’s 69kg division with a total score of 295kg though he’s not expected to stay atop the standings once the Olympic trials happen on Sunday. The same story is true in the women’s 48kg division where Hayley Reichardt and Megan Seegert both scored 157kg and in the women’s 58kg division where Sarabeth Phillips scored a 196kg total.

There could be some intrigue on Sunday in the women’s 53kg division as Caitlin Hogan hit every lift she attempted topping out at 77kg on the snatch and 105kg on the clean and jerk to post a big score of 182kg. That score matches the top qualifying score that has Cortney Batchelor competing in the trials on Sunday so if she struggles some Hogan has a real shot at the national championship.

Saturday will feature the men’s 77kg, 85kg, and 94kg divisions, along with the women’s 63kg and 69kg divisions. All these divisions have competitors in the Olympic trials on Sunday so national champions will not be decided on Saturday.

Previous USA Weightlifting National Championship Coverage:
Preview

ATP Tour, Tennis, WTA Tour

Remaining Americans Bounced on Friday in Madrid

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The Mutua Madrid Open came to a sudden end for the US on Friday as all the Americans playing in the event were knocked out of the competition. Louisa Chirico missed out on the chance for a shocking final appearance when she lost 1-6, 1-6 in under an hour to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Far from a shocking result and in the end a tournament that might propel Chirico into her prime years to compete internationally.

In women’s doubles Vania King/Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) were also swept, and badly, 2-6, 0-6 by #1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India in the semifinals on Friday. Also failing to win a set was #8 Jack Sock/Vasek Pospisil (Canada) who lost 3-6, 4-6 to#4 Ivan Dodig (Croatia) and Marcelo Melo (Brazil). #5 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan did take one set, but that was all, in a 6-3, 6-7, 8-10 loss to#1 French duo Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. With a tiebreaker loss in set two and a tight third set super-tie break the Bryans were really close to advancing.

High level competition continues over the next week as things move to Rome for the Italian Open, a Masters 1000 event for the men and a Premier event for the women. Matches begin on Monday.

Previous Mutua Madrid Open Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update
Day 3 Update
Day 4 Update
Day 5 Update
Day 6 Update

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Chad Haga Finishes 12th to Start Giro d’Italia

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Things began well at the Giro d’Italia for Chad Haga. Coming off a season best finish in the Tour de Romandie Haga posted his best stage finish of the season when he was 12th in the opening time trial. Haga dropped just 16 seconds behind the leader and was the only American in the top 75. Joey Rosskopf, 78th place and 42 seconds back, and Larry Warbasse 47 seconds back in 100th, were the next two Americans to finish.

Things continue in the Netherlands Saturday with a 118 mile flat stage. In what you’d expect to be a stage with a big peloton it’s important for the riders to stay in the pack.

Previous UCI World Tour Coverage:
Giro d’Italia Preview

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

Alison Tetrick Finishes as Part of Large Peloton on First Day of Tour of Chongming Island

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A large peloton finished in 3:21:25 on the first day of the Tour of Chongming Island and Alison Tetrick was part of it. Tetrick finished 71st in the 81-woman peloton. It wasn’t such a good day for Erica Zaveta who finished 100th and 21:06 back. The race was 86.9 miles on day one, the longest of the competition, and drops to 70.1 miles on Saturday for stage two.

Previous UCI Women’s World Tour Coverage:
Tour of Chongming Island Preview

Canoeing, Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials

Two Olympic Spots up for Grabs at Second Round of US Slalom Canoe Olympic Trials

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With Casey Eichfeld and Michal Smolen locking up Olympic berths in the first round of the Slalom Olympic Trials last month the only spots remaining to be decided on the team are the women’s K1 spot and whether Eichfeld and his teammate Devin McEwan or Smolen and teammate Zachary Lokken will compete in the C2. In the K1 Ashley Nee has the edge over Dana Mann coming into this round while in the C2 it’s Eicheld and McEwan that are in the lead.

Previous Slalom Canoe Olympic Trials Coverage:
Round One Recap

Modern Pentathlon, UIPM World Cup

Isabella Isaksen Finishes 12th at UIPM World Cup Final

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Despite starting the day with a 26th place finish in the swimming competition Isabella Isaksen came on strong with 10th place finishes in both the riding and combined events to rise up to a 12th place finish. Samantha Achterberg had a little more to overcome after 25th and 15th place finishes in the swimming and riding competitions. She posted the sixth best time in the combined event but ended five seconds behind Isaksen. The final US competitor, Margaux Isaksen, had posted 15th and 12th place finishes in the swimming and riding events and was actually the top US competitor going into the combined portion. She was 21st in that event though and fell to 16th overall.

The rest of the men’s event is Saturday.

Previous UIPM World Cup Final Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update

Judo, Judo Grand Slam and Grand Prix

No US Competitors Past Round of 32 on First Day of Judo Grand Slam Event in Baku

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The US competitors on the first day of the Judo grand slam event in Baku went 1-3 with no one advancing past the round of 32. Angelica Delgado lost in the first round of the women’s -52kg competition on penalties to Mi-Ri Kim of South Korea while Aaron Kunihiro lost his opening match to Kin Ting Yu of Hong Kong on an ippon. Adonis Diaz was able to win his opening match via ippon over Eisa Majrashi of Saudi Arabia. Diaz didn’t last long though as he lost in the second round to Arif Bagirov of Belarus by an ippon.

Saturday’s competition will involve both Leilani Akiyama and Hannah Martin in the women’s -63kg division and Nicholas Delpopolo in the men’s -73kg division.

Previous Judo Grand Prix Coverage:
Baku Preview

BMX, Cycling, UCI BMX Supercross World Cup

Thirteen Americans Will Compete in BMX Supercross World Cup in Papendal

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The BMX Supercross World Cup will reach the halfway point after stopping in Papendal, Netherlands this weekend. Thirteen Americans are set to participate this weekend with top contenders on both the men’s and women’s side. While Connor Fields is still out on the men’s side after injuring his wrist before the stop in Manchester but Santiago winner Corben Sharrah gives the US a threat to win it all. Sharrah will be looking to rebound after finishing last in the final in Manchester. Sharrah and Nicholas Long, in the final in both of the first two stops but yet to medal, are guaranteed spots in the 1/8 finals and will be seeded based on Saturday’s time trials while the other eight Americans, including Santiago semifinalist Jeffrey Upshaw, will compete in qualifying for one of the 48 other spots in the 1/8 finals.

The two top threats on the women’s side are Brooke Crain and Alise Post, both of whom have made the final in the first two events. Post is yet to medal but Crain grabbed the bronze in Manchester. Crain and Post both are in the time trials and guaranteed quarterfinal spots while Shealen Reno, in her first appearance of the year, will be in qualifying.

Previous BMX Supercross World Cup:
Manchester Recap

Wrestling

Jesse Thielke Grabs Olympic Spot

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The two Americans who had been most impressive at the first Olympic qualifying tournament fell short on Friday as Jesse Thielke became the only one of the three Greco-Roman competitors still looking for a ticket to Rio to find it.

Thielke, competing in the 59kg division, was strong to start the day winning 8-0 and 13-6 to open. He then recorded a fall in the quarterfinals setting up an Olympics-or-bust matchup with Donior Islamov of Modolva. Thielke seized the moment and in a high scoring match secured his Olympic spot with a 17-8 victory. Thielke was shutout in the final 8-0 but his mission to reach Rio was complete.

For RaVaughn Perkins in the 66kg division things started off well with 11-2 and 9-4 victories to reach the quarterfinals. There he ran into Ruslan Tsarev of Kyrgzstan, some real tough competition. Tsarev won the Asian Championship in this weight division two years ago and has been a medalist the last two years in heavier weight classes. Tsarev did not compete in the first Olympic qualifying tournament but got the better of Perkins in this match 4-3 to move into the semifinals. Tsarev was a 10-0 winner in the semifinals, meaning it sure seems he and Perkins were wrestling for an Olympic spot in their quarterfinal match.

The final US competitor, Joe Rau in the 98kg division, advanced in his opening match 9-0 but was shutout 8-0 by Kevin Castillo of Honduras in the next round. Castillo is a perennial World Championship competitor and one of the better wrestlers in his weight class in the Americas.

The two US women looking for a spot will compete on Saturday. Kelsey Campbell is competing for a spot at 58kg while Tamyra Mensah goes for a spot at 69kg. Mensah finished third in her weight class in the first qualifier while Campbell lost a tight early match on a tiebreaker.

Previous Wrestling Coverage:
Preview

Futsal, Soccer

Canada Defeats US, No CONCACAF Futsal Championship for Americans This Cycle

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The damage done over the final ten minutes of leg one continued over the first half hour of leg two as Canada scored three times in the first ten minutes after the half to lead 5-1 with ten minutes left. Tony Donatelli and Daniel Mattos both added late goals but it wasn’t enough and the US was eliminated after a 9-7 loss on aggregate. Adriano Dos Santos had scored for the US in the first half. It’ll be a long four years until the US gets another shot to reach the 2020 CONCACAF Futsal Championship.

Previous CONCACAF Futsal Championship Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update

Covering America's Athletes