Spanish gold medallist sailor robbed at gunpoint in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO: Spain’s Olympic gold medal winning sailor Fernando Echavarri said he was fortunate to have escaped with his life after being robbed at gunpoint in

RIO DE JANEIRO: Spain’s Olympic gold medal winning sailor Fernando Echavarri said he was fortunate to have escaped with his life after being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro as he and two fellow Spaniards walked to breakfast.

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“We were a bit naive, a bit too daring and we are lucky to have survived,” Echavarri told The Associated Press as he trained on Monday at Rio’s Olympic sailing venue. “We were too confident, and being confident in Rio is not a good thing.”

Echavarri, who won gold in the 2008 Olympics, and two other members of the Spanish sailing team were robbed Friday morning when five young men — “not more than 16 years old,” Echavarri said — poked pistol barrels into the Spaniards’ ribs and chests.

Echavarri said they handed over their cellphones and other minor electronic gear, satisfying their assailants who ran off.

The Spaniards, who have been in Rio for almost two weeks, were staying in Santa Teresa, a hilltop neighborhood popular with tourists and dotted with restaurants and bars, and a 20-minute walk to the sailing venue.

MCILROY COULD SKIP RIO DUE TO ZIKA CONCERNS

LONDON: Rory McIlroy took a long time to decide he would represent Ireland at the 2016 Rio Olympics but the 27-yearold world No 3 could now miss golf ’s return to the Games after a 112-year absence because of concerns over the Zika virus.

The Northern Irishman had threatened to skip the Olympics as he agonised over representing Great Britain or Ireland in Brazil but after opting for the latter in 2014, the mosquito-borne disease may lead the four-times major winner to avoid the Games.

First detected in Brazil last year, Zika has been linked in that country to more than 1,300 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect defined by unusually small heads and something that is clearly a major concern for McIlroy.

“There’s going to be a point in the next couple of years where we (McIlroy and fiancée Erica Stoll) are going to have to think about starting a family,” McIlroy told the British media after winning the Irish Open.

“Right now I’m ready to go but I don’t want anything to affect that. As it gets closer, I am relishing the thought of going down there and competing for gold,” McIlroy said before adding: “But I have been reading a lot of reports about Zika and there have been some articles coming out saying that it might be worse than they are saying.”

RUSSIA TO BAR PREVIOUS DOPE CHEATS FROM RIO

MOSCOW: Russia’s athletics federation said in a statement that it would not allow athletes who had been caught doping in previous years into the Russian team for the Rio Olympics.

T he Russian Olympic Committee said that it had been informed by the IOC that re-tests of samples from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing showed positive results for 14 Russian athletes. “Any potential participant in the Olympic Games caught using doping in previous years cannot be a member of Russia’s national team at Rio,” the federation said.

RANKING POINTS LED ISNER TO SNUB OLYMPICS

PARIS: American No 1 John Isner said on Tuesday that his decision not to play the Rio Olympics was influenced by the tournament not offering ranking points as much as his packed playing schedule. Isner is one of four top 25 players in the world who will skip the Games which fall in the middle of the North American hardcourt season and in the build-up to the US Open.

The 17th-ranked Isner joins 15th seed Dominic Thiem, Bernard Tomic, the world No 22 and veteran Feliciano Lopez, 23 in the rankings, in giving the Olympics a miss.

“The Olympics, it’s very tough on the schedule, especially with Davis Cup as well. We’re into the quarterfinals there,” said 31-year-old Isner. “The fact that they have no points, to be honest, was a pretty big factor as well, that hindered me a bit.”