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Home / Sport / Olympics

Rio Olympics 2016: Sprinter blames helicopter for false start

Herald online
15 Aug, 2016 04:33 AM3 mins to read

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Bahrain's Andrew Fisher reacts after being disqualified in a men's 100-meter semifinal for a false start during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Photo / AP.

Bahrain's Andrew Fisher reacts after being disqualified in a men's 100-meter semifinal for a false start during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Photo / AP.

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A roundup of some of the quirkier stories from day nine of the Rio Olympics.

A sprinter who false-started in the 100-metre semifinals blamed a helicopter

Andrew Fisher, representing Bahrain, said the chopper approached the Olympic Stadium as he was in the starting block and distracted him. He knew instantly he was disqualified.
It was the first false start of his international career.

Fisher said "it was the chopper," and "that should never happen at a meet this big".

Love was in the air at the Olympic diving pool.

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China's He Zi won silver in the women's 3-metre springboard before accepting a bigger prize: an engagement ring.

He's boyfriend and fellow diver Qin Kai surprised her with a marriage proposal as she stepped off the medal podium.

A serious-looking Qin got down on bended knee and spoke at length to He before opening a small box.

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Qin took out the ring and, after she solemnly nodded yes, slipped it on her finger. Then he clapped her right hand over her eyes and presented her a red rose encased in glass.
The crowd cheered and the other divers watched in amazement.

He said the couple had been dating for six years and Qin's proposal was a surprise: "He made a lot of promises, but the most important thing is this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life."

Brazil and Ukraine are more than 10,500km apart

Which might explain why Ukrainian suppliers couldn't get Olympic signs delivered in time.
Organisers said only 15 per cent of the signage ordered had been installed.

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"There were many other things that were supposed to be installed, and they could not," said Games executive director Christophe Dubi, who said Ukrainian suppliers had failed to deliver at the last minute.

"We understand that the look of the games needs to be improved in some venues, especially in the Olympic stadium," Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said. "We understand also that in some areas of the marathon we could have had a little bit more."

Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos has called the "look of the games" a disappointment. He said many venues were "not what we expected or hoped for" and lacked colourful designs, logos and graphics".

Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche says he developed a serious case of bacterial pneumonia while in Brazil for the Olympic road race.

Roche suggested on Twitter he may have gotten sick from a "bad aircon in Rio" though he did not say how he knew his illness was caused by air conditioning.

He also did not specify whether it was from a unit in the Olympic village, where he stayed with the rest of the Irish team.

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The Olympic Council of Ireland, the country's Olympic committee, said it was not aware of any medical concerns made by Roche during or after his stay with the team.

Rio organisers have been forced to resort to Plan C for the marathon swimming event

More than two dozen competitors will begin the 10kme swim from Fort Copacabana by walking into the water from the beach and then starting in a line because the original starting pontoon was swept away in the waves.

The pontoon ended up on the beach on Friday night, and organisers were unable to secure a replacement over the weekend.

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