LONDON (AFP) ― Russian President Vladimir Putin did his hardman image no harm Thursday as he watched Russia claim an Olympic gold medal at the judo and then bear-hugged the new champion.Putin, a black belt, is no stranger to the Russian judo team, the 59-year-old having regularly grappled with the squad as they trained for the London 2012 Games.And how he relished Russia’s triumph ― jacket off, jumping to his feet to cheer Tagir Khaibulaev’s victory with both arms in the air.British Prime Minist

Last night, Chris Hoy, a major cycling star in the U.K., became a national hero after leading the U.K. to victory in the men’s team sprint to earn his fifth gold medal in the Olympic Games. However, his moment of glory was overshadowed when his teammate claimed that he had deliberately crashed to help the team progress. Philip Hindes, a 19-year-old German-born cyclist for the U.K., fell from his bike in the qualifier. He said that his fall was on purpose to bring victory to U.K. After the fall,

LONDON - NBA playmaker Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and Argentina bolstered hopes for a medal playoff spot with a 92-69 victory over winless Tunisia on Thursday at the Olympic men's basketball tournament.NBA sharpshooter Carlos Delfino added 21 points and NBA big man Luis Scola scored 18 for Argentina, which won Olympic gold in 2004 at Athens and took a bronze medal four years ago in Beijing.Arg

LONDON -- For the past six Summer Olympics, the deep, baritone voice of George Tekmitchov has been a constant on archery ranges where stars have soared and giants have fallen.A former U.S. national team archer and currently an engineer by trade, Tekmitchov has provided play-by-play, or arrow-by-arrow, commentary on the field during every Olympic archery competition since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

LONDON -- It was South Korean Ki Bo-bae who took the gold in the women's individual archery event Thursday, but perhaps the happiest person at Lord's Cricket Ground wasn't part of the South Korean team.Mexico's Aida Roman won silver and Mariana Avitia claimed bronze for their country's first Olympic archery medals. And behind their surprising runs was a South Korean-born head coach, Lee Woong."Thi

LONDON (AFP) -- Australian team officials were on Thursday investigating an incident in which a drunken rower was arrested at the London Olympics, officials said.Josh Booth, 21, was detained early Thursday after allegedly damaging a shop front near the rowing venue in Eton Dorney, west of London, and later required hospital treatment after he fainted and hit his head.He was released without charge

LONDON -- The nation's top sports body said Thursday four female badminton players disqualified from the London Olympics will be sent home, along with an assistant coach, for their attempts to throw women's doubles matches earlier this week.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said the two doubles teams, Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na and Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung, along with coach Kim Moon-soo, ha