All Russian weightlifters banned by federation

BUDAPEST, Hungary — All of Russia’s weightlifters were banned from the Rio Olympics on Friday for doping for what the international federation called “extremely shocking” results that brought the sport into “disrepute.”

The eight competition spots have been offered to other countries.

The International Weightlifting Federation said the “integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians.” It said the punishment was an “appropriate sanction” to “preserve the status of the sport.”

The IWF described the doping results as “extremely shocking and disappointing.”

To replace the eight Russian lifters in Rio, five countries were offered places in the men’s competition — Belarus, Croatia, El Salvador, Mongolia and Serbia. For the women, Albania, Georgia and Moldova became eligible.

In justifying its actions against Russia, the IWF said retests of samples from seven Russian weightlifters

who took part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics or 2012 London Olympics resulted in positive tests, and more were expected.

CYCLING: Lea Davison, Team USA’s best hope for an Olympic medal in mountain biking, loves to see girls on the trails. So much so that she has made it a bit of a mission in life.

Davison and her sister, Sabra, started the nonprofit Little Bellas program in 2007 as a way to mentor young cyclists. The goal is to help young women “realize their potential through cycling” by having fun in a constructive environment.

When Davison wasn’t racing overseas this spring and summer, she was home spending time training and with the program .

“It’s inspiring the next generation,” Davison said, “but we’re not necessarily … competition-focused.”

FIRE: Australian team members were forced to evacuate their lodgings in Rio de Janeiro on Friday after a small fire in a basement parking area caused smoke to fill the stairwells.