Japan’s Murofushi makes one last throw for Rio Oly

Taylor qualifies for ’16 Games

TOKYO, May 25, (Agencies): Olympic hammer throw gold medallist Koji Murofushi will return after a twoyear absence from competition to bid for a place at the Rio de Janeiro Games at the age of 41.

Murofushi, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games and bronze at London four years ago, will compete at Japan’s national athletics trials in Nagoya next month, Kyodo news reported.

“As an athlete, I want to keep competing until I no longer can,” the news agency quoted Murofushi as saying.

“I have to find a way to make the time to work. It won’t be like when I was younger. I have to give it all I’ve got on the day of the meet.

“It’s still there. I just have to find a way to bring it to the fore.”

Murofushi became the field event’s oldest world champion when he won at Daegu in 2011 at the age of 36. After winning his 20th national title in 2014, he declined to compete last year, citing his hope for a new generation of Japanese throwers to emerge.

He is following in the footsteps of his hammer throwing father Shigenobu Murofushi, a triple Olympian who was flag bearer for Japan at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and competed well into his 40’s.

Shigenobu long held the national record until his son broke it in 1998.

Taylor,

the London 2012 gold medallist, suffered a shock defeat in a European qualifier in Turkey last month and needed to make the last four at the worlds to secure her place on the plane to Brazil.

The Irish boxer beat Mexico’s Victoria Torres on a unanimous points decision. Moselly’s compatriot

also secured her place for Rio in the flyweight category (51kg) after a walkover against China’s

Ourahmoune

Ren Cancan.

Sarah

Australia won’t have a men’s eight crew in Olympic rowing for the first time in 68 years after failing to qualify for Rio de Janeiro at the final regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Australia’s men’s eight, which needed a top-two finish at the weekend regatta but finished a distant fourth, has made the start line at each Olympics dating back to London in 1948, winning six medals — two silvers and four bronze.

The Australian women’s eight also needed a top-two finish but placed third.

Australia has qualified eight boats with 20 rowers for Brazil, compared with 13 boats and 46 rowers at London in 2012. Australia won three silver and two bronze medals in 2012, failing to win gold for the first time since 2000.

Murofushi

Olympic 200 metres champion

Felix

Allyson

will miss opening her outdoor season at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic in Oregon as she continues to recover from a five-week old ankle sprain, her coach told Reuters on Tuesday.

The setback will not affect Felix’s plans to run both the 200 and 400 metres at August’s Rio Olympics, coach Bob Kersee said in a telephone interview.

“Nothing at all,” Kersee said when asked if Felix’s injury would change plans for the rare Olympic double, which only two women have completed.

The Spanish Olympic Committee says it has been notified that one of its athletes tested positive in a reanalysis of doping samples from the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Spanish body said Wednesday it was informed by the International Olympic Committee “about an alleged adverse result for a Spanish athlete who participated in the 2008 Games.”

The committee did not name the athlete or his or her sport.