Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Rio 2016 Olympics

latest news & developments
Wayde van Niekerk is famous for being the only man to win Olympic gold and set a world record (43:03) from lane eight at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Wayde van Niekerk, the eternal underdog

Injury saw the Olympic champion dubbed an underdog going into the race he won in record-breaking fashion in Rio. But it’s a position he knows well, and now he has an extra year…

(Reuters)

IOC weighs boxing Olympic KO

The IOC has been losing patience with boxing since a judging scandal at the Rio Games in 2016

Rio managed to show off its plumage despite its cultural programme being shelved

Rio was the first summer Olympic host city since Barcelona 1992 not to host a four-year Cultural Olympiad. Has anyone noticed?

Toast our Olympic Amazons with gay abandon as they are the real winners

In a country where homosexuals are routinely subjected to violence in various forms, let’s remember that it was two gay women making the nation proud.

Football stars and Olympic athletes draw attention to politics and poverty in Brazil

Ishay Govender-Ypma stands beside Christ the Redeemer, which embraces Rio, to reflect on the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Video

Jump or die: How a silver medallist leapt over the odds that marginalise drug users

A South African Olympic silver medallist achieved something remarkable, especially after testing positive for methamphetamine use in 2012.

Unbeaten Bolt wins triple-triple, bringing his stunning Olympic career to an end

Usain Bolt has completed a third successive sweep of sprint titles.

Video

#LochteGate: Teammate says Ryan Lochte played key role in Rio incident

The U.S. Olympic Committee has apologised to people of Brazil.

Sunette Viljoen won the silver medal in the women’s javelin.

Olympics wrap: Semenya cruises to final, Viljoen wins silver, Schoeman nabs bronze

In what turned out to be a successful day for South Africa, Caster Semenya qualified for the Olympic women’s 800m final with supreme ease.

Caster Semenya is also a double 800m Olympic gold medallist.

Faster Caster is just hitting her stride and might be on her way to new world record

Never mind the naysayers – our champion deserves to enjoy her moment in the sun.

Pace and power: Caster Semenya won her appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge whether her rights had been infringed in terms of requiring women with high testosterone to reduce those levels through drugs. (Olivier Morin/AFP)

Timeline of Caster Semenya’s hurdles and achievements over the last seven years

A short timeline of the athlete’s journey since winning the 800m title in 2009.

Caster Semenya has hit back against her critics

So what if some female Olympians have high testosterone?

Some women naturally produce high levels of testosterone. Why is this innate condition treated differently from other conditions?

Wayde van Niekerk set a new world record. Getty

Wayde van Niekerk breaks world record to win 400m gold at Rio Olympics

Van Niekerk breaks 17-year-old world record and earns the gold.

The world record was broken, the best man won.
Video

Brilliant Wayde Van Niekerk smashes 400m world record to claim gold in Rio

South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk ran the fastest single lap in history to win the Olympic 400m gold medal in 43.03 seconds.

Luvo Manyonga overjoyed with silver long jump medal at Rio Olympic Games

No disappointment despite missing out on Olympic gold after American beats him by 1 centimetre.