OLYMPICS roundup

Brazil heightening security after Nice truck attack

Rio de janiero

Security preparations for the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympics will be reviewed after a devastating attack in France, Brazilian officials said Friday. Defense Minister Raul Jungmann told CBN radio in a Friday interview that safety protocols in Rio de Janeiro would be revised in the wake after Thursday’s attack in the French coastal city of Nice that killed scores of people leaving a fireworks display along a well-known boulevard.

A man drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in an attack that French officials called an undeniable act of terror. The killing only ended after police shot and killed the armed driver, who was identified as a 31-year-old Tunisian delivery man.

Jungmann said he regretted the restrictions on movement likely to be caused in Rio by the possible increase of security checkpoints throughout the Olympics host city during the Aug. 5-21 games. He did not say what other measures could be taken.

“The attack in Nice is worrisome for us, too. We have learned a few lessons. We will review procedures, make more barriers, searches and apply much tighter security,” Jungmann said. “Unfortunately that can be an extra difficulty for people, but it is for their safety.”

Top government military adviser Sergio Etchegoyen told journalists in the capital Brasilia that the country’s security authorities were meeting Friday with acting President Michel Temer to examine possible gaps in preparations in hopes of guarding against such an attack in Brazil.

“Obviously our concerns have reached a higher level,” Etchegoyen said. “We haven’t identified imminent risks, but it is important that the population understands that they will lose a little comfort in exchange for more security.”

tennis

Nadal on final entry list after winning appeal

Rafael Nadal is on the final entry list for the Rio Olympics.

The 14-time major champion hasn’t played since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured left wrist and needed the International Tennis Federation’s Olympic Committee to approve his appeal because he hasn’t played Davis Cup.

Nadal won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

While there were no surprises on the list released Friday by the ITF, two top-10 players — one on the men’s side, one on the women’s — later announced they were withdrawing from the Olympics, and both mentioned concerns about the Zika virus. Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 7 in the men’s rankings, said in a statement that “I am making this decision for a variety of health concerns including the uncertainty around the Zika virus.” Romania’s Simona Halep, the world’s fifth-ranked woman, posted on Facebook: “After several talks with doctors and my family, I concluded that the risks are too high for my career and for my health, especially as a woman. Family is much too important for me and I can’t risk not being able to have one of my own after my career in tennis is over.”

Still, unlike golf, most of the world’s top tennis players plan to go to Rio next month. The only other unexpected announcement Friday came from sixth-ranked Victoria Azarenka, who posted on Twitter just as the Olympic roster was about to be released that she is pregnant and will miss the rest of the season. The two-time Grand Slam champion’s name was on the ITF’s list.

A handful of top-30 men had pulled out of the Rio Games; they mostly cited tennis reasons and not Zika. But the Big Four of Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are all on the list — for both singles and doubles. Murray is the reigning gold medalist, while Djokovic and Federer are each seeking a first Olympic singles title. Federer won silver in 2012 and Djokovic bronze in 2008.

CANOEING

Sprint canoeist ready for strong showing

Mark de Jonge, the world’s fastest sprint canoeist, was ready to quit the sport after he failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

The addition of the 200-meter kayak event to the Olympic program in London 2012 made the Canadian change his mind. It turned out his explosive paddling style was much better suited to the furious pace of the 200 than the longer races.

After winning bronze in London, the 32-year-old engineer heads to Rio as a double world champion and world-record holder in the event, which he has compared to a drag race on water.

The failure of defending Olympic champion Ed McKeever of Britain to qualify for Rio leaves de Jonge as the favorite for the gold, with Sweden’s Petter Menning and Maxime Beaumont of France among the other contenders.

Staff/wire reports