Games tidbits

FLAGS

Correct designs ready to fly high

New and correctly designed Chinese national flags are en route to Rio after the Chinese Olympic delegation protested the use of wrongfully designed flags on the opening day of the Games.

The manufacturer of the incorrectly designed flags is not Chinese and is located 75 km from Rio. After the new order was placed, the Chinese consulate in Rio sent staff members to the company's production line for a quality inspection.

The company completed production of the new flags in 30 hours. Such work usually takes four to five days. The flags were due to reach Rio on Thursday, where they were to be delivered to each Olympic venue, with the process being overseen by the Chinese consulate.

"We are looking forward to seeing the new national flags rising in stadiums, and we wish our athletes the very best," said Song Yang, the Chinese consulate-general in Rio.

FASHION

Beach volleyball duo flaunts unique look

The collaboration between April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings goes beyond the Copacabana beach volleyball venue. It goes beyond the California beaches where they trained for the Olympics and beyond the far-flung airports and hotel rooms they visited to qualify for Rio.

The US pair worked together with pen and paper to design their Olympic outfits - sewing for gold even while they were going for gold.

"It was Kerri's idea originally to design our own suits," Ross said during a day off from competition. "She brought it up, and I liked the idea a lot. It's so cool. It just gives you more ownership of the whole thing."

With its two-player partnerships, beach volleyball is more similar to an individual pursuit like tennis or golf than a team sport like basketball, where the players are picked by a federation. So instead of a team sponsor that dictates uniform designs, players can negotiate their own deals and choose their own gear.

Walsh Jennings and Ross didn't want to thumb through a catalog and buy off the rack. They came up with an idea for a uniform top, and Ross sketched out an initial design.

ATHLETICS

Walker hit with ban after losing appeal

Race walker Alex Schwazer, who won gold for Italy at the 2008 Beijing Games, has lost his appeal against a provisional ban for a doping violation and has been suspended for eight years, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday.

Schwazer, who returned from a previous doping ban to lead Italy to the 50km world team title in Rome this year, tested positive in May for a steroid that he said he had not knowingly taken.

The International Association of Athletics Federations imposed a provisional ban on the 31-year-old, but the walker took his case to the arbitration court, with his lawyer claiming the athlete's sample had been tampered with.

He previously served a three-and-a-half-year suspension after admitting to using the blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) in 2012.

SECURITY

Second bullet found at equestrian center

Another bullet was found inside the Olympic equestrian center close to the stable area on Wednesday, the second time a stray bullet has been picked up at the venue in the past week, police said.

No one was injured and the first day of the dressage competition finished as normal. On Saturday, a stray bullet tore through the roof of the equestrian media center, passing over the head of the New Zealand media attache and landing at the feet of a photographer.

The Brazilian defense minister said it might have been fired by a gang member trying to shoot down a police blimp.

The blimp, which carries cameras to monitor the surrounding area, was flying on Tuesday during the final day of the eventing competition.

On Wednesday, police arrested a man accused of firing the shot on Saturday in a community about 2km from the venue, General Luis Ramos said. During the arrest more shots were fired, possibly explaining the second bullet.