It was little wonder the faces of the smattering of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members who attended the first-ever men’s rugby sevens gold medal match at the Games were adorned with smiles.

favourites - Fiji and Australia - both topped their respective podiums but who thought Japan could beat South

Africa?

match-up was laced with tension throughout and was won by Britain in dramatic circumstances.First, the South

Sprinter Flings Owusu-Agyapong said it was an honour to be Ghana’s flagbearer at the Rio 2016 Olympic Opening Ceremony, after being named for the role by the country’s National Olympic Committee.

was also part of the women’s 4x100m relay team that won silver at the 2016 African Championships in South

Africa, following their earlier success at the 2014 African Championships in Morocco, and the 2015 All

Africa Games in Brazzaville where the team also won silver.

Fiji gave rugby sevens its perfect Olympic bow today by producing a scintillating final performance to sweep aside Britain 43-7 and claim their first gold medal in any sport.

Medal winners from Fiji, Britain and South Africa gather together in a show of unity ©Getty ImagesFiji

pooling the collective resources of the home nations and over-achieving en route to the final.South Africa

Will the Rio 2016 athletics programme, which gets underway tomorrow, become part of the Usain Bolt Narrative in the way that Beijing and London have already been?

the favourite over one lap given the presence of Grenada’s defending champion Kirani James and the South

two world titles, attempts to earn the Olympic medal of top choice four years on.Wayde van NIekerk of South

Africa will be seeking to reproduce his world 400m title win of last year in Beijing, where he headed

The first day of Rio 2016 rowing finals ended with Germany heading the medals table after taking gold in both men’s and women’s quad sculls.

were in command from before halfway and were able to witness a battle royal for silver that was won by South

Africa, with Italy third and Great Britain fourth."

Sweden has been awarded the 2018 International Federation of sport for Para-athletes with an intellectual disability (Inas) World Football Championships, it has been announced.

traditionally followed the FIFA World Cup with the previous editions being held in Brazil in 2014 and South

Africa in 2010.

with 2014 World Champions Saudi Arabia, who have confirmed their place following their victory over South

Africa in the previous tournament.Teams from across Europe will compete this September in Paris in the

regional associations to deliver Regional Championship events in the Americas, Asia and Oceania and Africa

The world was in turmoil in 1968.

South Africa was in the midst of its horrid apartheid regime.

Imprisoned athlete Oscar Pistorius has reportedly received treatment in hospital for "wrist injuries" - with his brother denying that he intentionally harmed himself.

A prison spokesman said the injuries sustained to the South African were "minor" and that the blade runner

term.They want him to be jailed for at least 15 years, with the six-year term prompting fresh criticism in South

Africa and across the world.The country's National Prosecuting Authority said the sentence was "disproportionate

Olympic men’s football gold medal suffered an early set-back as they were held to a goalless draw by South

Africa at the Estádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha.

players were booed off the pitch at the full-time whistle after they failed to break down a resolute South

 Not even the dismissal of South Africa's Mothobi Mvala for a second bookable offence on the hour

 Both teams trail South Korea in the early standings after the London 2012 bronze medallists thumped

"Photo_Gallery"

scoring a goal against Colombia ©Getty ImagesEmpty seats were a major concern in the Sweden versus South

Africa clash ©Getty ImagesSweden supporters celebrate after the match ©Getty ImagesThe Olympic Torch

Sweden opened the Olympic women’s football tournament with a 1-0 win over South Africa in front of vast

only goal of a tense Group E encounter in which chances were at a premium.Following a scramble in the South

tie to bed, making it 2-0 in the 78th minute with her 162nd international goal.Sweden's match against South

Africa was played in front of vast swathes of empty seats ©Getty ImagesThe other match in Group F, held

The men's Olympic football tournament gets underway at Rio 2016 tomorrow, with hosts Brazil aiming to end their gold medal drought on home soil.

set to play tomorrow, with eight matches scheduled.Among those to feature will be the hosts, who face South

Africa at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia.

time since 1988, where they won a second bronze medal.Their group draw appears to be tough though with South

Liverpool has officially announced plans to bring the 2026 Commonwealth Games to the British city.

Games is due to take place in the Gold Coast and the 2022 event is scheduled to be held in Durban in South

Africa.

The women's football tournament will start the sporting action at this year's Olympic Games tomorrow, days before the Opening Ceremony. 

 The first match will be in Group E and features Sweden against South Africa at the Estádio Olímpico

The 2016 Rio Games are already unique. No other Games in modern history has had its build-up vexed by such a bewildering mass of political frictions, economic shocks and doping controversies. But as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad shift into delivery mode with Friday’s Opening Ceremony, there is the guarantee of something beautiful being presented to the watching world.

Meanwhile, in a training camp at Ngong, 35 kilometres outside Nairobi, five runners who fled war-torn South

received the IOC’s Women and Sport Award in recognition of her hugely successful humanitarian work across Africa

story to my children and grandchildren.”The 800m runner still has both parents and nine siblings in South

Her parents are still in South Sudan whilst her four siblings are living in the camp.

Most of them come from South Sudan, although we have one from the Congo, and Somalia, and three from