Bronx teen John Orozco helps USA men's gymnastics team to the top of the qualification round

Individually, Orazco advances to finals along with teammate Danell Leyva while team USA qualifies ahead of Russia and Great Britain

John Orozco, the teenager from the Bronx, helped lead the U.S. gymnastics team to the top of the rankings in a qualification round.

It was an impressive afternoon for the men, as Orozco and Danell Leyva also became two of four Americans to advance to the individual event finals. The U.S. posted a team total of 274.342, putting it ahead of Russia (272.595) and Great Britain (272.420), respectively.


Scores from the qualifying round do not carry forward to the finals, but are a strong indication of what may happen next.

Leyva and Orozco stood one-two in the standings.

SAUDIS THREATEN EXIT
IOC president Jacques Rogge faced his first major crisis, as Saudi Arabia threatened to withdraw its athletes from the Olympics after a Saudi female judoka was banned by the International Judo Federation from competing with a head scarf.

Negotiations continued as Rogge tried to avoid what would be a big blow to his presidency. He has been very public about his diplomatic triumph in getting the first Saudi woman into the Olympics.

The Saudis will not allow the woman, Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, to compete without the Muslim headwear, or hijab, or without a male chaperone.

The Judo Federation, however, has thus far banned the head scarf on safety grounds.

WEIGHTLIFTER BANNED
The IOC on Saturday expelled Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku, 20, from the Olympics after he tested positive for the synthetic anabolic steroid stanozolol. Pulaku tested positive on July 23, and his file will be sent to the International Weightlifting Federation for further review and potential punishment.

The drug, which mimics testosterone and builds muscle, is quickly becoming the scourge of these Games. Greek high jumper Dimitris Chondrokoukis was also banished for the same offense.
SERENA, ISNER WIN
Americans Serena Williams and hard-serving John Isner advanced to the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament. Williams had an easy time against former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 6-1, knocking eight aces on Centre Court and beating the Serb in 61 minutes. Isner topped Olivier Rochus of Belgium, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
LET US IN!
Early preliminaries in a variety of non-ticketed “minor” sports have created a controversy at sites where spectators showed up and thought they’d be allowed in for free.

Thousands of spectators were turned away from the Lord’s cricket ground on Friday for the archery ranking round, in which legally blind Im Dong-hyun of South Korea set a world record for 72 arrows with a score of 699.







Source: nydailynews.com