Olympic Briefs - Spain to Host Basketball Worlds; Kenyan NOC Re-elects Chief

Spain won the rights to host the 2014 FIBA world basketball championship. (FIBA)Spain Wins Rights to 2014 FIBA Worlds

Spain is the host for the 2014 FIBA world basketball championship after a vote by the federation’s central board in Geneva, Switzerland on Saturday.

In the second round of voting, Spain edged out Italy 11-8 to win the right to host the event. China was the other finalist, but was eliminated in the first round.

“It has been a long process. We have had three amazing candidates coming from three wonderful countries where there is a strong basketball tradition," Patrick Baumann, FIBA's secretary general said. "They have presented great proposals and ideas on how to make the FIBA world championship one of the top sporting events in the world. Today, basketball has taken another step forward on its journey to become one of the biggest global sports in the world.”

Games will be played in Madrid, Bilbao, Granada, Las Palmas and Seville.

Spain, Italy and China were selected as the finalists from an initial group of nine countries.

Spain will have an operational budget of $38.4 million for the 2014 World Championship, which is scheduled to be held Aug. 30-Sept. 14 of that year.

Kenyan NOC Re-elects Keino

Kip Keino was re-elected chairman of Kenya’s National Olympic Committee. (Getty Images) Olympic gold medal runner Kip Keino was re-elected as chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) at the organization’s general meeting in Nairobi on Friday.

Keino, the gold medalist in the 1,500-meter run at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the 3,000 steeplechase at the 1972 Games in Munich, was among a number of NOCK officials who were re-elected unopposed to another four-year term.

First vice chairman Peter Nderitu, secretary general Francis Paul, assistant secretary general James Chacha, treasurer Fridah Shiroya and assistant treasurer Stephen Soi also won another term.

Catherine Ndereba, the silver medalist in the women’s marathon in Beijing last year, won re-election as a committee member.

Rugby Willing to Scrap World Cup in Favor of Olympics

The International Rugby Board has proposed to discontinue its Rugby World Cup Sevens as it bids for inclusion of the sport into the Summer Olympics in 2016.

IRB chief executive Mike Miller told the Canadian Press on Tuesday rugby sevens would drop the world cup and make the Olympics its world championship if it was successful in its bid to be included in the Games.

“If we were to be re-included in the Olympic Games, our intention would be to stop the Rugby World Cup Sevens so there would be would be one pinnacle on the four-year cycle of rugby sevens,” Miller said. “That pinnacle would be the Olympic Games.”

The Rugby World Cup Sevens has grown in popularity over the last few years. This year’s edition in Dubai drew 760 million television viewers worldwide.

Squash 2016 Day Makes its Mark

Leaders of the squash 2016 Olympic bid hailed the success of a worldwide festival of squash over the weekend. Leading professionals lent their support by joining in hundreds of Olympic-themed events, all taking place across various time zones on May 23.

The biggest event was held in the U.S. at the Apawamis Club in Rye, New York, where squash legends Jonathon Power, David Palmer and John White took part in a 100-a-side Battle of the Border fixture.

World No. 2 Natalie Grainger, a World Squash Federation 2016 Ambassador, was also involved with other pros. She said, "It was fantastic to see so many leading players supporting the event and more than 500 people came through the club's doors on the day. The event raised money for the bid, showcased squash in the most positive way and helped to raise the profile of the sport."

From North America, Europe and Asia to the townships of Soweto in South Africa, thousands of children were treated to free coaching lessons and an introduction to squash, which boasts 20 million players across all five continents.

Timothy Fok, IOC member and president of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, participated in the 9th World Squash Coaching & Development Conference. Delegates included World Squash Federation Vice President Gerard DeCourcy.

In all 14 states of Malaysia – one of the biggest squash-playing nations – squash centers, clubs, colleges, universities and schools held their own festivities. WSF Patron and IOC Member HRH Prince Tunku Imran was among the dignitaries involved.

Rio de Janeiro, Chicago and Tokyo, three of the four bid cities in the race for the 2016 Olympics, also staged open days at squash clubs.

World Squash Day founder Alan Thatcher praised the support of national federations and organizers of events across the globe. "The energy and commitment from so many sources was almost overwhelming, and clearly illustrated the passion we all have to see squash gain its rightful place in the Olympic Games,” he said.

For more information, visit www.worldsquashday.com

Torres Breaks U.S. 50 Butterfly Record

Olympic swimmer Dara Torres broke the U.S. record in the 50-meter butterfly twice at a meet in College Station, Texas on Friday.(Getty Images)Olympic swimmer Dara Torres continues her record-setting ways at age 42, breaking the U.S. record in the women’s 50-meter butterfly twice at a Texas senior circuit series meet in College Station, Texas on Friday.

Torres recorded a time of 25.84 seconds in preliminaries, breaking the record of 26.00 set by Jenny Thompson in 2003. She proceeded to surpass her own record with a time of 25.72 in the final.

It was the first time that Torres has competed in a butterfly event since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

“This is totally crazy, I haven’t swum the butterfly since the 2000 Olympics,” said Torres in a telephone interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I haven’t raced much since the Beijing Olympics and this was very important for my confidence. I am back on track.”

Briefs…

…Olympic volleyball champion Kerri Walsh has given birth to a baby boy. The 2008 gold medalist gave birth to Joseph Michael Jennings Friday in Los Angeles. Walsh is married to pro volleyball player Casey Jennings.

…A group of Olympic gymnastics medalists from mainland China, led by double gold medal winner Zou Kai, visited Taiwan for a performance on Monday. The visit was the latest in a series of sports exchanges between China and Taiwan that have been taking place since 2007.

…Olympian Kimberly Smith of New Zealand beat out a field of runners that included Olympic women’s marathon champion Constantina Dita of Romania to win the Bupa London 10,000 10K race on Sunday. Dita finished third behind Smith and Great Britain’s Hatti Dean.

Written by Greg Oshust, Mark Bisson and Isia Reaves