Olympic Newsdesk -- Rhythmic Gymnastics, FIVB, FIBA World Championships

Russia Dominates Rhythmic Worlds

With 14 medals at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, Russia was by far the dominant team of the event.

Italy was second in the medal tally with three medals, one gold. Russia, by contrast, had eight golds. No other country won a gold.

After its only loss in the group all-around event, Russian coach Irina Viner was irate at her team.

"At the European championships, where we had the same competitors, we won three golds with the same programs we did this week," she said. "We suffered a drop in the program with ribbons and rope, which we've trained for six months, and two drops in the program with the hoops, which we've had for two years.

"We would be ashamed to lose the group all-around at the 2012 Olympic Games in London".

Competition took place Sept. 19 - 26 at the Olympiyski Sports Complex in Moscow. This was the first time the competition was staged in Russia.

53 countries sent a total of 312 gymnasts.

Montpellier, France will stage the 31st Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in September of 2011.

Four Teams Winless, Four Teams Perfect at FIBA Women’s WC

Four teams emerged unscathed from FIBA Women’s World Championship prelims, but their records won’t stay perfect for long.

Spain, Australia, Russia and the U.S. are all 3-0 heading into the second week of action in the Czech Republic.

Team USA survived a scare Saturday when then-unbeaten France held the squad of WNBA stars to just three points in the game’s first seven minutes. France was equally cold, and former University of Connecticut standout Diana Taurasi soon found her stroke, scoring a game-high 15 en route to an 81-60 win.

Twelve of the field’s 16 teams advanced out of prelims. Only Argentina, China, Mali and Senegal did not escape the opening weekend.

Another round of group play tips off Monday with each team playing three games in three days in search of a quarterfinal berth.

Two battles of unbeatens slated for Wednesday will determine the bracket’s top two seeds. The U.S. will take on Australia in Ostrava while Russia squares off against Spain in Brno.

After a day of rest, the remaining 8 teams will move to Karlovy Vary for quarterfinal play. The final game is slated for Oct. 3.

Equestrian Worlds See Three-Peat, Hat-Trick

Competition is just gearing up at the World Equestrian Games, but Team USA already has a three-peat.

The defending double-champs took gold Sunday in team reining at The Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The U.S. has not lost the event since its 2002 addition to the Games program.

Belgium won silver, and Italy finished with bronze.

Also Saturday, Maria Mercedes Alvarez Ponton won the individual endurance title, adding to her 2008 world championship and 2009 European championship wins.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the UAE took silver, and his son Hamdan Bin Al Maktoum won bronze. Hamdan then teamed with Majid Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum to win team endurance gold for UAE.

France finished in silver medal position, and Germany took bronze.

More than 900 athletes and 1,300 horses will ride in another six disciplines throughout the next two weeks.

This is thequadrennial competition’s sixth installment and first held outside Europe.

Events run through Oct. 10.

Men’s Volleyball Championships Underway

Brazil is on course to defend the men’s volleyball world championship.

The 2006 victors are off to a perfect 2-0 start in the tournament, which began Saturday in Italy. Argentina, France, Italy, Poland and Russia are the other teams topping their pools.

Twenty-four teams are competing in six pools, with preliminary round matches taking place in Milan, Modena, Reggio Calabria, Turin, Trieste, and Verona. Ancona, Catania, Florence and Rome will host matches later in the tournament.

Second round matches begin Thursday, and the finals are scheduled for Oct. 9 and 10. The champion will be crowned in Rome on the 10th.

Broadcasts of the tournament will be aired in more than 100 countries worldwide.

The 2014 men’s tournament will take place in Poland.

Shortly after the men’s tournament concludes, the women will have their chance to shine. On Oct. 29, the women’s world championship will begin in Japan.

Chicago MayorTells Successor to Stay Away From 2020

Richard Daley warns against another Olympic bid a day after USOC leadership cast doubt upon a follow-up to Chicago 2016.

The longtime mayor reasoned that a 2020 bid would suffer the same fate his city did last year and predicted the Games would go to either Asia or Africa.

The IOC voted last October at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark, to award the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro, South America’s first Olympic host city.

"You have to look at the world. They've never been in India, they've never been in Africa and they haven't been in the Middle East," Daley said during a speech at the annual Chicago Gourmet food event.

"So those three parts of the world will come first, before any bid."

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun insisted Saturday that another bid is not on the horizon, at least not until the IOC makes some concessions.

"It’s highly unlikely that we’ll bid in 2020," he told reporters as this weekend’s Olympic Assembly drew to a close in Colorado Springs.

"It’s highly unlikely that we’ll bid on any Games until we make some progress on the revenue sharing issues."

Blackmun also said the USOC has yet to discuss whether its next bid will be for a Summer or Winter Games.

Daley described Chicago 2016 as "a great opportunity to really showcase Chicago" but insisted his successor think twice, then thrice, about a sequel.

"You can't participate. So be careful how much money you spend," he told whoever takes over his office in May.

"You just can't bid for it and all of a sudden, say, 'Johannesburg or Cape Town's going to get it. They're going to get it. New Delhi, they're going to get it. Someplace in the Middle East, they should get it.' That's the same reason they give for Rio de Janeiro."

A host city for the Games will be selected at the 2013 IOC Session. Bidding will formally begin following the July 2011 session in Durban, South Africa.

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.