Countdown to Rio 2016: Olympic sport this week

Alistair Brownlee laid down an impressive Rio 2016 marker with a dominant victory at the World Triathlon Series round in Leeds

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BRILLIANT BROWNLEES READY FOR RIO

Triathlon: Alistair Brownlee emphasised his Olympic title defence is on track after a dominant World Series victory in Leeds.

Brownlee, who had ankle surgery last year, had only raced once in the World Series prior to his home race in Yorkshire.

But, despite his disrupted season, the Olympic champion looked back to his best on a course he helped design, taking gold ahead of brother Jonathan.

"At the start of the run I would have put my money on Jonny. I was fortunate to have a good day," said Alistair.

In the women's race, Rio 2016 gold medal favourite Gwen Jorgensen was equally impressive en route to victory.

The American reigning world champion's unrivalled running ability saw her overturn a minute-and-a-half deficit after the bike leg to take gold, with Britain's Vicky Holland winning bronze.

GREAT SCOTT

Sailing: Four-time world champion Giles Scott won one of five British gold medals at the World Cup event in Weymouth and Portland, the last major competition before the Olympics.

Scott, 28, came first or second in four of the six races in the finn class to finish three points clear overall of Frenchman Jonathan Lobert.

The other British winners were Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark in the women's 470, Nick Thompson in the laser, Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth in the 49erFX class, and Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves in the Nacra 17.

Two other British crews selected for the Rio Olympics won medals: Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign claimed silver in the 49er, while there was a bronze medal in the men's 470 for Luke Patience and Chris Grube.

FROOME'S TOUR TRIPLE BID BOOSTED

Road cycling: Britain's Chris Froome believes he is yet to hit top form ahead of next month's Tour de France, despite clinching a third Criterium du Dauphine title.

Both of Froome's Tour victories - in 2013 and 2015 - have been preceded by victory in the Dauphine, a key warm-up race.

There had been some question marks over Froome's form coming into the 2016 race, but after beating some key Tour de France rivals such as Alberto Contador, he said: "I'm not at my best yet. I'm coming into the Tour a little bit fresher and I'm hoping that will bring me into the third week in better shape."

Froome will race the Tour de France next month (2-24 July) then turn his attentions to the Olympics in Rio, where he will look to add to the time trial bronze medal he won at London 2012.

Chris Froome warmed up for next month's Tour de France by winning his third Criterium du Dauphine

NEWS IN BRIEF

Athletics: Jamaica's Olympic champion Usain Bolt said the possibility of losing a gold medal is "heartbreaking".

Bolt's 4x100m relay team-mate Nesta Carter is reported to have tested positive for a banned substance during retesting of 454 samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the track, Bolt ran the second fastest time in the world this year, clocking 9.88 seconds in Kingston despite stumbling out of the blocks.

Reigning 200m world champion Dafne Schippers was the star turn at the Oslo Diamond League, clocking a world-leading 21.93 seconds.

Laura Muir says she is targeting a 1500m medal in Rio after setting a new Scottish mile record of four minutes 19.12 seconds.

Jessica Ennis-Hill competed in four events at the Northern Championships, with a throw of 45.02m in the javelin being her best since 2013.

Jessica Ennis-Hill stepped up preparations for her Rio 2016 heptathlon title defence at the Northern Championships

Badminton: Britain's Chris and Gabby Adcock were knocked out in the second round of the Australian Open - the final major event before the Rio Olympics. The world number seven-ranked pair lost 21-16, 21-18 to China's Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen as they suffered their second early tournament exit in a row.

Canoe slalom: Olympic silver medallists David Florence and Richard Hounslow narrowly missed out on a medal after coming fourth by just 0.08 seconds in the C2 final at the World Cup event in Spain. Florence also failed to make the podium in the men's C1 event after a mistake near the finish saw him drop from third to sixth.

Diving: Tom Daley impressed in his final competition before the Rio Olympics by winning gold in the individual and synchronised 10m platform events at the British Diving Championships in Sheffield. There were also notable wins for Tonia Couch and Lois Toulson in the women's synchronised 10m platform and world bronze medallist Jack Laugher in the men's 3m springboard.

Equestrian: Gemma Tattersall took a big step towards Olympic selection after being crowned champion at the Bramham Horse Trials in Yorkshire. She finished just ahead of Britain's three-time Olympic medallist Tina Cook, while Pippa Funnell was third. The British team for Rio will be announced on 5 July.

Modern pentathlon: World number one Jamie Cooke and London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray are among the four modern pentathletes chosen last week to represent Great Britain at the Rio Olympics. The pair are joined by Kate French and Joe Choong.

Shooting: British teenager Amber Hill earned a bronze medal at the latest World Cup event in San Marino. The 2015 European Games champion defeated two-time Olympic silver medallist Wei Ning of China after an epic shoot-off in the skeet.

Swimming: Two-time open water world champion Keri-Anne Payne finished second at the final Olympic qualification event in Portugal to secure a place at Rio 2016. Payne, who won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games before finishing fourth at London 2012, required a top-nine result in Portugal.

Elsewhere, Jazz Carlin and Adam Peaty were among the winners on the final day of the Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona as Britain collected 14 medals.

Weightlifting: Commonwealth champion Zoe Smith withdrew from the British Championships with injury just weeks before Team GB's Olympic selection is announced. In the men's 94kg event, Sonny Webster outlifted Owen Boxall to take the domestic title and put himself in contention for Olympic selection.

THIS WEEK'S EVENTS

Archery: The third leg of the World Cup takes place in Antalya, Turkey (12-19 June) and represents the final chance for British archers to book a team and individual places at the Rio Olympics. Patrick Huston is the only archer to have a quota spot to date.

Athletics: The Diamond League heads to Stockholm (16 June) for round eight, with the star turn expected to be Ethiopian 1500m world champion Genzebe Dibaba. Dibaba has broken indoor world records on each of her last three visits to the Swedish capital.

Equestrian: The Luhmuhlen Horse Trials (16-19 June) in Germany should offer some useful eventing form pointers ahead of Rio selection. Among the British entries are Izzy Taylor and Oliver Townend. Meanwhile, Olympic dressage champions Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester will be in action at the Bolesworth International (15-19 June) in Cheshire.

Hockey: The women's Champions Trophy gets underway in London on Saturday with Great Britain aiming to win the title for the first time. The hosts play their opening match against reigning champions Argentina on 18 June at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Road cycling: The Aviva Women's Tour (June 15-19) features a strong field including Britain's reigning world champion Lizzie Armitstead and the current Olympic champion Marianne Vos. Armitstead will be joined on home roads by Emma Pooley, another British rider with Rio ambitions.

With the Tour de France less than a month away, Great Britain's two-time Olympic track gold medallist Geraint Thomas continues his preparations by leading Team Sky at the Tour de Suisse (11-19 June).

Rowing: The third and final World Cup regatta takes place in Poznan, Poland (17-19 June). The initial British team for Rio has been named but not all the crews have been finalised. All eyes will be on Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley, who will be looking to get their Olympic campaign back on track in the reformed women's double sculls.

Katherine Grainger and Vicky Thornley's form will be in the spotlight at the third and final rowing World Cup

Rugby Sevens: The 12th and final men's Rio 2016 spot will be decided in Monaco at the Olympic repechage qualification tournament (18-19 June). Sixteen teams will battle it out, with Samoa starting among the favourites having registered a tournament victory in the World Series this season.

Shooting: The final World Cup event before the Rio Olympics takes place in Azerbaijan from 17-27 June. The competition will stage all three shooting disciplines: pistol, rifle and shotgun.

Tennis: In a week that saw Andy Murray's Rio 2016 selection confirmed, the Scot re-hired the man that helped lead him to London 2012 glory, Ivan Lendl. The former world number one coached Murray to Olympic singles gold at London 2012, as well as a pair of Grand Slam triumphs, and with Wimbledon looming large, the pair have reunited.