Cycling: Armstrong defeats Russian for third straight gold (Reuters)

By Martyn Herman RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – On the one hand there was Kristin Armstrong, hoping to complete a fairytale return to road cycling with a third consecutive Olympic time trial gold the day before her 43rd birthday. On the other there was Olga Zabelinskaya, a Russian rider with a doping past who was nearly booted out of the Games. Double London medalist Zabelinskaya, who served an 18-month suspension for a banned stimulant and who got a last-gasp reprieve to compete after the IOC’s attempt to ban Russia’s previous dopers collapsed, had looked poised for victory.