RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Simone Biles closed her Rio Olympics with more gymnastics gold. Usain Bolt breezed through another sprint as he makes a run at one final Olympic title in his favorite race.
Bolt easily won a qualifying race Tuesday in the 200 meters, the first step in his bid for the gold Thursday. His prowess on the track is the dominant story line of the final week of the Olympics along with Biles’ great success in gymnastics.
“I came out here to qualify,” Bolt said, “and that’s what I did.”
Biles won the floor exercise Tuesday, her fourth gold of the games. She is only the fourth Olympic gymnast to accomplish that feat.
She added a bronze in the balance beam event Monday in what marked the first day of Summer Olympics competition since 2008 that the United States didn’t win a gold medal. The U.S. claimed gold on every day of the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
The drought proved brief. Christian Taylor won gold in the triple jump, and teammate Will Claye came in second — a familiar result for the Americans. Taylor and Claye finished 1-2 in triple jump in the 2012 London Games as well.
It ended up being a pretty eventful day for Claye. Moments after earning his silver, Claye bounded into the stands, dropped to a knee and proposed to his longtime girlfriend , hurdler Queen Harrison. She said yes.
Brazil hasn’t enjoyed anywhere near the success in the Olympics as the Americans, but the host nation has been competitive in several events. One day after a Brazilian pulled off an upset to win the pole vault Monday night, the women’s soccer team lost to Sweden in a shootout. The Brazil men are still alive, however, and they play a soccer semifinal against Honduras on Wednesday.
And Rio Olympic officials have one less trouble to worry about after a series of mishaps including robberies, stray gunfire and a falling camera outside the basketball arena. The Olympic diving pool whose water turned a murky green a week ago had reverted to its usual blue Tuesday.
Other highlights from Day 11:
— SERBIA STUNNER : Australia was seen as a strong threat to win gold in women’s basketball, but Serbia dashed those hopes. The Serbs raced to midcourt in celebration after a desperation put-back by the Australia was off the mark and they won 73-71. The Australia women had medaled in every Olympics dating to 1996.
— CLUTCH CROATIAN : Sandra Perkovic escaped early elimination twice in as many days before producing last-ditch throws to win the women’s discus. She became frustrated after hitting the protective netting but came through with a throw of 69.21 meters to repeat as Olympic champion.
— BRAZILIANS ON THE BEACH : Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana Beach will be rocking Tuesday when two Brazilian women’s beach volleyball teams compete in the semifinals in separate matches. Brazil has one team competing on the men’s side as well.
— BADMINTON BLUES : China swept all five gold medals in badminton at the 2012 London Games, but China won’t win a single gold in the event this year.
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