Rio Olympics Recap Day 13: Usain Bolt Wins 3rd Straight 200-Meter Gold
Usain Bolt won his third consecutive gold medal in the men’s 200-meter race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil on Thursday. Here’s a recap of all the day’s action:
Usain Bolt Three-Peats Again
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt easily won the men’s 200-meter race on Thursday and became first athlete to win 200- and 100-meter golds in three consecutive Olympic games. Andre de Grasse of Canada won silver, and Christophe Lemaitre of France earned the bronze medal.
American Ashton Eaton won his second consecutive Olympic decathlon gold medal on Thursday, becoming just the third athlete to win back-to-back titles in the event (Daley Thompson — 1980-84) and Bob Mathias (1948-52). Kevin Mayer of France won the silver medal, and Damian Warner of Canada took the bronze.
U.S. men’s shot putter Ryan Crouser set a new Olympic record with a toss of 22.52 meters to win the gold medal. American teammate Joe Kovacs took the silver, and New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh captured the bronze.
U.S. runner Dalilah Muhammad won the women’s 400-meter race on Thursday. Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen took the silver, while American Ashley Spencer claimed bronze.
U.S. hurdler Kerron Clement ran a season-best 47.63 seconds to win the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Boniface Mucheru Tumuti of Kenya won silver, while Turkey’s Cuban-born Yasmani Copello earned bronze.
After Allyson Felix and English Gardner dropped the baton on the first run, the American women's 4x100-meter relay team ran a season-best 41.77 seconds on Thursday once it was permitted to rerun the race. Judges ruled that the Brazilian team bumped Felix and allowed the U.S team to run against the clock to qualify. Brazil was disqualified. The American team of Felix, Gardner, Morolake Akinosun and Tianna Bartoletta will now race to defend the gold medal they won in London on Friday.
Helen Maroulis Wins First-Ever U.S. Gold Medal In Women’s Wrestling
U.S. women’s wrestler Helen Maroulis defeated three-time defending gold medalist Saori Yoshida of Japan, 4-1, in the 53-kilogram freestyle final on Thursday. Maroulis’ remarkable upset earned her the first-ever gold medal for a U.S. women's wrestler. Natalya Sinishin of Azerbaijan beat Betzabeth Angelica Arguello Villegas of Venezuela, 3-1, for the bronze medal.
U.S. Women’s Basketball Team Wins; Volleyball Team Loses
Diana Taurasi scored 18 points, and the United States women's basketball team crushed France, 110-64, and advanced to their sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal game on Saturday against Spain. France will play Serbia for the bronze medal.
Serbia upset the U.S. women’s volleyball team, 3-2, in the semifinals on Thursday. The Serbs will face China in the gold medal match on Saturday. The Americans will face the Netherlands for the bronze medal the same day.
Brazilian Police Still Investigating U.S. Swimmers Claims
Brazilian police are continuing their investigation into the reported armed robbery of four U.S. swimmers early Sunday morning at a gas station outside of Rio. Americans Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint earlier this week.
However, surveillance video and inconsistencies in their testimony have called some of the swimmers’ allegations into question. Conger and Bentz had their passports seized earlier in the day, but planned to follow Lochte back to the U.S. Feigen is still in Brazil.
Medal Count
Team USA reached the 100-medal mark on Thursday. Second-place China has 58 overall medals.
United States: 100 | 35 gold; 33 silver; 32 bronze
China: 58 | 20 gold; 16 silver; 22 bronze
Great Britain: 56 | 22 gold; 21 silver; 13 bronze
Russia: 44 | 12 gold; 15 silver; 17 bronze
Japan: 36 | 12 gold; 6 silver; 18 bronze