Can't miss this: Usain Bolt seeks gold in Rio Tonight
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):
7:40 a.m.
The world's fastest man will be crowned Sunday night as Olympic athletes in Rio de Janeiro compete for 22 gold medals in 12 sports.
Usain Bolt — a simply unmissable figure to watch — is seeking an unprecedented third straight gold in the 100 meters. He must beat American Justin Gatlin, who posted the fastest time in the heats.
The 400 meter final features a showdown between LaShawn Merritt of the United States, Kirani James of Grenada and Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa.
Britain's Andy Murray, trying to become the first player to win two Olympic singles golds, faces Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. Venus Williams can become the first tennis player with five Olympic golds if she and Rajeev Ram win the mixed doubles.
On the golf course, Britain's Justin Rose holds a one-shot lead over Sweden's Henrik Stenson going into the final round. It'll be first Olympic medal in golf since 1904.
Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles goes for her third gold in Rio when she competes in the women's vault.
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6:45 a.m.
It's impossible not to watch Usain Bolt when he's on the track.
The Jamaican sprinter is seeking an unprecedented third straight gold at the 100 meters Sunday night at the Rio Olympics.
Bolt won his first heat in 10.07 seconds Saturday and is still a favorite, despite a sore hamstring that forced him from the world championships last month.
American Justin Gatlin posted the fastest time in the Rio heats. Others in the mix include Andrew Fisher, a Jamaican who competes for Bahrain, Jamaican Yohan Blake, Americans Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre.
For those who run fast a tad longer, Sunday's Olympic men's 400 meter final is shaping up to be a titanic showdown between LaShawn Merritt of the United States, Kirani James of Grenada and Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa.
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6:35 a.m.
If it's Sunday, there must be a golf final somewhere. Oh wait — this week it's at the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
Britain's Justin Rose made two eagles in the opening five holes Saturday on the way to a 6-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead over Sweden's Henrik Stenson going into the final round at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro.
The two golfers were undefeated as partners two years ago at the Ryder Cup. More recently, Stenson won the British Open at Royal Troon a month ago with the lowest score in major championship history.
Marcus Fraser of Australia is in third, four shots back.
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6:15 a.m.
The U.S. men's basketball team could take a lesson from the U.S. women's soccer team: beware of being the heavy favorite.
The U.S. men play France in the Olympic tournament on Sunday and they're being dogged by questions over where the dominating team of years past has gone. The U.S. men have had two straight close games, topping Australia 98-88 and squeaking by Serbia 94-91.
Four-time Olympian Carmelo Anthony says "we're OK. We're fine."
But the U.S. team that many considered a gold medal lock won't even win its group outright with a loss Sunday, either tying France or sharing first with the French and Australia at 4-1. In fact, the Americans could even end up finishing third in Group A.
In other Olympic action, the U.S. women's basketball team plays the Chinese. The Americans were out of synch Friday against Canada, but turned up the defense and won.
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5:40 a.m.
Does she really even need a vault to fly sky-high?
Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles goes for her third gold in Rio de Janeiro when she competes in the women's vault final Sunday. But the 19-year-old American already proved she can soar with astonishing tumbling routines that won the all-around title.
On the uneven bars, world champion Madison Kocian posted the top qualifying score but faces strong competition from teammate Gabby Douglas and defending Olympic uneven bars champion Aliya Mustafina of Russia.
On the men's side, British teammates Louis Smith and Max Whitlock square off in the pommel horse final, along with American Alex Naddour and Ukrainian Oleg Verniaiev.
Americans Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton posted the top qualifying scores on the men's floor exercise, but Japan's Kohei Uchimura, Whitlock and British teammate Christian Thomas are also in the hunt Sunday for medals.
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5:15 a.m.
Britain's Andy Murray is going to see if he can turn his trademark menacing grimace into a smile.
The defending champion, who is trying to become the first player to win two Olympic singles golds, faces Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the men's final Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
Murray is going to have to work extra hard, though, because del Potro is on a roll, having ousted both the top player in the world, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, and No. 5 Rafael Nadal of Spain at the Olympic tournament. Nadal plays Japan's Nishikori Kei for the bronze.
Venus Williams can become the first tennis player with five career Olympic golds, pairing with Rajeev Ram against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock in an all-American mixed doubles final.
The women's doubles gold will either go to Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland or Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia.
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4:50 a.m.
Even when he is tripped and falls, he wins an Olympic gold medal.
Nothing, it seems, can stop Britain's Mo Farah over 10,000 meters in a major championship.
Not his training partner clipping his heel in the Olympic final Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. Not three of Kenya's best trying to wear him down with repeated spurts of acceleration. Not the final kick of rival Paul Tanui.
The Somali-born British runner now has three Olympic gold medals and will defend his Olympic 5,000 title later this week, trying to become the first man to win back-to-back Olympic long-distance doubles since the 1970s.
Farah says "I'd promised my older daughter Rihanna I was going to get a medal for her and in my mind I was thinking I can't let her down."
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4:30 a.m.
While Olympic athletes were getting some well-deserved rest, Olympic officials are racing through the night to drain the murky green water out of a pool at the troubled Maria Lenk Aquatics Center.
The goal is to pump in nearly 1 million gallons of clean water before the synchronized swimming competition takes place Sunday — and even if everything goes right, they will finish barely four hours before it begins.
Rio Olympics spokesman Mario Andrada says the "radical measure" was necessary to ensure clear water for both judges and competitors, since synchronized swimmers spend much of their time underwater. He stressed again the water posed no health risks.
Andrada says "we could have done better in fixing it quickly. We learned a painful lesson the hard way."
An adjacent smaller pool will still be used for the divers, even though it remains murky. American diver Abby Johnston has dubbed it "the swamp."
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4 a.m.
In the end, this is the way he wanted to go.
Standing atop the Olympic medal podium for the 23rd time, Michael Phelps teared up and bit his lip.
"It turned out pretty cool," Phelps said, another gold medal around his neck. "It's just a perfect way to finish."
Phelps, who says he really is retiring this time, put the United States ahead to stay Saturday on the butterfly leg of the 4x100-meter medley relay, giving the most decorated athlete in Olympic history his 23rd gold medal.
To put this in perspective, no other Olympian has more than nine golds. With 28 medals in all, Phelps is 10 clear of anyone else.
"It's not even once in a generation," said his coach, Bob Bowman. "It might be once in 10 generations that someone like Michael Phelps comes along."
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AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org
