OLYMPICS
Friday, August 19, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3B
Eaton, Bolt shine in track and ield Brazilian police
Bolt sprints to
200M gold,
Eaton retains
decathalon title
By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO —
Ashton Eaton retained his
title as the best all-around
athlete in the world by tying
the decathlon Olympic
record and, within minutes,
had stepped back for track
and ield’s ultimate superstar
to take center stage again.
What more could the now
two-time Olympic champion
Eaton do on Thursday night
to get just a sliver of the lime-
light that shines so brightly
wherever Usain Bolt goes.
Not much.
Eaton made it back-to-
back Olympic and world
titles in the decathlon,
an event the 28-year-old
American has ruled since he
rebounded from silver at the
worlds in 2011 to claim the
next four major gold medals
available. From throwing, to
jumping, to running, Eaton
can do it all.
But then Bolt — the
Jamaican who just deals in
speed — roared around the
bend at the Olympic Stadium
to win the 200 meters in
19.78 seconds, completing
act two of his three-part quest
for gold and history in Rio.
The 4x100-meter relay
inal is all that’s left now
between Bolt and an historic
triple of three gold medals
at three straight Olympics.
Concentrating
on
not
messing that up for Bolt, a
Jamaica team led by Asafa
Powell got into the inal, but
only inished second in their
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
United States’ Ashton Eaton competes in the 1500-me-
ter decathlon during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday.
Usain
Bolt
crosses
the line
to win
the gold
medal in
the men’s
200-me-
ter inal.
AP Photo/Mark
Baker
heat behind Japan.
The American men’s
4x100 team qualiied fastest
for the relay inal with a
season’s-best 37.65.
Wednesday
delivered
an “awesome hour” for the
American team on the track.
By Thursday night, that had
evolved into a pretty great 24
hours.
Alongside
Eaton’s
triumph, Ryan Crouser led an
American one-two in the shot
put, also setting an Olympic
record of 22.52 meters to
beat world champion Joe
Kovacs. Tomas Walsh of
New Zealand won bronze.
Dalilah
Muhammad
kept the U.S. total ticking
with gold in the women’s
400-meter hurdles and
Ashley Spencer added a
bronze, with another Amer-
ican 1-2 in that race only
just thwarted by Denmark’s
Sara Slott Petersen. Earlier,
Kerron Clement won his irst
individual gold at the Olym-
pics in the men’s 400 hurdles.
“We are making history
out here,” Muhammad said
of the U.S. team’s gold rush.
With three days of compe-
tition to come, the United
States was up to 24 medals
in track and ield, including
eight gold.
For a few short moments
on Day 7 the track and
ield competition, the U.S.
women’s 4x100 relay team
was a little like Bolt: They
were the only ones everyone
was looking at.
Tianna Bartoletta nestled
into the starting blocks in
lane 2 for the U.S. team’s
re-run — on their own and
against the clock only —
after they fumbled the baton
in their original qualiier, but
got another chance following
a protest.
With just the clock and
the crowd for company,
they took the baton around
in 41.77 seconds to knock
slowest-qualiier China out
the inal.
“We were laughing and
joking out there,” English
Gardner said. “Our coach
said before we went out
there, ‘It’s just like practice,
just the whole world will be
watching. Be patient, stay
patient with each other, and
just do your job.”
Eaton inished with 8,893
points, incredibly matching
exactly the Olympic record
after 10 energy-sapping
events. He inished third
in the last event, the 1,500,
to win gold from France’s
Kevin Mayer on 8,834
points. Canada’s Damian
Warner took the bronze.
Eaton has conirmed
his status at the dominant
decathlete of his time.
“To win two Olympic
golds in a row like Daley
Thompson is very special,”
he said, referring to the great
British decathlete who won
in 1980 and ‘84.
Eaton had briely darted
away from the decathlon
in the morning session to
congratulate Clement as his
teammate knelt exhausted
in the midday sun after the
hurdles inal. Clement was so
conident of a irst Olympic
individual gold, he had his
mother, Claudette, bring
a star-spangled banner so
he could drape it over his
shoulders.
“We had a lag at home
and I told her to bring the
lag. I knew I was going to
win,” Clement said.
US women advance to gold medal game
By DOUG FEINBERG
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO —
Missing its starting point
guard, the U.S. women’s
basketball team struggled
for a half to ind its offensive
rhythm before pulling away
from France and moving one
win away from capturing a
sixth consecutive gold medal.
Diana Taurasi scored
18 points and Maya Moore
added 15 to help the Amer-
icans beat France 86-67
on Thursday night in the
semiinals.
It was the closest game of
the Olympics for the Amer-
icans, who will face Spain
on Saturday and advanced
without injured guard Sue
Bird. Spain and the U.S.
played in the preliminary
round and the U.S. won that
one by 40. The Americans
also beat Spain in the 2014
world championship by 13.
Thursday’s game against
France was a rematch of the
2012 London Games gold
medal contest. The U.S.
won that one by 36 points,
but had a much harder time
in this one without Bird.
The point guard sprained
her right knee capsule in the
Basketball
France
USA
67
86
quarterinals and has been
listed as day-to-day. She had
started every game for the
U.S. the past three Olympics
and been a calming inluence
on offense for the Americans.
The U.S. had cruised
through its irst six games,
winning by nearly 42 points a
game and scoring at a record
pace. Without Bird, the
Americans looked discom-
bobulated at times on offense
against France. The team that
was averaging 105 points
and 30 assists was held to just
40 points in the opening 20
minutes and just four assists.
The U.S. held a slim
40-36 at the break, the
closest any team had been
to the Americans at the half
since Australia led them in
the semiinals of the 2012
Olympics.
But the Americans (7-0)
started playing a better on
both ends of the court in the
decisive third quarter. As the
starters were about to take
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
United States’ Brittney Griner (15) drives to the bas-
ket past France’s Olivia Epoupa, left, and Gaelle Skrela,
right, during a semiinal game at the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday.
the court for the start of the
second half, Bird huddled
them up could be seen
offering words of encourage-
ment and instructions.
The team seemed to get
the message, going on a
14-5 run to start the period,
including two 3-pointers by
Taurasi that gave the Amer-
icans some breathing room.
Though the U.S. outscored
France 25-8 in the period,
it had two 24-second shot
clock violations. It was rare
in the irst seven games if the
shot clock ever got under ive
seconds.
The Americans led by 21
at the end of the third quarter,
but France (4-3) didn’t quit.
The French cut the lead to 11
in the fourth, but could get no
closer.
It was only the second
time in Rio that the U.S.
didn’t reach 100 points in a
game. But it did get the win
and now has 48 consecutive
Olympic victories.
Marianne Johannes scored
13 to lead France, which will
play Serbia for the bronze
medal on Saturday.
say Lochte, US
swimmers were
not robbed
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO
— Brazilian police said
Thursday that swimmer
Ryan
Lochte
and three U.S.
teammates were
not robbed after a
night of partying,
and the intox-
icated
athletes
instead vandal-
ized a gas station
bathroom
and
were questioned Lochte
by armed guards
before they paid
for the damage and left.
The robbery that was
or wasn’t has become the
biggest spectacle outside
of the Olympic venues in
Rio, casting a shadow over
American athletes amid an
otherwise remarkable run
at the Summer Games. The
ordeal was also a blow to
Brazilians, who for months
endured scrutiny about
whether the city could keep
athletes and tourists safe
given its long history of
violence.
“No
robbery
was
committed against these
athletes. They were not
victims of the crimes they
claimed,” Civil Police
Chief Fernando Veloso said
during a news conference.
The police account came
in direct contrast to claims
from Lochte’s attorney
earlier in the week. The
attorney, Jeff Ostrow, had
insisted the swimmer had
nothing to gain by making
the story up. He, as well as
Lochte’s father and agent,
did not return phone calls
seeking comment.
The swimmers could
potentially face punishment
— probation, suspension, a
ine or expulsion — under
USA Swimming’s code of
conduct. It was not clear if
the swimmers would face
criminal charges, though
police said the athletes
could be charged with
destruction of property,
falsely reporting a crime or
both.
Two of the swimmers
— Gunnar Bentz and Jack
Conger — checked in to
a light out of Brazil late
Thursday after a judge
lifted the order seizing their
passports and keeping them
in the country. They had
testiied about the incident
earlier in the day, and
Brazilians chanted “liar” as
they left the police building.
“They did not lie in their
statements. They never lied
to journalists. They only
stayed quiet. They did not
know what was going on,”
attorney Sergio Riera said.
The last swimmer in Rio,
Jimmy Feigen, provided an
updated statement to police,
U.S. Olympic oficials said,
and hoped to get his pass-
port back shortly to return
home.
The saga began when
Lochte claimed that he and
his teammates were held
at gunpoint and robbed
several
hours
after the last
Olympic swim-
ming races ended.
But police then
said they didn’t
have
evidence
to
substantiate
the story. Their
passports were
ordered seized so
the investigation
could continue,
but Lochte had already left
the country.
While some details in
the oficial account of the
story changed on Thursday
— police irst said no
guns were involved, then
said two guards pointed
weapons at the swimmers
— security video conirmed
the athletes vandalized parts
of the gas station, leading to
an encounter with station
employees.
The
closed-circuit
video shows one of the
swimmers pulling a sign
off of a wall and dropping
it onto the ground. A gas
station worker arrives, and
other workers inspect the
damage. Veloso said the
swimmers broke a door, a
soap dispenser and a mirror.
The swimmers even-
tually talk with station
workers as their cab leaves.
As they talk, two of the
swimmers briely raise
their hands and all four sit
down on a curb. After a
few minutes, the swimmers
stand up and appear to
exchange something —
perhaps cash, as police said
— with one of the men.
The footage doesn’t
show a weapon, but a
police oficial speaking on
condition of anonymity
because the investigation
was ongoing said two
guards pointed guns during
the encounter. Veloso
said the guards did not
use excessive force and
would have been justiied
in drawing their weapons
because the athletes “were
conducting themselves in a
violent way.”
A station employee
called police, and the
guards and employees tried
to get the swimmers and
the taxi driver to stay until
authorities arrived, some
even offering to help inter-
pret between English and
Portuguese, Veloso said.
But he said the athletes
wanted to leave, so paid
100 Brazilian reals (about
US $33) and $20 in U.S.
currency and left.
Conger and Bentz told
authorities that the story
of the robbery had been
fabricated, said the police
oficial who spoke to the
AP about the guns.
SCOREBOARD
Olympics
TV SCHEDULE
TODAY
NBC — Equestrian - Individual Jumping
Gold Medal Final (LIVE); Canoe/Kayak -
Sprint Semiinals; Synchronized Swimming
- Team Gold Medal Final (LIVE); Men’s
Volleyball - Semiinal (LIVE); Cycling - BMX
Gold Medal Finals (LIVE); Women’s Water
Polo - Gold Medal Final (LIVE); Equestrian
- Individual Jumping Gold Medal Final;
Rhythmic Gymnastics - Individual Quali-
fying, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Track & Field - Gold
Medal Finals (LIVE): Women’s Pole Vault,
Men’s Hammer, Women’s 5000m, Wom-
en’s 4x100m Relay, Men’s 4x100m Relay;
Men’s Diving - Platform Qualifying, 8-10:30
p.m. Canoe/Kayak - Sprint Semiinals, 11:35
p.m.-12:35 a.m.
NBCSN — Men’s Track & Field - 50k Walk
Gold Medal Final (LIVE); Men’s Wrestling
- Freestyle Qualifying (LIVE); Taekwondo
- Qualifying; Rhythmic Gymnastics - Individ-
ual Qualifying; Men’s Basketball - Semiinal
(LIVE); Women’s Soccer - Gold Medal
Final (LIVE); Men’s Handball - Semiinal
(LIVE); Men’s Volleyball - Semiinal (LIVE);
Women’s Modern Pentathlon; Boxing -
Semiinal; Taekwondo - Gold Medal Finals,
7 a.m.-Midnight.
MSNBC — Women’s Badminton - Singles
Gold Medal Final; Women’s Soccer - Bronze
Medal (LIVE); Women’s Modern Pentath-
lon; Men’s Handball - Semiinal (LIVE);
Women’s Field Hockey - Gold Medal Final
(LIVE), 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
USA — Men’s Badminton - Singles Semi-
inal; Women’s Water Polo - Bronze Medal
(LIVE); Women’s Field Hockey - Bronze
Medal (LIVE); Men’s Badminton - Singles
Semiinal, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
CNBC — Men’s Wrestling - Freestyle
Gold Medal Finals (LIVE); Men’s Basketball
- Semiinal (LIVE), 5-8 p.m.
GOLF CHANNEL — Golf Central Live
From the Olympics, 5-6:30 a.m. & 3-5 p.m.;
Women’s Golf - 3rd Round (LIVE), 6:30
a.m.-3 p.m.
NBC BASKETBALL CHANNEL — Men’s
Basketball - Semiinal 1 (LIVE), Semiinal
1 Encore, Semiinal 2 (LIVE), Semiinal 2
Encore, 2:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m.
NBC SOCCER CHANNEL — Women’s
Soccer - Bronze Medal (LIVE), Bronze Med-
al encore, Gold Medal Final (LIVE), Medal
Ceremony (LIVE), Gold Medal Final encore,
Medal Ceremony encore, Noon-Midnight.
Thursday’s scores and results
BASKETBALL
Women
Semiinals
Spain 68, Serbia 54
United States 86, France 67
———
FIELD HOCKEY
Men
Bronze Medal
Germany 1, Netherlands 1, Germany wins
4-3 shootout
Gold Medal
Argentina 4, Belgium 2
———
TEAM HANDBALL
Women
Semiinals
France 24, Netherlands 23
Russia 38, Norway 37
———
VOLLEYBALL
Women
Semiinals
Serbia 3, United States 2 (20-25, 25-17,
25-21, 16-25, 15-13)
China 3, Netherlands 1, (27-25, 23-25,
29-27, 25-23)
———
WATER POLO
Men
5-8 Classiication
Hungary 13, Brazil 4
Greece 9, Spain 7
Semiinals
Croatia 12, Montenegro 8
Serbia 10, Italy 8
———
TRACK & FIELD
Men
200M
Final
1. Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 19.78.
2. Andre de Grasse, Canada, 20.02.
3. Christophe Lemaitre, France, 20.12.
6. Lashawn Merritt, United States, 20.19.
400 Hurdles
Final
1. Kerron Clement, United States, 47.73.
2. Boniface Mucheru Tumuti, Kenya, 47.78.
3. Yasmani Copello, Turkey, 47.92.
Shot Put
Final
1. Ryan Crouser, United States, (22.52),
73-10 1-2.
2. Joe Kovacs, United States, (21.78),
71-5 1-2.
3. Tomas Walsh, New Zealand, (21.36),
70-1.
Decathlon
Final Standings
1. Ashton Eaton, United States, 8893
points
2. Kevin Mayer, France, 8834
3. Damian Warner, Canada, 8666
Women
400 Hurdles
Final
1. Dalilah Muhammad, United States,
53.13.
2. Sara Slott Petersen, Denmark, 53.55.
3. Ashley Spencer, United States, 53.72.
Javelin Throw
Final
1. Sara Kolak, Croatia, (66.18), 217-1 1-2.
2. Sunette Viljoen, South Africa, (64.92),
212-12.
3. Barbora Spotakova, Czech Republic,
(64.80), 212-7 1-4.
———
BADMINTON
Men
Doubles
Bronze Medal
Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge, Britain,
def. Chai Biao and Hong Wei, China, 21-18,
19-21, 21-10.
Women
Doubles
Bronze Medal
Jung Kyung Eun and Shin Seung Chan,
South Korea, def. Yu Yang and Tang Yuant-
ing, China, 21-8, 21-17.
Gold Medal
Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo,
Japan, def. Kamilla Rytter juhl and Christin-
na Pedersen, Denmark, 18-18, 21-21, 21-21.
———
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Men
Bronze Medal
Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeu-
wsen, Netherlands, def. Konstantin Semen-
ov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov, Russia,
23-21, 22-20.
Gold Medal
Cerutti Alison and Oscar Schmidt Bruno,
Brasil def. Nicolai Paolo and Lupo Daniele,
Italy, 21-19, 21-17.
———
BOXING
Men’s Bantam (56kg)
Semiinals
Shakur Stevenson, United States, def.
Vladimir Nikitin, Russia, walkover.
Robeisy Ramirez, Cuba, def. Murodjon
Akhmadaliev, Uzbekistan, 3-0.
Men’s Middle (75kg)
Semiinals
Arlen Lopez, Cuba, def. Kamran Shakhsu-
varly, Azerbaijan, 3-0.
Bektemir Melikuziev, Uzbekistan, def.
Misael Uziel Rodriguez, Mexico, 3-0.
Men’s Light Heavy (81kg)
Gold Medal
Julio Cesar la Cruz, Cuba, def. Adilbek
Niyazymbetov, Kazakhstan, 3-0.
Women’s Fly (48-51kg)
Semiinals
Nicola Adams, Britain, def. Cancan Ren,
China, 3-0.
Sarah Ourahmoune, France, def. Ingrit
Lorena Valencia Victoria, Colombia, 2-0.
———
DIVING
Women’s 10-Meter Platform
Final
1. Qian Ren, China, 439.25.
2. Yajie Si, China, 419.40.
3. Meaghan Benfeito, Canada, 389.20.
10. Jessica Parratto, United States,
334.60.
———
TRIATHLON
Men
Final
1. Alistair Brownlee, Britain, 1:45:01.
2. Jonathan Brownlee, Britain, 1:45:07.
3. Henri Schoeman, South Africa, 1:45:43.
———
WRESTLING (FREESTYLE)
Women
53 kg
Bronze Medal Matches
Natalya Sinishin, Azerbaijan, def. Betza-
beth Angelica Arguello Villegas, Venezuela,
2-1.
Soia Magdalena Mattsson, Sweden, def.
Xuechun Zhong, China, 6-0.
Gold Medal
Helen Louise Maroulis, United States,
def. Saori Yoshida, Japan, 4-1.
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L
Toronto
69 52
Baltimore
67 53
Boston
67 53
New York
61 59
Tampa Bay
50 69
Central Division
W
L
Cleveland
69 50
Detroit
64 57
Kansas City
61 60
Pct
.570
.558
.558
.508
.420
GB
—
1½
1½
7½
18
Pct GB
.580 —
.529
6
.504
9
Chicago
Minnesota
West Division
57
49
63 .475 12½
72 .405 21
W
L Pct GB
Texas
72 50 .590 —
Seattle
64 56 .533
7
Houston
61 60 .504 10½
Oakland
52 69 .430 19½
Los Angeles
51 70 .421 20½
———
Thursday’s Games
Detroit 4, Boston 3
Baltimore 13, Houston 5
Cleveland 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Kansas City 8, Minnesota 1
L.A. Angels 6, Seattle 4
Friday’s Games
Houston (McHugh 7-10) at Baltimore
(Miley 7-10), 4:05 p.m.
Boston (Porcello 16-3) at Detroit (Fulmer
10-3), 4:10 p.m.
Texas (Hamels 12-4) at Tampa Bay (An-
driese 6-4), 4:10 p.m.
Toronto (Liriano 6-12) at Cleveland (Bauer
9-5), 4:10 p.m.
Oakland (Graveman 8-8) at Chicago White
Sox (Shields 5-14), 5:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Berrios 2-3) at Kansas City
(Volquez 9-10), 5:15 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 9-4) at L.A. Angels
(Weaver 8-10), 7:05 p.m.
Milwaukee (Suter 0-0) at Seattle (LeBlanc
2-0), 7:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Washington
71 49 .592 —
Miami
62 59 .512 9½
New York
60 61 .496 11½
Philadelphia
57 65 .467 15
Atlanta
44 77 .364 27½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Chicago
77 43 .642 —
St. Louis
64 56 .533 13
Pittsburgh
62 56 .525 14
Milwaukee
52 68 .433 25
Cincinnati
51 69 .425 26
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Los Angeles
67 53 .558 —
San Francisco
67 54 .554 ½
Colorado
58 63 .479 9½
San Diego
51 70 .421 17
Arizona
50 71 .413 18
———
Thursday’s Games
Chicago Cubs 9, Milwaukee 6 Philadel-
phia 5, L.A. Dodgers 4
Cincinnati 5, Miami 4
Washington 8, Atlanta 2
San Diego 9, Arizona 7
San Francisco 10, New York 7
Friday’s Games
Miami (Koehler 9-8) at Pittsburgh (Cole
7-8), 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis (Wainwright 9-7) at Philadelphia
(Morgan 1-7), 4:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Norris 6-9) at Cincinnati
(Adleman 1-1), 4:10 p.m.
Washington (Roark 13-6) at Atlanta (Tehe-
ran 3-9), 4:35 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 11-7) at Colora-
do (Anderson 4-4), 5:40 p.m.
Milwaukee (Suter 0-0) at Seattle (LeBlanc
2-0), 7:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Matz 9-8) at San Francisco
(Cueto 13-3), 7:15 p.m.
Arizona (Greinke 11-4) at San Diego
(Cosart 0-1), 7:40 p.m.
Wildcard Standings
AMERICAN LEAGUE
W
Baltimore
67
Boston
67
Seattle
64
Detroit
64
L
53
53
56
57
Pct. GB
.558 —
.558 —
.533
3
.529 3.5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
W
San Fransisco
67
St. Louis
64
Pittsburgh
62
Miami
62
L
54
56
56
59
Pct. GB
.554 +2½
.533 —
.525
1
.512 2.5
MiLB
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
North Division
W L
Everett (Mariners)
15 6
Spokane (Rangers)
9 12
Tri-City (Padres)
8 13
Vancouver (Blue Jays) 8 13
South Division
W L
Eugene (Cubs)
16 5
Hillsboro (Dbacks)
11 9
Salem-Keizer (Giants) 9 12
Boise (Rockies)
8 13
———
Thursday’s Games
Salem-Keizer 12, Hillsboro 7
Eugene 1, Boise 0
Vancouver 4, Spokane 0
Everett 9, Tri-City 3
Pct. GB
.714 —
.450
5
.381
7
.381
7
Pct. GB
.750 —
.550
4
.428
7
.381
8