Rio still struggles with litany of problems through 1st week

The Americans piled up 16 golds and 33 medals overall, matching their total from the 2000 Sydney Games. It came on a day when Rio was filled with dramatic performances as swimming wrapped up and track kicked into high gear. The final is set for Monday night.

And, yes, he actually said it was his final individual race.

Phelps helped lift the 4×100 medley relay team to victory Saturday in what marked his last race before retiring, capping a night of extraordinary accomplishments in the 2016 Olympics. She also set a new world record of 8:04.79 in the event.

Phelps has finished these Rio Games with five gold medals and one silver.

In addition to Phelps and Ledecky, the biggest US stars were Stanford’s Maya DiRado, who turned in the ultimate one-and-done with two golds and four medals overall; Murphy, who extended usa men’s dominance of the backstroke; Manuel; King, who backed up her brash diatribe against doping; and Anthony Ervin, the oldest member of the team at 35 and a gold medalist again in the 50 free – 16 years after he first won the event in Sydney.

Phelps and Adrian handled the final two legs, and in the end the quartet won America’s 1,001st Olympic gold medal just minutes after the women’s 4×100 medley team delivered No. 1,000. Manuel was just.02 seconds behind the victor, Denmark’s Pernille Blume, in a race where the top six finishers were all within.12 seconds of each other.

At age 35, Ervin now becomes the oldest swimmer to win an individual gold at the Olympics. It was four lengths – or maybe it was five – at the halfway point.

“The memories mean a lot more to me than the medals”, she said, beginning to choke up, “and these past three years have been incredible”. “The hunger to be the best they can be every day has pushed us to a new level. I’m just a really happy person”. The rowers are surrounded by mountains with a view of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue.

“In some ways”, she said.

Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in any sport in Olympic history, upsetting Angelique Kerber in the women’s tennis singles final. “It is a testament first and foremost to our athletes, but it also reveals the impact of the support provided by our National Governing Bodies, our sponsors and donors, and American fans”. Puerto Rico won its first ever.

On the medal stand, though, she finally broke down in tears.

“This is how I wanted to finish my career”, Phelps said.

You can see our full story on Puig’s victory here.

What she did here in Rio was nothing short of incredible.

But the horse fell ill earlier this week.

At 31, he sounds much more adamant when he says his swimming career really is over.

She added, “It’s just been a heck of a week, and I’m glad to be a part of it”.

Parzival’s temperature returned to normal and veterinarians cleared him to compete. And then came the legs, powerful and rhythmic, propelling her forward, her lead getting visibly wider by the minute.

The proposal, first offered in September 2013, wound its way through the NCAA’s multi-step legislative process and was approved by the Division I Board of Directors without any schools subsequently calling for its repeal. “So I saluted and left the arena”.