d, with Sunday a sellout of 12,000.The other myster

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps and Simone Biles powered their way to more gold medals with rousing routs at the Rio Games on Thursday.Sauntering to the sounds of Latin music befitting the beaches and boulevards of Rio de Janeiro, Biles soared to the womens all-around gymnastics title.Hours later, Phelps blew away rival Ryan Lochte -- and everyone else, for that matter -- to win his fourth gold medal of the Rio Olympics and 22nd overall with a victory in the 200-meter individual medley.This was touted as the last showdown between two of Americas greatest swimmers, though theres never been any question about which one had the upper hand. Lochte didnt even reach the podium this time, fading to fifth after leading at the midway point.Simone Manuel of the United States and 16-year-old Penny Oleksiak of Canada tied for the gold medal in the womens 100-meter freestyle, upsetting world-record holder Cate Campbell. Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.Putting the gulf between herself and the rest of the world on full display , the 19-year-old Biles became the fourth straight American woman to win the Olympic all-around title and fifth overall while cementing her reputation as the best of her generation and perhaps ever.Biles has spent the last three years dominating her sport, winning 15 world championships.The pairs powerful performances came on a day the Rio Games turned aside the disconcerting lime-like waters at the aquatics center and toward the emerald green fairways as golf returned to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years.Adilson da Silva of Brazil hit the first Olympic golf shot since 1904 with the opening tee shot. Justin Rose made what is believed to be the first hole-in-one.The Pacific Island nation of Fiji erupted into celebration after its rugby sevens team defeated Britain 43-7 to capture the countrys first Olympic medal.Rugby is back in the Olympics for the first time since 1924.Golf is back after an even longer absence.Da Silva smiled and removed his cap to wave to the sparse crowd that included more golf officials than fans after his tee shot. Growing up in golf-starved Brazil with little equipment, Da Silva used to make golf clubs out of tree branches as a child.Marcus Fraser of Australia had the first that mattered the most on the Olympic Golf Course -- the first-round lead. Fraser shot an 8-under 63 that stood for a three-shot advantage over Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Graham DeLaet of Canada.The only one of four Americans in the 60-man field to break par was Matt Kuchar (69). Rickie Fowler started with a double bogey and shot 75, beating only two players. Patrick Reed shot 72 and Bubba Watson had a 73.The worlds top four players -- Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy -- skipped the Rio Game s because of Zika fears and safety concerns.Pervasive violence is an everyday part of Rio, and a police officer was hospitalized after getting shot in the head when he and two others got lost near a slum. The Justice Ministry said the officer was recovering after four hours of surgery.The incident was the bloodiest of several at the start of South Americas first Olympic Games. Muggings have been reported among Olympic athletes, officials and journalists.A total of 21 gold medals were earned in 11 sports Thursday.Other highlights from Day 6 of the Rio Games:EXOTIC ANIMALS : The course where Olympic golf made its return features all the normal pratfalls like bunkers and sloping greens. There are also native animals such as capybaras, caimans and corujas. The capybara is the worlds largest rodent, albeit an herbivore. The caiman, a small crocodile, and the corujas are burrowing owls, some of whom have taken up residence in the courses bunkers.HANGING ON : Venus Williams Rio Olympics is still going -- just barely. Upset in the first round in singles and doubles while battling a virus, the four-time gold medalist was a late entrant into mixed doubles. She and teammate Rajeev Ram faced two match points Thursday and saved both in rallying from a set down for a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 10-8 tiebreak win over Kiki Bertens and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands.SICK SAILOR : A Belgian woman who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics has become sick after racing on polluted Guanabara Bay, the first sailor to fall ill from the waters that were heavily scrutinized leading to the Rio Games. Evi Van Acker reported feeling sick after Wednesdays races . Her poor performances have put her at risk of missing out on a medal in the Laser Radial class. Her coach said he believes Van Acker contracted a severe intestinal infection while training in Rio in July that sapped her energy.OH NO, NEYMAR : In a scary scene for Brazilian fans at the teams arrival in Sao Paulo for the quarterfinals of the Olympic soccer tournament, superstar Neymar limped heavily with his ankle wrapped up. But the Brazilian football confederation said exams conducted on the star strikers right foot on Thursday showed no serious injuries. Neymar is expected to practice on Friday and be fully fit to play in Saturdays match against Colombia.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Hydro Flask 40 OZ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Hydro Flask Ombre . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. http://www.sverigehydroflask.com/hydro-flask-tillbehor.html . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Hydro Flask Gul . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Hydro Flask Vit . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Mens golf gets four days to make up for four months of negative chatter about whether it even belongs in the Olympics.Not even a dreary sky with occasional rain could dampen the enthusiasm Wednesday on the final day of practice at Olympic Golf Course.No matter what happens this week, its the greatest week of my life, two-time major champion Martin Kaymer said.Bubba Watson was buzzing about watching Michael Phelps win the 200-meter butterfly the night before. British Open champion Henrik Stenson, an imposing figure in golf, felt small next to some of the other athletes in the gym at the Olympic Village.If you want to get motivated, thats definitely a place to be, he said. Theres a lot of athletes from different sports in there, and I didnt try and go for some dead lifts of 80, 90 kilos when there was a guy holding up 180 kilos on both arms.The biggest thrill for so many has been hanging around so many Olympians.Now its their turn. Adilson da Silva of Brazil was chosen to hit the opening tee shot Thursday morning.Not since 1904 in St. Louis has golf been part of the Olympic program, with George Lyon of Canada winning the gold medal. Every major golf organization lobbied for its return, pledging support from the best players in the world. And thats what golf had until four months ago, when the deadline began approaching and players began bailing out for reasons ranging from the Zika virus to safety concerns to other priorities.Most damaging was losing the top four players in the world -- Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. The Rio Games effectively are an audition before the International Olympic Committee votes next year on whether golf should stay beyond 2020.Its certainly not helpful, but now we are looking forward and concentrating on those players who are here, International Golf Federation President Peter Dawson said.The best golf can do now is put on a memorable show.The course, designed by American architect Gil Hanse specifically for the Rio Games, features wide fairways and no rough to account for wind that can get up to about 40 mph, and already has this week. It also offers a three-hole finish that could leave the outcome in doubt until the laast hole.ddddddddddddDoes it need a big name winning the gold medal, like Stenson or Kaymer or Watson? A surprise winner from a developing golf nation like Li Haotong of China or Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand? A playoff like the way Rickie Fowler won The Players Championship? A dominant performance like Stenson at Royal Troon?If you genuinely want the best thing thats going to happen, youre going to have four or five players in with a chance of winning with three or four holes to go ... and Padraig Harrington finishing eagle-birdie-eagle to win it outright, Harrington said.One unknown remains the size of the gallery. Golf is used to being the biggest show when it comes to down, especially the majors. Now it is but one of 39 sports or disciplines, many of them with a much greater tradition in the Olympics. The IGF said about 58 percent of the tickets have been sold, with Sunday a sellout of 12,000.The other mystery is golf itself. Not even the most dominant player of his era, Tiger Woods, could guarantee victories in any given week.I think I can give you a list of 10 to 15 guys who I think are going to find the medals, and thats going to be among the strong players that are here, most likely, Stenson said. Were a different sport. It not like some of the other sports where if you jump a certain distance or swim at a certain time, you can pretty much figure out who is going to win. Ours is a bit more down to the form for the week and on any given day. Its a little trickier to find the golf and silver and bronze.For three days, this has looked and felt just like any other tournament except for players being in team uniforms (even though this is only 72 holes of individual stroke play for the medals). Still to be determined is how it feels with a gold medal -- any medal -- on the line.For me, Ill approach it like any tournament, Kaymer said. But when Sunday comes, you will approach it differently, because whether youre fourth or 20th, no one really cares. At the end of the day, you play for the top three or you play for the golden pineapple, which no one cares about. ' ' '