RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Latest on the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):
___
12:40 p.m.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes is pleading with locals to share car rides until Aug. 21 so the city’s already heavy traffic doesn’t get worse during the Olympic Games.
Paes, who was silent since before the opening ceremony on Friday, went to Twitter to ask cariocas to avoid long distances on Monday, especially on public transportation.
Monday is the first working day in the city with the Games ongoing.
The mayor said that cariocas should join their friends and share rides. He insisted that without the collaboration of residents traffic will be difficult.
Last Friday was a public holiday and classes have been suspended citywide in the beginning of the month.
Despite his outspoken profile, Paes did not comment on the organization problems experienced by fans, journalists and residents on Saturday.
___
12:35 p.m.
The youngest boxer at the Rio Olympics gave the Brazilian fans a thrill in defeat.
Papua New Guinea lightweight Thadius Katua lost an entertaining decision to Russia’s Adlan Abdurashidov on Saturday. The 18-year-old islander gave his veteran opponent plenty of difficulty, even winning the third round on two judges’ scorecards.
Katua has been boxing for only four years, but he built on his Youth Commonwealth Games gold medal from 2015 with a reputable effort in Rio. His big punches definitely won over the crowd, which cheered wildly for Papua New Guinea’s first Olympic boxer since Jack Willie in 2008.
___
12:35 p.m.
Spanish cyclist Joaquim Rodriguez has announced his retirement after the Olympic road race.
Rodriguez said during the Tour de France that this would be his last season, but he confirmed on Twitter that the race through Rio De Janeiro was his last as a professional.
Rodriguez said he fulfilled a lifelong ambition by taking part in the Summer Games.
The 37-year-old Rodriguez won three stages of the Tour de France, twice reached the podium at the world championships and won several major one-day races, including La Fleche Wallonne in 2012.
Rodriguez finished fifth in Saturday’s Olympic road race.
___
12:30 p.m.
There’s no stopping 41-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina.
Competing in her seventh Olympics — a record for a gymnast — Chusovitina put herself in position to make the vault final after averaging 14.999 during her two vaults at women’s preliminaries on Sunday. The top eight qualifiers will advance to the event finals later in the games.
Chusovitina’s first appearance in the games came 24 years ago in Barcelona, when she competed for the Russian Federated team. She now competes for her native Uzbekistan against girls the age of her 17-year-old son Alisher. Chusovitina says she tries not to think about the ever-growing age gap between herself and the rest of the field.
“Well, when I compete on the podium, if they gave a few more marks for the age, it would have been great,” Chusovitina said. “Otherwise, well, we’re all equal and we just have to compete against each other as equals.”
Chusovitina said she would retire after failing to medal in London four years ago but kept on going. Even Alisher is wondering if his mom will ever stop. When he asked her recently if this was her final go-round, she joked “wait and see honey.”
___
12:05 p.m.
Spanish cyclist Joaquim Rodriguez has announced his retirement after the Olympic road race.
Rodriguez said during the Tour de France that this would be his last season, but he confirmed on Twitter that the race through Rio De Janeiro was his last as a professional.
Rodriguez said he fulfilled a lifelong ambition by taking part in the Summer Games.
The 37-year-old Rodriguez won three stages of the Tour de France, twice reached the podium at the world championships and won several major one-day races, including La Fleche Wallonne in 2012.
Rodriguez finished fifth in Saturday’s Olympic road race.
___
12:05 p.m.
Zhang Mengxue has won women’s 10-meter air pistol at the Rio Olympics, continuing China’s dominance in the event.
Zhang qualified sixth for the eight-person elimination finals and opened with three straight 9s with a field that seemed to struggle with nerves early. She steadied herself with a 10.8 on her fifth shot and took the lead after eight shots.
Zhang stretched her lead as the competition continued and all but locked up gold with a perfect 10.9 in the penultimate round. She finished with 199.4 points in the 20-round final, putting her 2.3 ahead of Russia’s Vitalina Batsarashkina.
All three medals went to first-time Olympians after Anna Korakaki of Greece captured bronze.
Zhang’s gold was China’s fourth in the past five Games in air pistol. Guo Wenjun, the two-time defending gold medalist, struggled in qualifying and finished 30th.
___
12:05 p.m.
The start of play is delayed on the outer courts at the Olympic Tennis Center because of high winds.
Forty minutes after those matches were set to start, the only action was on Center Court where Germany’s Dustin Brown was facing local favorite Thomaz Bellucci. Officials were inspecting the outer courts to ensure they were safe.
The delays were initially announced to be for 30 minutes then that was changed to an hour.
There were 20 mph winds at the Olympic Park with gusts up to 35 mph.
____
12.05 p.m.
The sun went behind some clouds and the wind has picked up at the beach volleyball venue on Copacabana.
Flags around the venue are stiff in the wind, bending their poles back and forth. The Rio 2016 banner along the top of the stadium in one section has come loose from its fasteners and is whipping around, too.
After a hot and sunny opener on Saturday, it’s a big change.
No sign of trouble yet down on the court, which is shielded by the stands.
___
11:40 a.m.
The loudest cheer of the morning at Sunday’s judo competition went to 118th ranked Zambian fighter Mathews Punza, who defeated Israel’s Golan Pollack, ranked seventh and considered a serious medal contender.
Pollack won a bronze at last year’s World Championships but struggled to defend against Punza’s attacks during their first round match. Although Punza prefers classic-style judo that involves throwing an opponent from an upright position, he won using the groundwork component of judo, by pinning Pollack to the ground for 20 seconds, which automatically ends in victory.
Punza said he had no particular strategy in mind but simply wanted “to put on my best performance.” For his next fight, Pollack said he would prefer to throw but that will depend on his opponent. “I just prepare myself for whatever might happen,” he said.
___
11:35 a.m.
The controversial Qatari handball team, composed mainly of naturalized players from other countries, has made its Olympic debut with a 30-23 win over Croatia.
Qatar has improved rapidly in handball in recent years after naturalizing a string of veteran players from mostly European countries, and reached the final of the world championship last year.
In its first-ever Olympic game Sunday against two-time gold medalist Croatia, the top scorer with 10 goals was Zarko Markovic, who played for his native Montenegro before switching to Qatar. Cuba-born player Rafael Capote also contributed six goals for Qatar.
The Qatari team is in Group A for the men’s preliminaries alongside more established teams such as reigning Olympic champion France and 2012 European champion Denmark.
___
11:30 a.m.
Zhang Mengxue has won women’s 10-meter air pistol at the Rio Olympics, continuing China’s dominance in the event.
Zhang took the lead midway through the elimination finals and stretched it as the competition continued, finishing 2.3 points ahead of Russia’s Vitalina Batsarashkina.
Anna Korakaki of Greece captured bronze.
Zhang’s gold was China’s fourth in the past five Games in air pistol. Guo Wenjun, the two-time defending gold medalist, struggled in qualifying and finished 30th.
___
10:55 a.m.
Kenya’s team at the Rio Olympics is promising it “will deal” with one of its athletics officials if allegations are proven that he offered to protect cheating athletes from drug testing.
James Chacha, deputy chief of the Kenyan team, said Michael Rotich could be on “the next available flight” of out Rio de Janeiro “if the allegations are true that he was actually asking for (a) bribe so that he can inform athlete(s) when the officers from anti-doping are coming.”
The Sunday Times in London said the Kenyan track and field manager was secretly filmed offering to protect cheating athletes from drug testing authorities. It said he offered to provide advance warning of drugs tests in return for a £10,000 ($13,000) bribe during a Sunday Times undercover investigation.
___
10:40 a.m.
Injured French gymnast Samir Ait Said is back on his feet. Sort of.
A day after gruesomely breaking his leg while vaulting during men’s Olympic preliminaries, Said posted a Facebook video from his hospital bed thanking people for the outpouring of support and pledging to return to the sport eventually.
Said underwent surgery on Saturday night to repair the tibea he fractured while trying to land on vault. The image of his leg bent grotesquely at a nearly 90 degree angle went viral immediately. Said praised his French teammates, some of whom managed to qualify for event finals later this week despite being visibly rattled after watching Said leave the Rio Olympic Arena on a stretcher.
Said says he’s behind his pals who kept their act together after the fall.
He also says competing at the Tokyo Games in 2020 is still possible.
___
10:40 a.m.
Day 2 of the rowing competition has been canceled due to persistent high winds.
The start of racing was delayed on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon as race officials were waiting for winds to die down. But at 10:30 a.m. local time rowing officials announced there would be no racing on Sunday.
The rowing regatta is scheduled to end on Aug. 13, but is likely to be extended to Aug. 14 if the weather delays continue.
___
10:30 a.m.
Monumental upsets have been the theme of the Olympic fencing tournament so far.
Sunday’s men’s foil competition produced perhaps the biggest stunner yet.
Brazil’s Guilherme Toldo, ranked just 66th in the world, beat No. 2 Yoki Ota of Japan 15-13 to advance to the round of 16. Toldo’s win came a day after the top three fencers in women’s epee were knocked out before the semifinals, paving the way for seventh-ranked Emese Szasz of Hungary to snatch gold.
Ota’s defeat should make the path to potential gold easier for top-ranked American Alexander Massialas, who will attempt to give the U.S. its first Olympic win in his weapon.
___
10:20 a.m.
The fallout from the chaotic men’s Olympic road race continued Sunday, even as the women were arriving at Copacabana Beach for their shot at the long, brutal cycling course.
Colombian rider Sergio Henao fractured his iliac crest, the upper portion of the pelvis, when he crashed while trailing leader Vincenzo Nibali on the final descent of the men’s race Saturday.
Nibali’s coach, Davide Cassani, said the Italian broke his collarbone in the fall.
Australia’s Richie Porte broke his scapula during the race, taking him out of Wednesday’s time trial. Britain’s Geraint Thomas, Portugal’s Nelson Oliveira and Dutch rider Wout Poels also went down during the race, though the three of them escaped major injury.
___
9:50 a.m.
Every athlete should have a fan as devoted as #OlympicNan.
The grandmother of British swimmer Adam Peaty has become a champion tweeter as she gushes about his achievements. With a Twitter biography that describes herself as “Proud Nan to a World Champion Breaststroker,” she’s quickly gaining followers who use the word “adorable” to describe her passion for Peaty.
When he broke the world record in the 100 meter breaststroke, his granny tweeted: “What race oooo I’m so proud he’s a gladiator well done,” and stamped it with the nation’s flag.
Williams told the BBC on Sunday that she was alone during the race and that she “screamed for him. But my neighbor didn’t mind.”
She says “since I have been going to watch Adam it’s given me a new life.”
___
9:30 a.m.
The start of the second day of the rowing competition has been delayed by two hours due to strong winds on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon.
Race officials say the first heats of the day Sunday are now scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time.
Strong winds and choppy water made racing difficult on the first day Saturday, when Serbia’s men’s pair capsized halfway through their heat.
Windy conditions are expected to continue at least through Tuesday. The rowing regatta is scheduled to end on Aug. 13, but could be extended to Aug. 14 if needed.
___
9:15 a.m.
MEDAL WATCH: There are 14 golds up for grabs on Sunday, including four swimming finals and the women’s side of a grueling road cycling race completed by the men on Saturday.
The first medal is expected to come in the 10-meter air pistol women’s final.
Other sports also handing out golds include: weightlifting, diving, judo, archery and fencing.
___
9 a.m.
Serbia has advised its athletes competing at the Rio Olympics to withdraw from any medal award ceremonies if they have to share the podium with athletes from breakaway Kosovo.
Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from it.
Serbian Sports Minister Vanja Udovicic says Sunday on the state TV website that the final decision is up to the athletes themselves, while the government has issued only a recommendation. Udovicic concedes that the issue is “complex.”
Kosovo was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 2014. It has sent eight athletes to Rio, some of whom competed for Albania at the 2012 London Olympics.
Udovicic says Serbia’s government didn’t want to undermine its athletes but “we cannot listen to the (Kosovo) anthem and watch their flag.”
___
8 a.m.
The American women are heavily favored to repeat as gold medalists in gymnastics in Rio de Janeiro — but the real drama will be which of the three Americans in the all-around gymnastics competition will miss out on the final.
That’s because each country can enter just two competitors in the final, leaving Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman to battle for those two places.
The event starts with a subdivision that includes 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, who will be competing in her seventh Olympics, a record for a gymnast. Her best chance to make an impact is reaching the vault finals, where she will compete against American Laurie Hernandez, among others.
The 16-year-old Hernandez was born as Chusovitina was planning to compete in her third Olympics in 2000.
___
7 a.m.
At the Olympic Aquatic Center pool, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, looks to add to his record 22 medals. He’s expected to be back in the pool Sunday night for the medal round of the men’s 4×100 relay.
American Katie Ledecky swims in semifinals in the women’s 400 meter freestyle on Sunday — and the world record holder looks to be a lock for the final.
___
6 a.m.
All the stars are coming out for Day 2 of the Olympic tennis tournament.
Those playing matches include No. 1 seeds Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Serena Williams of the United States, as well as 2012 gold medalist Andy Murray of Great Britain.
___
6 a.m.
The famed soccer players of Brazil, who have been booed by their own fans at the Olympic tournament, face Iraq on Sunday and are looking to rebound from a disappointing opening 0-0 draw with South Africa in Group A at the men’s soccer tournament. Brazil is favored to win gold in men’s soccer, but faces enormous pressure from its hometown fans.
Defending champion Mexico, meanwhile, faces newcomer Fiji to try to pick up its first win in the men’s Group C division.
___
6 a.m.
Women road cyclists are in the medal hunt on Sunday, a day after the difficult, sometimes treacherous, hills and roads around Rio de Janeiro caused all sorts of problems and crashes for the men.
A strong Dutch squad includes reigning gold medalist Marianne Vos and Anna Van Der Breggen, while Americans Evelyn Stevens and Kristin Armstrong, British star Lizzie Armitstead and Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma are also in the field.
They will be tackling a slightly shorter version of the men’s course, which featured some hairpin turns that were so tight TV cameras on motorbikes could not keep track of all the athletes.
___
AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org