MEN'S GOLF

Australian leads

On a day of firsts for Olympic golf, Marcus Fraser of Australia had the one that mattered -- the first-round lead. Fraser shot an 8-under 63 that stood for a three-shot lead over Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Graham DeLaet of Canada. He set an Olympic record, though that was hardly a surprise considering golf had not been part of the Olympics in 112 years. He was among a host of new Olympians who gave golf the start it needed. 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 surprise was the American performance. With four golfers in the 60-man field, only Matt Kuchar (69) broke par. Rickie Fowler started with a double bogey and shot 75, beating only two players. Patrick Reed shot 72 and Bubba Watson had a 73.

TENNIS

[ARKANSANS IN RIO: Full coverage of 24 in Olympics]

Keys advances

Madison Keys closed in on an Olympic tennis medal by reaching the women's singles semifinals Thursday. The No. 7-seeded Keys' power-based game overwhelmed Daria Katsatkina of Russia 6-3, 6-1 in a mere 53 minutes, thanks in large part to a 30-4 edge in winners. Earn one more victory -- either in the semifinals against No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany, or in the bronze match -- and Keys will head back home with a medal. Steve Johnson, a four-time NCAA team champion and two-time individual winner for Southern California, had a similarly easy time of things against Evgeny Donskoy of Russia, winning 6-1, 6-1. Next for Johnson, who is seeded 12th, comes a far more daunting task: He will play No. 2 Andy Murray, the defending Olympic gold medalist and a three-time Grand Slam champion with a semifinal berth on the line. Johnson also still is in the running for a medal in men's doubles. He and partner Jack Sock lost 6-3, 7-5 to Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau of Romania in the semifinals, but can head home with a bronze if they beat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil of Canada. Sock is part of one of two mixed doubles teams that could earn a medal for the United States, too. He and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reached the quarterfinals of that 16-team event, and so did Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, by winning in the first round Thursday. Mattek-Sands and Sock defeated Johanna Konta and Jamie Murray of Britain 6-4, 6-3, while Williams and Ram got past the Dutch pair of Kiki Bertens and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 10-8. Williams lost in the first round of singles and women's doubles in Rio. Her sister Serena, the defending champion in both of those events, exited in the third round of singles.

WOMEN'S WATER POLO

U.S. tops China

The United States rolled to an easy 12-4 victory Thursday over China as the American women try to become the first group to win consecutive Olympic titles in women's water polo. The United States improved to 36-2 in 2016 with its 18th consecutive victory, racking up titles on three continents before beating Spain 11-4 in its Olympic opener Tuesday. It has scored in double figures 17 times during its win streak, totaling 231 goals overall and outscoring opponents by an average of seven goals. The United States' only two losses so far this year are to Australia, 5-4 on May 26 in California and 5-4 on May 31 in China. But the Aussie Stingers lost 8-7 to Italy on Thursday, a potentially costly result that could force them into a semifinal matchup with the United States.

MEN'S BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Americans beat Italy

Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena are through to the knockout stage of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament after an extra long victory over Italy. The Americans won 21-13, 21-17, 24-22 on Thursday night to finish unbeaten in group play. They'll wait for the drawing of lots to find out their opponent in the round of 16. The third set in a beach volleyball match is supposed to be up to 15 -- but the team has to win by 2. The Italians fought off a half-dozen match points before the Americans nailed it down. That left the United States with one men's and one women's team playing for a medal. April Ross and three-time gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings wrapped up pool play with a perfect record on Wednesday.

WOMEN'S JUDO

Harrison wins gold again

American Kayla Harrison has successfully defended her Olympic judo title in the women's 78-kilogram division, after beating France's Audrey Tcheumeo in a tense final. With just six seconds left, Harrison caught Tcheumeo's arm in an armlock, and forced Tcheumeo to tap out in submission, automatically winning the contest. Harrison's coach, Jimmy Pedro, said Harrison's achievement was enormous, given that there have been no repeat Olympic judo champions at Rio or at the previous games in London. Harrison was in commanding form throughout Thursday, winning her preliminary matches automatically after pinning her opponents down to the mat for 20 seconds; her first match lasted just 43 seconds. Pedro said Harrison was "on fire" on Thursday and described the defense of her Olympic title as "epic." The women's bronze medals were won by Brazil's Mayra Aguiar and Slovenian Anamari Velensek.

SAILING

Belgian falls ill

A Belgian woman who won a 2012 bronze medal has become sick, the first Olympic competitor to fall ill after sailing the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay. Evi Van Acker reported feeling sick after Wednesday's races, the governing body World Sailing reported. Her poor performances have put her at risk of missing out on a medal in the Laser Radial class. Her coach told the Belgian VRT network he believes Van Acker contracted a severe intestinal infection while training in Rio de Janeiro in July. The poor quality of Guanabara Bay was at the forefront of the buildup to the Olympics. An independent study by The Associated Press has shown high levels of viruses in the water as well as bacteria from human sewage. World Sailing spokesman Darryl Seibel said this appears to be an isolated case and Van Acker is the only sailor who has reported feeling ill in the opening days of the regatta. Van Acker had a "serious gastrointestinal infection a few weeks ago," the Belgian Olympic Committee said in a statement. "She has not fully recovered. It makes it difficult for her to go through long periods of sustained effort."

IOC

30% are no-shows

Olympic organizers say around 30 percent of volunteers are not turning up for work each day at the Rio de Janeiro Games. IOC spokesman Mark Adams on Thursday called volunteers "the backbone of the games" but many are not so committed to working for free. The Rio organizing committee said in a statement to The Associated Press that "of the 50,000 volunteers involved in the delivery of the Olympic Games, we have an average attendance rate of just over 70 percent." Organizers added that "this number allows us to operate at a comfortable level as some volunteers not showing up was factored into our plans."

Sports on 08/12/2016