RIO DE JANEIRO — The Latest on the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):
9:35 p.m.
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An official says Bulgarian steeplechase athlete Silvia Danekova has been provisionally suspended days before she is due to run in the Olympics after an initial positive drug test in Brazil.
The official, who asked not to be identified because the case has not been publicly announced, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the information had been passed from the International Olympic Committee to athletics officials and that the results of a second sample would be needed before further action is taken.
Messages seeking comment from Bulgarian team officials were not immediate returned Thursday.
Danekova is not a medal contender in the event, which starts with heats on Saturday. The Bulgarian Olympic Committee could not be immediately reached for comment.
The 33-year-old runner competed in the Olympics four years ago but did not move beyond the heats.
9:20 p.m.
The U.S. women’s field hockey team has improved to 4-0 and will play Britain on Saturday to determine who will win Pool B.
Katie Bam scored two goals and helped the U.S. defeat India 3-0 Thursday night.
Bam scored in the first and third periods, and Melissa Gonzalez added a goal in the fourth.
Goalie Jackie Briggs notched her first shoutout of the Games against India after allowing a single goal in each of the team’s first three matches.
The United States already had clinched a slot in the quarterfinals. They got off to a strong start by knocking off No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia in their first two matches.
9:15 p.m.
The IOC says all four cities bidding for the 2024 Olympics have been told not to invite media to their hospitality houses in Rio.
The IOC originally said three cities – Los Angeles, Rome and Paris – received notices warning them that the media invitations were against the rules. It said the fourth bid city – Budapest, Hungary – was not involved.
Later Thursday, the IOC said “it happens that all four cities have been reminded of the rules.”
They IOC said the cities “have all been reminded that this was not permitted and have subsequently stopped their activities.”
Representatives of all four cities are in Rio to observe the Olympics and pitch their bids to IOC members, who will select the host city in September 2017.
8:10 p.m.
Officials exploded a backpack found inside the Olympic basketball arena while Spain and Nigeria started their men’s game in the nearly entirely empty building.
A statement from the Rio Olympic Committee said the backpack was found near a trash container in the bathroom on the top floor. Ticket holders were prevented from entering Carioca Arena 1 because the bag was next to a spectator passageway.
The controlled explosion under the guidance of the Federal Police and the Army reverberated with a boom that jarred Spain center Pau Gasol as he was about to take the court.
Officials say the backpack contained a tablet, a pair of socks and a jacket.
Inspectors allowed the game to start on time, and for volunteers and the media to remain in the building. Spectators were allowed to enter in the first quarter.
8:08 p.m.
It was a scary scene for Brazilian fans at the team’s arrival in Sao Paulo for the quarterfinals of the Olympic soccer tournament: Neymar limping heavily and with his ankle wrapped up.
But the Brazilian football confederation says exams conducted on the star striker’s right foot on Thursday showed no serious injuries.
Neymar is expected to practice on Friday and be fully fit to play in Saturday’s match against Colombia at the Arena Corinthians.
Neymar did not show signs of the injury in Brazil’s 4-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday in Salvador, a result that kept alive the hosts’ dream of winning the soccer gold medal for the first time.
He was able to play through the injury but it required treatment after the match and raised some concerns.
The Barcelona forward is the top player at the soccer tournament and one of the biggest stars at the Rio Games.
8:05 p.m.
There are more complaints about the conditions on some of the courses for the Rio Games on Guanabara Bay.
Belgium’s Evi Van Acker became the first sailor to fall ill during the games after sailing the polluted waters that were subject of great scrutiny in recent months.
Denmark’s Allan Norregaard called Van Acker’s illness “a shame,” then said the randomness of the wind on some of the courses inside the bay doesn’t make them suitable for the games. He added that it’s been a waste of the sailors’ time and is “scandalous.”
He sails in the Nacra 17 class with Anette Viborg. They are 11th after six races.
Earlier this week, Denmark’s Jonas Hogh-Christensen called the chaotic conditions on an inside course “a mockery of sport.”
8 p.m.
The World Anti-Doping Agency and Court of Arbitration for Sport say they have been targeted by hackers.
WADA communications coordinator Maggie Durand tells The Associated Press in an email that the agency was notified of a YouTube video claiming WADA’s website had been hacked. She says an investigation and “was quickly able to determine that the website had not been compromised, although we continue to monitor activity.”
She says WADA can confirm that its data base of doping results “has not been compromised.”
Meanwhile, CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb tells the AP “there has been an attempt to hack the CAS website. It is not the first time, and certainly not the last time.”
He says the attempt “was apparently unsuccessful but investigations are being made … to make sure that we have not suffered any damage.”
Reeb says information on the CAS website “is intended for the public and is not confidential.”
7:40 p.m.
Osea Kolinisau and his rugby sevens teammates can call themselves Fiji’s first Olympic champions, capping their domination the last two years with an emphatic 43-7 win over Britain in the gold-medal match at Rio.
Both teams were unbeaten going into the final, but only one of them has rugby sevens as a national sport. It was all but over at halftime, with the Fijians scoring five tries before the break to 29-0. Kolinisau scored the first of those, reaching back over his head to touch down.
Rugby is back in the Olympics for the first time since a 15-a-side tournament was played in 1924. The International Olympic Committee took the decision in 2009 to add the sevens format for Rio, and the Fijians have been preparing ever since to end a drought at the Summer Games.
South Africa won the bronze medal with 54-14 win over Japan, which shook up the tournament on day one with an upset win over New Zealand.
This item has been corrected to reflect that South Africa won bronze. Britain won silver.
7:35 p.m.
Romania beat top-ranked China to win the gold medal in women’s epee fencing Thursday.
It’s the first medal of the Rio Games for the Romanians, who outscored China 44-38.
Ana Maria Popescu helped Romania widen its early gap, scoring four unmatched touches. Yujie Sun got China back within 30-25 ahead of its final bout, but four early scores from Popescu clinched it for the Romanians.
Russia beat Estonia 37-31 to claim bronze and an Olympic-leading fifth fencing medal.
7:30 p.m.
The IOC will investigate the incident of a Kenyan track and field coach who was sent home from the Olympics after posing as an athlete and giving a doping sample in the runner’s name.
The International Olympic Committee says it has set up a disciplinary commission “to look into the matter with regard to the coach and the athlete concerned.”
The IOC thanked the Kenyan Olympic Committee for its “swift action” in expelling coach John Anzrah after he was found with 800-meter runner Ferguson Rotich’s accreditation card, and after he had provided a urine sample for a doping test.
IAAF spokesman Yannis Nikolaou says the federation will ask for a report from the IOC. He says, after the IOC has dealt with the case, the IAAF will decide “whether further sanctions must be imposed.”
7:20 p.m.
Rafael Nadal has pulled out of mixed doubles at the Olympics before playing his first-round match.
The International Tennis Federation announced Nadal’s withdrawal Thursday, when he was supposed to make his debut in that event for Spain at the Rio de Janeiro Games with Garbine Muguruza.
Their match against Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic had been scheduled to be Nadal’s third contest of the day.
He reached the quarterfinals in singles and the semifinals in men’s doubles with victories earlier Thursday.
The Olympics are Nadal’s first competition in 2½ months. He had been sidelined with an injured left wrist.
7:20 p.m.
None of the No. 1 seeds will win gold – or any medal – in tennis in Rio de Janeiro.
Five events, five early losses for the top seeds. In fact, Serena Williams was the only one to make it out of the opening match. She was upset in the third round.
The top-seeded mixed doubles team of Caroline Garcia and Nicolas Mahut of France lost Thursday to Brazil’s Teliana Pereira and Marcelo Melo 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1). It’s the second time at these Olympics that Mahut has fallen in the first round as the No. 1 seed: He and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the Wimbledon champs, were eliminated Sunday in men’s doubles.
Two other No. 1 seeds were knocked out Sunday. In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic lost to 2009 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro. Williams, also upset twice as a No. 1 seed in Rio, was eliminated with sister Venus in women’s doubles that day.
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