Summer 2016 Olympics | Recaps from Day 11’s other events in Rio

women’s basketball

U.S. women rout Japan in quarterfinals

rio de janeiro

Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball brushed aside yet another opponent at the Rio Games after being challenged for the first time in the Olympics, albeit for just one half.

While Japan played the Americans tough in the first half, the end result was another blowout victory for the U.S., although the 110-64 dismantling of the Japanese team may have come at a cost.

Point guard Sue Bird didn’t play the second half after injuring her right knee in the second quarter. She told The Associated Press after the game that she felt a “pop.”

“Nothing really happened,” Bird said of the play. “I just felt the pop and anytime you feel that, it’s a little alarming. So going just to have to get it evaluated afterwards and see what’s up. Truth I really have nothing to tell you. It happened so fast like. Is it possible I stepped on her shoe or she stepped on mine? I don’t really remember but yeah it felt funny.”

U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said that they would evaluate the injury.

“I really don’t know. I said we’ll know” on Wednesday, Auriemma said. “There’s no way of knowing anything right now. I’m sure Sue’s bummed out about it as you can imagine. Let’s just wait and see.”

Coming into the quarterfinals, every U.S. game was virtually over at the half. Not this one.

men’s field hockey

Underdogs Argentina, Belgium reach finals

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Argentina and Belgium gatecrashed the Olympic field hockey festival and reached their first men’s final together on Tuesday.

Nobody saw them coming.

Not Germany, the defending two-time champion, which was humiliated by a record 5-2 by the Argentines.

And not the Netherlands, which had never lost to its Belgian neighbor in major competition, but saw that 80-year streak terminated 3-1.

“This is crazy,” said Argentina midfielder Lucas Rey, who could have also spoken for Belgium. “We knew we could do this, but it’s still crazy.”

Before the final on Thursday, Germany and the Netherlands, the finalists in London, will play for bronze.

Argentina scored off its first three penalty corners, all struck by Gonzalo Peillat on the stick side of Germany goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi, in the first half. Germany, featuring six players from 2012, was restricted to two shots in the whole half.

USA does well in triple jump

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The repeat one-two American finish in the triple jump, the Jamaican gold medal in hurdles and Jenny Simpson’s unprecedented bronze in the 1,500 meters were among Tuesday’s track and field highlights.

Usain Bolt was on the track early for his 200-meter qualifying heat — a no-fuss 20.28-second ramble around the curve that barely raised his blood pressure.

“I’m not an early-morning person,” Bolt proclaimed, shortly after winning his heat, which actually started at the crack of 12:46 p.m.

But morning seemed like the perfect time for American Will Claye to put an exclamation point on one of his greatest moments. Newly minted with his second straight Olympic silver medal in the triple jump — countryman Christian Taylor won gold, also just as in 2012 — Clay clambered over the barrier separating the track from the stands, climbed a few rows to meet his girlfriend, bent down on one knee and popped the question.

Queen Harrison, an Olympic hurdler in 2008, said yes.

“When I woke up this morning, I was like, ‘Today’s going to be the best day of my life,”’ Claye said.

Omar McLeod certainly felt the same.

His win in 13.05 seconds over the 110-meter hurdles in the evening’s final event made it three gold medals on the straightaway for Jamaica so far. He beat Orlando Ortega of Spain by .12 seconds.

In the evening’s other big race, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya finished the women’s 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 8.92 seconds to beat out Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, a flip-flop from last year’s world championships. Simpson took bronze to become the first American woman to medal in the event.

Staff/wire report