OLYMPICS roundup

BASKETBALL

Serbia, Croatia qualify

Serbia and Croatia are Brazil bound. France or Canada will get the only Olympic basketball spot left. Serbia emphatically claimed its first Olympic appearance as an independent country Saturday, crushing Puerto Rico 108-77 in the championship game of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament it hosted in Belgrade. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 26 points and eight assists, while tournament MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets added 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Serbians raced to a 24-3 lead and were ahead 37-11 after one quarter, extended it to 60-27 at halftime, and shot 58.7 percent for the game. Croatia had a much tougher time, outlasting Italy 84-78 in overtime in Turin, Italy. Bojan Bogdanovic of the Brooklyn Nets scored 26 points, former Philadelphia 76ers lottery pick Dario Saric added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Croatians qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

TRACK AND FIELD

Gatlin, Lagat win to advance

EUGENE, ORE.

Justin Gatlin won the 200-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday, and 41-year-old Bernard Lagat won the 5,000-meter race. Gatlin qualified for his third Olympics, and Lagat is going to the Games for the fifth time. Gatlin ran the 200 in 19.75 seconds to nudge out LaShawn Merritt by .04. Also making it was Ameer Webb, who finished ahead of high-schoolers Noah Lyles and Michael Norman. Joining Lagat at 5,000 meters are Hassan Mead and Paul Chelimo. Allyson Felix made it through her semifinal and will be in the eight-woman 200-meter final Sunday. The 110-meter hurdles title went to Devon Allen, who runs track and plays wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks. Ronnie Ash and Jeff Porter took the other spots, but left out were three Olympic veterans: David Oliver, Jason Richardson and defending champion Aries Merritt. Maggie Malone can hardly believe that she is headed to the Olympics. Malone, who one month ago won the NCAA title at Eugene’s Hayward Field, won the javelin throw at the U.S. Track and Field Trials on Saturday with a throw of 199 feet, 7 inches. Malone hails from tiny town of Geneva, Neb., a tiny town southwest of Lincoln. “I’m out of words,” she said. “I’m from a town of like 2,000 with one stoplight. This is insane.” As a senior at Texas A&M, Malone tossed an NCAA collegiate record of 204-0 last month at the NCAA championships. Hannah Carson finished second in the event with a throw of 190-11, but she doesn’t have the Olympic qualifying standard to make the team. American record holder Kara Winger finished third to make her second Olympic team, and fourth-place finisher Brittany Borman, who has the standard, will also go to Rio.

U.S. jumper may compete as neutral

monaco

The IAAF said its doping review board had ruled U.S.-based Russian long jumper Daria Klishina meets the “exceptional eligibility criteria” to take part in international competition as a neutral athlete, clearing the way for her to possibly compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. It said the board “unanimously accepted the application of Daria Klishina who, subject to completing the formalities, is now eligible to compete in international competitions as an independent neutral athlete.” It said Klishina’s participation was still subject to acceptance by the IOC. The IAAF has already approved an application from Russian athlete and doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova, who competed at last week’s European championships. Stepanova, an 800-meter runner who served a two-year doping ban, helped expose the widespread cheating in Russia that led the IAAF to ban the country’s track and field athletes from global competition, including the Olympics. Stepanova is living and training in the United States at an undisclosed location. The IAAF has said more than 80 Russian athletes have applied to compete in Rio under “exceptional eligibility” provisions. The special eligibility measure is aimed largely at Russians who have been based abroad, and few athletes are likely to be considered. A decision on all claims will be made by July 18.

Staff/wire report