Olympics notebook: Katie Ledecky outshines Michael Phelps

Phelps grabs silver

After winning four gold medals at the Rio de Janeiro Games and looking unbeatable, Michael Phelps finally ran out of steam in what was the final individual race of his career – unless he decides to come out of retirement again.

Phelps was seeking his 23rd Olympic gold medal and his fourth straight in the 100-meter butterfly, but he was denied by Singapore’s Joseph Schooling, who got off to a blistering start and built a lead that even Phelps couldn’t overcome.

With Anthony Ervin winning the men’s 50 freestyle and Maya DiRado taking gold in the women’s 200 backstroke, the Americans would have had a clean sweep were it not for the silver by Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history.

U.S. men fend off Serbia

Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving and the U.S. team survived their second straight strong challenge at the Rio Games, fending off Serbia 94-91 when Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2 seconds left that would have tied it.

Kevin Durant grabbed the rebound to keep the Americans unbeaten 48 hours after they barely escaped against Australia.

U.S. women rout Canada

Maya Moore scored 12 points, and the U.S. routed Canada 81-51 Friday to clinch Group B in women’s basketball.

The U.S. won its 45th straight Olympic game after a sloppy start where the Americans (4-0) had their two lowest scoring quarters in Rio. They led only 18-16 after the first quarter and only could match that total in the second.

Yet the U.S. led 36-22 at halftime after forcing Canada into 15 turnovers and limiting the Canadians to one made field goal in the second quarter. Diana Taurasi also had 12 points, and Tina Charles added 10.

Ayana wins 10,000

Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia set a world record in the 10,000 meters with a stunning solo run to win the first gold medal in track. Her time of 29 minutes, 17.45 seconds bested the old mark set in 1993 by more than 14 seconds.

Headaches in Rio

On a day that began with another round of rain, South America’s first Olympics lingered under clouds of grief, doping and disrespect.

Brazil’s government declared a day of official mourning for a Rio Olympics police officer who died after being shot in the head making a wrong turn into one of the city’s slums.

A Chinese swimmer, Polish weightlifter and Bulgarian steeplechaser have been sanctioned for doping offenses, which are being handled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the first time.

And in a serious breach of judo etiquette with political overtones, an Egyptian judoka refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after his loss.

Nadal wins doubles gold

Rafael Nadal, the singles champion at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Spain teammate Marc Lopez won the men’s doubles title. Nadal also reached the semifinals in his bid for a second Olympic singles gold, overcoming his Brazilian opponent and a raucous flag-waving home crowd.

Hernandez ends medal drought for U.S. men

Nico Hernandez’s chance for a gold medal ended when he lost to Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov. With a gnarly gash over his left eye, Hernandez had blurred vision and needed stitches. His consolation: his bronze medal in the light flyweight division ends a medal drought for the American boxers that stretched to 2008.

Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in sight

Tennis player Monica Puig is one victory from Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in Olympic history. Puig continued her surprising run by reaching the women’s singles final, eliminating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Puig is ranked 34th and unseeded but is assured of no worse than a silver medal.

German coach fights for life

A German Olympic canoe coach is fighting for his life after a car accident left him with serious head injuries. Stefan Henze, a canoe slalom silver medalist at the 2004 Games, underwent emergency surgery in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. He and a team official were heading to the athletes village when their taxi was in a wreck.

Water still green

In another embarrassment for the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center, a planned practice session had to be called off to give officials more time to clean the green-tinged water – a four-days-and-counting scenario that prompted American diver Abby Johnson to dub it “the Swamp.”