RIO DE JANEIRO — Brianna Rollins started out fast and never looked back Wednesday night, leading a U.S. sweep of the 100-meter hurdles at the Rio Games, winning with 12.48 seconds.

Though Rollins was unreachable, it came down to hundredths of seconds for the other two medals.

Nia Ali had silver with 12.59 and Kristi Castlin had 12.61 for bronze.

The United States had such strength in depth this year that they could leave the world-record holder, Kendra Harrison, at home and still sweep the race.

WOMEN’S 200: Elaine Thompson, who also won the 100, got another sprint double for Jamaica, blasting out of the blocks and never giving Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers a chance to catch her on the straightaway.

Thompson ended in a season’s-best 21.78 seconds for an edge of .10 over Schippers. Tori Bowie of the United States had bronze with 22.15.

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WOMEN’S LONG JUMP: Tianna Bartoletta of the United States, a two-time world champion, finally has an Olympic gold medal, winning with a personal best of 23 feet, 5.2 inches.

Bartoletta, 30, who won her world titles a decade apart in 2005 and 2015, responded on the fifth attempt to regain the lead with one round remaining.

Defending Olympic champion Brittney Reese of the United States, after three fouls on her first four attempts, took silver with a best of 23-4.5 on her last attempt.

DECATHLON: Ashton Eaton of the U.S., the reigning Olympic and world champion, is in the lead through five of the 10 events.

Eaton won the 400 meters to give him 4,621 points after five events. Kai Kazmirek of Germany moved into second with a good 400 meters, trailing Eaton by 121 points. Damian Warner, who beat Eaton in the 100 meters to take the early lead, was in bronze medal position with 4,489 points.

The sprint hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters complete the program Thursday.

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MEN’S 200: Justin Gatlin failed to qualify for the final of the 200 meters after placing third in his semifinal heat.

Gatlin, who took the silver medal behind Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, finished in 20.13 seconds. Bolt was the fastest qualifier in a season-leading 19.78 and is aiming for a third straight sprint double at the Olympics.

VOLLEYBALL: The U.S. men beat Poland in straight sets for a fourth straight victory since a surprising 0-2 start and will take on Italy or Iran in the semifinals Friday.

The U.S. woman also are in the semifinals Thursday against Serbia.

WOMEN’S WATER POLO: Maggie Steffens scored four times and the U.S. beat Hungary 14-10 in the semifinals. Maddie Musselman and Kiley Neushul had two goals apiece for the U.S., which is trying to become the first country to repeat as Olympic champions.

Italy advanced with a 12-9 victory against Australia in the first semifinal.

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MEN’S SOCCER: Lukas Klosertmann scored in the ninth minute and Nils Peterson added a goal in the 89th to put Germany into the gold-medal match with a 2-0 semifinal victory against Nigeria. The Germans will play Brazil on Saturday. Brazil defeated Honduras 6-0 as Neymar scored twice.

WOMEN’S WRESTLING: Japan swept the gold medals on the first day of the competition.

Sara Dosho rallied to beat fourth-ranked Natalia Vorobeva of Russia in the 69 kilograms on a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the last match of the day. Dosho’s teammates Icho and Eri Tosaka also claimed titles.

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY: Alex Danson scored twice as Britain defeated New Zealand 3-0 in the semifinals to advance to the final for the first time.

Britain, which placed third in 1992 and 2012, will play the Netherlands for the gold Friday. The Dutch defeated Germany in a shootout earlier in the day after a 1-1 draw in regulation.

WOMEN’S GOLF: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand is the first-round leader as women’s golf made its Olympic debut.

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Jutanugarn wound up with a 6-under 65 for a one-shot lead over Inbee Park and Seiyoung Kim, both of South Korea.

SAILING: The medal races in the women’s and men’s 470 classes were postponed because of lack of steady wind. The men’s class includes Dave Hughes, a Yarmouth High and University of Southern Maine graduate, and his crewmate, Stuart McNay. They are fourth through the preliminary races.

WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross won the bronze medal, coming back after losing the first set to defeat a Brazilian team.

The win came less than 24 hours after Walsh Jennings lost for the first time in 27 matches over four Summer Games.


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