Jamaican runner Usain Bolt has sprinted to another Olympic gold medal, winning the 200-meter race in what he says will be his last Summer Games race at that distance.
His time of 19.78 seconds in Rio Thursday was more than a half second off his own world record, but still nearly a quarter of a second better than second place finisher Andre De Grasse of Canada.
After the race, Bolt said he was pleased with the gold, but wished he could have had a faster time.
Bolt has now won three straight Olympic golds in both the 200- and 100-meter sprints. On Friday - two days before the turns 30 - Bolt goes for this third straight in the 4x100 relays with his Jamaican teammates.
In other events, American Ashton Eaton successfully defended his Olympic decathlon title, finishing ahead of Frenchman Kevin Mayer. Eaton is the world record holder in the event that decides the world's best all-around athlete.
The Americans won three other gold medals in track and field Thursday. Delilah Muhammad became the first American woman to win the 400-meter hurdles. Kerron Clement won the men's 400-meter hurdles, and Ryan Crouser set an Olympic record in the men's shot put with a distance of 22.52 meters.
Croatian Sara Kolak won the women's javelin.
Jordan earned an Olympic medal for the first time ever when taekwondo fighter Ahmad Abughaush won gold in the men's 68-kilogram division.
Britain's defending Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones successfully defended her title in the 57-kilogram division.
Brazil's men's beach volleyball team made the hosts in Rio happy by winning the gold medal.
WATCH: In Photos - Rio Day 12
It has been a tough Olympics in Rio for Team USA's Allyson Felix, who is participating in her fourth Games. On Tuesday night, Felix was edged out in the women's 400-meter race after Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dove across the finish line for the victory.
On Thursday, Felix, who is on the defending U.S. women's 4x100 relay, dropped the baton during a qualifying heat after being bumped by a Brazilian runner.
The U.S. appealed, and in a bizarre scenario, the U.S. team had to run the 4x100 relay alone on the track. To advance, the team had to post a time faster than 42.70 seconds, which they did. Felix and her teammates ran 41.77, and will advance to Friday night's final.
Other track-and-field medals will be handed out in the men's shotput and women's javelin.
Diving
China's diving team has dominated in the Rio Games, winning six of seven events. On Thursday, Ren Qian, 15, won the gold medal in the women's 10-meter platform.
Boxing
The Olympic boxing body AIBA said its French executive director Karim Bouzidi would be given "a new role within the organization" and another official would be put in charge. The move comes a day after it dropped some judges and referees after reviewing their performances at the Games.
Doping
The Court of Arbitration for Sport also issued final verdicts Thursday in the cases of Chinese swimmer Chen Xinyi and Brazilian road cyclist Kleber Ramos after both failed doping tests.
Chen, 18, tested positive for diuretics and Ramos, 30, tested positive for the blood-booster EPO.
Triathlon
Two brothers out of Great Britain placed first and second in the triathlon Thursday, after medaling in the same event in London in 2012. Alistair Brownlee became the first triathlete to retain his Olympic title, placing first in 1:45:01. His brother Jonathan Brownlee, who took bronze in 2012, took silver in Rio.
In total, 25 gold medals will be won on Thursday, including men's beach volleyball, women's wrestling, men's field hockey, sailing, and both men's and women's boxing.
Lochte
Esquire Network plans to re-broadcast the short-lived reality cable series "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" following the U.S. swimmer's dust-up in Rio. All eight episodes of the series, which was produced after Lochte's standout performance at the London Games in 2012, will be shown Friday on the network.
Water polo
Serbia, taking part in its first Olympic men's water polo final, will face 2012 gold-medal winner Croatia on Saturday. The much-anticipated final pits the two rival countries, with a shared border and regional passion for water polo, against each other.
Serbian coach Dejan Savic said his team faces considerable pressure to win. He said before the Games began that the media back home "are waiting to cut the head off our team if we don't win the gold," the Associated Press reported.
