Park returns to her best to win in golf’s Olympic return

RIO DE JANEIRO: Inbee Park’s first victory of the season might just be the biggest of her career — a gold medal in women’s golf.
Park made three straight birdies early in the final round Saturday, never let anyone closer than three shots the rest of the way and closed with a 5-under 66 for a five-shot victory at Olympic Golf Course.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand didn’t stand a chance, and neither did anyone else.
Ko, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, at least made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 69 to claim the silver. Shanshan Feng of China shot 69 and took the bronze.
Park, battling a thumb injury all year that led to speculation she was going to retire, had not faced top competition in two months and missed the last two majors on the LPGA Tour. She took time off to prepare for the Olympics, but when she missed the cut in a Korean LPGA event, the 28-year-old South Korean heard chatter that she should give up her spot to another player in better form.
Instead, she reminded those in a country where golf is a passion why she ranks among the best.
Park already has seven majors, including the career Grand Slam, and earlier this year she became the youngest in history qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Now she has the first gold medal awarded in women’s golf since 1900.
Stacy Lewis had a chance at a medal for the Americans with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. She missed her 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole and shot 66, finishing one shot out of the bronze.
Maria Verchenova of Russia posted the lowest score, a 62 that featured the third hole-in-one of the tournament.
This final round, however, was all about Park.
South Korea has been the dominant nation in women’s golf, and Park brought home the biggest prize. A large gallery held up South Korean flags for her to see behind every green and on the way to every tee. Park kept her composure, even as she was making one birdie after another to demoralize Ko and anyone else trying to challenge her.
When she tapped in from 2 feet for par on the final hole, she raised her arms and tilted her head to a cloudy sky.
She finished at 16-under 268, the same score with which Justin Rose won the gold medal last Sunday in men’s golf.
Gwen Jorgensen gave the US its first Olympic triathlon gold medal Saturday, crushing the field at breezy Copacabana Beach in 1 hour, 56 minutes and 16 seconds.
Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, who won gold in London four years ago when Jorgensen was bamboozled by a flat tire, crossed 40 seconds later for the silver medal. Vicky Holland outsprinted British teammate Non Stanford to win the bronze.
Jorgensen was drafting with Spirig for the entire run after they dismounted their bikes together but after smiling at Spirig with about two kilometers left, Jorgensen made her breakaway and wouldn’t be challenged.
As she approached the blue ribbon, the former All-American track athlete and swimmer at the University of Wisconsin turned and Spirig wasn’t anywhere in site. Jorgensen flipped up her goggles, acknowledged the cheers with a wide smile and grabbed the tape above her head after crossing the finish.
Then, she broke down in tears.
The only other American to win an Olympic triathlon medal was Susan Williams, the silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games.
Canoeist Isaquias Queiroz has become the first Brazilian Olympian to win three medals at the same games.
Queiroz and Erlon de Souza had to settle for silver in the men’s 1,000 meters double after losing a sprint to Sebastian Brendel and Jan Vandrey of Germany.
Ukrainian paddlers Dmytro Ianchuk and Tarasa Mischchuk got the bronze.
Backed by a roaring home crowd, the Brazilians led the race until the final 250 meters where they were overtaken by Brendel and Vandrey.
Queiroz also won a silver and a bronze in the single events.
When the Olympic title holder in the men’s 200 kayak sprint didn’t qualify for the Rio games another Briton stepped in. Liam Heath beat Maxime Beaumont of France in a furious sprint Saturday to keep the gold medal in British hands.
Saul Craviotto of Spain and Ronald Rauhe of Germany shared the bronze after finishing the race in the same time. Ed McKeever won the 200 meters gold for Britain in London 2012 but didn’t qualify for the Rio Olympics.
It was Heath’s second medal in Rio, after his silver in the men’s 200 meters double.
Serbia counted down the final minute before running to midcourt to celebrate, capping off its first Olympics in women’s basketball with a bronze medal by beating France 70-63 on Saturday.
Jelena Milovanovic scored 18 points for the Serbs, who were jumping up and down on the bench with hands clasped waiting for the final horn. The crowd helped count down the final seconds and after the game the Serbia team tossed coach Marina Maljkovic into the air a couple of times.
France leaves its third Olympics without any hardware after taking silver at the 2012 London Games.
The Serbs appeared stunned after their loss to Spain in the semifinals Thursday. They rebounded well, racing out to a 12-3 lead and were up 18-10 after the first quarter. When France went up 40-37, Serbia finished the third quarter scoring on an 18-2 run and never trailed again.
Endy Miyem led France with 18 points.