Rio Day 5: Anthony and Taurasi Break Records, Ledecky is Golden and Other Top Moments

U.S. boxer wins a bronze and could still compete for gold

Rio Olympics Weightlifting Men
Mike Groll/AP

Carmelo Anthony overtook LeBron James to become the leading scorer in U.S. Olympic basketball history, Diana Taurasi broke one of her own hoops records, and cyclist Kristin Armstrong won another gold. In case you missed them, here are some of the best moments of Day 5 at the Rio Games.

Leaving LeBron James Behind
Carmelo Anthony is the leading scorer in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history, passing LeBron James during Wednesday's game against Australia.

Anthony scored 31 points Wednesday for a total of 293 points, to 273 for James.

James skipped the Rio Games, which would have been his fourth Olympics. He competed in the Athens, Beijing and London Games.

David Robinson is third on the scoring list with 270 points, followed by Michael Jordan with 256 and Charles Barkley with 231.

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Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
USA's centre DeAndre Jordan (L) and USA's forward Carmelo Anthony (C) reach for the ball with Australia's centre Andrew Bogut during a Men's round Group A basketball match between Australia and USA at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 10, 2016, during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The powerhouse that's the U.S. women's basketball team vanquished its third opponent on Wednesday, besting Serbia 110-85 as Diana Taurasi broke her own U.S. Olympic record.

The Phoenix Mercury guard and third-leading scorer in WNBA history had six 3-pointers, with five in the first half. Taurasi had already tied her own record of five on Sunday in the U.S. win over Senegal.

The U.S. women are going for their sixth straight gold medal.

Rio Olympics Basketball Women
AP
United States guard Diana Taurasi reaches in on Serbia guard Ana Dabovic (14) during the first half of a women's basketball game at the Youth Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016.

On Sunday, the team broke its own record for the most points scored in the Olympics with the 121-56 victory over Senegal.

The U.S. women play Canada next, on Sunday.

Ledecky Wins Gold Again
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal of this Olympics on Wednesday as the anchor for the U.S. women's team in the 4 by 200 freestyle race.

Ledecky started the final leg with the United States almost a second behind Australia. She passed Tamsin Cook in the second 50-meter stretch and pulled away from there. The U.S. won by 1.84 seconds.

APTOPIX Rio Olympics Swimming
AP
United States' gold medal winner Katie Ledecky swims in the women's 200-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Aug. 9, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The U.S. has won this event in five out of the six times it has been swum in the Summer Games.

Algae Flourishes in Diving Pool
The green-tinged water that first appeared in the Olympic diving pool has spread.

Now the men's water polo tournament is having to deal with murky green water too.

The black lines on the bottom of the water polo pool were still visible, but if the water gets darker the referees could have a tough time.

Water tanks ran out of some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process and algae was also an issue, officials said.

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Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told The Associated Press that the bloom was caused by heat and a lack of wind at the outdoor Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre. FINA, the world governing body for swimming and diving, said the pool's tanks ran out of some of the chemicals needed to treat the water.

"As a result, the pH level of the water was outside the usual range, causing the discoloration," it said in a statement. "The FINA Sport Medicine Committee conducted tests on the water quality and concluded that there was no risk to the health and safety of the athletes, and no reason for the competition to be affected."

Andrada promised that the water would be blue going forward.

The U.S. women's water polo team, the reigning Olympic champions, had a decisive win over Spain on Tuesday. The team continues play against China on Thursday. It is trying to become the first women's water polo team in Olympic history to win back-to-back gold medals

Independent Athlete Takes a Gold
Marksman Fehaid Al-Deehani, competing for the Independent Olympic Athletes, won gold Wednesday at the double trap shooting event, becoming the first ever IOC athlete to take home a gold medal. The win was also the first medal for the IOC team since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Al-Deehani, 49, is a decorated marksman from Kuwait, having already won trap shooting bronze medals for his country at the 2000 Sydney Games and 2012 London Games. He holds the only Olympic medals ever won by Kuwait.

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He was unable to represent his home country this year because of sanctions that bar the country from competing in the games. Kuwait was suspended last fall from both the IOC and FIFA, the international football governing body, because of accusations of governmental interference in the autonomy of sport bodies in the country.

As a result of Kuwait's suspension, Al-Deehani is competing under the International Olympic Committee's neutral team flag. Though he was asked to carry the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony's Parade of Nations, the Kuwait army officer refused.

"I am a military man and I will only carry the Kuwait flag," Al-Deehani said.

A Well-Deserved Rest
Cyclist Kristin Armstrong won her third-straight gold medal in the women's individual time trial — one day before her 43rd birthday.

After learning she had beaten Russian silver medalist Olga Zabelinskaya by 6 seconds, the exhausted Olympian got off her bike and laid down in the street, as if to take a nap.

In addition to her three Olympic golds, Armstrong holds four World Championship medals: two gold, a silver and a bronze.

A Bronze in Boxing - at Least
U.S. boxer Nico Hernandez is assured of at least a bronze medal after beating Ecuador’s Carlos Pilataxi on Wednesday, though he could still be in contention for the gold.

That's because a boxer who makes the semi-finals automatically gets a medal. There is no third-place match.

And if Hernandez wins against Uzbekistan's Hasanboy Dusmatov on Friday, he would reach the finals.

The U.S. has not won any medal in Hernandez's weight class since the 1988 Seoul Games. It has not won a gold medal in the weight class since the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

Weightlifting Agony
Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan's Olympic dreams came to a heartbreaking end Wednesday evening when his left elbow hyperextended while attempting to lift 195kg (429.9 lbs).

Rio Olympics Weightlifting Men
Mike Groll/AP
Andranik Karapetyan, of Armenia, yells in pain after injuring his left arm during the men's 77kg weightlifting competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016.

The 20-year-old had been a favorite for the 77kg (169.8 lbs) competition, having won bronze for the event at the 2015 World Championships and gold at the 2016 European Championships.

Karapetyan had hoped to win his country's first gold medal of the Rio Games, until he suffered the painful injury while attempting the clean and jerk during his second attempt at the 195kg.

Kazakhstan's Nijat Rahimov won the gold.

U.S. Beach Volleyball Team Advances
U.S. beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings and her partner April Ross lost a set to a Swiss team on Wednesday before winning their match.

Rio Olympics Beach Volleyball Women
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Kerri Walsh Jennings celebrates a point over Switzerland during a women's beach volleyball match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016.

It was only the second set that Walsh Jennings has ever lost at the Olympics. She won three gold medals with her former partner, Misty May-Treanor, sweeping Athens and Beijing before losing a single set in London.

The collaboration between Walsh Jennings and Ross goes beyond the Copacabana beach volleyball venue. The women teamed up to design their Olympic uniforms, too.

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