the second set, however, forcing the decider with Thiem threatening to cru

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Ashton Eaton retained his title as the best all-around athlete in the world by tying the decathlon Olympic record and, within minutes, had stepped back for track and fields ultimate superstar to take center stage again.What more could the now two-time Olympic champion Eaton do Thursday night to get just a little sliver of the limelight that beams down so brightly on Usain Bolt?Not much.I had the pleasure of being in the same era as Usain Bolt, Eaton said. I mean, the guys last name is Bolt, hes the fastest man ever, you cant write a story like that.You can try.For his own tale, Eaton made it back-to-back Olympic and world titles in the decathlon, an event the American has ruled since he rebounded from silver at the worlds in 2011 to claim the next four major gold medals available. From throwing, to jumping, to running, Eaton can do it all.But then Bolt -- a Jamaican who just deals in speed -- roared around the bend at the Olympic Stadium to win the 200 meters in 19.78 seconds, completing act two of his three-part quest for gold and history in Rio.Maybe there was some comfort for Eaton -- and loads of other athletes looking to be the one to shine -- with Bolts suggestion afterward that hes nearly done.On the straight, my body didnt respond. Im getting old, said Bolt, who was trying to break his own world record of 19.19.Fridays 4x100-meter relay final is all thats left now between Bolt and an historic three golds at three straight Olympics. Concentrating on not messing that up for Bolt, a Jamaica team led by Asafa Powell got into the final in a pretty important moment for the big mans legacy. They only finished second in their heat behind Japan, but Jamaicas in.There was some pressure to make it to the finals, Powell said, relieved he didnt have to deliver any bad news as Bolt prepared for the 200 final.Wednesday produced an awesome hour for the U.S. track team, according to Tianna Bartoletta. By Thursday night, that had evolved into a pretty great 24 hours.Alongside Eatons triumph, Ryan Crouser led an American one-two in the shot put, also setting a new Olympic record of 22.52 meters to win his first major title from world champion Joe Kovacs.Dalilah Muhammad kept the U.S. total ticking on with gold in the womens 400-meter hurdles and Ashley Spencer added a bronze, with another American 1-2 only just thwarted by Denmarks Sara Slott Petersen. Kerron Clement later won his first individual Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles.We are making history out here, Muhammad said of the U.S. teams gold rush.The crowd at a near-full Olympic Stadium was constantly reminded of that with a series of medal ceremonies through the day, most of them starting with: Oh, say can you see...With three days remaining, the United States was up to 24 medals in track and field, eight of them gold. The U.S. won 29 medals, including nine golds, in London.For a few short moments, the U.S. womens 4x100 relay team was a little like Bolt: They were the only ones everyone was looking at.Leading off, Bartoletta nestled into the starting blocks in lane 2 for the teams re-run -- all on their own and against the clock only -- after they fumbled the baton in their original qualifier. The second chance came after a U.S. protest. With just that clock and the crowd for company, the Americans took the baton around in 41.77 seconds to reach the final.Our coach said before we went out there, `Its just like practice, just the whole world will be watching, said English Gardner, who ran the third leg.Eaton finished with 8,893 points, digging deep through the final lap of the last event, the 1,500 meters, to cross the line third, incredibly matching exactly the Olympic record after 10 events over two days.How cant there be one stinking point in there somewhere? Eaton said.Eaton had briefly darted away from the decathlon to congratulate Clement as his teammate knelt exhausted in the midday sun after winning the hurdles, an indicator of the feel-good surging through the U.S. track team right now.Croatias Sara Kolak won the womens javelin, another first-time Olympic champion like Crouser.And South Africas Caster Semenya, the outright favorite for the womens 800-meter title, qualified fastest for the final as she breezed to victory in her semifinal heat, unchallenged, in 1 minute 58.15 seconds.Semenya, another compelling story at these games but for different reasons to Bolt, will run in the 800 final on Saturday.By then, Bolt will be done at the Olympics forever.Ive worked all my career, all my life, for this moment, Bolt said. So hopefully people can read about me as the greatest.---AP Sports Writer Raf Casert contributed to this report.Authentic Bulls Jerseys . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. 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Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona.LONDON -- Over to you, Andy Murray.Novak Djokovic has got the two group-stage wins he needed to keep alive his hopes of regaining the No. 1 spot this week. He beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in Tuesdays Tour Finals evening session to ensure he will be around for the weekend at the O2 Arena.Now all he needs to do is win a fifth consecutive title -- and sixth overall -- here to finish as year-end No. 1, if it comes down to a winner-takes-all shootout with Murray in Sundays final.There are other permutations by which Djokovic, who was overtaken in the rankings by Murray last Monday after 122 weeks, can finish the year on top but he knows his fate is still in his own hands.I have never felt unbeatable and I never will, the Serb told a post-match news conference. I dont feel vulnerable, he added, however, which could be a concern for Murray.Djokovic is perhaps the closest thing you can get to a sure bet against Raonic, having now won 18 of the 19 sets they have played over eight meetings.Raonic had his chances here, though. The Canadian failed to take two break points in the third game of the opening set, and was made to pay when Djokovic edged a tiebreaker after 64 minutes of play at the O2 Arena.After twice breaking the Djokovic serve to level the second set, Raonic then wasted a set point at 6-5 before the Serb came out on top in another tiebreaker to seal the win in two hours, 13 minutes.It was a very close match. Very few points separated us tonight. It really could have gone either way, added Djokovic.I was fortunate to get through the first set tiebreaker. I was down very early in both tiebreaks tonight. But I just managed to stay committed and put pressure on his second serves.But I should have done my job earlier, to be honest. Im not very pleased to drop my serve twice [in the second set] against Milos, especially the second time. I was 4-3, 30-Love, then just four pretty bad unforced errors.Credit to him for really hanging in there, putting pressure, being aggressive, especially from the forehand.dddddddddddd But, you know, I think I should have done better there.Gael Monfils was earlier beaten 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 by Dominic Thiem in Tuesdays afternoon session at the O2 Arena.Not my best, was the Frenchmans blunt assessment of his fitness out there, having suffered an apparent knee injury and been sprawled flat out on his back at one point.Thiem went a set up in just 25 minutes here, with Monfils winning just five points on the Austrians serve. The 30-year-old was hobbling around in pain, toiling at the baseline and unable to slide and chase down what the Austrian was throwing at him to full effect.Monfils did race into a 4-0 lead in the second set, however, forcing the decider with Thiem threatening to crumble again like he did after winning the opening set against Djokovic Sunday.But a Monfils double fault gave Thiem match point in what had been a close-fought third set, and a long forehand ended the contest.I give my best, as usual, fighting with everything I had, he added. Thats the only matters when you step on the court.After a second defeat in two matches, it is fair to wonder whether Monfils will play his final round robin match Thursday against Djokovic, with alternate David Goffin waiting in the wings.I will try to recover because obviously Im not good enough to play back-to-back. So hopefully, you know, Ill be much better, said Monfils.With his first Tour Finals victory, Thiem kept his hopes of making the semifinals alive. He next faces Raonic Thursday.Very happy that when Im facing him that theres still something going on, Thiem said in an on-court interview. Potentially I have the chance to reach the semifinals. Just try to get fit again for the last match and go. ' ' '