Yulia Efimova will be competing at the Olympics after all.
In a bizarre turn to the Russian doping scandal, world swimming governing body FINA finally revealed Saturday that Efimova will indeed be taking part in the 100-meter breaststroke.
The reigning world champion was listed on the start sheet in the fifth of six heats for the preliminaries Sunday. She is also expected to swim in the 200 breaststroke and, presumably, the 4-x-100 medley relay.
The 24-year-old Efimova has been a flashpoint in the scandal because she not only served a 16-month suspension for doping, she tested positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.
That result was placed on hold while WADA does further studies on the drug, which was added to the banned list at the start of the year.
As part of the IOC’s decision not to throw the entire Russian team out of the Olympics, Efimova was initially banned along with six other Russian swimmers who either had positive tests on their record or were named in an investigation of the massive, state-sanctioned doping scheme.
Now, it looks like they'll all be competing in Rio de Janeiro, though FINA has never released official confirmation.
Instead, the swimmers are quietly being added to the start lists. That’s what happened Saturday, after the initial list for the women’s 100 butterfly didn’t include Natalia Lovtcova.
The list was revised just hours before the preliminaries, adding Lovtcova to the last of six heats. She finished 26th overall and failed to advance to the semifinals.
Vladimir Morozov, Nikita Lobintsev, Daria Ustinova, Mikhail Dovgalyuk, and Anastasia Krapivina also are expected to compete after initially being banned from the Olympics.
‘‘For an athlete that’s clean, it’s really frustrating for me to see that,’’ Canadian swimmer Ryan Cochrane said. ‘‘Once the Games are over, that’s something we'll all look back on and [wish] was handled better throughout the quadrennial, not just before the Olympics.’’
After the prelims of the men’s 400 freestyle, Australia’s Mack Horton took a shot at Chinese star Sun Yang, who served a three-month suspension for using a banned stimulant in 2014.
Horton was asked about a reported incident between the two at the practice pool earlier in the week. The Aussie said Sun ‘‘splashed me to say hello, and I didn’t respond because I don’t have time for drug cheats.’’
Field hockey stunner
A three-minute momentum shift triggered one of the biggest Olympic wins in United States women’s field hockey.
Agustina Albertarrio appeared to break a scoreless tie two minutes into the third period, but the Argentine’s goal was nullified. A few minutes later, Katie Reinprecht slipped one under the goalkeeper to give the Americans the lead. The United States went on to defeat No. 2 Argentina, 2-1, in its opening match.
United States coach Craig Parnham said his team handled the swing well.
‘‘Those can sort of flip a game on its head, but there still was a lot of hockey to be played after that, and I thought we did a nice job of continuing to play,’’ he said. ‘‘It was important for us to keep the pressure on Argentina, and I thought we did that for the second part of the game.’’
Reinprecht’s shot didn’t generate much power.
‘‘That first goal we scored, if you saw it coming, you’re thinking, ‘That’s probably not going to go in,'’’ United States goalkeeper Jackie Briggs said. ‘‘But you just never know. You've got to shoot it.’’
Michelle Kasold scored on a penalty corner with 10:26 to play to put the United States up, 2-0. Delfina Merino got Argentina on the board with 3:27 remaining, but the Americans held on.
The United States dominated much of the second half after a rough start.
‘‘I think the first period, we started a little slow, maybe a little bit tentative,’’ Parnham said. ‘‘We've got some players that have not played on this stage before. It may be better attributed to that.’’
Argentina is among the sport’s greatest powers. The Argentines won the Champions Trophy final over No. 1-ranked Netherlands in June and entered this tournament with confidence.
The United States has had success in some of their biggest matchups with the Argentines. The Americans beat them during the 2012 London Games before Argentina eventually recovered and earned silver. The United States also beat Argentina last year in the gold medal match at the Pan American Games.
The Americans haven’t medaled since 1984, when they claimed bronze in Los Angeles. The United States gained momentum this year by placing third in the Champions Trophy in June, and its No. 5 world ranking is its highest ever.
The Americans spent most of the first period defending their side of the field, but they never broke, and the match was scoreless after the first 15 minutes, despite Argentina’s 6-0 shot advantage.
The United States controlled the action through much of the second period, with six shots to Argentina’s two. The Americans couldn’t break through, and the match remained scoreless at halftime.
‘‘We didn’t play our best hockey and we came out 0-0, and that’s always a good thing, to be able to not play your best and still not get scored on,’’ Briggs said.
Argentina manufactured 13 shots in the match, but Briggs was up for the challenge.
‘‘Jackie’s done a nice job in there tonight for us, and for the rest of this week and the next two weeks of this tournament, we’re going to need her to be on song,’’ Parnham said. ‘‘She weathered the early storm and did well for us and kept us in the game.’’
The United States will play No. 3 Australia on Monday.
‘‘If we play our game and stick to our game plan, we can beat anybody,’’ Briggs said.
They went in water
After all the talk about staying out of the water in Rio de Janeiro, Serbian rowers Milos Vasic and Nenad Benik found themselves immersed in it on Day 1 of the Olympic regatta.
The Serb pair capsized — a rare sight at elite rowing events — in the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, where choppy waters left athletes struggling to stay in their boats.
‘‘I can’t recall ever being in a race where one of the crews has capsized,’’ said New Zealand rower Hamish Bond, who won the qualifying heat with partner Eric Murray. ‘‘It’s unfortunate for them.’’
Vasic and Benik overturned halfway through the 2-kilometer course. Stunned and soaked, they clung to their boat as the other three crews continued toward the finish line.
Normally crews need to cross the finish line to compete in the next round — swimming with their boat if necessary. But to save time, race officials dropped that requirement, plucked the Serbs from the water and gave them a pass to compete in the repechage.
Bond said the conditions were at the ‘‘upper limit of what you hope to row in,’’ but didn’t think it was unfair because it was the same for everyone.
Others said the races should have been postponed.
‘‘I was pretty close to sinking out there,’’ said women’s single scull world champion Kim Brennan, who finished third in her heat. ‘‘Normally this would have been deemed unrowable.’’
The world rowing federation decided to keep the competition going despite the rough conditions, because weather forecasts show ‘‘it’s going to be even worse’’ in coming days, executive director Matt Smith said.
He said rowing has an extra day on the schedule in case of weather delays, and if that’s not enough some rounds may have to be dropped.
Smith said it was the first time a boat had capsized in the Olympics since the Athens Games in 2004.
Before Rio, many rowers said they would try to avoid contact with the water in the lagoon because of concerns about pollution. But that proved hard on Saturday as the wind picked up and rowers struggled to keep their oars from bouncing off the waves on the race course.
British single sculler Alan Campbell said he was surprised by the conditions and that the water was much calmer in the days leading up to the Olympics.
‘‘He needs to spread his arms a bit more to protect us,’’ Campbell said, nodding toward the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue towering over the lagoon.
Aussies upset France
Andrew Bogut scored 18 as Australia upset France, 87-66, in the opening game Saturday.
France was considered by many as the second-best men’s team in the tournament behind the United States, but the NBA talent-filled squad underwhelmed on the heels of a disappointing 2012 Olympics.
Bogut shot 9 for 10 from the field and Patty Mills had 21 points. Bogut’s presence was a bit of a surprise after he suffered a hyperextended knee in the NBA Finals.
Tony Parker, one of 10 NBA players on the court — five on each team — scored a team-high 18 for France — 16 in the second quarter.
Australia dominated early and led by 15 , but France closed the half on a 14-2 run to trail, 36-33. The Aussies put the game away with a 14-2 run to take a 67-48 lead in the fourth quarter.
Emotional win
Breezing to a three-set victory in their debut at home, the Brazilian women ran around the court perimeter slapping hands with any fans they could reach.
Captain Fabiana and her teammates only wished they could have high-fived every single supporter inside Maracanazinho arena to show their appreciation.
‘‘I was emotional. It’s very important because all of those fans are always showing their care to us,’’ the four-time Olympian said after dispatching Cameroon, 25-14, 25-21, 25-13. ‘‘It’s the least we could do and I want to compliment them for all of their support.’’
Earlier, the Netherlands pulled off the first upset of Day 1 by beating medal favorite and third-ranked China in five sets, 25-23, 21-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-13.
Next up for the Netherlands will be another tough pool-play opponent for the Dutch: A matchup with the top-ranked American women on Monday.
It was Fabiana’s idea to thank the fans after the two-time defending Olympic champions got off to a winning start.
Fernanda Rodrigues insists she and her teammates would be thrilled to thank everyone in the volleyball-crazed country if there was ever time. Constantly snapping selfies and signing autographs on the Olympic stage is no easy task.
Even for the team that is chasing a third gold medal right at home, having beaten the Americans in the championship the past two Olympics — and another title matchup already being forecast.
‘‘It’s so special. This is my first Olympic Games here and to see the people screaming and shouting for us is incredible,’’ Gabriela Guimaraes said. ‘‘I can’t find the words in this moment.’’
Cameroon’s Christelle Tchoudjang Nana didn’t mind being the first opponent for the host team and its huge, animated crowd.
‘‘It’s OK,’’ she said, smiling. ‘‘It’s a good moment. We played one of the best teams in the world.’’
Fist-pumping Netherlands coach Giovanni Guidetti found himself apologizing afterward for being hoarse.
For good reason, too.
His upstart Dutch team, back in the Olympics for the first time in 20 years, surprised just about everyone.
‘‘I have no voice after the first match. I don’t know how I can keep going in the tournament,’’ Guidetti joked.
When the upset was in, the Dutch jumped and hugged. Netherlands outside hitter Celeste Plak lifted one staff member into the air in a celebratory embrace.
‘‘This was really unbelievable, incredible,’’ Plak said. ‘‘This shows that we can fight if we are down. China is a very strong volleyball country. Our last success was in 1996 in volleyball. Now it’s our time to let people know we are Holland and we are back now.’’
The Dutch know their challenge is to get out of pool play.
‘‘We want to make something extraordinary, not something ordinary,’’ Guidetti said. ‘‘Our fighting spirit today was the key that we won.’’
Have to hand it to them
Host nation Brazil is off to an excellent start, stunning reigning Olympic and world champion Norway, 31-28, in the tournament’s opening game.
Ana Paula Rodrigues had 12 goals for Brazil, which was the 2013 world champion but has never won an Olympic handball medal.
Brazil took the lead early in the first half and held on after Norway tied it 18-18 in the second half. As Future Arena filled with passionate home fans for the morning game, five straight goals and big saves from goalkeeper Mayssa Raquel Pessoa took Brazil’s lead from 22-21 to 27-21.
‘‘Every player from Brazil played very good — this is what I think. Played together,’’ said Brazil’s Alexandra do Nascimento, who scored twice. She said Brazil had learned to keep its composure after its loss to Norway in the 2012 Olympic quarterfinals. Brazil had led at halftime of that game.
‘‘Now Brazil knows well this situation and if you make one mistake, this is one goal for Norway. Brazil today played very slow but intelligently,’’ she said. Even though the Future Arena was not quite full, loud support from the fans was ‘‘very, very positive,’’ Do Nascimento added.
The group stage runs through Aug. 14 and Norway is still likely to qualify for the knockout stages as one of the top four teams of the six-country Group A.
‘‘We have to be more tough and the defense is the thing we have to be better on,’’ Norway’s Emilie Hegh Arntzen said. ‘‘[Rodrigues] was very good today and we know that she is an important player on the Brazilian team. It was tough to stop her today. If we meet them again, she won’t be scoring so many goals.’’
The Netherlands, last year’s world championship silver medalist, started with an 18-14 loss to France in the opening game of Group B.
Allison Pineau and Alexandra Lacrabere had five goals each for France, whose physical defensive play swung the crowd behind the Dutch players.
France led most of the game until the Dutch tied it 13-13. The French then went ahead for good behind five straight goals and strong saves by goalkeeper Laura Glauser.
Venus bounced
When Venus Williams pushed one last forehand long to lose in the first round for the first time in her record five Olympic singles tournaments, her opponent celebrated as if having claimed a gold medal, dropping down on the green hard court to plant a kiss on the white five-ring logo.
This was clearly a very big deal to Kirsten Flipkens, a Belgian ranked 62d who only once advanced as far as the semifinals at a Grand Slam event.
Just two points away from winning on four occasions while portions of the crowd turned hostile toward her, the 36-year-old Williams faded as the match stretched past 3 hours and she was stunned 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) by Flipkens on Day 1 of tennis tournament.
Afterward, Williams did not speak to reporters. Instead, US women’s tennis coach Mary Joe Fernandez did, saying that Williams was sick before arriving in Brazil. Fernandez added that Williams had cramping, dehydration and an upset stomach after her loss, but still hoped to play doubles Sunday with younger sister Serena.
‘‘I would be highly surprised if she didn’t play, because this has been her goal for the last four years — to come back to the Olympics,’’ Fernandez said. ‘‘She wants to win a medal so badly in anything. Knowing Venus, she will be out there, no matter how badly she’s feeling.’’
Williams owns four gold medals: one in singles and three in doubles. She owns 21 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in doubles. But she labored at times Saturday and even showed frustration by shouting ‘‘Ridiculous!’’ after dropping one point.
With US Secretary of State John Kerry watching from a second-row seat behind a baseline, the fifth-seeded Williams wasted a 4-1 lead in the final set and was broken while serving for the victory at 5-3.
Williams was coming off a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon last month, her best showing at a major since 2010. That also made her the oldest woman since 1994 to reach a Grand Slam tournament’s final four. And it helped her attain her best ranking since revealing in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with Sjongren’s syndrome, which can cause joint pain and fatigue.
‘‘She’s used to not feeling 100 percent with her Sjongren’s, and I think that’s why we saw her compete and fight to the end,’’ Fernandez said. ‘‘Credit to Flipkens, who hung around and defended so well and made her play extra shots.’’
Williams is the first tennis player to participate in singles at five Olympics, and never had failed to reach at least the third round before, claiming a gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. She also won doubles golds in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
But against Flipkens, who was making her Olympic debut, Williams failed to find the right measure on most of her strokes and wound up with 13 fewer winners on courts that competitors agree are playing slowly. Williams, once possessor of one of the best serves in women’s tennis, hit one ace, five fewer than Flipkens.
‘‘This is just one of the most epic matches in my life,’’ Flipkens said.
The fans couldn’t seem to settle on which woman they wanted to win. They greeted Williams far more loudly and warmly during prematch introductions, although perhaps that was because of her far-greater name recognition.
Later, though, they roared when Williams made mistakes. They clapped when she double-faulted. They even gave her grief for the common and innocuous practice of catching a ball toss that wasn’t good.
When one group of spectators bellowed a ‘‘USA! USA!’’ chant late in the third set, others responded by booing (Kerry had left by then).
‘‘They just enjoyed my game because, I think, I'm a little girl trying to do some special stuff to get a chance to beat a champion like that,’’ Flipkens said.
Williams’s loss was part of a rough day for the United States tennis team. Seven of the country’s eight singles players were in action, and they went 2-5.
For the US team, Steve Johnson and Madison Keys won, but there were losses for Jack Sock (who said afterward he had walking pneumonia, then got into a Twitter spat with former pro player and coach Brad Gilbert), Denis Kudla, Brian Baker and Sloane Stephens.
In all, three of the top six women already are gone, with No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 6 Roberta Vinci of Italy — who ended Serena Williams’s bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam at the US Open last September — joining Venus Williams on the way out.
Rugby, welcome back
France won the first game of rugby at the Olympics in 92 years — and the first ever for women — beating Spain, 24-7, to begin the six-day sevens tournament.
Rugby sevens, the fast-pace, condensed form of the game, is the format for the sport’s return to the Olympic program for the first time since 1924, when the US men won the gold medal in the 15-a-side tournament.
Fans see dead body
Spectators leaving the Opening Ceremony were confronted by the body of a man shot dead near Maracana Stadium.
Eyewitnesses said early Saturday that blood poured from the body onto the road as medics tended to the man next to an ambulance.
Loud multiple gun shots were heard earlier by photographers from the Associated Press, forcing Games volunteers and others leaving Friday night’s ceremony to duck for cover behind cars. A shooter was seen running from the scene and fleeing in a car close to a university parking lot.
Organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said his group will check on this but does not have ‘‘any information on any shooting outside or close to the stadium last night.’’
Sorry for the delays
Olympic organizers apologized to the spectators who endured delays accessing venues on the first full day of competition.
Organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada said measures were being taken to prevent a repeat of the long lines to enter parts of the Olympic Park by enhancing the entry systems.
‘‘We apologize to everyone who is standing in the sun in lines outside the venues,’’ Andrada said.
Spectators have to go through airport-style security checks before entering Olympic venues.
‘‘This morning is the first morning of the Olympic Park with a full crowd and some of the procedures and some of the systems did not talk to each other,’’ Andrada said. ‘‘We brought people in to help the coordination . . . we owe the public an explanation.’’
Addressing questions about official buses getting lost, Andrada said at a briefing that organizers would check if drivers had sufficient training.
‘‘We don’t have major structural problems with transport,’’ Andrada said.
TV ratings down
The Opening Ceremony was seen by an estimated 26.5 million viewers in the United States, a sharp 35 percent drop from the audience who watched the pageantry from London four years ago.
NBC said some of that difference will be made up when streaming and time-shifted viewership is figured in. But it’s an early warning sign the Rio Olympics may not be the smash success of the London Games.
One of NBC’s pre-games fears came true: US viewership dropped off following the entrance of the United States team in the Parade of Nations. And, because the Portuguese alphabet was being used, the team came much earlier in the parade than normal.
NBC also received many social media complaints about too many commercial breaks early in the broadcast.
