Armstrong completed the 29.8-kilometer (18.5-mile) course in 44 minutes 26.42 seconds, just ahead of Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia, who finished in 44:31.97. Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands won the bronze medal.

Soon after her win, Armstrong got a pat on the back from another athlete who seemed to defy age: Barry Bonds. A cycling enthusiast, Bonds posted an image from the race and wrote, “Congratulations Kristin Armstrong 3 time gold medalist,” on his Instagram account.

Remarkably, Armstrong almost did not make it to Rio. She came out of retirement in 2015, three years after calling it quits. Her latest gold medal was “the most gratifying,” she said. “It was the hardest of my Olympic journeys.” — KEN BELSON

Men’s basketball: The United States had an unaccustomed scare in men’s basketball, beating Australia by only 98-88. The U.S. trailed by 5 at the half and needed some big 3’s late by Carmelo Anthony to win. Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs led Australia with 30 points; Anthony had 31 for the United States.

Men’s gymnastics all-around: Kohei Uchimura of Japan, often called the greatest gymnast ever, retained his title. He delivered a 15.8 with a difficult high bar routine to overtake Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine on the final apparatus. The practically unbeatable Uchimura has also won the last six world championship all-around titles.

No Medal for U.S. Rugby Sevens: The American men lost to Fiji, 24-19, and were eliminated from the competition. The United States missed by the narrowest of margins: Its point differential, plus-18, was just 1 short of that of New Zealand, which grabbed the last spot in the quarterfinals.

The Medals, So Far