The American cyclist Kristin Armstrong won her third consecutive gold medal in the individual road time trial on Wednesday, becoming the first person to win the same Olympic cycling event three times in a row.

What’s more, Armstrong — no relation to Lance — accomplished the feat one day shy of her 43rd birthday, which also makes her the oldest woman to have won an Olympic cycling gold medal.

“We’ve been told we should be finished at a certain age, but there are a lot of athletes out there who are showing that’s not true,” said Armstrong, who overcame a nose bleed at the 12-kilometer mark.

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.