Rio tournament with clutch wins over France and Serbia, both of whom are ranked in the top six in the world.Australias next match is against the United States on Wednesday (Th

EUGENE, Ore. -- Defending Olympic champion Aries Merritt rushed back from a kidney transplant to be ready for Rio. He wont let Zika stand in his way, no matter how much his doctors object.Qualifying in the 110-meter hurdles at Olympic track and field trials begins Friday. Should Merritt make the U.S. team, he said he wont think twice about racing in Rio even though the mosquito-borne virus could pose a greater risk to him than most because of the transplant.Theyre very, very concerned. Theyve asked me many, times: Have you considered not going? said Merritt, who holds the world record in the hurdles (12.80 seconds in September 2012). Im like, Well, thats not an option. If I make it, Im going.The reason is simple: At 30, he doesnt know if this sort of chance will come around again.Merritt won bronze at last years world championships in Beijing with his kidneys barely functioning because of a genetic disorder. He received the transplant from his sister less than a week later. He had another follow-up surgery in October because of complications.He is still healing.Doctors told me I was supposed to be running maybe next year, not this year, Merritt said. I really dont have that option to skip Olympic Games. Its not something I can skip. ... I dont have time to be skipping stuff.He got a late start on training because of the transplant, and other than a groin strain that cost him a few weeks, he says hes in competition shape.Its definitely been an uphill battle, Merritt said. There are minor setbacks that happen. Every athlete goes through [something]. It wouldnt be a journey if we didnt have something. It just cant be perfect all the time.Merritt didnt let anyone know until just before worlds last August, but he was suffering from a rare genetic disorder that was diagnosed in 2013. For years, it turns out, his kidneys have been faltering, to the point where he ran the final at worlds on Aug. 28 at about eight pounds under his normal weight and with his kidneys barely functioning.He finished 0.01 seconds behind Hansle Parchment of Jamaica for second. Sergey Shubenkov of Russia took gold.Competing at worlds last season with no kidney function was horrible, Merritt said. There was a 90 percent chance Id never run again. I just so happened to beat those odds. Kind of like the odds of going to the Olympic Games.Contrary to a handful of golfers and other athletes who are skipping the Olympics because of fears of the illness, Merritt says hell be there if he qualifies.Hell take plenty of precautions: wearing long sleeves, applying insect repellent and planning to stay indoors as much as possible.Other than that, theres not much he can do.We have Zika back in America, he said. I havent gotten it yet. I dont think its that big of deal. Cheap LeBron James Shoes . 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Star guards Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills combined for 49 points in a 95-80 win over Serbia on Monday as Australia took a giant stride towards a top-two group finish in the Olympic mens basketball competition.But as impressive as the scoring output of the NBA championship-winning pair was, coach Andrej Lemanis could see even more positives.About the way Mills harried the Serbian guards each time they brought the ball up the floor.Or how Dellavedova was able to read the defence.Not to mention Dellavedovas remarkable 13 assists without a single turnover, to go with 23 points on seven-of-eight shooting from the field.Mills was scarcely less impressive, knocking down a game-high 26 points.When we got bogged down a little bit, Delly took a little bit of initiative to find his way into the paint and exploit some of the defensive framework that they had in place, said Lemanis.Hes just such a smart player. He reads situations very well and can find his way into being effective.... I first saw him when I came on board the national team in 2009 and to see his growth from then to now is just really fun.Hes continued to grow every year. His dedication to his art is just sensational.The final result did not reflect the closeness of the match, with the Boomers blowing out the margin in tthe closing two minutes with 11 unanswered points.ddddddddddddSerbia had led by as much as seven points during the third term, but the Boomers refused to buckle.Ive been on Aussie teams before that havent handled adversity like that, said swingman Joe Ingles.We stuck to our plan to keep executing offensively and defensively.Im really proud of our effort obviously against a really tough team.Australia are now in the box seat to claim a crucial top-two finish in Group A after opening the Rio tournament with clutch wins over France and Serbia, both of whom are ranked in the top six in the world.Australias next match is against the United States on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).Champion centre Andrew Bogut had three fouls before halftime and picked up his fourth early in the final term.But with Aron Baynes stepping up at both ends, Lemanis was able to keep Bogut on the bench for several minutes in the fourth quarter.Towering centre Miroslav Raduljica top-scored for Serbia with 25 points and captain Milos Teodosic had 17.Lemanis had singled out Teodosic as the biggest threat to the Boomers, who were mostly able to quell the playmakers influence on the contest. 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