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THE BIG PICTURE: Budapest plays politics with 2023 World Athletics Champs; USA Gymnastics & survivors pitch $427M settlement; Canada wins IIHF Women’s final

By
Rich Perelman
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Three major developments in 20 hours in the Olympic-sport world:

● Athletics ● The Budapest General Assembly voted 18-13 on Wednesday (1st) “that the city will not host the 2023 World Athletics Championships if the government approves the construction of a campus for China’s Fudan University in place of a students’ quarter in the capital’s 9th district.”

While construction on the new, nationally-funded stadium continues, the proposal by Budapest’s Mayor, Gergely Karacsony, ties the hosting of the 2023 Worlds to the continuing controversy over the use of land for either a “Student City” with housing and services for about 8,000 out-of-the area students – supported by Karacsony – or a campus for China’s Fudan University, supported by the national government.

The real issue is the land use and not the World Championships. On Tuesday (31st), the National Election Committee approved a referendum process that would allow a national vote on whether the land can be used for the Fudan University or not. Some 200,000 signatures would have to be collected to allow the vote to take place.

The Hungarian Athletics Federation (MASZ) released a statement insisting that the City of Budapest had no say on whether the 2023 Worlds would be held there, since it was not a signatory to the hosting agreement with World Athletics, and that the national government was funding the program.

Karacsony said it was clear that “world championships are not held in a city which does not support the event.”

World Athletics has, quite properly, been quiet thus far. But it is clear that Karacsony and the city council are focused on the Student City vs. Fudan University issue and the 2023 Worlds is simply a hostage-in-waiting.

● Gymnastics ● A series of filings made late Tuesday afternoon offered a possible end to the years of litigation against USA Gymnastics for sexual abuse and other issues involving Larry Nassar and others.

USA Gymnastics and the Additional Tort Claimants Committee Of Sexual Abuse Survivors jointly proposed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana a 133-page plan of reorganization for the federation, which would include:

● A $427.125 million fund to be distributed to the 510 valid abuse claimants;

● A end to all claims and litigation regarding Nassar and related matters;

● Final indemnification of all other parties, including all insurers, Bela and Martha Karolyi, former USAG President Steve Penny and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

This is a much larger settlement proposal than the $217.125 million offer made in February 2020 by USA Gymnastics and its insurers. But the new proposal is hardly sure to go through.

The new plan is offered by USA Gymnastics and the Survivors Committee, but not all of the insurers are on board. And that could be a problem. There are eight insurers involved, who covered either USA Gymnastics, the USOPC or both:

● Agreed to fund $243.5 million (4): National Casualty Co., CIGNA Insurance Co., National Union Fire Ins. Co., Gemini Ins. Co.

● Not yet agreed to $181.5 million (4): Virginia Surety Co. ($32.1 million), TIG Insurance Co. ($106.2 million), Great American Assurance Co. ($41.3 million), Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co. ($1.9 million).

The four not-yet-agreed insurers have until 4 October to declare whether they will participate in the plan. If they do, the vote will be to settle all matters at once, or for everyone to go their separate ways and litigate their own cases individually. If some do and others do not, the vote will be to accept the payouts from those who are participating, with the option still open to sue those non-participating insurers directly according to their policy coverages.

There are also a number of smaller claims which are to be handled separately, some by payouts from USA Gymnastics in annual installments through 2024. (This does not account for the possibility that the U.S. Congress could remove USA Gymnastics from its role as National Governing Body for the sport when it has the ability to do so in October of this year.)

The question of how much each of the 510 validated “Class 6″ abuse claimants would receive is also unclear. This will be in a yet-to-be-filed “Allocation Protocol,” due by 22 September. The reorganization plan does note that each “sub-class” of claimants would share equally in the amount designated for that group. If – and it’s a big if – the allocation percentages to each sub-class were the same as proposed in the 2020 plan, a rough estimate of the payouts would be:

● A: Elite Gymnasts: 40% or about $2.44 million each
● B: Non-Elite Gymnasts: 35% or about $993,000 each
● C: Other Claimants: 24% or about $34,000 each
● D: Derivative Claims: 1% or about $16,000 each

A hearing on the disclosure statement to be sent to all of the voters on the plan is currently scheduled for 4 October with voting to be completed by 8 November. The plan could be confirmed as early as 8 December 2021.

Credit for getting this far goes to the organizations involved, but also to Judge James M. Carr, appointed to lead a settlement conference last September. Per the Disclosure Statement:

“Shortly thereafter, Judge Carr commenced a series of telephonic settlement conferences
and mediation sessions with the various parties in interest. The Plan, as jointly proposed by the Debtor and the Survivors’ Committee, is the product of the Settlement Conference.”

● Ice Hockey ● Canada won four straight Olympic women’s hockey titles before the U.S. won gold in PyeongChang in 2018. So it was fitting that Canada, playing at home in Calgary, finally ended the American streak of five straight World Championships victory with a 3-2 win in overtime on Tuesday.

The game was complete different than the group-stage match, a 5-1 rout for the Canadians. This time, the U.S. came out on fire and scored twice in the first period. Alex Carpenter opened the scoring on a rebound at 9:55 and then got a second on a power play at 12:35 for a 2-0 U.S. lead.

Canada came back with a furious second period, out-shooting the U.S. by 16-8 and scoring four minutes into the period on a power-play goal by Brianne Jenner and then getting the equalizer from Jamie Lee Rattray on a rebound with just 6:42 gone.

Both teams pushed hard, but could not score. The defenses tightened and despite an 8-4 edge in shots in the third period, the U.S. could not get a shot past Canadian keeper Ann-Renee Desbiens.

In the three-on-thtee overtime, Marie-Philip Poulin took a pass from Jenner and her shot flew past U.S. goalie Nicole Hensley … into the goal and back out again, so fast that play continued! But the buzzer came on and the game ended at 7:22 of the overtime period.

It was Canada’s first world title since 2012 and its 11th overall, to nine for the U.S.

The teams won’t have long to face each other again, as “friendlies” have already been scheduled for October in order to keep the teams sharp prior to another possible meeting in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Games.

Canada’s Melodie Daoust was named Most Valuable Player, with Anni Keisala (FIN) named top goalkeeper, Daoust the top forward and American Lee Stecklein named top defender. Finland defeated Switzerland, 3-1, to win the bronze medal.

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Former IOC chief Rogge passes at 79; Afghan Paralympians will compete in Tokyo; U.S. women in ice hockey Worlds final again

By
Rich Perelman
-
Dr. Jacques Rogge (1942-2021), eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (Photo: International Olympic Committee)

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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● XVI Paralympic Games: Tokyo 2020 ● Afghanistan’s two Paralympic athletes will be competing in Tokyo after all.

Zakia Khudadadi, 22, and Hossain Rasouli, 26, were evacuated from Kabul over the weekend of the 21st and were not expected to be able to get to Tokyo safely in time to compete. They eventually ended up in Paris and were routed to Tokyo, arriving on Saturday (28th). They passed their Covid-19 check and were admitted into Japan.

According to the International Paralympic Committee, “Zakia will be Afghanistan’s first female athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games since Athens 2004 when she competes in the women’s K44-49kg weight category in taekwondo on 2 September. Hossain will line-up in the heats of the men’s 400m T47 athletics event on 3 September.”

Rasouli was scheduled to compete in the men’s 100m T47 on 28 August, but will go in the 400 m T47 instead.

Kyodo News reported that “As part of measures to protect the athletes’ mental health and welfare, the IPC spokesman said no media will be allowed to meet them during the games.” A clear mistake, but one which will be overlooked in the current circumstance.

“It’s been really fantastic so far; we are providing a safe environment to the athletes; we are also protecting the Japanese population at the same time.”

That was International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons (BRA) on the first week of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. He was especially cheered by the low Covid-19 incidence at the Games (more below).

A semi-autonomous Toyota e-Palette shuttle bus operating in the Athletes Village collided with a 30-year-old, partially blind Japanese judoka last Thursday, injuring him and causing him to miss his event.

The bus, which had two operators inside, stopped when it detected a security guard near an intersection. But it began taking a right turn and hit Aramitsu Kitazono, who fell, suffering injuries to his head and leg and was treated at the Village medical facility. The operators thought he had seen the bus and would stop.

Toyota has stopped operation of the buses in the Village and is cooperating with police on the matter.

Covid positives related to the Paralympics are at just 241 people from 12-30 August, according to the Tokyo 2020 organizers. Just 13 athletes have been reported as positive, vs. 150 contractors (62.2%), 45 Games-related personnel, 15 media and 18 Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

Across the Olympic and Paralympic Games through 28 August, Tokyo 2020 reported a total of 866,440 tests with 273 positives (0.03%). Very impressive.

The Paralympic Games began on the 24th and have been shown in the U.S. on NBC, NBCSN and the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. While the cable audiences have been small, the Games did well on Sunday evening network television.

Preliminary figures on the one-hour Paralympic primetime program on Sunday – the first-ever Paralympic primetime coverage on NBC – showed an audience of 4.182 million viewers, third-best behind CBS’s “60 Minutes” (6.66 million) and an ABC re-run of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (4.688 million).

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The debate over the legacy of the Tokyo Games is already underway, with Kyodo News reporting estimates by Kansai University Emeritus Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto of the costs and benefits of the Games (even before the Paralympics are completed!):

● ¥6.14 trillion ($55.87 billion U.S.) in benefits
● ¥2.37 trillion ($21.56 billion U.S.) deficit of expenses over revenues to stage
● ¥1.41 trillion ($12.83 billion U.S.) of the deficit for Tokyo Metropolitan Government
● ¥874 billion ($7.95 billion U.S.) of the deficit for the Japanese National Government
● ¥123 billion ($1.12 billion U.S.) of the deficit for the Tokyo 2020 organizers

Many more estimates will be coming, no doubt.

The Tokyo organizers reported that about 25% of all of the pre-packaged meals for Tokyo 2020 staff were not used and discarded from the start of operations on 1 July through 3 August (the Games ended on 8 August).

A report that 4,000 of the 10,000 boxed meals ordered for the Opening Ceremony on 23 July were wasted elevated this issue with Japanese news media, who asked for updates about meal waste almost daily. The percentage of unused meals fell to about 15% after 30 July.

In all, about 130,000 meals went unused in the full-month reporting period through 3 August.

● International Olympic Committee ● Sad news that Dr. Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee President from 2000-13, passed away at age 79 on Sunday (29th).

A three-time Belgian Olympian in sailing in 1968-72-76 in the Finn Class, he was a respected orthopedic surgeon by profession, but rose quickly in the Olympic world after he finished competing. He was the President of the Belgian Olympic Committee and the European National Olympic Committees and was elected to the IOC in 1991 and was elected President, following Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) in 2001.

Coming off of the Salt Lake City bid scandal, Rogge inherited a tarnished IOC, but had a friendlier, more accessible presence than Samaranch. His collegial style did not always mesh with members of the Olympic Movement who had been used to Samaranch’s more disciplined approach and Rogge had to navigate through very difficult Games. While the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games was a resounding success, the under-funded Athens Games in 2004 was extraordinarily difficult, as was the over-funded Beijing Games in 2008, with protests from many human-rights groups against the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The 2012 London Games was an enormous triumph.

Rogge fought for and won introduction of the Youth Olympic Games, first held in Singapore in 2020 and he saw the Olympic Games awarded to South America for the first time when Rio was – controversially – selected in 2009. With considerable foresight, he also introduced the first financial plan for the IOC, to ensure it could survive even if a Games was cancelled (or postponed).

Among the first eight IOC Presidents, TSX ranks him fourth, behind Pierre de Coubertin, Samaranch and Swede Sigfrid Edstrom (1942-52), who oversaw the revival of the Games after World War II.

● Athletics ● Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw crushed the world record in the Half Marathon, winning the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Larne, Northern Ireland in 1:03:44 on Sunday (29th).

That was 18 seconds better than Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich’s 1:04:02 in Istanbul (TUR) in April, with Yehualaw second in 1:14:40. On Sunday, the new record-holder won by more than six minutes ahead of Jane Nyaboke (KEN: 1:09:45) and Rose Harvey (GBR: 1:10:29).

Yehualaw was the ninth overall finisher in the race, men included!

Double Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin may have gone through some difficult times with her teammates after the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, posting a tear-filled video on her Instagram account on 30 June, but she had happier news last week.

She posted a notice of her engagement to former NFL wide receiver Andre Levrone, Jr. last week after an engagement ceremony in Arizona.

McLaughlin wrote on Instagram: “Till this day I still can’t comprehend how someone who possesses everything I’ve prayed for, has finally come into my life.” The pair had been dating for about six months.

After a third at the Paris Diamond League, Tokyo women’s 400 m bronze winner Allyson Felix (USA) told interviewers:

“It was decent today. I do not feel as sharp as I was obviously in Tokyo but I wanted to come back to Paris and enjoy this tonight. After the Olympics, it is always difficult to come back home and fulfill the obligations. But I knew I was coming back over, so I kept training.

“This is my last event so I am going for a holiday. About next year, I am not sure yet. I will need to decide. I will definitely be here [Paris] as a fan in three years.”

NBC, are you listening?

● Boxing ● International Boxing Association (AIBA) chief Umar Kremlev (RUS) told an online news conference last Friday that the organization was debt-free and looking forward:

“We have already fulfilled the [$50 million] promise that we made before the election. International companies are supporting AIBA and we will keep working on it. $50 million is not the limit. We should have more sponsorships because boxing deserves more, it’s a very popular sport.

“AIBA today has no debts. Now we are having a huge marketing campaign and developing boxing. We have to invest a lot in marketing to attract investors.”

Agence France Presse reported that “whose real name is Umar Lutfuloev, did not specify which companies donated to his organisation’s cause.” Prior to being elected AIBA President in 2020, Kremlev was the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation, and according to AFP, “previously ran a security company and belonged to the ‘Wolves of the Night,’ a pro-Kremlin motorcycle group.”

AIBA remains suspended by the IOC, which will soon take up the question of what to do about boxing and the 2024 Olympic Games. The IOC’s own Boxing Task Force ran the 2020 Olympic tournament, with proceeded with little of the controversy that had plagued the sport in prior editions. Kremlev sees AIBA returning to control of the sport in the Olympic Games:

“I can tell you that all the reforms needed by AIBA are already in place. We are listening to all the recommendations … Our goal is to have an open, clean and honest organization and if we manage to reach all these goals, I don’t see any problem for AIBA in the future.”

● Cycling ● A wild edition of the final Grand Tour of 2021 will finish this week with a possible surprise winner of the 76th Vuelta a Espana.

Two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic (SLO) was in the lead after the mountainous ninth stage, but then crashed while trying to break away from the other race contenders during stage 10 and gave up the lead to Norway’s Odd Christian Eiking.

Who? Eiking came into the 2021 Vuelta not having won anything bigger than the Arctic Race of Norway in 2019, but here he is as the race leader by 54 seconds over France’s Guillaume Martin and 1:36 over Roglic with six stages to go.

Roglic won stage 11, then crashed again in stage 12 – but lost no time – as Magnus Cort (DEN) won his second stage of 2021. Little change in the lead over the weekend, as Florian Senechal (FRA) won Friday’s sprinter’s stage, France’s Romain Bardet won the uphill finish to Pico Villuercas on Saturday and Poland’s Rafal Majka won her first Grand Tour stage in four years on Sunday.

Look for attacks on the climbing stages on Wednesday and Thursday as well as on Sunday’s Individual Time Trial, where Roglic is expected to do really well.

The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Val di Sole (ITA), featuring an amazing ninth individual world title for the ageless Swiss superstar Nino Schurter.

Now 35, Schurter won his sixth straight World Cross Country Championships gold in a tight duel with countryman Mathias Flueckiger, the Olympic silver medalist, winning by just two seconds, 1:21:31 to 1:21.33. It was redemption for Schurter after a medal-less, fourth-place finish in Tokyo. France’s Viktor Koretzky was third (1:23:39).

The women’s title was an upset for Britain’s Evie Richards, who had won two Cyclo-Cross World U-23 titles, but was only seventh in Tokyo, almost three-and-a-half minutes behind the winner. She led most of the way and won by 1:03 over Dutch star Anne Terpstra, 1:23:52-1:24:55, with Olympic silver medalist Sina Frei (SUI) third in 1:25:00 with Swiss gold medalist Jolanda Neff fourth, also in 1:25:00.

South Africa’s Greg Minnaar won his fourth career World Downhill title and France’s Myriam Nicole won her second.

● Football ● The Mexican Football Federation appealed FIFA’s two-match ban on spectators because of the recurrence on a banned chant and had it reduced to one game, on 2 September vs. Jamaica in Mexico City.

FIFA’s appeals committee decided that in view of the Mexican federation’s “efforts toward eradicating discrimination at matches,” the penalty would be halved.

The U.S. men will open their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with three matches in seven days, starting at El Salvador on Friday (2nd) at 10:05 p.m. Eastern time in San Salvador. The American men will face Canada on 5 September in Nashville (8 p.m. Eastern) and then Honduras in San Pedro Sula on the 8th (Wednesday at 10:05 p.m. Eastern).

U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone announced that she will run for re-election next March, hoping to complete some of the challenges she inherited from prior chief Carlos Cordeiro after he resigned in March 2020.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist and a member of the historic 1999 Women’s World Cup championship team, Parlow Cone has succeeded in bringing down the still-high temperature in the ongoing tug-of-war between the federation and both the men’s and women’s national teams. Both are due for new collective-bargaining agreements and there is the long-running women’s class-action lawsuit on equal pay which is now on appeal after being dismissed at the U.S. District Court level.

Said Parlow Cone after last week’s USSF Board meeting, “I spent my entire presidency in COVID, which everyone knows the challenges that that presents. But I think we are moving the federation in a new direction with our new leadership on the board, as well as in our senior leadership and throughout the organization.”

● Gymnastics ● The monthly report of operations for USA Gymnastics for July filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana showed very little activity in the ongoing proceedings, but did give an indication of revenues and expenses for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Olympic Trials events were held for Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic and Trampoline, all in St. Louis. Revenues showed $2.769 million from ticket sales ($2.160 million) and sponsorships ($608,375) against $701,206 in expenses. Surplus: $2,068,050. Not bad, especially when television rights and most of the sponsorship rights are held by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF Women’s World Championship in Calgary (CAN) has finally gotten serious, with the United States trying for its sixth straight world title on Tuesday against old foe Canada, at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Group play finished with Canada at 4-0 and the U.S. at 3-1 after Canada’s 5-1 win. In the playoff round quarterfinals, the U.S. stomped Japan, 10-2, and Canada shut down Germany, 7-0. In the semis, the U.S. took a 2-0 lead over Finland on second-period goals from Alex Carpenter and Abbey Murphy. The Finns started to pull goalie Anni Keisala with more than seven minutes left, but Kendall Coyne Schofield eventually scored an empty-netter for the 3-0 final. Nicole Hensley got the shutout for the U.S.

Canada defeated Switzerland – surprise conquerors of Russia in the quarterfinals – by 4-0 in the semis, getting two goals in the first seven minutes from Renata Fast and the first of two from Melodie Daoust.

The U.S. continued its streak of reaching every Worlds final – 20 in a row now – since the tournament began in 1990. The U.S. and Canada have met in 18 of the 19 Worlds finals, with Canada winning the first eight and the Americans taking nine of the last 11.

Twelve-time bronze medalist Finland will meet the one-time bronze winner Switzerland for third.

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan tweeted on Sunday:

“It’s been a moving target, but all signs point to a decision next week on whether NHL players are going to the 2022 Beijing Olympics or not.

“Sources I’ve talked to suggest an agreement between NHL, NHLPA, IIHF & Olympic committee is close, just down to some final items.”

● Swimming ● The International Swimming League opened its third season in Naples (ITA), with Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom the high scorer – 60.5 points and three individual wins – in the first match, won by Energy Standard (FRA) with 511.5 points. Toronto was second at 496.5.

The second match, featuring the defending champion Cali Condors, was highlighted by a world (short-course) record in the men’s 100 m Back, with American Coleman Stewart finishing in 48.33 on Sunday. That was after he set the American Record of 48.91 on a relay lead-off leg on Saturday (no. 5 all-time); Stewart’s 48.33 crushed the 2020 mark of 48.58 set by Russian Kliment Kolesnikov.

Stewart’s teammate Caeleb Dressel won the 50-100 m Frees, the 100 m Fly and the 100 m Medley; Tokyo’s Daiya Seto (JPN) won the 200 m Breast, 200 m Fly and the 200-400 m Medleys. Worth noting: Sherridon Dressel – Caeleb’s younger sister – won the 50-100 m Backstrokes!

The Condors won by 701.5 to 402.5 over the L.A. Current with Tokyo (382.5) third and New York (269.0) fourth.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation approved its new constitution during its weekend Congress:

“The new Constitution will establish vital principles including athlete representation, gender equality and independent oversight. No fewer than three athlete representatives will serve on the reformed IWF Executive Board, while at least 30% of elected positions will be filled by women. Ethics and discipline issues will be handled independently of the IWF Executive Board, building on interim arrangements that had already been put in place in recent months.

“Robust eligibility criteria and term limits will ensure that the future IWF Executive Board benefits from a regular influx of new talents and will notably deprive National Federations with a high number of doping cases will not have access to board-level representation.”

Whether the IOC will see this as sufficient is a different matter; it has an Executive Board meeting on 8 September and IWF elections will not have been held by then. The IOC has been clear that as long as the same people are in office as when the IWF’s scandals have taken place, it will not look favorably on the sport.

● At the BuZZer ● Track & field fans marked with reverence the 30th anniversary of the greatest field-event competition of all-time, the Mike Powell vs. Carl Lewis long jump final at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo.

Lewis, the Olympic champ in 1984 and 1988, led the world list at 8.64 m (28-4 1/4) with Powell – silver medalist in 1988 – right behind at 8.63 m (28-3 3/4). Lewis had already won the Worlds 100 m in a world record of 9.86. But Powell was a threat.

Lewis took the lead right away at 8.68 m (28-5 3/4) in the first round and Powell responded at 8.54 m (28-0 1/4) in round two. Lewis exploded to a wind-aided 8.83 mw (28-11 3/4w) – his furthest jump ever – in round three, while Powell did not improve.

Now into the fourth round, and Powell and Lewis were the last two jumpers in the revised order.

Powell got off a long foul, signaling he had a lot more in the tank, but Lewis boomed out close to the 9 m mark and with a 2.9 m/s wind, reached 8.91 mw (29-2 3/4w), surpassing Bob Beamon’s magical 1968 world record distance!

Into round five and Powell hit the board and extended his feet in a perfect landing, also close to 9 m. But the wind was just 0.3 m/s and the measurement came up: 8.95 m (29-4 1/2) for the world record!

Awesome, but Lewis had two jumps left. He responded with a wind-legal 8.87 m (29-1 1/4), no. 3 ever, but still short and in second place.

Powell fouled on his last try and then had to wait for Lewis’s final jump. It was a big one, with legal wind, but at 8.84 m (29-0), it was not enough. King Carl had three 29-foot jumps in the same series, but his 65-meet winning streak was over and Powell was the world-record holder and World Champion.

Amazing, astonishing and as dramatic as any movie script could make it. And we remember it, jump by jump, thirty years later.

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LANE ONE: Is Budapest’s Mayor Karacsony really going to hand back the 2023 World Championships to World Athletics?

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Hungarian Capital of Budapest, on the Danube River (Photo: Maurice via Wikipedia)

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An almost unbelievable set of stories rocketed out of the Hungarian capital of Budapest late last week, with Mayor Gergely Karacsony announcing last Thursday that he will propose the city withdraw as the host of the World Athletics Championships in 2023.

Budapest was awarded the event by World Athletics in 2018 and the Hungarian government approved HUF 204 billion (~ $690 million U.S.) to construct a 40,000-seat stadium – on wasteland adjacent to the Danube River – that will become a national training and competition site with a reduced, permanent capacity of about 15,000. The construction effort is underway.

The World Championships is budgeted at €81.8 million (~$96.5 million), but with the event expected to make money with income from an expected 166,000 visitors and an estimated 416,000 ticket sales.

But now Karacsony, a leader of the Hungarian Green Party (LMP), declared that he will propose to the Budapest General Assembly – the city council – next Wednesday (1st) that the city withdraw its approval to host the 2023 event.

It’s all about politics, of course.

The threatened walkaway has nothing to do with the World Championships as an event. Instead, this is an election-year reaction to a vote in the Hungarian National Assembly to turn a proposed “Student City” with housing and support services for about 8,000 university students into the site for the first foreign campus of China’s famed Fudan University. Per the Wikipedia entry on Fudan University:

“The Hungarian government made an agreement to open the first campus of Fudan University outside China in Budapest in 2024. The expansion would cost 540 billion HUF, of which 450 billion would be paid by the Hungarian state from a Chinese loan. The construction would be mainly done by Chinese companies. The investment was criticised by education professionals and politicians, citing concerns about economy, higher education and national security.”

Said Karacsony in proposing the World Championships abandonment, “It is time that this infamy is not left without a response.”

But the intrigue goes deeper. The Fidesz party currently controls the Hungarian National Assembly (parliament) with 117 of 199 seats, led by four-term Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Budapest flipped to opposition rule in local elections in 2019. The first-ever “opposition primary” is scheduled to be held in two stages, from 18-26 September and then 4-10 October, with the goal of aggregating anti-Fidesz feeling in the country behind a single candidate. National elections are due in 2022.

Karacsony, as a leader of the Greens (LDP), is one of the leading national opposition candidates, with polling showing him in a tight battle with Klara Dobrev (Liberalisok party: liberal) and Peter Jakab (Jobbik party: nationalist), among others.

One long-time observer of Hungarian politics explained that if the opposing parties are able to coalesce around a single candidate, the race against Fidesz could be a close one. But as for the World Championships, it’s probably “more noise than substance.”

But the political chatter plays on.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement about the Worlds withdrawal threat that “The statement of Gergely Karacsony is baseless, the mayor is clearly trying to divert attention from the traffic jams and chaos in the capital.”

The Hungarian federation for athletics (MASZ) said in a statement that “We are confident that as a signatory to the contract, the MASZ can continue to work toward making the World Championships the most prestigious event in the history of the tournament and an unforgettable event for Hungarian athletics, the fans, and the country.” The financial backing for the Championships came from the Hungarian national government.

Hungary Today also reported that some of the opposition parties are not in agreement with the Worlds withdrawal tactic, and that it wasn’t Karacsony’s idea, but a Democratic Coalition concept (allied with Klara Dobrev) that was adopted by the Budapest Mayor.

However, the Fudan University vs. “Student City” issue is not going to go away. In June, the Fidesz-controlled National Assembly voted to allocate the land designated for the Student City to the newly-established “Fudan University Hungary Foundation” for free. Balazs Furjes, the State Minister for Budapest, has said that a referendum will be held on whether the Fudan University project will go forward.

But this is not a welcome development for World Athletics.

Budapest appeared to be the perfect organizer for the Worlds, having hosted the World Indoor Championships in 1989 and 2004, the European Championships in 1966 and 1998 and has been a welcome site for world championships, with the FINA World Championships in 2017, wrestling in 2018, fencing and table tennis in 2019 and judo in 2017 and 2021.

Now this.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) and Chief Executive Jon Ridgeon (GBR) both visited June’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, and while publicly confident about the 2022 Worlds to be held there, the whispers were of concern.

Besides the current Covid spread and worries about how the new Hayward Field will be expanded from the 12,650 permanent seats to about 28,000 for the Worlds, the $80.9 million Oregon22 budget expects about $40 million in support from the State of Oregon. Some $20 million has been allocated from Travel Oregon, but the other $20 million has been proposed to be funded by a permanent increase in the state’s transient occupancy tax from 1.5 to 1.8%. Oregon House Bill 4047 was passed, 37-18, on 21 February 2020, but has sat since then in the Oregon Senate, with no committee assignment and no actions planned. The 2022 Worlds are 10 1/2 months away, scheduled for 15-24 July.

Nothing is easy. The next episode comes Wednesday in the Budapest General Assembly.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS: Thompson-Herah wins Paris 100 m in 10.72; U.S.’s Kerley & Bednarek 1-2 in fast 200 m (19.79), Niyonsaba no. 6 ever at 8:19.08!

By
Rich Perelman
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Jamaican Elaine Thompson's brilliant 10.72 won the Meeting de Paris (Photo: Meeting de Paris on Twitter)

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Florence Griffith-Joyner’s women’s world 100 m record of 10.49 was under attack once again on Saturday at the Wanda Diamond League’s Meeting de Paris by Jamaica’s double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah.

This time she ran with fellow Jamaican Shericka Jackson, the Tokyo bronze winner, but without Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won in Lausanne on Thursday. Under cloudy skies, Thompson-Herah burst to the lead by the 10 m mark and ran away to win in 10.72, a meet record. Jackson came on late to get second in 10.97, with Dina Asher-Smith (GBR: 11.06) third (wind: +1.3 m/s).

It’s a measure of how brilliant Thompson-Herah has been this year that the 10.72 is only her fifth-fastest time of the season! Only FloJo, Fraser-Pryce, and Americans Marion Jones and Carmelita Jeter have ever run faster.

The women’s 100 m was the headliner, but there were plenty of other highlights:

● Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba was one of those athletes whose natural testosterone level is too high – under World Athletics rules – to compete in women’s events from 400 m to the mile, but she is tearing up the longer distances. Fifth in the 10,000 m in Tokyo, she won the Pre Classic two mile and ran a 62.47 last lap here to win the 3,000 m here in a world-leading 8:19.08, now no. 5 in history!

She beat Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye (8:19.52: no. 6 ever) and Kenya’s Margaret Kipkemboi (8:21.53). American Elise Cranny was well back at 8:30.30 in fourth, but moved to no. 4 on the all-time U.S. list!

● In the men’s 200 m, Fred Kerley of the U.S. continued to show that his move from the 400 m to the sprints was a good idea, as he ran stride-for-stride with, and then out-leaned, Olympic silver winner Kenny Bednarek at the tape in a lifetime best of 19.79 (wind: +1.6). Bednarek received the same time; fellow American Josephus Lyles was sixth in 20.37. The time moves Kerley to equal-14th on the all-time U.S. list.

For Bednarek, it’s an amazing 10th time this season’s he’s run under 20 seconds (with legal wind), a new record!

● Kenyans had won nine straight Olympic titles in the men’s Steeple until Tokyo, when Benjamin Kigen’s bronze was the best they could do. But in Paris, Kigen pushed the pace and was rewarded with a win in a world-leading 8:07.12, ahead of teammates Abraham Kibiwot (8:09.35) and Leonard Bett (8:10.21). American Hillary Bor was ninth in 8:21.02.

● Five men cleared 5.73 m (18-9 1/2) in the men’s vault, but only three – Mondo Duplantis (SWE), American Chris Nilsen and Ernest John Obiena (PHI) made it over 5.81 m (19-0 3/4). Obiena took the lead with a national record of 5.91 m (19-4 3/4) on his first try, but Duplantis and Nilsen both missed and passed to 5.96 m (19-6 1/2). There, Duplantis sailed over on his first try to win, as Nilsen missed twice and Obiena missed twice and then once at 6.01 m (19-8 1/2). Americans Sam Kendricks (5.73 m) and K.C. Lightfoot (5.73 m) were 4-5.

But Duplantis snaked over 6.01 m and immediately had the bar set at a world record of 6.19 m (20-3 3/4), but missed three times. It’s his 10th meet over 6 m this season (out of 15 finals!).

● In the women’s 400 m, American icon Allyson Felix wasn’t really ready to run at last week’s Prefontaine Classic, but was fully prepared in Paris and had the lead at midway. But she was passed by promising newcomer Sada Williams (BAR) on the turn and then by  Olympic silver winner Marileidy Paulino – with her patented late rush – with Paulino winning in 50.12 to 50.30 for Williams and 50.47 for Felix. American Quanera Hayes was fifth in 50.81.

● Jamaica’s Olympic 110 m hurdles champion Hansle Parchment said after his eighth-place finish in Lausanne, “it just wasn’t my day.” But he was in form in Paris, winning in a season’s best 13.03 – the fastest he’s run since 2015 – over Lausanne winner Devon Allen of the U.S. (wind: +0.7). Allen’s time of 13.08 is his second-fastest ever and best in five years! American Daniel Roberts got third in 13.16.

Elsewhere:

Kenya’s Wyclife Kinyamal did not make the Kenyan Olympic team in the men’s 800 m, and Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich went 1-2 in Tokyo. But that did not stop Kinyamal from getting the win over a fast-closing Rotich on Saturday in 1:43.94 to 1:44.45, with Canada’s Marco Arop third (1:44.74). American Clayton Murphy was ninth in 1:45.60.

The Diamond League sixth-round-takes-all rule came into effect in the triple jump, as Algeria’s Yasser Triki had the best jump of the day at 17.16 m (56-3 3/4) in the first round. But he “lost” the event in the jump-off, as Olympic bronze winner Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR) reached 16.97 m (55-8 1/4) – his best of the day and Triki could only manage 16.71 m (54-10). Sacre bleu!

Americans Chris Benard (16.61 m/54-6) and Donald Scott (16.44 m/53-11 1/4) finished fifth and eighth, respectively.

Grenada’s 2019 World Champion Anderson Peters got his first career Diamond League win in the men’s javelin in the sixth round-takes-all with a final throw of 84.84 m (278-4). That was enough to best world leader Johannes Vetter (GER: 80.23 m/263-2), who had the best throw of the day at 87.20 m (286-1). Anderson had a season’s best in the third round at 85.98 m (282-1).

Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, the 2015 World Champion, also missed her Olympic team in the women’s 100 m hurdles, but was brilliant in Paris, scoring a win with a season’s best of 12.50 (+1.7 m/s) over Dutch star Nadine Visser (national record 12.58!) and Jamaica’s Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper (12.66). Americans Gabby Cunningham and Christina Clemons were fifth and sixth in 12.86 and 12.96.

Panama’s Gianna Woodruff was only seventh in Tokyo, but she was in good form in Paris, winning the women’s 400 m hurdles in a tight finish vs. Anna Ryzhykova (UKR) and Jamaica’s Janieve Russell, 54.44-54.59-54.75 with American Cara Hailey fourth in 54.78. Shamier Little of the U.S. had her worst outing of the season, eighth in 57.18.

In the women’s high jump, Tokyo stars Mariya Lasitskene (RUS: gold) and Nicola McDermott (AUS: silver) were at it again, with McDermott perfect through 1.98 m (6-6) and Lasitskene missing once at 1.92 m (6-3 1/2) and twice at 1.98 m. When neither could clear 2.01 m (6-7), McDermott got the win, her first victory over Lasitskene in 12 tries, going back to 2017!

In the discus, Olympic champ Valarie Allman of the U.S. got out to the first-round lead at 62.47 m (204-11), but that was followed by four fouls. London and Rio Olympic champ Sandra Perkovic (CRO) had the best throw in the first five rounds at 66.08 m (216-9) in the second round, followed by Tokyo bronze winner Yaime Perez (CUB: 64.69 m/212-3). In the sixth round-takes-all, Allman improved to 64.51 m (211-7), still her worst meet of the season, and she ended in third as Perkovic “won” at 65.68 m (215-6) and Perez finished second, improving to 65.31 m (214-3).

In the non-Diamond League men’s 100 m, American Marvin Bracy got the win at 10.04 (+0.7) over Jamaican Nigel Ellis (10.14) and Arthur Cisse (CIV: 10.17).

Next up is the penultimate stop on the Diamond League circuit for 2021, at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels (BEL) on 3 September.

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ATHLETICS: Fraser-Pryce rockets 10.60 to beat Thompson-Herah in Lausanne; Americans Bednarek, London, Allen, Nilsen and Crouser get Diamond League wins

By
Rich Perelman
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Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce celebrates her 200 m win at the Pan American Games in Lima (Photo: Lima 2019)

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Fireworks were expected and fireworks were delivered as the Wanda Diamond League continued on Thursday with the annual Athletissima meet in Lausanne (SUI).

The headliner was the women’s 100 m, with Jamaica’s Olympic medalists back on the track with the Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 1988 world record of 10.49 on the line. But a funny thing happened on the way to history for double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah: she ran into double Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Off the gun, Fraser-Pryce started brilliantly and was clearly in front by 15 m and never let up. She maintained perfect form and while Thompson-Herah made a move in mid-race to get closer, she never really challenged for the lead as Fraser-Pryce won in 10.60 to 10.64, the nos. 3 and equal-8th performances in history. The aiding wind was +1.7 m/s, perfect for a record try.

Fraser-Pryce, at 34, ran her sixth sub-10:75 of the season – even more than Thompson-Herah – and they are not done yet. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson was third again – as in Tokyo – in 10.92.

Being Olympic champion guaranteed very little in Lausanne:

● The biggest shock came in the men’s 110 m hurdles, where American Devon Allen – fourth in Tokyo – clobbered hurdles 2, 3 and 5, but stormed through the second half of the race to win in 13.07w (+2.9 m/s), with Swiss Jason Joseph second (13.11w) and fellow American Olympian Daniel Roberts fourth (13.23w). Olympic champ Hansle Parchment (JAM) was last in 13.58w and bronze-medalist teammate Ronald Levy was fifth in 13.40w. It was Allen’s first-ever Diamond League win!

● In the women’s 400 m hurdles, Rio winner and Tokyo silver medalist Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. got out best, but Tokyo bronze winner Femke Bol (NED) zipped by with 200 m to go and survived a challenge by American Shamier Little, 53.05-53.78. Muhammad faded to fourth in 54.50 after making the long trip from the U.S. to Europe earlier in the week.

● In the men’s 200 m, Bahamian 400 m gold medalist Steven Gardiner was never in it and Americans Kenny Bednarek – Tokyo silver – and Fred Kerley – Tokyo 100 m silver – steaming into the straight with the lead. Bednarek, continuing a career year, stayed strong through the finish to win in 19.65w (+3.2 m/s) to Kerley’s 19.77w. Gardiner was well back in third at 20.11w.

● The men’s 800 m was another clinic in front-running by Canada’s Marco Arop. He took the lead early and just could not be passed by Olympic champ Emmanuel Korir (KEN) or silver medalist Ferguson Rotich (KEN), winning in 1:44.50-1:44.62-1:45.48. American Clayton Murphy was fifth in 1:45.77. It’s Arop’s second straight Diamond League win after the Pre Classic, both times beating Korir and Rotich.

● The men’s vault got serious at 5.62 m (18-5 1/4), with Sweden’s Olympic gold medalist Mondo Duplantis clearing on his second try and American Sam Kendricks and Tokyo silver winner Chris Nilsen over on their first attempts. Kendricks, Nilsen and Russian Timur Morgunov all cleared 5.72 m (18-9 1/4), while Duplantis passed. At 5.82 m (19-1), Nilsen cleared on his first try, Kendricks on his second, but Duplantis hit the bar on the way down on his first and third tries and was out, as was Morgunov!

So the bar went to 5.92 m (19-5), with three misses for both Americans, so Nilsen won based on the first-try clearance at 5.82 m.

Tokyo gold medalists did have their way in other events:

● In the men’s 3,000 m, Australia’s Stewart McSweyn and Olympic 1,500 m champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen were separated from the field by midway and it appeared to be a two-man race until Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi regained contact with 300 m left. Aregawi sprinted down the back straight and took the lead with Ingebrigtsen giving chase with 220 m left. But the Norwegian had plenty in the tank and finished off a 57.5 last lap with a final sprint for the win in 7:33.06 to Aregawi’s 7:33.39. McSweyn was third in 7:35.06.

● In the men’s shot, Olympic champ Ryan Crouser of the U.S. took the air out of the competition with his first-round throw at 22.81 m (74-10), a distance that no one else has reached this season. He had his usual brilliant series, following up with 22.70 m (74-5 3/4), 22.46 m (73-8 1/4), 22.44 m (73-7 1/2) and a foul. In the Diamond League’s sixth-round-takes-all, New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh had his best put of the day at 22.10 m (72-6 1/4) and then Crouser “won” the event at 22.64 m (74-3 1/2).

Olympic silver winner Joe Kovacs of the U.S. finished fifth at 21.32 m (69-11 1/2).

● The women’s high jump was down to Olympic champ Mariya Lasitskene (RUS), silver medalist Nicola McDermott (AUS) and Ukraine’s bronze winner Yaroslava Mahuchikh at 1.98 m (6-6), with Laskitskene making it on her first try, McDermott missing all three and Mahuchikh sailing over on her third. All three missed at 2.01 m (6-7), leaving Laskitskene the winner for the 13th time in 14 meets in 2021.

● Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas won the Tokyo women’s triple jump and set the world record at 15.67 m (51-5), so she had nothing to prove. But she was ready and boomed out to a wind-aided 15.56 m (51-0 3/4) in her first jump, the no. 2 jump in history under all conditions! She came back with a legal marks of 15.42 m (50-7 1/4) in round three and 15.52 m (50-11); those rank as the no. 2 and 5 best jumps of all-time! She also won the sixth-round-takes-all jump-off at 15.11 m (49-7).

Elsewhere:

In the 400-meter races, American Wil London won with a huge push in the final 10 m, in a modest 45.17, ahead of Isaac Makwala (BOT: 45.20), with 400 m hurdles superman Karsten Warholm (NOR) only fourth in a rare flat 400 m, in 45.51. Warholm was with the leaders coming into the straight, but Makwala and then London passed him on the run-in. Marileidy Paulino (DOM) had the best finish and won the women’s 400 m in 50.40, beating Sada Williams (BAR: 50.77) and American Quanera Hayes (51.06).

Germany’s world-leader Johannes Vetter was only ninth in the men’s javelin in Tokyo, but came back with a 88.54 m (290-6) in the third round for the best throw of the day and then “won” the event at 86.34 m (283-3) in the sixth-round-takes-all. Czech Jakub Vadlejch finished second; he had a best throw of 85.73 m (281-3).

Australian Linden Hall led the women’s 1,500 m at the bell by more than 20 m, but the pack reeled her in the final 150 m, with Ethiopia’s Freweyni Gebreezibeher flying down the final straight to win in 4:02.24 to Hall’s 4:02.95. American Josette Norris nearly caught Hall, but ended up third in 4:03.27.

In the women’s long jump, Swede Khaddi Sagnia had the best effort through five rounds at 6.92 m (22-8 1/2) – equaling her lifetime best – ahead of Ivana Spanovic (SRB: 6.85 m/22-5 3/4). But Spanovic won the sixth round – and the event – at 6.72 m (22-0 3/4) ahead of Sagnia (6.64 m/21-9 1/2).

In the “City High Jump” held on Wednesday in downtown Lausanne, Russian Ilya Ivanyuk won at 2.30 m (7-6 1/2), beating American Olympian Shelby McEwen (2.27 m/7-5 1/4).

Next up will be the Meeting de Paris on the 28th (Saturday).

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THE TICKER: It isn’t easy being Sydney McLaughlin; good Pre Classic TV ratings; Roglic falls off bike and La Vuelta lead!

By
Rich Perelman
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Double Olympic gold medalist and world-record setter Sydney McLaughlin (USA) (Photo: Tim Healy for TrackTown USA)

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Athletes and Mental Health ● A poignant, stunning, tear-filled video by double Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin has exploded on Instagram over the past two months, with more than 1.03 million views so far.

Recorded in her car on 30 June, three days after running a world record 51.90 in the women’s 400 m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials, the video runs 10:51 with McLaughlin expressing despair over the aftermath of her performance. Excerpts:

“A lot of the people around me did not respond the way I thought they would. … In a moment like that where – these are moments you remember for a lifetime, these are opportunities you don’t get every single day – I felt like the people I thought would be the most excited for me literally almost didn’t even care. …

“It hurts. I’m still hurt to this point, just not understanding like when it’s going to be enough for a lot of people. I’ve worked really hard and been very cautious of how I carry myself, of the things that I post because I want to glorify God and I want to be a good example to people. But our world only accepts ignorance and it hurts my feelings and I find it really disrespectful that you can do everything right and it will never be enough. There’s still always a problem with you. …

“People really think that I’m standing here today because of my followers or because of how I look. It blows my mind. People who have been my teammates, who watched me die every day at practice believe I’m standing here today because I have followers. Because I’m light-skinned.

“I can’t control what color my skin is. I can’t control who presses the follow button. But I can control what I do on that track and that’s the thing that doesn’t get the respect and it blows my mind.”

McLaughlin has 1.075 million Instagram followers and more than 158,000 followers on Twitter. She has received many supporting comments on both sites from fans since the video was posted and she was brilliant in Tokyo, setting another world mark at 51.46 (!) and running the lead-off leg on the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s 4×400 m team.

As Shakespeare put it, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Said McLaughlin a little later in the video:

“Even in success, there can be pain. Even in triumph, there can be tribulations. But how you respond, and the lens in which you view those situations provides an opportunity for growth and change.”

● XVI Paralympic Games: Tokyo 2020 ● The Tokyo Paralympic Games opened on Tuesday in a spectator-free Olympic Stadium. Kyodo News reported that “three Japanese athletes in wheelchairs – boccia player Shunsuke Uchida, powerlifter Karin Morisaki and wheelchair tennis player Yui Kamiji – carried the Paralympic flame on the final leg of the torch relay before igniting the sphere-shaped cauldron, fueled by hydrogen and using the sun as a motif, inside the stadium.”

While two athletes from Afghanistan had been expected to compete in Tokyo, International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons (BRA) said “we don’t have a way to bring the Afghani athletes to Tokyo in a safe way for them, in a way that will preserve their safety.” They were reported to have left their home country and are now safe in Australia.

The International Paralympic Committee had the Afghanistan flag marched into the stadium as a show of “solidarity” with the Afghan people, and had asked a representative of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to carry it. However, the agency declined, saying it was a “neutral organization” and a Tokyo 2020 volunteer carried it in instead.

The ceremony did well on television in Japan, with preliminary figures showing 23.8% viewership across the country. A record total of 4,403 athletes are expected to compete, fairly amazing amid the pandemic. The Games will continue through 5 September.

● XXIV Olympic Winter Games: Beijing 2022 ● The continuing impact of the coronavirus in China was underlined as the International Federation of Sport Climbing announced:

“The IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Xiamen from 15 to 17 October, and the IFSC Boulder and Speed World Cup in Wujiang from 22 to 24 October, will no longer take place.”

All of this continues to point to a potentially spectator-free Games in Beijing, and perhaps even heavier anti-Covid protocols than seen in Tokyo.

● Pan American Games ● The Around The Rings site reported that Barranquilla in Colombia will be announced on Friday as the site for the 2027 Pan American Games. This will follow November’s hosting of the first Junior Pan American Games in Cali, which will allow spectators at 50% capacities, provided they are vaccinated and wear masks.

This will be the second time for Colombia to host the PAG; Cali was the site of the Pan Ams in 1971.

● Athletics ● Last Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic did quite well on NBC, with 1.177 million viewers tuning in for the 90-minute show starting at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. It was behind ABC’s broadcast of the Little League World Series (1.252 million) and the NFL Network’s pre-season Jets vs. Packers game that drew an audience of 1.775 million.

The Wanda Diamond League continues on Thursday in the Olympic capital of Lausanne, Switzerland with the annual Athletissima meet, with a full house of 12,200 fans expected.

Competitors with a combined 19 Tokyo golds are anticipated, headlined by 2021 world-record setters Karsten Warholm (NOR: men’s 400 m hurdles), Mondo Duplantis (SWE: men’s pole vault), Ryan Crouser of the U.S. (men’s shot) and Yulimar Rojas (VEN: women’s triple jump). Tokyo stars Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) are also expected to compete; Thompson will be in the women’s 100 m along with teammates and medalists Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.

NBCSN will televise the meet live in the U.S. beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Is it the shoes? Maybe not. Legendary British statistician Richard Hymans compared the 100th-best time in the world as of 22 August in the latest issue of the Athletics International newsletter in the men’s 800-1,500-Steeple-5,000-10,000 m and found only negligible improvements this year against the 100th-best marks from 2016-19.

Consider: the 100th-best 800 m in 2021 is just 0.30% faster than in 2017; the 1,500 is 0.47% faster (vs. 2017); the Steeple is 0.38% faster (2017), the 5,000 is 0.01% slower than 2016 and the 10,000 is 0.47% faster than 2016. AI Editor Peter Matthews suggests it’s the effect of having the Olympic Games in 2021.

The U.S. Women’s Decathlon Association’s “national championship” was held last weekend at the College of San Mateo in California, with Jordan Gray upping the American Record to 8,246 points, moving to no. 2 on the all-time list. She is only the third to top 8,000 points and the first American.

She ran the 100 m in 11.86w, and also cleared 12-10 in the vault and threw the discus 130-8. Second in the six-competitor field was Corinn Brewer of Greensburg (Pa.) Central Catholic H.S. at 5,698w, the highest-ever high school score.

The group continues to lobby for the decathlon to replace the women’s heptathlon, currently contested worldwide.

● Cycling ● It appeared that about the only thing that was going to knock Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic from the top of the Vuelta a Espana leaderboard was if he fell off his bike. He did.

Roglic attacked with about 13 km to go on Tuesday’s 10th stage, then skidded out and fell while taking a corner with too much speed. He got back up right away, but finished 37th, 11:49 behind winner Michael Storer (AUS), who won his second stage with a solo attack 19 km out.

That gave the race lead to Denmark’s Odd Christian Eiking, who was fifth, 22 seconds behind Storer. Roglic ended up third overall, 2:17 behind.

On Wednesday’s hilly stage, Roglic punched back, winning a final sprint against Spanish rival Enric Mas, with Eiking only 11 seconds back. So Roglic’s deficit is now 1:56 with 10 stages left and lots of climbing to go. France’s Guillaume Martin is second, 0:58 back.

● Football ● Good news: the Afghanistan national women’s team was evacuated on a flight from Kabul on Tuesday with help from Australia. The team was formed in 2007 as an act of political defiance against the Taliban.

“The United States Department of Justice has awarded the sum of USD 201 million to the FIFA Foundation as compensation for the losses suffered by FIFA, Concacaf and CONMEBOL as victims of decades of football corruption schemes. This money was seized from the bank accounts of former officials who were involved in, and then prosecuted for, years of corruption schemes in football.”

Announced by FIFA on Tuesday, the money will go to the new World Football Remission Fund, a unit of the FIFA Foundation, an independent entity. Community and youth programs are expected to be the focus of these funds, especially in the Americas, where much of the related criminal activity took place.

A British government study of Covid infections from large events found that the Euro 2020 tournament games at Wembley Stadium led to 9,402 infections, with almost half from the England-Italy final.

Three group-stage games were played at Wembley on 13-18-22 June, all with limited attendance around 20,000. There were two Round of 16 games – with England-Germany drawing 41,973 – and then a semi with 57,811 and the final with 67,173 and thousands outside. The report stated:

“The Euro 2020 tournament and England’s progress to the Euro final generated a significant risk to public health across the UK even when England played overseas. This risk arose not just from individuals attending the event itself, but included activities undertaken during travel and associated social activities.”

By contrast, only 881 total cases were reported from more than 300,000 attendees at the Wimbledon Championships. The study noted: “Research teams present at each of these events have verbally reported stark differences in crowd and spectator behaviour.” No kidding, really?

● Ice Hockey ● At the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Calgary, Canada, the U.S. shut down the Russian Olympic Committee, 6-0, to move to 3-0 in group play with one more game left against equally-undefeated Canada on the 26th.

This was the third straight U.S. shutout, this time with Alex Cavallini in goal. Hillary Knight scored the second U.S. goal to give her a career total of 45, the most ever by a single player in the IIHF Worlds. She shared the mark of 44 with former teammate Cammi Granato (1990-2005).

● Modern Pentathlon ● “The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) has formed a 10-strong Riding Working Group to urgently address concerns about horse welfare in Modern Pentathlon. …

“[T]he group will review the Riding competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and discuss a range of measures designed to prevent any repeat of the distressing scenes that occurred.”

Unlike Equestrian, pentathletes use horses provided by the organizing committee and Saint Boy refused to jump for 2017 World Champion Gulnaz Gubaydullina (RUS) or for Germany’s Annika Schleu, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist. Schleu’s coach, Kim Raisner, was disqualified from the Tokyo Games for hitting Saint Boy (reported after the Games to be fine); a UIPM disciplinary panel has been asked to review the incidents.

● Swimming ● FINA announced its 2021 World Cup schedule, consisting of four meets in 25 m (short-course) pools that will also act as time-qualification opportunities for December’s World 25 m Championships.

The four legs will include Berlin (GER) and Budapest (HUN) on 1-3 October and 7-9 October, followed by Doha (QAT) and Kazan (RUS) 21-23 October and 28-30 October.

An impressive total of $1.452 million in prize money has been committed to athlete prize money, with $224,000 in individual meet payments and $556,000 for overall rankings at series end.

The International Swimming League announced that CBS Sports will return as its U.S. television partner for its third season, which begins on Thursday (26th). Coverage will be provided on the CBS Sports Network and on CBS only for matches 2-3-5-9 in the regular season, match 12 in the playoffs and the ISL Final on 8 January 2022.

● Weightlifting ● The Olympic fate of the International Weightlifting Federation will be at stake during the IWF Constitutional Congress in Doha (QAT) from 28-31 August.

A draft constitution has been circulated, but the International Olympic Committee has repeatedly stated that the people who have been Board members while so many governance scandals have taken place must be replaced. USA Weightlifting chief Phil Andrews sent a letter to the Executive Board and all of IWF’s national federations asking for the existing Board to resign and to add to the new Constitution measures which would eliminate them permanently from IWF elective roles. Wrote Andrews:

“Previously we have called upon leaders to voluntarily and publicly commit to not be part of the leadership going forward, [and] no leader has taken such an action.

“We believe these together with the proposed constitution significantly strengthen the case for our sport to be in the Olympic Games.”

The outcome will be discussed by the IOC Executive Board on 8 September.

● The Last Word ● The Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) announced Monday that it is accepting bids from potential hosts of the World Urban Games, World Combat Games and World Mind Games.

The first World Urban Games was held in Budapest (HUN) in 2019 and the second edition is expected for 2023. The third World Combat Games is scheduled to be held in Riyadh (KSA) in 2023; one version of the World Mind Games was held in 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (Lille), but not since; a competing competition was held from 2011-14 in Beijing only.

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LANE ONE: LA28’s Kathy Carter says 2021 has been good, working to build an Olympic game-changer: “the most sizable, addressable fan base across all of the sports”

By
Rich Perelman
-

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“We’ve had a good year. For us, it’s always first and foremost, making sure that we’ve solidified the revenue that will empower our Games and actually pay for our Games.”

That’s Kathy Carter, the Chief Revenue Officer of the LA28 organizing committee and head of U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties, the joint marketing venture with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. She spoke at length about what LA28 has been doing on the 23 August edition of the SportBusiness Finance Weekly podcast with U.S. editor Eric Fisher and Fifth Generation Sports’ Chris Russo.

The 2028 organizers have been pretty quiet about their activities, with a higher public profile coming in 2022. But Carter made clear that plenty has been going on.

“Certainly from a metrics standpoint, because typically an organizing committee isn’t even stood up until [seven years prior], we’re definitely ahead. …

“We announced Delta as our first founding partnership prior to the pandemic. Through the pandemic, we’ve announced Comcast and most recently, Salesforce [and] Deloitte; Nike and Ralph Lauren as renewals with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee/Team USA, so we’re feeling really good, and really good as well about the tenor of conversations that we’re having. …

“So generally speaking, I think, we’re really far ahead of what a normal organizing committee – the position that they would be in [in the same timeframe] – but like I said, until we’re done, we’re not done. So that’s the pressure we put on ourselves and the pressure we put on the team.”

With a $2.51 billion domestic sponsorship revenue target, the Salesforce and Deloitte partnerships were not traditional product-sales company sponsorships and Carter explained that they are the building blocks of a mammoth concept to have people in Southern California and across the U.S. better engage with the 2028 Games:

“When you look at the entirety of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, just so many people are engaged – whether it be through an individual sport or the Movement in its totality – but what has been lacking is really a concrete effort towards that overall customer integration and engagement.

“That’s really where we believe that Salesforce and Deloitte are going to help us super-charge what we want to do, to have the most sizable, addressable fan base across all of the [Olympic and Paralympic] sports, be they large, medium, small, whatever the size is and we think there’s a real opportunity for us to think differently relative to the consumer, the customer, the fan who wants to engage with whether it be archery or it be track & field or it be swimming or it be rowing.

“We have a real opportunity to figure out ways to customize and create real engagement strategies for fans and give them what they want, when they want it and where they want it. So that’s a big, big part of what we’re thinking about with certainly Salesforce and Deloitte, and I think that’s the blueprint for what you’ll start to see with a number of other partners that will come aboard, is how do they help us get smarter faster and actually build towards ‘28 with an eye towards even legacy beyond ‘28 and how do we leave both the community of L.A. in some cases or the Olympic or Paralympic Movement better than we found it.”

The implications for this are massive and such a database has been the object of multiple international federations already. Beyond what an addressable fan base in the millions could mean for LA28, it could be worth decades of support for the USOPC, whose revenue now primarily comes from a share of the U.S. television rights sales and the IOC’s TOP sponsorships.

Direct sales, licensed merchandise, gaming, donations and news are only the beginning of the possibilities.

“So we’re looking at everything and trying to find the ways to present these Games and to continue to support the development of Team USA in ways that perhaps have not been thought of.”

Carter also offered a snapshot of the status of the LA28 organizing effort, now seven years  ahead of the third Los Angeles Games:

“As we’re starting to get [finances] in a really good position, we’re starting to turn our attention to the foundation of the organizing committee, so whether that be hiring this year our [Chief Financial Officer] and now recently our [Chief Information Officer], so what we need in terms of strategy – and really plans – to head into what will eventually become execution, have been setting up a lot of the different elements that will lead into the Games, so finalizing what’s called the ‘preferred plan’ around all the venues and all the delivery of the Games.

“Today, we don’t yet have the core sports program approved; that has been voted on [by the IOC], it will be, we think, in 2022. So, there’s still some open ends as it relates to what we’ve got to do to deliver the Games, so we’re very, very focused on making sure that we have all of the right people, all of the right strategy in place for the delivery of the Games, so that allows us then to go after the opportunity for some of the impact areas for us where we think we actually can impact the community of L.A. very positively, whether that be through our youth sports program or what will be many other programs that we will unveil here in the next year. …

“We’re starting to put in place those plans, but certainly I think the first and foremost in our mind is how do we actually make sure we deliver these Games in a fiscally responsible manner. That’s our first legacy because it means that the City of L.A., the community of Southern California, the State of California, our country, nobody has to worry about what we do to deliver the Games themselves. It will be a collective effort.”

Carter was part of a small LA28 team that went to Tokyo to observe the just-concluded Olympic Games; she noted of the Tokyo 2020 organizers, “credit goes to them for having been able to pull it off and the IOC as well, for being their partner in that.”

In Tokyo, she observed that even without the normal sponsorship programming for spectators, the business-to-business sponsor activation programs were in action:

“I think it was a different look at the Games. We did spend a decent amount of time with a number of the [IOC’s] TOP partners and really starting to see, most importantly for us, was how do they integrate to deliver the Games.

“And I think that’s one of the key ‘ethoses,’ if you will, of the LA28 Games, this idea of co-creation, and I think that certainly, the partners did a lot of that in Tokyo. [It was] a little bit behind the scenes, something that isn’t perhaps as easy to see from a consumer standpoint, but clearly something that they can use from a B-to-B perspective. So whether that was Intel, with a number of technology integrations, whether that was the domestic partners and how they helped deliver the Games, there were some really good things for us to start to identify as key learnings as we think about ‘28 and really the journey to ‘28 and how our partners begin to co-create the Games with us.”

The LA28 effort has gone largely unnoticed in Los Angeles and elsewhere with so much attention focused on Tokyo, the pandemic, and the forthcoming, controversial Winter Games in Beijing. But LA28’s time in the spotlight is coming and quickly.

If it can create a new, durable paradigm for engaging fans of the Games and of Olympic sports, it will create a legacy – as did the organizers of the 1932 and 1984 Los Angeles Games – which can propel the Olympic Movement in the U.S. into a bright future indeed.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Tokyo Paralympics open Tuesday; was Thompson-Herah’s 10.54 the WR? Is Eugene good or bad for U.S. track?

By
Rich Perelman
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Tokyo 2020 rowing volunteer Tijana Kawashima Stojkovic with Jamaican Ambassador to Japan Shorna-Kay Richards (r) at an appreciation ceremony for her help getting eventual gold medalist Hansle Parchment to the track on time! (Photo: Embassy of Jamaica in Japan)

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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● XVI Paralympic Games: Tokyo 2020 ● As with the now-completed Olympic Games, all the talk is about the coronavirus in Tokyo, with the Paralympic Opening Ceremony on for Tuesday the 24th.

“The number one principle to organize this games is the safety and wellbeing of everyone,” said International Paralympic Committee chair Andrew Parsons (BRA), adding “We don’t feel the presence of the Paralympics here will have a direct impact on raising the number of cases or even decreasing the number of cases.”

About 4,400 athletes are expected to attend the Paralympics, with most of the same restrictions as for the Olympic Games: essentially no spectators and a much-reduced number of officials, sponsors and support staff. Tokyo’s state of emergency has continued, but Parsons noted:

“We would not be here if we did not believe that we could deliver a safe games.”

Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto underscored the commitment: “We will protect the games that will open tomorrow until the very end and guide them to success.”

The IPC reported that 161 countries/regions, plus a Refugee Team, will compete in Tokyo, considered a major success given that – despite the pandemic – this is three more than in Rio 2016 and just short of the all-time record of 164 from London 2012. There are 21 nations not competing; four had travel issued related to the pandemic, two had its athletes decline to participate and four did not come due to a governmental decision or lack of funding.

Parsons explained that Afghanistan will not have a delegation in Tokyo as a result of the Taliban takeover of the country, but that the country’s flag will “be included” in the Opening Ceremony as a “sign of solidarity.” The flagbearer will be from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced that its flagbearers at the Opening Ceremony will be wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki, a two-time Paralympic medalist, and paratriathlete Melissa Stockwell, a Paralympic bronze medalist. They were voted in by their fellow athletes; the U.S. has a team of 242 competing in Tokyo and expects to have about 115 athletes marching in the opening.

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● One of the enduring stories of the Tokyo Games was how a volunteer at the rowing venue offered Jamaican hurdler Hansle Parchment taxi fare so he could get to his semifinal race at the Olympic Stadium on time.

Parchment had absent-mindedly taken the wrong bus, but thanks to Tijana Kawashima Stojkovic, 25, he not only got back to the track in good time, he later won the final in an upset of American star Grant Holloway, all on 4 August.

It was Jamaica’s only men’s gold in the entire Games. Parchment returned to the rowing venue the next day to repay the taxi fare and gift her a Jamaican team polo shirt, and now the Jamaican Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has invited her to come to Jamaica as a show of thanks.

She was invited during a special ceremony at the Jamaican Embassy in Tokyo; she told reporters, “I just did what I can do.”

The International Fair Play Committee revealed 13 nominations for its Tokyo Fair Play Award, including moments from Athletics (6), Badminton, Cycling (BMX), Gymnastics, Judo, Swimming, Skateboarding and Triathlon.

The nominees included the U.S. women’s Artistic Gymnastics team supporting teammate Simone Biles in her moment of need after withdrawing from the Team Finals; Dutch star Sifan Hassan, who fell while starting the final lap of her heat in the women’s 1,500 m, then getting up and winning the race; American 800 m runner Isaiah Jewett and Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who fell in their heat, but got up and walked together to the finish line, and the “Can we have two golds?” moment in the men’s high jump between Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi.

The winner is expected to be announced soon.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● Multiple international federations are mounting all-out rushes at the LA28 organizers to get their sports added to the program.

One sport with direct Los Angeles connections is the World Flying Disc Federation which was essentially born in Southern California. At its annual Congress held last Saturday (21st), it added national federations in Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar, Serbia, and Kyrgyzstan to bring its membership total to 100. It expects to have 120 nations officially involved by 2024.

The WFDF is making sure that the L.A. folks know they are around: the World Beach Ultimate Championships will be held in the Los Angeles area next April, and the sport will be showcased at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama in early July.

The added sports for the 2028 Games are expected to be finalized in 2025.

● Athletics ● There is a lot to unpack from Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic, held at the new Hayward Field in front of an announced crowd of 8,937.

Number one was whether Jamaica’s Olympic sprint star Elaine Thompson-Herah’s 10.54 win in the women’s 100 m is actually the world record.

It’s the second-fastest time ever run, behind Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49 in the quarterfinals at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. But that mark has been questioned for decades as it had a wind reading of 0.0 m/s even though the triple jump – going on at the same time – had over-the-allowable wind on almost every jump. Most statisticians believe Flojo’s mark was wind-aided, but the one group that counts – World Athletics – recognizes it as the world record.

American Sha’Carri Richardson had a bad day at the office, finishing last in 11.14. She was hardly contrite afterwards, telling NBC’s Lewis Johnson on live national television:

“Coming out today, it was a great return back to the sport. I wanted to be able to come and perform after having a month off and dealing with all I was dealing with.

“I’m not upset with myself at all. This is one race. I’m not done. You know what I am capable of. Count me out if you want to. Talk all the [s—] you want, because I am here to stay. I am not done. I am the sixth fastest woman in this game, ever. And nobody can ever take that from me. Congratulations to the winners, but they are not done seeing me yet. Period.”

Much happier was American Noah Lyles, who won the men’s 200 m in a world-leading 19.52 after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo:

“It’s a tight little bow on the end of the season. I wasn’t really feeling that my mindset was right for today but I feel like five sessions of therapy I was able to let go of what happened in Tokyo and convince myself that I know I’m upset [about Tokyo] and I know I’m in great shape to run and come out here and be able to put it on the track.

“I don’t think you understand how lifeless it was in Tokyo to have no crowd there. It was dead silent. To come here and see a whole lot of people who love track, it was just amazing to see. I’m really excited to come back [in 2022] especially coming off a great year like this, only moving it forward. Shoot, the sky’s the limit.”

The World Athletics U-20 Championships were held in Nairobi (KEN) from 18-22 August, with the U.S. and many other leading track & field nations absent due to Covid concerns. The headline win was by France’s Sasha Zhoya, who won the men’s 110 m hurdles in a sensational 12.72!

These were 99 cm-high hurdles – 39 inches – the same as used in the U.S. for high school races. For comparison, the U.S. high school best is 13.08 by Wayne Davis (Raleigh Southeast in North Carolina) in 2009!

Sometimes Twitter can be entertaining. Take the thrust-and-parry all day Saturday between ex-Los Angeles Times and NBC Sports Olympic columnist Alan Abrahamson and others about whether Eugene is a worthwhile center of track & field in the U.S. Highlights:

● Abrahamson on Friday night’s distance program: “There’s no one there, as you can see from the picture. This for a much-hyped WR attempt [by Sifan Hassan]. When will people start to understand that Eugene is in the middle of nowhere?”

● Former Oregonian track writer Ken Goe: “Ummm, 3,541 people showed up during a severe Covid outbreak for four races. Those were scanned tickets, not a crowd estimate. Not sure that would happen in Los Angeles, based on the LA meets I’ve covered.”

● Abrahamson: “I reiterate. 3541 people. At a brand-new $270m stadium. Where a triple medalist was hyped for a world record. That is not outstanding. Farthest thing from

“As for severe covid – LA County is arguably worst in the nation and there were 48,117 at the Dodger game … we both love t/f, Ken, but this is what it is, as I have observed time and again about Eugene”

● Abrahamson, replying to @tracksuperfan Jesse Squire: “I’m trying to say that Eugene is not the place to grow track and field in the United States. Which you know full well is what I’m saying”

● Goe: “Seems to me, Los Angeles once had an elite-level track meet. What happened to that?”

● Abrahamson: “Here’s the real q. What do you think Sha’Carri would draw today in LA? Or NY? Chicago? Houston? Any Top-10 city? A real city? She is the first crossover star in ages. And this meet is in Eugene”

● Goe: “Maybe one of those cities should stage a Diamond League meet.”

● Abrahamson: “Maybe we should all stop pretending that we are ‘growing’ track and field in the United States of America out of remote Eugene, Oregon”

● Veteran coach and track writer Steve Ritchie: “Eugene has hosted the Trials seven times. Six of those times the attendance was excellent. Given the reluctance of many to travel to the Trials this year and the fairly restrictive Covid measures implemented, I would not judge Eugene too harshly for low attendance this year”

● Abrahamson: “Steve, you and I are friends. And your love for all things Oregon is perfectly excellent. But your argument is exactly why the sport is where it is. Six times already. And track as a sport in the US landscape – looking up at fb, baseball, hoops and more. My point!”

● Ritchie: “Like @tracksuperfan I agree it would be a good thing to have other, larger cities step up to host major events. In my lifetime I haven’t seen LA, NYC, or any other community do anywhere close to what Eugene has done.”

● Abrahamson: “It’s not per se Eugene. It’s one individual [with] a love for the university. Which is totally fine. He is allowed to spend his money as he sees fit”

Classic. Game on. Worth noting: Mt. San Antonio College in Southern California – home of the Mt. SAC Relays – was awarded the 2020 Trials, then had it revoked over concerns over finishing its renovation on time. It was ready before Hayward Field; will it get another chance?

● Cycling ● The 76th Vuelta a Espana finished its first rest day on Monday, with two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic (SLO) back in the leader’s red jersey after nine of 21 stages.

Roglic returned to the lead after stage 6, in which he dueled with Denmark’s Magnus Cort to the finish and was out-leaned at the line. Friday’s much more demanding stage – with six climbs and an uphill finish – was won by Australia’s Michael Storer with a breakaway in the final 3 km over Spain’s Carlos Verona, with Roglic finishing 16th, with the other race contenders. The flat, sprinter’s stage 8 on Saturday was the second stage win for Fabio Jakobsen (NED), ahead of Alberto Dainese (ITA) and 110 others who received the same time.

Sunday was a difficult, four-climb mountain stage with an uphill finish to the Alto de Velefique in southern Spain, won by Italy’s Damiano Caruso, but with Roglic second, gaining major time on all of his competitors except Spain’s Enric Mas. After nine stages, Roglic is +0:28 vs. Mas and +1:21 over Miguel Angel Lopez (COL). Roglic is trying to be the first three-peat winner since 2005 and is well on his way.

The UCI World BMX Racing World Championships were held in Papendal (NED) over the weekend, with Olympic gold medalists Niek Kimmann (NED) and Bethany Shriever (GBR) repeating their victories.

Kimmann won his second BMX Racing world title in a tight, 34.337-34.500 duel over France’s Sylvain Andre, the 2018 World Champion. Shriever was a clear winner by 35.110-36.375-36.468 over Dutch stars Judy Baauw and 2018 winner Laura Smulders.

● Football ● CONCACAF announced an expanded program of women’s championship football for 2021-24, with play beginning in November for the new “W Championship.”

This tournament will include eight teams – the U.S., Canada and six qualifiers – and finish in 2022 with the four semifinalists all qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The three-place finishers in the two groups will advance to a intercontinental play-in tournament. The winner of the W Championship will qualify for the 2024 Olympic tournament in Paris.

The first-ever CONCACAF W Gold Cup will be held in 2024 with eight teams from the region and four guest teams.

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF Women’s World Championship began last Friday in Calgary, Canada, with the U.S. women looking for their sixth title in a row and ninth in the last 10.

In Group A, seeded with the strongest teams, Canada and the U.S. are both 2-0. Canada defeated Finland, 5-3, in its opener and the Russians, 5-1. The U.S. has shut out Switzerland (3-0; Alex Cavallini in goal) and Finland (3-0; Nicole Hensley) so far.

The Czech Republic and Germany are both 2-0 in Group B; The quarterfinals begin on the 28th.

● Triathlon ● The World Triathlon Championship finals in Edmonton (CAN) on Saturday saw Olympic Champions Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) and Flora Duffy (BER) add the 2021 world titles to their trophy cases.

Blummenfelt won the men’s final in 1:44:14, just ahead of Marten Van Riel (BEL, also 1:44:14) and Leo Bergere (FRA: 1:44.15) and finished the season with 3,927 points against 3,594 for Van Riel and 3,289 for Olympic silver winner Alex Yee (GBR). American Taylor Knibb won the women’s race in Edmonton in 1:54:47, beating Leonie Periault (FRA: 1:55:43) and Duffy (1:56:11). Americans Katie Zaferes (1:56:14) and Taylor Spivey (1:56:16) went 4-5. Duffy took the seasonal title with 3,861 points to 3,486 for Knibb and 3,239 for Spivey.

Blummenfelt is a two-time champion (also in 2019), while Duffy won her third (also 2016 and 2017).

● At the BuZZer ● More from Twitter, this time with advice from three-time Olympic gold medalist Tianna Bartoletta.

Former USC star Kendall Ellis, who won an Olympic gold in Tokyo on the women’s 4×400 m as a member of the U.S. team in the heats, tweeted with concern after the Pre Classic:

“y’all always wanna argue about appeal, marketing, and storytelling but how’re fans supposed to know anybody’s story if you keep interviewing the same 4 people win or lose?”

Replied Bartoletta:

“This is the part where athletes have to do the heavy lifting first. Start telling your story YOURSELF even if it seems no one is listening. Don’t wait to be your own storyteller. Tell it yourself. Trust me on this one.”

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LANE ONE: New bills aim to target international “doping mafia” via U.S. criminal racketeering laws and increase U.S. enforcement worldwide

By
Rich Perelman
-

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“Some of our athletes at the Olympic Games in Tokyo suspect that there has been performance-enhancing doping going on. One nation with a history of doping was disqualified from participating under its own flag because of past violations. We need better enforcement of anti-doping rules to make sure the Olympics are clean and that athletes are winning based on their own capabilities and training.”

That’s Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), co-Chair of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe – better known as the Helsinki Commission – on introducing a new bill in the U.S. Congress called the “Guarantee Oversight and Litigation on Doping Act” or “GOLD Act.”

The bills are H.R. 4906 in the U.S. House and S. 2632 in the U.S. Senate, barely noticed since they were introduced during the Tokyo Games on 3 August and 5 August, respectively. Each runs only 306 words and are explained as:

“It is the sense of Congress that –

“(1) the punishment of Russia for persistent decades-long state-run doping fraud by the international sport governance structure has been insufficient and Russia’s competing status as ‘ROC’ at Tokyo 2020 demonstrates to authoritarian states around the world that systematic doping will be tolerated; and

“(2) aggressive enforcement of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 (21 U.S.C. 2401 et seq.) can create the deterrent required to curb doping fraud as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (15 U.S.C. 78dd–1 et seq.) curbed foreign bribery and the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation should prioritize enforcement of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019 (21 U.S.C. 2401 et seq.).”

What the bill would do is add aiding doping to a long list of offenses which can be prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970. Originally created to prosecute the heads of organized crime – especially the Mafia – in the United States, its success has led to its expanded applicability to many other actions around the world. That list may now include aiding sports doping.

The bill followed a 21 July hearing on “Rodchenkov Act Enforcement at Tokyo 2021,” exploring whether Tokyo 2020 was going to be a “clean” Olympic Games. Olympic icon Edwin Moses, the two-time men’s 400 m hurdles gold medalist from 1976 and 1984 and Chair Emeritus of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, gave powerful testimony on the state of doping today, including:

● “[The International Olympic Committee] continues to miss, or ignore, defining moments to confront in the clearest way possible, the win at all costs culture of corruption through doping in global sport. These have all been opportunities to draw an unambiguous line in the sand: a chance to stand up for clean athletes – a chance to show clean athletes they care, to send a message, loud and clear, that this type of fraudulent behavior will not be tolerated in Olympic sport. Yet, when these decisive moments arrived, when the lights were shining brightest, [World Anti-Doping Agency] and the IOC repeatedly failed to lead.”

● “It is a question of dictators versus Democracies in the rule of law for both sport and politics. An interwoven network that allows state sponsored corruption to flourish and kleptocracies the ability to defraud athletes and corporations alike. Those that defraud sport with performance enhancing drugs do not let national borders stop them in perpetuating their crimes.”

● “One enhancement that might be worth investigating is adding the Rodchenkov Act to the U.S. Code Title 18 § 1956. As we understand it, this would allow financial transactions used in the corruption of sport under the Rodchenkov Act, involving the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, to be considered money laundering under the U.S. Code and prosecuted as such.”

This is exactly what the new bill does.

Richard Baum, the anti-doping coordinator for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, followed up with details of the investigative tools created by the Rodchenkov Act:

“The U.S. Department of Justice and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have taken steps to address the doping and sports-related crime landscape … An Integrity in Sport and Gaming program has been developed within the FBI’s Transnational Organized Crime-Global Section.

“This unit collaborates with domestic partners like USADA, and leverages international law enforcement partnerships to disrupt and prosecute the transnational threats and corruption elements that prey on the societal institutions of sport. Further, the U.S. Department of the Treasury retains an array of tools and authorities, including targeted financial sanctions that may be directed against foreign actors involved in a wide range of corrupt international actions, including sports-related corruption and doping. In 2018, for example, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added two officers in Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate to its designated nationals list for their role in hacking WADA and illegally releasing athlete medical data.”

Debra LaPrevotte, a former Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI’s International Corruption Unit, added that international law enforcement efforts in anti-doping are working:

“In 2019, Interpol, led by Italian and Greek investigators, conducted Operation Viribus. This effort involved 33 countries and was a massive crackdown on trafficking in doping materials. This investigation dismantled 17 organized crime groups, led to 234 arrests and closed nine underground labs. This case identified almost 1,000 people involved in the production, commerce, or use of doping products.”

The Helsinki Commission hearing and the new bills are not being celebrated by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has already voiced its concerns over the Rodchenkov Act, including:

“No nation has ever before asserted criminal jurisdiction over doping offences that occurred outside its national borders – and for good reason. It is likely to lead to overlapping laws in different jurisdictions that will compromise having a single set of anti-doping rules for all sports and all Anti-Doping Organizations under the World Anti-Doping Code (Code). This will have negative consequences as harmonization of the rules is at the very core of the global anti-doping system.

“WADA remains concerned that by unilaterally exerting U.S. criminal jurisdiction over all global doping activity, the Act will likely undermine clean sport by jeopardizing critical partnerships and cooperation between nations. Further, the Act could impede the capacity to benefit from whistleblowers by exposing them to possible prosecution and preventing ‘substantial assistance’ deals in line with the provisions of the Code.

“This Act may lead to other nations adopting similar legislation, thereby subjecting U.S. citizens and sport bodies to similar extraterritorial jurisdictions and criminal sanctions, many of which may be political in nature or imposed to discriminate against specific nationalities. This will be detrimental to anti-doping efforts everywhere, including in the U.S.”

The two new bills were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on both the House and Senate side and there is no indication that either will receive priority treatment in the midst of the battle royal now going on in the Congress over other issues.

But they continue the drumbeat from the U.S. side – and U.S. athletes – that doping is unacceptable, both on the domestic and international levels. While most of the rhetoric has been aimed as Russia following its enormous state-sponsored doping program from 2011-15, watch for a potential new flashpoint in the Congress ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing if any evidence of doping in China is brought forward ahead of next February’s winter festival. Stay tuned.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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ATHLETICS: Thompson-Herah screams 10.54 at Pre Classic; Frerichs and Mu storm to American Records; 3:47.24 mile for Ingebrigtsen!

By
Rich Perelman
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No one other than FloJo has run this fast: 10.54 for Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah! (Official timing photo)

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/Updated/Historic. That was the women’s 100 m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, as Jamaica’s Tokyo Olympic medal winners swept again, with Elaine Thompson-Herah running the second-fastest time in history in 10.54.

Thompson-Herah took charge of the race at about 20 m, passing Tokyo silver winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and then accelerated away from the field, storming through the finish with an aiding wind of 0.9 meters per second. With Olympic 100/200 m doubles in Rio and Tokyo and now two of the four fastest times ever in the 100 m, Thompson-Herah may be the finest women’s sprinter of all time. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner‘s 10.49 at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials is faster. Even Thompson-Herah was stunned by the time when flashed on the scoreboard, covering her mouth with both hands.

Fraser-Pryce got out best and finished second in 10.73 and fellow Jamaican Shericka Jackson was third in 10.76, replicating the Tokyo podium. American Teahna Daniels, seventh in Tokyo, got a massive lifetime best of 10.83 for fourth, moving to equal-14th on the all-time U.S. list.

American Sha’Carri Richardson, the Trials winner who was suspended out of Tokyo for marijuana use, was not a factor, finishing last in 11.14.

Thompson-Herah’s 100 m was just one of numerous outstanding performances during the meet, which featured so many of the Tokyo medal winners, gathered together for the first time since the Olympics closed 13 days earlier. Even at half full, the new Hayward Field was loud and friendly for the runners who had competed in a spectator-less Tokyo.

● In the women’s 3,000 m Steeple, Kenya’s Norah Jeruto, American Courtney Frerichs (Tokyo silver) and Hyvin Kiyeng (Tokyo bronze) were in charge from the halfway mark and then Jeruto ran away from Frerichs on the final lap to win in a world-leading 8:53.65, the no. 3 performance of all time.

Frerichs was second and became the first American woman to break nine minutes at 8:57.77, improving on her won American Record and now no. 4 on the all-time list. Kiyeng was third in 9:00.05, a season’s best.

● There were more records broken. American teen Athing Mu confirmed her place as the dominant force in the women’s 800, running away from the field on the final lap and straining right to the final in a world-leading 1:55.04, shattering her own American Record of 1:55.21 from the Tokyo Games. She’s now no. 8 all-time in what was reportedly her final race of the year.

Kate Grace of the U.S. was second in 1:57.60, followed by Jamaica’s Natoya Goule (1:57.71) and then Olympic bronze winner Raevyn Rogers (USA: 1:58.01).

● The men’s sprints underscored the results of the Tokyo 200 m final. In the men’s 200 m, American Noah Lyles was back in his favored lane seven and broke hard from the blocks, had the lead into the home straight and pulled away from a strong field to win in a world-leading 19.52 (+1.5 m/s), the no. 9 performance in history and no. 3 all-time U.S.

Lyles finished ahead of Tokyo silver winner Kenny Bednarek (19.80) and younger brother Josephus Lyles, who got a lifetime best in 20.03. Noah’s time would have won by a tenth in Tokyo and was the fast finish he’s famous for, but which had been absent for almost two years.

The men’s 100 m was another statement for Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the Tokyo 200 m gold winner and 100 m bronze medalist, who won in a wind-aided 9.74 (+2.9 m/s). He beat a superb field, with Tokyo silver medalist Fred Kerley (USA: 9.78w) second, Ronnie Baker (USA: 9.82w) third and world leader Trayvon Bromell (USA: 9.86w) fourth. American Justin Gatlin was sixth in 9.93w.

● The women’s 200 m was an upset win for the underrated Mujinga Kambundji (SUI), who was even with Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) and Jenna Prandini (USA) coming off the turn and powered home in 22.06w (+2.4 m/s), Kambundji held off the late charge of Tokyo bronze winner Gabby Thomas (22.11w), who passed Asher-Smith (22.19w) and Prandini (22.36w) in the final 40 m.

American Allyson Felix was last (8th) in 22.60w.

● Double Olympic champion Ryan Crouser dominated the men’s shot put, exploding to 23.15 m (75-11 1/2) – the no. 3 throw in history and he has all three – in the fourth round. In the Diamond League’s sixth-round-takes-all format, he had a “safe throw” of 22.41 m (73-6 1/4) to win the event over Brazil’s Darlan Romani (21.69 m/71-2 best). The actual runner-up was American Joe Kovacs, who reached 21.94 m (71-11 3/4), but fouled in the sixth round and was officially third.

● The middle-distance races confirmed the brilliance of Tokyo winners Faith Kipyegon (KEN) and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Competing first, Kipyegon simply ran away from the women’s 1,500 m field almost from the start, winning in 3:53.23, a time no one else has approached this year. Australia’s Linden Hall was a far-back second in 3:59.73.

The men’s mile was a runaway for Ingebrigtsen and Australia’s Stewart McSweyn, who separated early from the pack and were all alone at the bell. Ingebrigtsen bided his time, then took over with 250 m remaining and ran alone to the finish in a blistering 3:47.24, the world leader for 2021, making him the ninth-fastest miler in history. McSweyn finished in 3:48.40 with Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot – never a factor – leading the chase pack home in 3:51.17.

A sixth world-leading performance on Saturday was in the men’s two-mile, with a wild finish finally won by Tokyo 5,000 m gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) in 8:09.55, over Tokyo 10,000 m winner Selemon Barega (ETH: 8:09.82) and American Paul Chelimo – the 5,000 m bronze medalist – in 8:09.83.

Also:

In the men’s 800 m, Canada’s Marco Arop was eliminated in the Tokyo semifinals, but came from fifth with 200 m to go and won in 1:44.51, ahead of a big charge on the home straight from Tokyo silver winner Ferguson Rotich (KEN: 1:45.02) and Tokyo champ Emmanuel Korir (KEN: 1:45.05). The U.S. Olympic duo of Clayton Murphy and Bryce Hoppel were 5-8 and Isaiah Harris of the U.S. was sixth.

The men’s triple jump had the most efficient performance of the day. Olympic gold medalist Pedro Pablo Pichardo took the lead with his opening jump of 17.24 m (56-6 3/4) and then passed the rest of his jumps! Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR) came up to second at 17.12 m (56-2) and Donald Scott of the U.S. was third (17.03 m/55-10 1/2) heading into the best-jump-wins sixth round. Neither approached Pichardo’s mark, but he boomed his final try out to 17.63 m (57-10 1/4), the equal-seventh best jump of 2021.

The women’s 400 m hurdles was all about Rio gold and Tokyo silver-medal winner Dalilah Muhammad. She led from the start and won easily in 52.77, the no. 8 performance of the year, well ahead of Shamier Little (USA: 53.79).

The women’s high jump was a battle between American star Vashti Cunningham and Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko. They were in a flat-out tie at 1.98 m (6-6), then missed three times at 2.00 m (6-6 3/4). They proceeded to jump-offs at 2.00m, 1.98 m, 1.96 m and 1.94 m – both missing each – then both made 1.92 m (6-3 1/2). Then Cunningham missed at 1.94 m (6-4 1/4) and Gerashchenko made it to finally win on her 18th jump of the afternoon.

The women’s pole vault was a win for Tokyo champ Katie Nageotte, who needed a third-time clearance at 4.92 m (15-9 3/4) to beat Tokyo bronze winner Holly Bradshaw (GBR: 4.72 m/15-5 3/4).

There was a Friday evening distance program, with 3,541 in attendance, featuring Tokyo women’s 5,000-10,000 m winner Sifan Hassan (NED) aiming at a world record in the 5,000 m, but falling well short in 14:27.89, moving her to no. 6 on the world list for 2021. She was an easy winner, ahead of Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi (14:42.25). American Alicia Monson was sixth in a lifetime best of 14:48.49, best in the U.S. for 2021.

The rarely-run women’s two-mile was won by Francine Niyonsaba (BDI) in 9:00.75, reportedly the second-fastest ever run, well ahead of Tokyo 10,000 m bronze medalist Letsenbet Gidey (ETH: 9:06.74) and Kenyan star Hellen Obiri (9:14.55). Niyonsaba, the 2016 Olympic 800 m silver medalist, is not allowed to run in the 800 m or 1,500 m due to elevated testosterone levels, but was fifth in Tokyo in the 10,000 m and disqualified in the 5,000 m. She is clearly a comer in these distance events, and at 28, has a significant career ahead of her.

The women’s 1,500 m was won by Rebecca Mehra of the U.S. in 4:06.35; the men’s mile was taken by New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish (3:54.86), ahead of Craig Engels (USA: 3:55.41), who was passed on the final straight while waving to the crowd. Really?

(Update: Special thanks to Association of Track & Field Statisticians Treasurer Tom Casacky for pointing out a typo on Andre De Grasse’s winning 100 m time – 9.74, not 9.94 – plus noting that Norah Jeruto is in the midst of an allegiance change to Kazakhstan, and that Craig Engels was passed on the final straight while waving to the crowd. He also noted that Pedro Pichardo had cramps and this was the reason for his four passes after his big first jump. Thanks, Tom!)

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THE TICKER: Tokyo likes the Games after all; NBC to show Pre Classic Saturday; Polish silver winner auctions medal for child surgery

By
Rich Perelman
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The Olympic Rings (and a friend) at Mt. Takao outside of Tokyo (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● Attitudes on the Tokyo Games came around once the competitions started and four polls taken over the final weekend of the Games and just after, showed solid majorities were “happy that the Tokyo Olympics were held”:

● 64% ~ Yomiuri Shimbun (vs. 28% against)
● 63% ~ Kyodo News (vs. 31% against)
● 61% ~ Tokyo Broadcasting System
● 56% ~ Asahi Shimbun (vs. 32% against)

In the Yomiuri poll, 61% were happy that there were no spectators vs. 12% in favor of having had spectators at the Games. The positive attitude was due significantly due to the historic success of the Japanese team.

This is a huge turnaround from pre-Games polls showing as much as 70% of the Japanese public was unhappy with the event taking place during a pandemic. Even without spectators, the locals were glued to the Games with 91% of the country’s entire population reported to have followed the events on television.

The magic of the Games is confirmed once more.

● Athletics ● Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic will be shown live on NBC this Saturday for 90 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. in Eugene).

The event is headlined by the women’s 100 m, with American Sha’Carri Richardson taking on the all-Jamaican Tokyo podium of Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, and a lot more. Perhaps another world record in the men’s shot from Ryan Crouser?

Entries and results will eventually be available here.

One of the most heartwarming stories coming out of the Tokyo Games was the auctioning of the silver medal in the women’s javelin by Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk.

On Facebook, she explained that she was offering the medal in order to help pay for heart surgery for 8-month-old Miloszek Malysa. The Polish supermarket chain Zabka won the auction at $125,000 and then announced it would return the medal to Andrejczyk.

Malysa needs the operation due to a heart defect and will operated on at the Stanford University Medical Center.

Fantastic, just fantastic.

The International Testing Agency announced a possible doping violation by Bahrain marathoner El Hassan El Abbassi, who finished 25th in Tokyo (2:15:56). He is charged with a prohibited homologous blood transfusion; next up will be a testing of his B-sample.

Nationwide Radio Jamaica reported that star sprinter Yohan Blake, the 2011 World Champion in the 100 m underwent emergency surgery in Kingston to remove his appendix.

After complaining of stomach pains, Blake, 31, was taken to a hospital and “scans revealed that Blake’s appendix was on the verge of being ruptured.”

The surgery was apparently successful and he is still under supervision at the hospital.

The September issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine included a “Correction: Serum androgen levels and their relation to performance in track and field: mass spectrometry results from 2127 observations in male and female elite athletes.”

This was the 2017 paper which discussed the impact of increased testosterone levels on the performance of women in track & field events and led to the World Athletics regulations on women with “Differences in Sex Development.”

The note stated, “To be explicit, there is no confirmatory evidence for causality in the observed relationships reported. We acknowledge that our 2017 study was exploratory.

“With this in mind, we recognise that statements in the paper could have been misleading by implying a causal inference. Specifically, ‘Female athletes with high fT [testosterone] levels have a significant competitive advantage over those with low fT in 400 m, 400 m hurdles, 800 m, hammer throw, and pole vault.’

“This statement should be amended to: ‘High fT levels in female athletes were associated with higher athletic performance over those with low fT in 400 m, 400 m hurdles, 800 m, hammer throw, and pole vault.’”

This caused great excitement within the legal camp of South Africa’s Caster Semenya, which is appealing regulations before the European Court of Human Rights, after having lost at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

The reply from World Athletics: “The erratum recently published in the British Journal of Sport Medicine to the 2017 paper clarifies the exploratory nature of this study.

“It has no bearing on the decade of research undertaken by World Athletics that informed its eligibility regulations for the female classification.”

Stay tuned on this one. It’s worth noting that the Swiss Federal Tribunal has not issued a final decision on its holding supporting the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s finding on the regulations. That may be where the real decision on the World Athletics regulations will be.

● Cycling ● The 76th Vuelta a Espana continues with France’s Kenny Elissonde now in the lead over two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic (SLO).

Tuesday’s Stage 4 was a hilly, 163.9 km ride to Molina de Aragon and ended with Dutch star Fabio Jakobsen winning the sprint finish in 3:43:07, ahead of Arnard Demare (FRA) and Magnus Cort (DEN) among others.

Wednesday’s Stage 5 was another sprinter’s special, an 184.4 km flat ride to Albacete, with Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen winning in 4:24:41 over Jakobsen and Alberto Dainese (ITA).

After taking the lead following Stage 3, Estonia’s Rein Taaramae has fallen back to 27th overall. Elissonde, 30, was 16th at La Vuelta in 2015. The riding gets harder now with two hilly stages and a mountain stage before Monday’s first rest day.

“The Tissot 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were originally scheduled to take place from 13 to 17 October in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), but were finally cancelled at the request of the organisers due to the health constraints and restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

So instead, the Track Worlds will be held at the Velodrome Couvert Regional Jean-Stablinski in Roubaix, France, with a 250 m track, from 20-24 October. This also removes the event from another authoritarian country with human-rights issues; watch for this to become a growing issue as an expansion of the concerns over conditions for athletes in Belarus as well as the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in China.

● Fencing ● Sad news that veteran women’s foil coach Anthony “Buckie” Leach, 62, died on Saturday in a motorcycle accident while riding on a cross-country trip. He had just returned from the Tokyo Games.

Leach coached the U.S. women’s foil team at the 1996-2000-04-16 and 2020 Olympics; Lee Keifer – who Leach coached at Notre Dame – won the first U.S. women’s gold in fencing in Tokyo. Leach’s teams won the World Championship in 2018 and three other medals at the Worlds.

● Football ● The U.S. Soccer Federation announced four friendlies for the U.S. Women’s National Team for the fall, including two games against Paraguay on 16 September in Cleveland and 26 September in Cincinnati.

Two more matches will be played against South Korea on 21 October in Kansas City and 26 October in St. Paul, Minnesota.

These will be the last games with the national team for star striker Carli Lloyd, who announced her retirement at the end of this season. The U.S. women have never previously played Paraguay, but have a 10-0-3 record against South Korea.

● Gymnastics ● Very little action has been reported in the continuing USA Gymnastics bankruptcy proceeding at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The monthly operations report for June showed “only” $101,459 in legal fees for the month – not a lot in this case – and total fees since the case started of $15.45 million.

Only $10.23 million of this has been paid; the rest is still due.

Next month’s report will provide some figures on the revenue and expenses for the U.S. Olympic Trials held in July.

● Karate ● In the aftermath of its first appearance in the Olympic Games, the World Karate Federation has nosily insisted that it belongs on the program of the Paris Games in 2024, despite not having been chosen by the Paris organizers as an added sport.

In an interview with Agence France Presse, International Olympic Committee Sports Director Kit McConnell (NZL) explained “The door is effectively closed for karate.” The Paris organizing committee asked for the inclusion of break dancing, climbing, skateboarding and surfing back in February 2019.

The WKF and its athletes continue to demand that the sport be added and accuse the IOC of only caring about money, to which McConnell readily noted, “If the considerations were purely financial, we would choose sports capable of filling stadiums with 80,000 seats.

“The four sports chosen for the Olympics-2024 bring a real balance to the Olympic program. In Tokyo, team sports and combat sports in particular were well represented, but more urban sports brought a very different dynamic compared to traditional sports.”

● Swimming ● The planned Australian Swimming League was expected to launch in October, but the third wave of the coronavirus has postponed the start until 2022.

Swimming World Magazine reported that “The plan was to follow a franchise model, similar to the International Swimming League, with events held around the country and prize money to swimmers.” The program is being privately run, but is working in conjunction with the national federation, Swimming Australia.

● The Last Word ● The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) announced the core sports program for the 2023 and 2025 World Beach Games and invited interested countries to bid for the events. The core sports include:

● Aquatics: Open Water Swimming 5km & Beach Water Polo
● Football: Beach Soccer
● Handball: Beach Handball
● Karate: Individual Kata
● Sailing: Kite Foil
● Tennis: Beach Tennis
● Triathlon: Aquathlon
● Volleyball: Beach Volleyball 4×4
● Wrestling: Beach Wrestling

The first World Beach Games was successfully held in Doha (QAT) in 2019 and was planned to be held in 2021, but was capsized by the coronavirus.

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LANE ONE: If you thought Tokyo 2020 was tough sledding, just wait for February’s Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games!

By
Rich Perelman
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“Arduous” would be one way to describe the just-completed Olympic Games in Tokyo, held in the midst of a state of emergency in Japan due to the coronavirus. That may seem pleasant compared to what is coming early next year.

The XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing will start on 4 February and are already the center of strong protests from multiple groups, over Chinese actions against Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and most recently the treatment of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang Province, labeled as “genocide” by the U.S. State Department.

This has nothing to do with the sports or events of the Winter Games and the International Olympic Committee has repeatedly praised the preparations of the Beijing organizers, themselves working within significant coronavirus restrictions inside China. But after all of the tumult over getting the Tokyo Games to take place at all, you can look forward to more and more anguished public comment about holding the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing and the surrounding mountains.

The most recent public slam against Beijing 2022 came from the U.S. House of Representatives, which showed exquisitely bad timing by holding hearings on the subject during the Tokyo Games, when all of the attention was on the Olympic competitions in Japan.

Nevertheless, on the same day as the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a letter from co-Chairs Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Massachusetts) to IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) that began:

“We are writing to ask the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the XXIV Olympic Winter Games scheduled to be held in China in February 2022 and to relocate them if the host government does not change its behavior. No Olympics should be held in a country whose government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity. …

“We believe that it would reflect extremely poorly on the Olympic movement, and the international community in general, if the IOC were to proceed with holding the Olympic Games in a country whose government is committing genocide and crimes against humanity as if nothing were wrong. To proceed with business as usual is implied consent and suggests the IOC has learned nothing from the Chinese government’s use of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to score propaganda wins and distract from its appalling human rights record. The IOC is on course to set a dark precedent where the behavior of future Olympic host governments is unconstrained by the international spotlight provided by the Olympic Games.”

The letter noted that as the 2020 Games were moved to 2021, “This demonstrates that the IOC is capable of orchestrating a postponement of the Olympic Games on short notice. If the Olympic Games can be postponed for a year for a pandemic, they can be postponed a year for a genocide.”

Further, a hearing was held on 27 July and representatives from U.S.-based IOC sponsors Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Intel, Proctor & Gamble and Visa were asked whether the 2022 Games should be relocated. Reuters reported:

“All of them declined to opine, or said they had no responsibility over site selection.

“‘We do not make decisions on these host locations. We support and follow the athletes wherever they compete,’ said Paul Lalli, Coca-Cola’s global vice president for human rights.”

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Florida) introduced H.Res.162 back in February, calling for a resolution that the U.S. should boycott the Games and not send a U.S. team. It has gone nowhere. Same for his H.R.3645, the “Beijing Winter Olympics Sponsor Accountability Act,” which would “prohibit the Federal Government from contracting with persons that have business operations with the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games or the International Olympic Committee, and for other purposes.”

More attention was paid to a 15 March essay by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who was the head of the Salt Lake City organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Games. He suggested:

“Prohibiting our athletes from competing in China is the easy, but wrong, answer. …

“The right answer is an economic and diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics. American spectators — other than families of our athletes and coaches — should stay at home, preventing us from contributing to the enormous revenues the Chinese Communist Party will raise from hotels, meals and tickets. American corporations that routinely send large groups of their customers and associates to the Games should send them to U.S. venues instead.

“Rather than send the traditional delegation of diplomats and White House officials to Beijing, the president should invite Chinese dissidents, religious leaders and ethnic minorities to represent us.”

Romney is quite right on this, but with the pandemic still in play in China, it is unknown whether there will be spectators in Beijing at all, even though the head of the IOC’s Coordination Commission, Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. – son of the former IOC President – is vociferously campaigning for it.

And new “Playbooks” that detail the restrictions to be placed on attendees to the Games at all levels are expected to be published in September or October and updated as the Games get closer. The Tokyo organizers were deeply concerned about the spread of the virus in Japan; will the Chinese organizers for 2022 be more concerned about the virus or about other matters?

Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a 30 June rally that “the Chinese people will absolutely not allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us and anyone who attempts to do so will face broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

So what happens now?

● Romney’s advice is the best: let the athletes go, as they have very little role in deciding where the Games will be held. The best advertisement for the U.S. in China will be to have American athletes do well there; the U.S. won 23 medals in PyeongChang in 2018 – fourth-best in the total medal count – and will do about the same in Beijing. In any case, Norway will be the big winner again.

● A diplomatic boycott of the Games by the U.S. and other nations will make an impact on the Chinese, no doubt. Whether this can be pulled off is another matter, but it would make a significant splash.

Same for limited U.S. attendance by fans other than family members.

● News media who attended the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games remember well the challenging communications and access conditions there. Look for more of the same in 2022; on 29 July, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price issued a condemnation of Chinese treatment of out-of-country news media, including:

“The PRC government claims to welcome foreign media and support their work, but its actions tell a different story. Its harsh rhetoric, promoted through official state media, toward any news it perceives to be critical of PRC policies, has provoked negative public sentiment leading to tense, in-person confrontations and harassment, including online verbal abuse and death threats of journalists simply doing their jobs. …

“We call on the PRC to act as a responsible nation hoping to welcome foreign media and the world for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

If the number of foreign press attending the Games is thinned – it was down 30% in Tokyo – this would also send a message from the media to the Chinese government, dulling the impact of the Games on worldwide audiences.

It’s worthwhile to remember that NBC had more than half of its Tokyo commentators working from U.S. studios, thanks to real-time, cloud-based transmission of the host signal made possible by Chinese tech giant Alibaba (an IOC sponsor). Perhaps more for Beijing?

We are only at the start of the public discussion about Beijing 2022 and what should or should not happen. Thus far, it appears that the athletes will be mostly unaffected as there are still widespread, unpleasant memories of major boycotts at the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Games (and a few folks in 1988 as well).

Completely lost in all of the furor is what Bach and the IOC have done to keep from having to go through this again. Bach was deeply impacted by having to preside over a terrible choice between Beijing and Almaty (KAZ) in 2015, and has pushed through massive changes in the Games bidding process that now encourages discussions – resulting in a directed outcome that is best for the IOC – instead of a vote. Result: following Beijing, the Games will be in France, Italy, the U.S. and in 2032, Australia. The 2030 Winter Games appear headed for Canada, Japan, Spain or the U.S.

But for Beijing, buckle up. It gets bumpy from here.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Paralympics also to be without fans; Richardson vs. Jamaicans at Pre Classic; Carli Lloyd retires; ISU transgender policy

By
Rich Perelman
-
Thanks for the memories: U.S. star striker Carli Lloyd

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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● XVI Paralympic Games: Tokyo 2020 ● The Tokyo 2020 organizers, Japanese government and the International Paralympic Committee announced Monday that fans would not be allowed at any of the venues, owing to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

This is a slightly different style of fan ban than for the Olympic Games, as students from local schools will be allowed to attend upon request due to the educational aspects of the Paralympic Games.

Covid infection rates continue to be high and Tokyo and many prefectures remain under a state of emergency. The Paralympic Games begin on 24 August.

Afghanistan formally withdrew from the Paralympics on Monday after the collapse of its government in Kabul. The withdrawal was confirmed by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.

The first security incident involving a Paralympian has already occurred. Kyodo News reported that Georgia judoka Zviad Gogotchuri, 34, the Rio gold 90 kg medalist, was arrested on Monday for “is accused of breaking a rib of the security guard in his 60s around 8:20 a.m. on Thursday when jumping on top of him and grabbing his neck.

“The incident took place after a different security guard warned Gogotchuri and several other Georgian athletes about noise they were making while apparently drinking in the corridor of the hotel’s sixth floor, according to the police.”

The athlete was being quarantined after another delegation member had tested positive for Covid. He is expected to be expelled from the Games.

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● Two more doping positives related to the Tokyo Games have popped up in triathlon.

World Triathlon reported that Ukranian triathlete Yuliya Yelistratva was provisionally suspended on 25 July, after a test on 5 June showed the presence of Erythroprotein (EPO). She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Tokyo, but her appeal was denied and she was prevented from competing at the Games.

Last Thursday, World Triathlon posted a notice that an out-of-competition test of Russian triathlete Igor Polyanskiy on 21 July came back positive for Erythroprotein (EPO). The federation was only informed on 5 August and Polyanskiy had already competed in Tokyo in the men’s race (finishing 41st) and was a member of the 14th-place Mixed Relay.

Said Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, “We will resort to the most severe penalties if this reported case turns out to be true. It is extremely disappointing that this single case may cast a shadow on the successful performance of the whole national team.”

● Games of the XXXVI Olympiad: 2036 ● Russia plans to get into the game for the 2036 Olympic Games, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“The bids are being prepared. We have several cities; St. Petersburg for sure, and I believe Kazan as well.”

Moscow, site of the 1980 Games, has been the only Russian bidder for the Games of the Olympiad. Discussions are already underway with multiple potential candidates in the aftermath of Brisbane (AUS) being chosen to host the 2032 Games.

● Athletics ● The 2021 World Athletics U-20 Championships will start on Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya, an important event in a country which has aspirations of holding the World Athletics Championships, possibly as soon as 2025.

Because of the pandemic, no spectators will be allowed at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium. The U.S., along with Australia, China, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and others have decided to skip the event as a precaution.

The Wanda Diamond League will continue in Eugene on Saturday with the annual Prefontaine Classic and a long-awaited match-up between Jamaica’s Olympic 100 m medalists and American Sha’Carri Richardson.

Tokyo medalists Elaine Thompson-Herah (gold: 10.61), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (silver: 10.74) and Shericka Jackson (bronze: 10.76) will face Richardson, the U.S. Trials winner at 10.86, who was unable to go to Tokyo due to a one-month drug suspension for marijuana.

Olympic winners Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR/men’s 1,500 m), Joshua Cheptegei (UGA/men’s 5,000 m), Ryan Crouser (USA/men’s shot), Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR/men’s triple jump), Athing Mu (USA/800 m), Faith Kipyegon (KEN/women’s 1,500 m), Sifan Hassan (NED/women’s 5,000-10,000 m) are all expected to compete, many against other Tokyo medal winners.

Horrific news that 2018 NCAA 100 m champion Cameron Burrell, 26, son of former world-record holder and Houston coach Leroy Burrell (and mom Michelle Finn, also a U.S. sprint star), died on 9 August.

According to the medical examiner in Houston, “Cameron died of a ‘gunshot wound to the head,’ the report from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said, per the report. He was found in a Houston-area parking garage.”

Cameron ran 9.93 for the 100 m in 2017, but struggled this season with a legal best of 10.35 in April. Heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and teammates.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced further doping penalties against Rio 2016 women’s 20 km Walk silver medalist Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez of Mexico. Already banned from 16 November 2018 to 15 November 2022 for doping, she was found to have tampered with the doping control process and sanctioned for an additional four years, through 15 November 2026. The tampering charge came from her defense to the original doping charge and included falsified receipts and statements. The penalty is appealable to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Slovenian javelin thrower Martina Ratej, now 39, was assessed a two-year sanction to 8 March 2022 for a doping positive from a re-test of her sample from the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she finished seventh.

● Cycling ● The third Grand Tour of 2021, the 76th Vuelta a Espana is underway, with Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic looking for a third straight victory, something not done since Roberto Heras (ESP) from 2003-05.

Roglic promptly took the lead in the inaugural stage, an individual time trial, covering the 7.1 km course in 8:32, six seconds ahead of Alex Aranburu (ESP). The second, fairly flat stage, was won by sprinter Jasper Philipsen (BEL) over Fabio Jakobsen (NED). Monday’s third stage featured a nasty uphill finish to Picon Blanco and was won by Estonian Rein Taaramae over American Joe Dombrowski by 21 seconds.

That makes Taaramae the overall leader, with Kenny Elissonde (FRA: +0:25) second and Roglic (+0:30) third. Still 18 stages to go!

● Football ● Carli Lloyd, now 39, and one of the greatest players in the history of women’s football, announced her retirement on Monday. She will play in the U.S. Women’s National Team’s four friendlies in September and October and finish the NWSL season before completing a 17-year professional career.

She has scored 128 international goals in 312 appearances with the U.S., second all-time to fellow American Kristine Lilly (354). Twice the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, the U.S. women were a sensational 257-17-38 during her career for an 88% winning percentage.

Her greatest moment was her hat trick during the first half of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final during the 5-2 U.S. victory over Japan.

● Ice Hockey ● USA Hockey and the U.S. women’s team have agreed to a one-year contract to allow play in the IIHF Women’s World Championship that begins Friday in Calgary (CAN) as well as the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

The agreement was limited to one year to allow both sides to evaluate the potential revenues available once the pandemic is finally ended. The contract extends through 31 August 2022. According to an ESPN report:

“[P]layers on the women’s national team can earn up to $126,750 over the next year should they win gold at both the 2021 world championships and the 2022 Beijing Olympics. If the team wins a silver medal at both events, each player will receive $105,500. That money is made up of stipends and bonuses, paid out by both USA Hockey and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.”

There are also $61,750 of direct stipends from the federation and the USOPC for each player.

The U.S. plays Russia in an exhibition game on Wednesday and begins Worlds play against Switzerland on Friday.

● Skating ● The International Skating Union issued a policy on transgender athletes last Friday (13th), which includes all of its disciplines.

A skater moving from the women’s division to the men’s division may do so without restriction, but cannot go back “once they have commenced hormone treatment.”

A skater moving from the men’s division to the women’s division will be required to (1) declare their female identity, an election which cannot be changed for at least four years and (2) “must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 5 nmol/L continuously for at least 12 months prior to her first competition.” This will be confirmed by testing.

This testosterone level is lower than that previously cited by the International Olympic Committee, but is the same as used by World Athletics, determined after a series of studies which suggested this level was more appropriate.

● Swimming ● The International Swimming League announced Eindhoven (NED) as the site for its three-meet play-off phase from 11-28 November. The meets there will narrow the field to the final four teams which will meet for the ISL championship in January 2022.

● At the BuZZer ● Great Britain enjoyed an outstanding Tokyo Games, with 65 total medals – 22-21-22 – for the fourth-most amongst all countries and 137 placements in the top eight.

As a reward, the British government committed £232 million (~$320.0 million U.S.) to supporting the Olympic and Paralympic teams for Paris in 2024. That’s a 44% increase on a yearly basis, from £54.0 million a year for Tokyo to £77.4 a year from 2022-24.

This governmental funding is in addition to funding provided from the National Lottery! Wow!

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LANE ONE: Late gold rush gives Team USA best Olympic performance in Asia ever; U.S. rolls up impressive 1,291 points in TSX scoring

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Tokyo 2020 medals (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

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For most of the last week of the Tokyo Games, it appeared that China might edge the U.S. for the most gold medals. Going into the final day, China had 38, equaling its best-ever for a Games held outside the country.

The U.S. had 36, the same number of golds it had won in the three other Games held in Asia, in Tokyo in 1964, in Seoul in 1988 and in Beijing in 2008.

But on Sunday, the U.S. women won the basketball gold, Jennifer Valente came through with a victory in the women’s Omnium in track cycling and the U.S. women’s volleyball team – consistently the best in the world in 2021 – won its first-ever Olympic title to give the U.S. a total of 39 golds, one more than the Chinese.

The final medal totals showed the U.S. with the most golds (39) and the most medals (113), both record totals for an American team in an Olympic Games held in Asia. The medal leaders:

(1) 113 ~ United States (39-41-33)
(2) 88 ~ China (38-32-18)
(3) 71 ~ Russian Olympic Committee (20-28-23)
(4) 65 ~ Great Britain (22-21-22)
(5) 58 ~ Japan (27-14-17)
(6) 46 ~ Australia (17-7-22)
(7) 40 ~ Italy (10-10-20)
(8) 37 ~ Germany (10-11-16)
(9) 36 ~ Netherlands (10-12-14)
(10) 33 ~ France (10-12-11)

The U.S. was expected to lead the overall medal count, but the gold-medal rush at the end was the source of some controversy and political intrigue. But neither the number of gold medals or the total number of medals is a worthy way to evaluate a team’s total performance.

For the second Games in a row, TheSportsExaminer.com has compiled a deeper scoring review, using the top eight places in each event – the same number of places to which the International Olympic Committee confers diplomas – to provide a better all-around view of relative achievement.

As in Rio, the U.S. team came out on top, scoring 1,291.0 points to top China’s 939.7 and 789.5 from the Russian Olympic Committee.

There were 13,221 total points available in Tokyo across the 339 events on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, a scoring system familiar to American track & field fans. It gives extra emphasis to the gold and silver medalists, but also recognizes how close third and fourth often are, and the importance of making the finals in many events.

There were 93 National Olympic Committees that won at least one medal, but 121 of the 206 competing teams, including the Refugee Olympic Team, scored points (58.7%).

Compared to Rio 2016 – with 306 events – the U.S. share of all points available was down (9.76% from 10.73% in its home hemisphere), with China (7.11% from 6.91%) and Russia (5.97% from 5.05%) increasing their shares. Great Britain (5.51% vs. 6.36%) was down a little, as was to be expected two cycles after hosting the Games in 2012. Japan, on the other hand, went wild, with 705.5 points overall (5.34%), vs. 3.62% of the scoring in Rio in 2016.

Here are the audited final totals for all 121 teams scoring at least a point (actually two points) in Tokyo. The number of placements, from 1-8, is also shown for each country and is an excellent further indicator of total team achievement. The U.S., which brought 626 athletes to Tokyo, had a remarkable 230 placements, 73 more than China; nine countries had 100 or more:

● The top 10:
1,291.0 points – United States (230 placements 1-8)
939.7 – China (157)
789.5 – Russian Olympic Committee (146)
728.5 – Great Britain (137)
705.5 – Japan (136)
540.0 – Australia (110)
505.5 – Germany (113)
497.0 – Italy (108)
460.0 – France (101)
447.0 – Netherlands (85)

● 11-20:
336.5 – Canada (75)
287.0 – South Korea (65)
270.0 – Hungary (53)
251.0 – Spain (59)
240.0 – Brazil (51)
221.5 – Ukraine (53)
215.0 – New Zealand (41)
202.5 – Poland (49)
167.0 – Switzerland (36)
152.0 – Turkey (34)

● 21-30:
145.2 – Cuba (25)
144.5 – Sweden (29)
141.5 – Denmark (30)
124.0 – Chinese Taipei (24)
123.0 – Belgium (26)
119.0 – Czech Republic (20)
117.5 – Kenya (19)
115.0 – Jamaica (23)
96.5 – Georgia (19)
96.5 – Norway (17)

● 31-40:
95.2 – Belarus (24)
94.0 – Croatia (17)
91.5 – Serbia (17)
90.5 – Mexico (23)
83.0 – Iran (17)
80.5 – Uzbekistan (21)
79.5 – India (18)
76.0 – Slovenia (15)
73.5 – Bulgaria (14)
73.5 – Kazakhstan (19)

● 41-50:
71.5 – Egypt (20)
70.5 – Israel (19)
69.5 – Austria (15)
69.5 – Romania (18)
68.5 – Ethiopia (15)
68.5 – Hong Kong (15)
68.2 – Greece (17)
58.0 – Colombia (15)
57.5 – Portugal (15)
55.5 – Dominican Republic (13)

● 51-60:
54.0 – Azerbaijan (10)
52.0 – Indonesia (10)
50.0 – Mongolia (13)
49.7 – Venezuela (10)
49.0 – South Africa (11)
46.0 – Ireland (13)
43.0 – Slovakia (8)
41.0 – Argentina (12)
40.5 – Philippines (7)
40.0 – Uganda (6)

● 61-70:
37.0 – Ecuador (7)
36.5 – Armenia (8)
35.0 – Latvia (8)
32.0 – Thailand (8)
30.0 – Kyrgyzstan (6)
29.0 – Finland (8)
29.0 – Qatar (4)
28.0 – Lithuania (8)
24.0 – Bahamas (4)
24.0 – Estonia (6)

● 71-80:
23.5 – Kosovo (4)
21.5 – Cote d’Ivoire (6)
21.0 – Tunisia (3)
20.0 – Malaysia (4)
19.5 – San Marino (3)
19.0 – Nigeria (3)
17.5 – Moldova (7)
16.0 – Fiji (2)
16.0 – Jordan (3)
16.0 – Turkmenistan (3)

● 81-90:
14.0 – Bahrain (4)
13.0 – Morocco (3)
13.0 – Puerto Rico (2)
12.0 – Saudi Arabia (2)
11.0 – Kuwait (3)
11.0 – Namibia (2)
10.0 – Bermuda (1)
9.0 – Botswana (3)
9.0 – Peru (4)
8.5 – Algeria (3)

● 91-100:
8.0 – Grenada (2)
8.0 – North Macedonia (1)
8.0 – Pakistan (2)
8.0 – Refugee Olympic Team (3)
7.5 – Burkina Faso (2)
7.5 – Costa Rica (2)
7.5 – Singapore (2)
7.0 – Chile (3)
7.0 – Cyprus (2)
7.0 – Guatemala (2)

● 101-110:
6.5 – Bosnia-Herzegovina (2)
6.0 – Syria (1)
5.5 – Ghana (1)
5.5 – Vietnam (2)
5.0 – Albania (1)
5.0 – Mozambique (2)
5.0 – British Virgin Islands (1)
5.0 – Suriname (1)
5.0 – Trinidad & Tobago (3)
4.5 – Panama (2)

● 111-120:
4.0 – Burundi (1)
4.0 – Eritrea (1)
4.0 – Haiti (2)
4.0 – Liberia (1)
4.0 – Montenegro (2)
4.0 – Tonga (2)
3.5 – Cameroon (1)
3.5 – Niger (1)
3.0 – Uruguay (1)
2.5 – Mauritius (1)

● 121:
2.0 – Tanzania (1)

Long-time reader David Simon, the Vice President/Government Relations for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Games, noted:

“With the exception on Athens (2004) and Rio (2016) every host city, winter and summer, from 1996 to 2032 is from one of [the top] 12 countries. …

“This partly reflects how relatively few countries have ever hosted a Games but also suggests … that [the] top performing countries are among the most eager to host.”

In fact, 14 of the top 15 on the points table from Tokyo have all been Olympic host countries; only Hungary – which wants to bid for a future Games – has not hosted among the top 15.

The total number of scoring countries in Tokyo – 121 – is only modestly better than the number in Rio (119), despite having 33 more events. That’s a cue for more development efforts, especially among the 85 teams which did not place anyone in the top eight in Tokyo.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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THE TICKER: Olympics complete, Paralympics coming; first Tokyo doping positives; volunteer helps Jamaica’s Parchment win 110 m hurdles!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Jamaica's 110 m gold medalist Hansle Parchment ... saved by a rowing volunteer!

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ●
Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said in her Closing Ceremony address, “There are no words to describe what you have achieved in Tokyo. You have accepted what seemed unimaginable, understood what had to be done, and through hard work and perseverance overcome unbelievable challenges.”

However, they are not done. The Paralympic Games open on 24 August and preparations are now underway for the much-smaller Games, but ones which will still tax the organizers and the city.

A decision on whether to allow spectators at the Paralympics is expected next week.

The giant Olympic Rings monument in Tokyo – more than 108 feet wide – is being converted to the Paralympic symbol.

The organizers noted that the cast for the Closing Ceremony was cut from a planned 800 to just 200 in order to simplify the program since rehearsals were practically impossible due to the pandemic. Executive Producer Takayuki Hiroki said the program was essentially re-started from scratch beginning in March.

The first doping positives were reported by the International Testing Agency, all in track & field, and turned over to the Athletics Integrity Unit for follow-up. Four athletes were identified:

● Benik Abramyan (GEO): men’s shot (did not compete): anabolic agents

● Sadik Mikhou (BRN): men’s 1,500 m (8th in heat 2): blood transfusion

● Mark Otieno Odhiambo (KEN): men’s 100 m (did not compete): anabolic agents

● C.J. Ujah (GBR): men’s 100 m (eliminated in semis) and men’s 4×100 m (silver medal): anabolic agent.

The ITA will now examine the second sample from each athlete and turn its findings over to the AIU for sanctions beyond the Games. The only medal involved in these reports is the British men’s 4×100 m relay silver, which is now in jeopardy. Ujah, 27, could be suspended for four years and miss the Paris 2024 Games.

One of the best stories at the Games concerned Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment, the gold medalist in the men’s 110 m hurdles. Turns out that he got on the wrong bus at the Village and went to the wrong venue – the Sea Forest Waterway for rowing – in advance of his semifinal.

He was told to take the bus back to the Village and then get the right bus to the stadium, but by then he would miss his race. He asked a volunteer for help and she gave him some money to take a taxi to the stadium!

He made it to the warm-up track in time to qualify through to the final and then won the race. The day after, he went back to the rowing venue to see the volunteer, refund the taxi money, give her a Jamaican shirt and show her the gold medal she was responsible for!

Hear the story in his own words here.

One of the dumber incidents of the Tokyo Games was Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura, 72, biting into the gold medal of Japanese softball pitcher (and Nagoya native) Miu Goto during a ceremony at the Nagoya City Hall on 4 August.

He was also reported to have asked Goto, 20: “Are you prohibited from having romantic relationships?”

Kawamura apologized and offered to pay for a replacement medal for Goto; an exchange for a new medal will apparently be made. Oy.

The downturn in Olympic viewership in the U.S. – NBC reported 150 million Americans or about 43.6% of the population tuned in – was not reflected in other areas.

Discovery, which has rights for Europe – excepting Russia – through its Eurosport subsidiary, announced that 372 million people watched its coverage, including through its local broadcasters in many countries, about 60.9% of the total population.

In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported “28 million viewers or 3 in 4 Canadians (74.4%) tuned in for Tokyo 2020 coverage on CBC/Radio-Canada.”

In Australia, 68% of all television viewers watched at least some of the Games and in Japan, a total of 115.8 million watched some part of the Games, a staggering 91% of the population.

Fernando Aguerre (ARG), the President of the International Surfing Association, has renewed his call for surfing to receive a share of Olympic television rights sales, since the sport will be part of at least two Games in a row in Tokyo and Paris in 2024.

Comment: Along with criticism, the most predictable outcome of the Games is greed. It is the Games which make the sports popular, not the other way around.

Antonio Espinos (ESP), President of the World Karate Federation, is continuing to promote a place for karate in Paris, despite not being included on the list of added sports for 2024. Chances? Not promising, especially as the program already includes judo and taekwondo.

Comment: As the Olympic Games are supposed to be devoted to peace, why are sports dedicated to hitting people – such as boxing, karate and taekwondo – still in at all?

Time to update the Olympic performance ledger of Tonga’s famed Pita Taufatofua in his third Games. In Rio in 2016, the man without a shirt lost his opening match in the +80 kg division of taekwondo by 16-1, then finished 110th in the men’s 15 km cross-country skiing event in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games and in Tokyo, he competed in the +80 k division, losing his two matches by 24-3 and 22-1.

USA Wrestling’s Living the Dream Medal Fund – funded by individual donors – will pay a total of $950,000 to the nine medal-winners from Tokyo.

The three gold medalists – Dave Taylor, Gable Steveson and Tamyra Mensah-Stock – will receive $250,000 each; silver medalists Kyle Snyder and Adeline Gray will receive $50,000 each and the four bronze winners – Tom Gilman, Kyle Dake, Sarah Hildebrandt and Helen Maroulis – will receive $25,000 each.

This is the third time the fund has rewarded the medal winners; it paid $575,000 for the 2012 London Games and $525,000 from the 2016 Rio Games. This is a separate program from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s program of $37,500 for gold medals, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.

Comment: As an initiative of a U.S. National Governing Body, this is remarkable and impressive. Good for USA Wrestling!

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned the Belarus National Olympic Committee as part of a widespread pushback against “last year’s fraudulent election to demonstrate international unity against the Belarusian regime’s repression and in support for the Belarusian people’s democratic aspirations.”

The sanctions are directed at President Alexander Lukashenko; the Treasury Department statement noted:

“The Belarusian NOC also allegedly serves as a tool for Lukashenka and his inner circle to launder funds and evade sanctions. The Belarusian NOC is being designated pursuant to [Executive Order] 13405 for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Viktar Lukashenka.”

Lukashenko and his son Viktor – now named as the Belarus NOC President – had already been suspended “by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2020 for failing to protect athletes who took part in protests against the Lukashenka regime.”

● Athletics ●
Business Insider reported that Nike shoes were worn by 21 of the 33 medal winners in the individual track events in Tokyo. The story noted:

“Experts think differences in super-spike technology probably matter less in short races, since energetic efficiency is less of a factor when a race is over in under a minute.” That would point to advantages in the 800-1,500-Steeple-5,000-10,000 m races as opposed to those at 100-200-400 m.

The first World Road Running Championships will be held in Riga, Latvia in September or October of 2023, combining the World Half Marathon Championships, a new World 5 km Championships and more. A total of 13 cities applied, five were finalists and Riga was selected.

World Athletics also announced that the 2023 World Relays will be held in Guangzhou (CHN), likely in May.

Ecuadorian 200 m star Alex Quinonez, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, was absent from Tokyo as he was suspended for one year due to “whereabouts” failures from 25 June 2021 to 24 June 2022. If qualified, he will be eligible for the 2022 World Championships in Eugene.

The World Athletics Russia Taskforce reported that the Russian Athletics Federation is making “satisfactory progress” on the agreed-to reinstatement plan, and has paid the latest reimbursement invoice of $431,838 for expenses up to 31 March.

In view of this, the World Athletics Council agreed to have the membership vote in November on a resolution to allow the Council to reinstate the Russian federation if, and only if, all of the conditions for reinstatement are met.

A little lost in the avalanche of the Tokyo Games was a significant announcement of $2.448 million in athlete grants by the USA Track & Field Foundation.

The first package was a set of 50 grants of $8,000 each – $400,000 total – to elite athletes in events all across the event spectrum. The Stephen A. Schwartzman Grants for 2021 additionally gave $30,000 each to 65 athletes – $1.95 million – including many of the top U.S. stars in the sport, including Dalilah Muhammad, DeAnna Price, Gabby Thomas, Joe Kovacs, Keni Harrison, Paul Chelimo, Ryan Crouser, Sam Kendricks, Valarie Allman and more.

These grants bring Schwartzman’s personal commitment to $5.7 million in direct support; he has pledged a total of $12 million. Wow!

● Bobsled, Skeleton & Luge ●
The historic sliding track in Koenigssee in Germany – the first artificial track ever opened – was badly damaged during the storms on 17-18 July. Portions of the track were flooded and some parts were washed away.

However, the cooling pipes were not damaged and there are plans to re-open the facility as soon as October 2022. The planned World Cup events for this coming winter season are being moved to other facilities.

● Football ●
The U.S. Soccer Federation is now considering bidding for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which would be held five years after the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The federation had considered bidding for 2027, but the obvious conflict with the 2026 event, especially in a sponsorship environment that included the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, makes 2031 look a lot better.

But what happens if Salt Lake City gets the 2030 Winter Olympic Games?

Reuters reported that after Brazil won the men’s football gold in Tokyo, the players appeared at the awards ceremony with their uniform jackets tied around their waists in an apparent attempt to hide the logo of Chinese apparel sponsor Peak Sport Products.

Instead, their uniform tops – with a Nike logo – was visible. Nike sponsors the Brazilian Football Confederation, but Peak Sport is a sponsor of the Brazil Olympic Committee (COB). The COB’s statement on the matter included:

“The COB repudiates the attitude of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the players of the national team during the awards ceremony.

“Only after the Games have finished will the COB make public the measures that will be taken to preserve the rights of the Olympic Movement, the other athletes and of our sponsors.”

● Ice Hockey ●
There is continuing confusion over whether the National Hockey League will allow its players to participate in the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

The NHL sent two different schedules to teams in late July, with and without a break for the Beijing Games. There are multiple issues over insurance, transportation, timing and more still to be worked out between the NHL, the NHL Players Association, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the International Olympic Committee.

● Swimming ●
FINA announced a major upgrade to its support for the World Short Course Championships, to be held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) from 16-21 December:

“Prize money for individual events has been increased by 50%, with a bonus of US$50,000 for any new World Record set in individual swimming events. This US$2.8 million prize pool represents the largest prize pool ever in a FINA Swimming event.”

The Short Course Worlds has always been a step-sister to the World Aquatics Championships held every other year. The increase was announced by newly-elected FINA President Husain Al-Musallam (KUW), who has promised to expand athlete support as part of a program to further popularize FINA’s championship events. This is a pretty good start.

● The Last Word ●
The Vermot & Associes Sporlympic VII auction of 22 July saw six Olympic torches sold at significant prices (€1 = $1.18):

1936 Berlin: €3,000
1960 Rome: €3,900
1968 Mexico City: €2,500
1972 Munich: €2,500
1980 Moscow: €3,800
2022 Salt Lake City: €2,200

The Associated Press reported that a winner’s medal from the 1896 Athens Games sold for more than $180,000 in an online auction that concluded on 22 July. A 2008 Olympic gold medal from the Argentina football team sold for more than $97,000 and a gold from the men’s basketball team during the 1984 Games sold for more than $83,000.

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LANE ONE: NBC’s Olympic ratings slip 43% from Rio 2016, so how much does the U.S. care about the Games any more?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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Monday’s NBC Sports Group news release was headlined:

NBC’s Tokyo Olympics presentation
– the largest media event ever –
delivers massive audiences & dominates media landscape

Mark Lazarus, the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming chair, enthused:

“The power of the NBC flagship broadcast again led the way with the most-watched night of TV across all networks every night for 17 days, cable records on USA Network, extensive Spanish-language coverage by Telemundo Deportes, and unprecedented streaming consumption – including sharply increasing signups, usage and awareness of Peacock. We were dominant across every platform. Our Olympic presentation has also provided unmatched promotion for the rest of the company, including TODAY and Nightly News, local newscasts on owned stations and affiliates, and for our Parks, including Universal Orlando Resort – the home base of the tremendous friends and family watch party that we created with the USOPC.”

All of that was true. NBC dominated U.S. primetime television night after night, piling up an average primetime audience of 15.1 million on that network alone, at a time when the most-watched show of the week might be 5-6 million for CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday evenings.

And reports are that the network made money, which is crucial not only for its health, but for its continued enthusiasm for its $7.75 billion contract for the Olympic and Winter Games from 2022 to 2032.

But the total U.S. primetime audience numbers – across NBC, USA, NBCSN, CNBC and the Golf Channel – are down considerably from the Rio Games of 2016, London 2012, Beijing 2008 and the Athens 2004 Games:

● 2021/Tokyo: 150 million U.S. viewers ~ 15.6 million avg. primetime audience
● 2016/Rio: 198 million U.S. TV viewers ~ 27.5 million avg. primetime audience
● 2012/London: 217 million U.S. TV viewers ~ 31.1 million avg. primetime audience
● 2008/Beijing: 215 million U.S. TV viewers ~ 27.7 million avg. primetime audience
● 2004/Athens: 203 million U.S. TV viewers ~ 24.9 million avg. primetime audience

Even the PyeongChang Winter Games in 2018 had a bigger primetime audience than Tokyo at 19.8 million (average) per night, and that was down 7% from Sochi in 2014.

Perhaps most vexing, the reach of the Games is down significantly; consider:

● 2021: 45.3% of the U.S. viewed any Tokyo coverage
● 2016: 61.3% of the U.S. viewed any Rio coverage
● 2012: 69.1% of the U.S. viewed any London coverage
● 2008: 70.7% of the U.S. viewed any Beijing coverage
● 2004: 69.3% of the U.S. viewed any Athens coverage

Contrary to what you might think, this is not a major problem for NBC. In a time of fractured attention across all media, the Olympic programming still delivers a massive audience unavailable anywhere else over a multi-day period. So it’s still quite valuable to advertisers and will remain so.

But it should cause considerable concern in Colorado Springs at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The nationwide appreciation, interest and devotion to the Games is ebbing.

Furthermore, the primetime audience figures show that only one sport appeared to really matter to U.S. viewers above and beyond the general Olympic coverage: women’s gymnastics. Checking NBC’s announced primetime viewers day by day and cross-checking with the event schedule:

(1) 19.5 million on 25 July (Sun): Women’s Gymnastics qualifying
(2) 18.9 million on 29 July (Thu): Women’s Gymnastics All-Around
(3) 16.9 million on 03 Aug: (Tue): Women’s Gymnastics Beam final
(4) 16.2 million on 27 July (Tue): Women’s Gymnastics Team final
(5) 16.1 million on 26 July (Mon): Women’s swimming 400 m Freestyle

(6) 15.6 million on 01 Aug. (Sun)
(7) 15.3 million on 02 Aug. (Mon)
(8) 15.2 million on 24 July (Sat)
(9) 15.0 million on 30 July (Fri)
(10) 14.5 million on 28 July (Wed)
(11) 14.4 million on 31 July (Sat)
(12) 14.2 million on 04 Aug. (Wed)
(13) 12.9 million on 05 Aug. (Thu)
(14) 12.0 million on 06 Aug. (Fri)
(15) 10.5 million on 08 Aug. (Sun): estimated
(16) 10.1 million on 07 Aug. (Sat): estimated

The common theme in the top four-rated programs, of course, was American superstar Simone Biles, her dramatic exit from the competition during the Team final and what happened to her teammates. After gymnastics, only the first Katie Ledecky vs. Ariarne Titmus (AUS) duel in the pool seemed to draw special attention from viewers.

The estimated primetime audience average for the final week of the Games – Sunday to Sunday – was 13.4 million vs. 16.2 million for the first eight days of competition, indicating only a modest level of interest in the featured track & field events. It is also worth noting that because of the schedule in Tokyo, many of the events were over long before they aired in U.S. primetime. That will be an issue once again in Paris in 2024.

However, when track & field was available live, it did well on cable.

There were 28 hours of Olympic programming on cable which drew audiences of one million or more, all on either USA Network or NBCSN. The top 10 (with programming where known; * indicates a guess on the sports shown):

(1) 2.531 million on USA ~ 25 July: Men’s Triathlon (live)
(2) 2.108 million on USA ~ 04 Aug.: Track & Field finals (live)
(3) 1.978 million on USA ~ 31 July: Track & Field qualifying (live)
(4) 1.977 million on USA ~ 01 Aug.: Boxing and weightlifting*
(5) 1.812 million on USA ~ 30 July: Track & Field qualifying (live)
(6) 1.749 million on USA ~ 25 July: Women’s Triathlon (live)
(7) 1.694 million on USA ~ 03 Aug.: Track & Field qualifying (live)
(8) 1.617 million on USA ~ 07 Aug.: Men’s marathon (live)
(9) 1.559 million on NBCSN ~ 24 July: USA vs. France men’s volleyball*
(10) 1.504 million on USA ~ 29 July: Track & Field qualifying (live)

These are good numbers, but during the same period, audiences of more than two million daily watched individual cable news programs and on 1 August, the combined English and Spanish-language broadcasts of the CONCACAF Gold Cup final (U.S. vs. Mexico on FS1 and TUDN) had 2.796 million viewers, more than any single Olympic hour on cable.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Games are only six months away, once again in the Asian time zones and will be another measuring stick for U.S. interest in Olympic programming. The U.S. will win medals, but look for Norway to lead the medal table again, with a surge from the host Chinese. Will Americans be more interested than for Tokyo, or care even less?

The worst thing that can happen to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – now getting ready for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo – is that Americans stop caring about the Games. It’s yet another issue that the 16-member Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics – slated to begin meeting in October – is going to have to consider.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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STAT BLITZ: Mighty U.S. swimmers “bat” .518 in Tokyo and win 30 medals; track team hits only .266 and still wins 26 medals

By
Rich Perelman
-
Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel, Zach Apple and Michael Andrew with a thank-you message at the close of the Tokyo swim meet (Photo: USA Swimming)

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Pandemic or not, there was no stopping the United States swim team in Tokyo, as the men and women combined for 30 medals – 11 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze – across 35 events, earning more than a quarter of the 113 medals won by the U.S., which was the most in the Games.

The U.S. track & field team also scored well, winning 26 medals (7-12-7) across 48 events, but that’s a downgrade from the 32 medals (13-10-9) across 47 events in Rio in 2016. What happened?

One of the secrets to the swimmer’s success was the remarkable performances of the U.S. team compared to their marks at the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Omaha in June. They were ready.

Of the 56 Trials performances – top two in each event – that made the U.S. team, 29 were bettered in Tokyo, using the time for the last round achieved, usually the final. That’s 51.8% of all Olympic Trials performances to make the team being bettered at the Games in a faraway country with strict pandemic regulations.

In four cases, a U.S. swimmer actually bettered their Trials performance in a heat or semifinal, but not in the final. Add those in, and the U.S. team “batting average” in Tokyo was .589 … Hall of Fame stuff indeed.

And it compares favorably with their success in Rio – a Games in a close-to-home time zone, in the Western Hemisphere – when the U.S. had 30 of 52 Trials marks bettered for a batting average of .577, winning 33 medals (16-8-9) across 35 events. And Tokyo was the first time since 2000 that the iconic Michael Phelps was not on the U.S. team.

The U.S. men were good, but the American women were unconscious.

● The men “batted” 11/28 for a .393 average, with three performances in an early round that also bettered their Trials marks. That would edge the totals up to 14/28 or .500.

Of the 14 winning marks at Trials for men, nine were better in Tokyo, a sensational .643 average. This included 2/3 for sprinter Caeleb Dressel, 2/2 for double-gold-medalist Bobby Finke in the distance Freestyles, 2/2 for backstroker Ryan Murphy, who won two medals and 1/1 for 400 m Medley gold medalist Chase Kalisz.

By event group:

Freestyle sprints: 1/4
Freestyle mid-distance: 3/4
Freestyle distance: 2/4

Backstroke: 2/4
Breaststroke: 0/4
Butterfly: 1/4
Medleys: 2/4

Sprinter Michael Andrew, in his first Games, was 0/3, although he did better his Trials mark in the heats of the 100 m Breast, so perhaps 1/3.

● The women were sensational, improving on their Trials marks in 18/28 cases for a .643 average! Add in one more performance in an early round and it’s 19/28 or .679! Wow!

Just looking at the Trials multi-event winners, Katie Ledecky went 3/4, only missing her Trials mark in the 200 m Free (but then swimming a sensational 1:53.76 on the anchor of the 4×200 m relay). The only other two-event winner was Regan Smith, 1/2 in the two Backstroke events. By event group:

Freestyle sprints: 2/4
Freestyle mid-distance: 1/4
Freestyle distance: 4/4

Backstroke: 3/4
Breaststroke: 3/4
Butterfly: 2/4
Medleys: 3/4

This is how the U.S. women won 18 medals in a meet in which Australia’s women won 13, including eight golds. Let’s remember that while Australia and Tokyo are far apart, the time zones are essentially the same. Competing in a “home hemisphere” is a major advantage and the Aussies did well. But the U.S. women gave no quarter.

The U.S. track & field team was much larger with 121 entries into individual events, plus the relay additions. History shows that for track, a “batting average” of over .300 for a Trials vs. Games comparison is quite good.

In Rio in 2016, the U.S. team “batted” .329 – 37.5 of 114 – and won 32 medals. In Tokyo, not as good:

● The U.S. men had better marks at the Games than at the Trials in 17.5 instances out of 56 (no road races are included). That’s a .313 batting average – pretty good – and of the 21 event winners, seven had better marks at the Games (.333).

However, this pales compared to Rio, where the U.S. men had better marks at the Games in 24 out of 57 tries for a mighty .421 average. That’s a big difference.

● The U.S. women did not do as well, with only 12.5 out of 57 Trials performances (no road races) better at the Games: .219 on the batting average.

That’s a bit worse than Rio, when the U.S. women had 13.5 performances out of 57 better at the Games for a .237 average.

By event group for the men:

● Sprints: 3.5/9
● Middle distance: 2/6
● Distance: 6/9
● Hurdles: 1/6 (Rai Benjamin!)

● Vertical jumps: 1.5/6
● Horizontal jumps: 1.5/6
● Throws: 2/11
● Decathlon: 0/3

By event group for the women:

● Sprints: 2.5/9
● Middle distance: 2/6
● Distance: 4/9
● Hurdles: 2/6 (McLaughlin and Muhammad!)

● Vertical jumps: 1/6
● Horizontal jumps: 1/6
● Throws: 0/12
● Heptathlon: 0/3

The women’s numbers were somewhat inflated by the 5,000 m, run in terrible heat in Eugene; Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer and Rachel Schneider all ran faster in Tokyo under less oppressive conditions. Remove them and the batting average is down to .194.

So, the final batting average for the U.S. tracksters was .266, that is, just more than a quarter of the U.S. team had better performances in Tokyo than at the Trials. If you take out the women’s 5,000 m altogether, it’s 27/110 or .245.

What does all this tell us?

First, that whatever USA Swimming is doing between the Trials and the Games works, whether in Rio or Tokyo. The performance of its team – more than half of their Trials times were bettered in Tokyo – especially in the face of a souped-up Australian squad that won 20 medals in Tokyo vs. only 10 in Rio, was impressive.

The track & field situation is harder to figure. What’s true is that Rio was in the Western Hemisphere and a lot easier for U.S. athletes to work with. Further, the pandemic caused havoc with the normal training camp and acclimation process for some of the track athletes, although some stars had no difficulties: let’s salute Rai Benjamin, Ryan Crouser, Athing Mu, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and the ageless Allyson Felix, all of whom were superb.

USA Track & Field will learn nothing from next year’s selection meet and World Championships in Eugene, but could experiment with the 2023 situation in Budapest, a European venue not so far from Paris, and in the same time zone.

But to have only a quarter of your team perform better at the Games than at the Trials is disappointing, despite the fact that the U.S. won 26 track & field medals in Tokyo, 16 more than second-place Kenya. And has been widely pointed out, the U.S. men did not win a single individual event on the track and only on in the field (Crouser). The women did better, but not by much: two track (Mu and McLaughlin) and two in the field (Katie Nageotte and Valarie Allman).

This is not about more American domination. It’s about maximizing performance. The swimmers did well and can do better. The U.S. track team needs to brings its Trials intensity to the Games. In case anyone cares, Los Angeles 2028 is coming closer every day.

Maybe the two federations could chat?

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THE BIG PICTURE: Weightlifting looking into the abyss as IOC sanctions loom in September

By
Rich Perelman
-
From Michelangelo's immortal "The Last Judgment" (1535-41) in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

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Weightlifting was contested at the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and in every one from 1920 to 2021. Tokyo might have been the last.

A tsunami of doping, cover-ups, extortion, financial mismanagement, manipulations in governance and sloth caused the International Olympic Committee to pass an amendment to the Olympic Charter which could cause the International Weightlifting Federation to be suspended as early as 8 September and removed from the Paris 2024 program prior to the start of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing next February.

That the IWF is being targeted is without doubt.

During the IOC’s two-hour business meeting held on Sunday, the members approved an amendment to the Olympic Charter which revises the procedure by which a federation or a sport can be disciplined. As described by IOC Legal Affairs Commission head John Coates (AUS):

“In the recent past, the IOC has been confronted with situations raising serious concerns regarding the governance of certain International Federations. The Executive Board will continue to carefully monitor these matters, however, it appears that the current wording of the Olympic Charter regarding the means to respond to these situations may be insufficient to address the risks these matters present to the IOC and the Olympic Movement. …

“The proposal would clarify that the IOC Session – I stress, the Session – may also remove any sport from the program of the Games if the relevant federation governing such sport does not comply with decisions or directions of the IOC Executive Board, of if the IF acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement. …

Similarly, it is proposed to allow the Executive Board to suspend a sport or an event or a discipline – this is from the program – by expanding Rule 59.12. The possibility to announce the suspension will facilitate the resolution of non-compliance situations in a reactive manner.”

Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) President Ingmar De Vos (BEL) asked – as an International Federation chief himself – about why this provision has been developed. Coates gave a clear answer about the inspiration for the proposal:

“The process would really be best described by giving the example in respect of one federation where over the last 2-3 years, the Executive Board has given four directions to that federation concerning doping and concerning improving their governance. Four very specific recommendations, which have not been followed.

“And so the Executive Board made those directions for good reason, made those directions to insure that the reputation of the Olympic Movement – our reputation – is not tarnished and … if federations are going to continue to disregard directions, then we believe there should be this power.”

The proposal, along with some others, was adopted without any dissenting votes.

For those asking when the next Executive Board meeting will be, it’s 8 September.

Alarm bells went off – again – within the weightlifting community within hours of the passage of the amendments.

USA Weightlifting chief executive Phil Andrews (GBR) sent out a statement insisting:

“We simply cannot waste a moment more – the old guard must depart if we are to have any chance of retaining the Olympic Programme status that means everything to our sport, our Member Federations, and, most importantly, our athletes.”

This was followed eight hours later by a joint statement of USA Weightlifting, the Royal Belgian Weightlifting Federation, German Weightlifting, Weightlifting Fiji, Weightlifting New Zealand, Marshall Islands Weightlifting, the Hellenic Weightlifting Federation, Samoa Weightlifting and Sarah Davies (GBR), the head of the IWF’s Athletes Commission, which included:

“The simple reality is that we have one month to save this original beloved Olympic sport, and we call upon the sports’ leadership to at this time put the sport above themselves. You simply must.

“Following these amendments, it is clear that the IWF and its’ member federations must take two actions:

● “The unqualified resignation, and of any individual identified by the IOC, or mentioned in any [International Testing Agency, World Anti-Doping Agency] or McLaren report together with leadership.

“Further we call upon the entire IWF Executive Board, including Continental Presidents, as well as Commissions and Committees to resign immediately.

“We propose independent leadership be put in place as an interim measure pending the election of new leadership.

● “The passing of a new constitution with uncompromising eligibility criteria that ensure new leadership focused on good governance, athlete rights and a fair field of play as advised by independent experts.

● “The implementation of all IOC requests detailed in various letters from the IOC.

● “The unqualified resignation from Member Federation leadership positions of individuals identified by the IOC, or mentioned in any ITA, WADA or McLaren report.

“While it might feel unfair that the sport cannot decide its’ own fate by way of a negotiated solution between disagreeable parties or via a regular process, the reality is that these are the only actions that will at this stage allow us any possibility of being present on the Paris 2024 program.”

During his 6 August news conference in Tokyo, IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) was asked specifically about the IWF. His blunt reply was:

“We still need to see a culture change in this international federation. If you look at the last Congress which has taken place and the vote results there, this does not necessarily speak of a culture change and of real awareness of the need to dramatically improve the governance of this federation.”

And it does not stop there. The IOC Session passed another Charter amendment, reserving to the IOC the sole authority to decide who can receive accreditation at the Olympic Games. The reason was a successful appeal by Russian Weightlifting Federation President Maxim Agapitov, a former World Champion at 91 kg, who was denied accreditation to the Games by the IOC due to a doping suspension from 1994. He asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to confirm his accreditation due to his position as a member of the IWF Executive Board, and the Court agreed.

In addition, the IWF failed to pass a new constitution on 30 June, although amendments requested by the ITA and WADA were approved for inclusion. Another meeting was supposed to be held prior to the Tokyo Games, but is now scheduled for an in-person Congress on 29-30 August in Doha, Qatar.

Last chance. The IOC’s position is essentially that anyone who has been part of the IWF leadership during any of the past decades of negligence, malfeasance and possible criminal activity has to go. Now. And not come back.

If the IWF does not want to comply, the sport does not have to be part of the Olympic Games. With just a few exceptions, the Games make its sports important, not the other way around. And if weightlifting is thrown off the bus for 2024, there are sports lined up to take their 120 quota sports for Paris (already down from 196 in Tokyo).

Weightlifting is not the only one under scrutiny. The International Boxing Federation (AIBA) is still on suspension and the boxing events in Tokyo were run under the supervision of the IOC’s Boxing Task Force. In contrast to the widespread screams of protest heard at the Rio Games about judging, the competition proceeded fairly – although not completely – calmly in Tokyo. The question of what to do about AIBA and boxing in the Games will shortly be reviewed.

The IOC’s herculean effort to make the Tokyo Games a reality, in concert with the organizing committee and the Japanese governments, speaks well of its commitment to athletes and sport. It expects the same from the IWF, and if it does not receive it, will move on without weightlifting.

It has many other options. The IWF does not.

(Errata: Apologies for an error in yesterday’s post stating that Jessica Ramsey was the women’s Olympic shot put silver medalist; it was Raven Saunders, of course. This has been corrected on the site and will not happen again. Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”)

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LANE ONE: Why the Tokyo Games succeeded where the protests failed: walk means more than talk

By
Rich Perelman
-

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“Let us not forget the IOC itself, and the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, who resolutely refused to take the easy way out by giving in those who were shrill with doubt and ready to quit, but who persevered on a road that may have been windy, always moving forward in pursuit of an objective that was, after all, achieved.

“That is an element of the Olympic spirit from which we can learn at least two things. First, that nothing is impossible, and second, that the Movement we represent, when it works together, is far stronger than we might have believed.”

That was Canada’s Dick Pound, 79, a 43-year member of the International Olympic Committee, speaking to his colleagues at the close of the IOC Session in Tokyo on Sunday morning. He touched on the keys to the success of the Tokyo Games, which succeeded on new levels that we unimagined when Tokyo was awarded the Games back in 2013.

That the Games happened at all was amazing and was a joint effort by the IOC and especially its President, Thomas Bach (GER). Layers of activities, program and parties that had been built up at the Games over the last 30 years were discarded and the organization of the Games was simplified … to the extent that a behemoth with 339 events and 11,000-plus athletes can be made simple.

Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto told the IOC that the organizing committee came into the Games with 7,000 staff and 70,000-plus volunteers, virtually all of whom will be back to their pre-Games lives within a few months.

Said Bach to Muto and Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto:

“Ms. Hashimoto, Mr. Muto, all our gratitude, all our respect there to you, to the people in the organizing committee and to the Japanese people, who have done an outstanding job which we will never, ever forget. Thank you very much on behalf of the Olympic Movement.”

They received a standing ovation from the IOC membership.

Remember the “Cancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives” petition launched on 5 May and that garnered more than 200,000 signatures in its first 49 hours? It had 459,303 as of Monday evening Tokyo time and what impact did it have? None.

The continuous predictions of the Covid apocalypse had some significant impacts – no spectators at the Games, even though crowds continued to attend J-League football matches – and a brutal program of testing, checking and re-testing of any connected to the Games. While the Covid totals in greater Tokyo did go up during the Games, the impact of foreigners coming to Japan related to the Olympics was tiny.

The 9 August Covid positive report from the Tokyo 2020 organizers showed a total of 458 positives from individuals related to the Games from 1 July on, with 249 of these (54.3%) from contracted workers who were Japanese residents. In fact, counting all categories, the Covid positives from residents of Japan totaled 307 (67.0%) and just 151 from those outside of the country.

That’s 151 out of more than 42,711 individuals who entered Japan through its airports and were tested on arrival by the Japanese government. That’s 0.0035 percent or 35 per 10,000. Only 29 were athletes (!); 115 were officials or host broadcast personnel; 26 media and 29 Tokyo 2020 staff or volunteers. That’s spectacular.

The testing report through 7 August showed that there were 33 athletes and team officials – folks living in the Olympic Village – who tested positive from 284,931 tests for 0.01%. That’s hardly the great super-spreader event warned of by a few Japanese health officials or academic clinicians. They got it wrong, very wrong.

That was because the organizers, the IOC, and the Japanese government implemented the same key element of success that athletes and so many others use for success: discipline. Much of the angst about the Games had to do with the public frustration over the government’s response to the virus. This is normal, the Games are so popular worldwide that it becomes a way to swipe at the government when other means have little to no impact.

No matter. The Games went on, and with stunningly little drama away from the field of play. The host country went crazy, winning 58 medals when it’s best-ever had been 41, and 27 golds, surpassing its old record of 16 at the 1964 Games in Tokyo and matched in 2004.

That helped to send the national TV ratings through the roof, with reports that 90% of the entire population of the country was watching at least some of the Games on a daily basis.

There were historic showdowns, such as Australia’s Ariarne Titmus against American Katie Ledecky in the pool, Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the greatest 400 m hurdles race of all time, followed by another world record a day later from Sydney McLaughlin of the U.S. And who could not be touched by the saga of American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles.

Japan won three of the four Skateboarding events, crushed the field in the judo tournament and, stunningly, reached the semifinals in men’s football, losing 1-0 in Spain on a goal in the 115th minute.

That wasn’t the script, right? USA TODAY’s Rachel Axon wrote the day before the Opening Ceremony:

“With women’s soccer competition beginning before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games on Friday, five teams – including the Americans – knelt on the field before the start of their games.

“Given the statements, gestures, advocacy and activism athletes have been part of in recent years, it’s likely just the beginning of protests against racial and social injustice during these Games – no matter what the International Olympic Committee says.”

The IOC loosened its rules to allow “expression” prior to the start of a competition – during introductions, for example – but continued its ban on protests during ceremonies. There were a grand total of two trivial incidents: U.S. shot putter Raven Saunders crossing her arms for photographers after the awards ceremony for her event and two Chinese track cyclists wearing a Chairman Mao pin on the podium. Inquiries were started on both; the China matter was resolved with a promise of non-recurrence; Saunders’ mother died two days after her event and the IOC has suspended its follow-up for now.

(Apologies for having Jessica Ramsey instead of Saunders named earlier; thanks to Shawn Price as the first to spot the error.)

All the loud voices from before the Games were hardly heard from; they either didn’t win a medal at all, or didn’t win gold. It’s not so easy to protest when you’re listening to someone else’s anthem.

The heat was high, but there were countermeasures in place and while omnipresent, had only a minor impact on a few sports, notably in tennis. Surprisingly, no doping positives were reported during the Games. There were some problems in transportation in the early, but these dissipated as the Games went on. The competitions were excellent and memorable and there was fan engagement at a new level.

This is important. Olympic Broadcasting Services chief Yiannis Exarchos (GRE) noted:

“What I think is the big opportunity here is … you have hundreds of millions of people around the world who are not simply watching. They are engaged. They have emotions, they want to do something, they want to share, they want to post a comment, they want to watch with their friends, they want to create the human network. …

“Most of the sporting venues follow the same concept from the Roman times, you know, their big arenas. Now we know there is so much more going beyond the physical presence of people. We will always miss if we [don’t have] physical presence but we can do so much more to show the actual connection that is going on.”

OBS came up with the concept of the “Virtual Fan Cheer,” in which a five-second video could be recorded and sent via a mobile app, to be shown online and in-stadium on the screens. Nice idea, but would it work? Bach, somewhat in awe himself, told the Session that messages had been received from fans of all 205 National Olympic Committees and “the number of videos having been sent is just incredible: it’s 250 million-plus.”

This is a signal of a paradigm shift in worldwide sport, not just in an Olympic Games without live spectators.

The IOC, the Tokyo 2020 organizers and the Japanese government and Tokyo Metropolitan Government saw benefits in sticking to their belief that holding the Games was better than canceling, that finishing was better than quitting and that for Japan, it could show itself how much it could achieve. All credit to all of them.

The protesters, the naysayers and the prophets of doom all lost; not that they care. There will be the issues of costs of the Games to be dealt with, the last Games to be awarded on the basis of building big instead of building small (or nothing) under Bach’s Agenda 2020. But in true democratic fashion, Japanese elections are coming this fall and voters will have a chance to weigh in on the government’s handling of the Games and a lot more.

Some 111 years ago, ex-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt gave an iconic speech at the Sorbonne in Paris called “Citizenship in a Republic,” which included this tribute – looking forward – to those who made Tokyo 2020 a success:

“The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. … A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities – all these are marks, not, as the possessor would fain think, of superiority, but of weakness. …

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Rich Perelman
Editor

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TOKYO 2020/Sunday Review & Preview: Historic Tokyo Games close; U.S. wins the medal counts; Kipchoge serene as marathon repeater

By
Rich Perelman
-

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

“In these difficult times, you give the world the most precious of gifts: hope.

“For the first time since the pandemic began, the entire world came together. Sport returned to centre stage. Billions of people around the globe were united by emotion, sharing moments of joy and inspiration. This gives us hope. This gives us faith in the future.

“The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are the Olympic Games of hope, solidarity and peace.”

The historic Games of the XXXII Olympiad closed in Tokyo on Sunday evening about 10:19 p.m., after a festive Closing Ceremony in an empty Olympic Stadium. Instead of the usual mob of athletes on the field, there were a few hundred. But the emotion of the Games remained.

The Games was wonderful because sport is wonderful and, for a few moments at a time, transcends our differences.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) spoke with conviction in thanking the people most responsible for making the Games take place:

“Yes, these were unprecedented Olympic Games. It took us, the IOC and our Japanese partners and friends, an equally unprecedented effort to make them happen.

“This is why I would like to thank the Japanese authorities at all levels, in particular Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Governor Koike Yuriko, for their steadfast commitment. Thank you for staying with us on the side of the athletes, who were longing so much for these Olympic Games.

“Our deep gratitude and appreciation go to the Organising Committee. Nobody has ever organised postponed Olympic Games before. Thank you to its President, my dear fellow Olympian, Hashimoto Seiko, and to all the dedicated people in the Organising Committee for your great partnership and wonderful friendship. …

“We did it, together!”

There is a lot to analyze about the Tokyo Games, but that they happened at all is remarkable and will be its signature for decades. The ceremony included a promotional video for the upcoming Paralympics, which will face its own challenges after its big brother has exited the stage.

With all 339 events now concluded, the medal table is now complete, with the U.S. surging on the final two days to lead both the total medal count and by gold medals won:

1. 113: United States (39-41-33)
2. 88: China (38-32-18)
3. 71: Russian Olympic Committee (20-28-23)
4. 65: Great Britain (22-21-22)
5. 58: Japan (27-14-17)
6. 46: Australia (17-7-22)
7. 40: Italy (10-10-20)
8. 37: Germany (10-11-16)
9. 36: Netherlands (10-12-14)
10. 33: France (10-12-11)
11. 24: Canada (7-6-11)
12. 21: Brazil (7-6-8)

An Olympic-record total of 93 countries have won at least one medal, surpassing the 86 for the 2016 Games in Rio.

For comparison, the U.S. won 121 medals (46-37-38) in Rio in 2016, followed by China (70: 26-18-26) and Great Britain (67: 27-23-17). This was the fifth Games in a row – and 11th time ever – in which the U.S. had won 100 or more medals in a single Games.

The Russian Olympic Committee, still under sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency, had a remarkably good Games. Consider that in London 2012 – the last time it fielded a full team – it won 68 net medals (20-20-28) … after subtracting 14 medals later stripped for doping violations (82 gross at the time of the Games).

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar U.S. collegiate track & field system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for eight places to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams. The number of scoring places is the same as the number of diplomas given out by the International Olympic Committee, and gives extra weight to the gold and silver medalists, but also recognizing that third and fourth are very close (and shared in some combat sports):

After all 339 events and 13,221 points, the leaders:

1. 1,291.0 ~ United States
2. 939.7 ~ China
3. 785.5 ~ Russian Olympic Committee
4. 728.5 ~ Great Britain
5. 701.5 ~ Japan
6. 540.0 ~ Australia
7. 505.5 ~ Germany
8. 497.0 ~ Italy
9. 460.0 ~ France
10. 447.0 ~ Netherlands
11. 336.5 ~ Canada
12. 287.0 ~ Korea
13. 270.0 ~ Hungary
14. 251.0 ~ Spain
15. 240.0 ~ Brazil
16. 221.5 ~ Ukraine
17. 215.0 ~ New Zealand
18. 202.5 ~ Poland
19. 167.0 ~ Switzerland
20. 152.0 ~ Turkey
21. 145.2 ~ Cuba
22. 144.5 ~ Sweden
23. 141.5 ~ Denmark
24. 124.0 ~ Chinese Taipei
25. 123.0 ~ Belgium

The leading African country was Kenya at 117.5, placing 27th, after the Czech Republic (119.0). Much more analysis to come on what these scores tell us.

For comparison, the Rio totals (over 306 events) were led by the U.S. with 1,280.6, followed by China (824.5), Great Britain (759.0), Russia (602.5), Germany (550.0), France (513.0) and Australia (448.0).

NBC’s announced primetime coverage ratings from Friday of 12.5 million, lowest of the Games. As specific numbers were not given for the first weekend, the available information shows:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): not reported
● 01 Aug. (Sun): not reported
● 02 Aug. (Mon): 15.8 million
● 03 Aug: (Tue): 17.4 million
● 04 Aug: (Wed): 14.6 million
● 05 Aug: (Thu): 13.3 million
● 06 Aug: (Fri): 12.5 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.

The average is around 15.7 million, which can be compared to 27.5 million per night in Rio in 2016. Once the figures are in for the weekend, the discussion of what all this means can start.

One of the early perspectives on the lessons of the Tokyo Games came from 2016 women’s long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta of the U.S. She tweeted (lightly edited):

“If this Olympics hasn’t taught us to 1) bet on yourself (from Allyson to Fred Kerley) 2) attempt seemingly crazy [—-] (a la H[a]ssan) 3) see whatever it is we’re doing ALL THE WAY through the finish line…

“YOU WEREN’T PAYING ATTENTION.”

Quite true.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: SUNDAY, 8 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s Marathon
What was expected to be a difficult and challenging ordeal turned into a testimonial to the greatest marathoner in history, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge. He came in with a clear plan, was supremely fit and destroyed a quality field in punishing conditions to win his second straight Olympic marathon.

The focus of a fairly large group of fans along the streets of Sapporo, a worldwide television audience and the entire field of 106 starters, Kipchoge ran easily, at the front, from the start. The race began in 79-degree (F) heat, with 80% humidity and stayed that way for almost the entire time.

He was near the front of a pack of 31 runners that passed the halfway mark in 1:05:15 and as he kept chugging along, the lead group kept shrinking. He passed 25 km in 1:17:24, running 15:37 for the 5 km segment since 20 km.

But then he upped the ante. At about 28 km, he moved to his left and invited other runners to take the lead and share the work. There were no takers and that told Kipchoge what he needed to know.

He ran 15:07 between 25 and 30 km and now the pack had shrunk to 11. A few seconds later, the hammer came down.

Kipchoge surged away from the field, roaring to a 30-second lead by 32 km (20 miles) and timing a sensational 14:28 between 30-35 km to clinch his victory. In his wake, the pack behind him broke apart and the medal contenders became apparent.

American Galen Rupp, the Rio bronze medalist, had been right with Kipchoge for the first 30 km, but was quickly broken after that and faded to 10th.

The silver and bronze medals were going to be won by two of these four: Kenyan star Lawrence Cherono, Bashir Abdi of Belgium (born in Somalia), Abdi Nageeye (NED; born in Somalia) or Spain’s Ayad Lamdassem (born in Morocco).

In the last kilometer, Cherono tried to push the pace, but could not break the other three. Lamdassem fell back, but Cherono led the last three into the finishing straightaway, but with 150 m to go, Nageeye waved to Abdi to come with him and pass Cherono and – after some hesitation – he did and they finished 2-3 with the Belgian at 2:09:58 and Abdi at 2:10:00.

Kipchoge had already finished in 2:08:38, running 14:56 for the 5 km from 35-40 km and then running solo to the line. He waved to the crowd and finished with a huge smile, as if back from a long training run.

The conditions at the finish at 9:10 in the morning were 82 degrees and 72% humidity.

Cherono was fourth (2:10:02) and Lamdassem fifth (2:10:16). Rupp finished eighth in 2:11:41; his teammates finished 29th (Jake Riley: 2:16:26) and 41st (Abdi Abdirahman: 2:18:27).

They did better than a lot of well-known starters who did not fare well in the heat. Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, Sisay Lemma and Shura Kitata all dropped out.

Kipchoge joins the legendary Abebe Bikila (ETH) in 1960-64 and the controversial Waldemar Cierpinski (GDR: 1976-80) as the only two-time Olympic marathon winners. Kipchoge’s time of 2:08:38 is even more remarkable considering the conditions; his winning time in Rio in 2016 was slower: 2:08:44.

He has now won 13 of his 15 career marathons. Simply amazing.

● Basketball: Women
The U.S. women’s basketball team left no doubt about its status as one of the great juggernauts in Olympic history, winning not only its seventh straight Olympic title, but extending its winning streak in Olympic play to 55 with a decisive 90-75 win in Saitama.

The American women opened a 23-14 lead at the quarter and 50-39 at the half. Center Brittney Griner was unstoppable, scoring 30 points in all on 14-18 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the foul line, an Olympic scoring record for a gold-medal match. But she was not alone.

A’Ja Wilson scored 19 points and Breanna Stewart contributed 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The U.S. shot 53.4% from the field and held the Japanese to just 36.4%. Center Maki Takada led Japan with 17 points.

In the medal round, the U.S. defeated Australia, 79-55, thrashed Serbia by 79-59 and finally a 90-75 win against Japan in the gold-medal game. That’s an average winning margin of 21.3 points per game in the elimination round.

The U.S. led all teams in scoring at 87.5 points per game, shot a tournament-best 52.1% from the floor and

Belgium’s Emma Meesseman led all scorers with a 27.3 points-per-game average, with Wilson of the U.S. third (20.0) and Griner fifth (17.3).

Coach Dawn Staley, herself an Olympic gold medalist in 1996-2000-2004 now has coached an Olympic-champion team.

And the U.S. has two players – Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi – who are five-time gold-medal winners, a first in basketball.

France defeated Serbia, 91-76 in the bronze-medal game.

● Boxing: Men’s 63 kg-+91 kg
Cuba won its fourth boxing gold in Tokyo as two-time World Champion Andy Cruz defeated Keyshawn Davis of the U.S. by a 4:1 decision in the gold-medal final.

Cruz ran the table in the Lightweight division, winning his four bouts by 5:0, 4:1, 5:0 and 4:1.

It was Cuba’s first win in this class since 2004, and the first U.S. medal since 1996.

Semifinalists Hovhannes Bachkov (ARM) and Harry Garside (AUS) will share the bronze.

The 2019 World Champion in the +91 kg Super Heavy division, Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB) is now a professional fighter and lives and trains mostly in the U.S. He’s 8-0 in his pro career and continued his dominance with a 5:0 decision over U.S. amateur Richard Torrez.

Jalolov won his Tokyo fights by 5:0, 5:0, referee-stops-contest for injury in the semis, and 5:0. He’s the first Uzbek medal winner in this class since 2000.

Torrez won the first U.S. medal in this class since 1988 with Riddick Bowe, who lost to Canada’s Lennox Lewis in Seoul.

Britain’s Frazer Clarke and Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ) shared the bronze.

● Boxing: Women’s 60 kg-75 kg
Ireland’s Kellie Harrington, the 2018 World Champion, dominated the final against Brazil’s 2019 World Champion, Beatriz Ferreira, winning a 5:0 decision.

Harrington won her first two bouts by 5:0 and then got by Thai Sudaporn Seesondee by 3:2 to make it to the final on her way to the gold medal.

Semifinalists Mika Potkonen (FIN) and Seesondee won the bronzes.

The women’s 75 kg Middleweight class was won in style by 2019 World Champion Lauren Price (GBR), who won a unanimous (5:0) decision over China’s Qian Li, the 2018 World Champion.

The decision was unusually one-sided, with four judges scoring the bout 30-27 for Price; one had it at 29-28.

Dutch fighter Nouchka Fontijn and Zemfira Magomedalieva of Russia were the bronze medalists.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Keirin
Britain’s Jason Kenny repeated as the Olympic Champion in the Keirin, confirming his status as one of the finest track cyclists in Olympic history.

Now 33, Kenny won the race by just 0.763 seconds over Malaysia’s Rio bronze medalist Azizulhasni Awang (MAS), and 0.773 ahead of Australian Sprint winner Harrie Lavreysen.

Kenny now has nine Olympic medals on the track: seven golds in the Sprint (2), Team Sprint (3) and Keirin (2) from 2008-2021. Impressive.

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Sprint-Omnium
The women’s Sprint final surprisingly came down to Canada’s Kelsey Mitchell, fourth at the 2020 World Championships Olena Starikova of Ukraine, fifth at the 2019 Worlds.

Mitchell took the gold by sweeping the first two races, winning by 0.061 and 0.064 seconds. It was Canada’s first medal in this event since Lori-Ann Muenzer won in Athens in 2004. Starikova won Ukraine’s first medal in the event since 2000.

Hong Kong’s sprint star Wai Sze Lee won the bronze over 2020 World Champion Emma Hinze (GER).

In the Omnium, the top seven from the 2020 Worlds were all back, but it was American Jennifer Valente – the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist – who was in top form. She won the Scratch Race, was third in the Tempo Race and fourth in the Elimination Race to hold the lead with 110 points going into the final, 80-lap Points Race.

She was trailed by Japan’s Yumi Kajihara (108) and Anita Stenberg (NOR: 94), the dangerous Amalie Dideriksen (DEN: 92) and the legendary Kirsten Wild (NED: 90).

Britain’s Laura Kenny won the race, but Valente was close behind and more importantly, picked up points at three of the eight in-race sprints, giving her a 124 total. That was enough to hold off Kajihara (110), with Wild moving up from fifth to third with five scores (108). Dideriksen stayed in fourth and Stenberg was fifth.

This was only the third time for the Omnium in the Games, and the U.S. has now medaled in all three, with silvers for Sarah Hammer in London and Rio, but gold for Valente in Tokyo.

● Gymnastics: Rhythmic/Group All-Around
A stunning result as Bulgaria won both routines, in 5 Balls and 3 Hoops + 2 Clubs, to win its first Olympic title in Rhythmic, 92.100-90.700 over five-time defending champ Russia.

The Bulgarians had been medalists in this event three times before, including a Rio bronze. But very few expected this result, with Russia having won the last three world titles as well. But Bulgaria had been Worlds medalists – silver-bronze-bronze in 2017-19 – and they made the most of their opportunity in Tokyo.

Italy won the bronze medal at 87.700.

● Handball: Women
France lost to Russia, 22-19, in the Rio final in 2016 and returned the favor in Tokyo with a 30-25 victory for its first Olympic title.

The two had played in the group stage, with Russia winning by 28-27. This time, the French got ahead early, taking a 15-13 lead at halftime. Allison Pineau and Pauletta Foppa both scored seven goals for the winners; Polina Vedekhina had seven for the ROC.

Norway defeated Sweden, 36-19 for the bronze, their fourth straight Games with a medal. Norway’s Nora Mork ended up as the top scorer in the tournament with 52.

● Volleyball: Women
U.S. women’s teams had won five medals in this event, but never the gold, losing in the final in 1984 and twice to Brazil in 2008 and 2012.

In their third Olympic final, the American women broke through in a decisive way, claiming the Olympic title with a tight, 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 win in an hour and 22 minutes.

Outside hitters Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Jordan Larson were the keys in the first set, scoring eight and six points, respectively. Opposite Andrea Drews, one of the top U.S. threats in the tournament, then took over with seven points in set two and six in set three. Her play was a key in place of Jordan Thompson, who was lost to injury during the group stage.

Drews ended with 15 points to 14 for Bartsch-Hackley and 12 for Larson (who was named Most Valuable Player).

The U.S. women had already beaten Brazil twice on the way to the FIVB Women’s Nations League title in June, but this was much sweeter. Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly – himself an Olympic gold medalist from 1984 and 1988, and on the beach in 1996 – now has coached a team to an Olympic title as well.

Serbia swept South Korea, 3-0, for the bronze medal.

● Water Polo: Men
Serbia defended its 2016 Rio title with a 13-10 win over Greece, taking charge early and then holding on.

The Serbs took a 6-3 lead at the quarter, only to see Greece close to 8-7 at half. With the game at 10-9 entering the final quarter, the Serbs scored three times and close down the Greek offense to end the game at 13-10. Greece scored on only 10-31 shots compared to 13-29 for Serbia.

It’s the fifth straight Games with a medal for the Serbs, who also won in Athens in 2004. It’s the first-ever men’s water polo medal for Greece.

Perennial power Hungary used a 4-0 second half to outlast Spain, 9-5, for the bronze.

= INTEL REPORT =

The famed British track & field magazine and Web site Athletics Weekly tweeted about the amazing finish of Dutch star Sifan Hassan in the women’s 10,000 m:

“Sifan Hassan’s last 100m in the 10,000m was 13.6.

“To put that into context, Faith Kipyegon’s last 100m in the 1500m was 15.4 and Athing Mu’s in the 800m was 14.0.

“Sifan Hassan’s last 100m in her 10,000m was also faster than Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s last 100m in his 1500m.

“Hassan: 13.6. Ingebrigtsen: 13.7.” Incredible.

The UIPM, the international federation for modern pentathlon, issued a statement on Saturday which read in part:

“The UIPM Executive Board (EB) has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu (GER), with her fist during the Riding discipline of the Women’s Modern Pentathlon competition.”

The German federation said that the horse had been upset by the prior rider – Russian Gulnaz Gubaydullina – and Schleu was unable to control it, leading to her withdrawal from the riding event. She finished 31st overall; with a reasonable riding score, she would have contended for a medal.

The IOC announced that it had received a report from the Chinese Olympic Committee concerning the wearing of pins picturing former Communist Party leader Mao by Team Sprint winners Shanju Bao and Tianshi Zong. The Chinese indicated they had spoken to the women and promised that the incident would not be repeated by any other member of the team.

IOC Communications Director Christian Klaue (GER) indicated that the matter was considered closed.

The Games-related Covid positives report by the Tokyo 2020 organizers showed 26 on Sunday, with 16 among contracted personnel resident in Japan. There were also five media, but no athletes.

The infection total stands at 430, of which 207 (55%) are contractors, 109 are “Games-concerned personnel” (25%), 29 are athletes, 25 media and 31 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 6 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 33 positives in 277,339 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 105 positives in 347,025 tests (0.03%).

The number of people coming to the Games through airports increased to 200+ on 6 August, for the final weekend. The infection rate among all Games-related personnel coming to Japan is at 0.09%.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 654 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 7 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July. In August: 0 of 1,088 for 1 August, 0 of 1,010 on 2 August, 0 of 863 on 3 August, 0 for 748 on 4 August, 0 for 726 on 5 August, and 0 for 728 on 6 August.

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TOKYO 2020/Saturday Review & Preview: Felix gets 4×400 m gold for 11th medal; U.S. men’s basketball & women’s water polo extend gold streaks

By
Rich Perelman
-
Good as gold: McLaughlin, Felix, Muhammad and Mu in the women's 4x400 m (Photo: USATF on Twitter)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

Although the Tokyo Games has not closed yet, the International Olympic Committee is already focused on the future.

In a final-day meeting of all IOC members – known as a “Session” – several proposals are being offered to the Olympic Charter to allow the IOC’s Executive Board to implement much stronger discipline throughout the Movement. These include, according to an IOC announcement:

● “Allow the IOC EB to suspend a sport, event or discipline from the programme of the Olympic Games.”

● “Clarify that the IOC Session may remove any sport from the programme of the Olympic Games if, among other violations, the relevant International Federation (IF) governing such sport does not comply with the decisions of the IOC EB, or if the relevant IF acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement.”

● “Reinforce the principle that nobody is entitled as of right to an accreditation, as well as the principle that the granting and removal of an accreditation is at the IOC’s full discretion.”

● “Allow for up to seven IOC Members to be elected in special cases without a nationality or National Olympic Committee (NOC) requirement.”

Translation: IOC President Thomas Bach is further breaking free from the cumbersome structure of having to wait for the annual Session to meet in order to implement immediate disciplinary measures, but also expanding the grounds by which a sport can be removed from the Games.

This will be of special interest to the federations for boxing (AIBA) and weightlifting (IWF), both of which have vexed the IOC for years with regard to governance, doping and fraud.

The measures on accreditation for the Games also speak to disciplinary procedures, not just for those misbehaving during the Games, but from allowing accreditation in the first place, such as for anyone who has had a doping violation in the past. The IOC lost a case in Tokyo at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to Russian Weightlifting Federation chief Maxim Agapitov – who was suspended for doping when a competitor – who was refused accreditation, but appealed that he was entitled as a member of the IWF Executive Board. No more.

The separation of IOC membership from endorsements of National Olympic Committees will also allow the IOC to bring in members it thinks will be helpful, even if not in line with NOC wishes. This has been a thorny problem in the past, which Bach will be happy to dispense with.

The Games may still be on, but Bach is already moving on.

Through Saturday, 326 out of 339 events (96%) have been completed in Tokyo; the current medals leaders:

1. 108: United States (36-39-18)
2. 87: China (38-31-18)
3. 69: Russian Olympic Committee (20-26-23)
4. 63: Great Britain (20-21-22)
5. 56: Japan (27-12-17)

An Olympic-record total of 92 countries have won at least one medal, surpassing the 86 for the 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 1,241.0 United States
2. 922.7 China
3. 747.0 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 693.5 Great Britain
5. 679.5 Japan
6. 529.5 Australia
7. 493.5 Germany
8. 486.0 Italy
9. 443.0 France
10. 415.5 Netherlands
11. 323.0 Canada
12. 281.0 Korea

Germany moved ahead of Italy on Saturday; consider the remarkable performance of the Netherlands, with a population of just 17.3 million! Australia, at 25.4 million, has also performed brilliantly in Tokyo.

NBC’s primetime coverage on Thursday was down to 13.3 million, probably its lowest total for the Games. As specific numbers were not given for last Saturday and Sunday, the available information shows:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): not reported
● 01 Aug. (Sun): not reported
● 02 Aug. (Mon): 15.8 million
● 03 Aug: (Tue): 17.4 million
● 04 Aug: (Wed): 14.6 million
● 05 Aug: (Thu): 13.3 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.

These numbers can be compared to 27.5 million per night in Rio in 2016.

Final-day weather forecast:

● 08 Aug. (Sun): 88 F ~ 78 F; morning thunderstorms

The forecast for Sapporo for the men’s marathon:

● 08 Aug. (Sun): projected 81 F at 7 a.m.; cloudy

These are warm conditions for endurance events, but cooler than are expected for Tokyo.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: SATURDAY, 7 AUGUST =

● Artistic Swimming: Team
As expected, Russia won easily for its sixth consecutive Olympic victory in this event, scoring 196.0979 to China’s 193.5310. The Russians won both the Technical Routine and Free Routine by more than a point each.

Ukraine finished third (190.3018), with Japan fourth (188.3106).

● Athletics: Men’s 1,500 m-4×400 m-Javelin
(Apologies to 400 m star Anthony Zambrano, identified as Dominican instead of from Colombia in yesterday’s post; this was corrected on the site.)

Whenever Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot has been challenged in a major international race, he has had the extra speed that got him to the line first. In the Olympic 1,500 m final, he was in front as usual, pushing a fast pace and being shadowed closely by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, right into the final turn.

Cheruiyot is known for running away coming into the final straightaway, so rather than waiting to hit the straight, Ingebrigtsen hit the gas with about 140 m to go, pushing even and then past Cheruiyot on the outside just as the Kenyan looked backwards on the inside of the track, with teammate Abel Kipsang and Britain’s Josh Kerr in hot pursuit.

Ingebrigtsen opened a meter’s lead on Cheruiyot into the straight and ran away; the Kenyan had no response and trotted home second, 3:28.32-3:29.01, an Olympic Record, a lifetime best and a European Record for the winner.

Kerr got third ahead of Kipsang, 3:29.05-3:29.45, lifetime bests for both. American Cole Hocker was a very creditable sixth in a huge lifetime best of 3:31.40, no. 8 on the all-time U.S. list.

Ingebrigtsen, 20, moved to no. 8 on the all-time list and won for the first time against Cheruiyot in 11 tries at 1,500 m and 13 times in the 1,500 m and mile. It was Norway’s first-ever medal in the event.

The U.S. was supposed to win the 4×400 m relay, right? But as nothing else had gone right in Tokyo for the U.S. men on the track – no wins so far – it was nervous time.

The American order started with Michael Cherry, having a career year, and he brought the U.S. in second at 44.2, just behind Isaac Makwala’s 43.8 for Botswana, and passed to Michael Norman. Using a patient approach, Norman only took the lead off the final turn, passing Jereem Richards (TTO) and then powering ahead (44.0 split) to hand off first to Bryce Deadmon.

Deadmon opened a lead for the U.S. and came down the straight up by a half-second over a Dutch team running out of its mind; Deadmon’s 44.1 bested Tony van Diepen’s 44.28 and the American handed off to Rai Benjamin.

Race over. Benjamin accelerated away and built a big lead over Dutch anchor Ramsey Angela and split 43.40 (!) to bring the U.S. home in 2:55.70, the fourth-fastest time in history.

The Dutch were a stunning second in 2:57.18, moving them to the no. 5 nation ever; Botswana got an African record of 2:57.27 in third.

Benjamin was the key; his teammates were happy he stuck around for the relay.

One of the most shocking results in Tokyo came when Germany’s Johannes Vetter, the man who had made 90 m throws commonplace, failed to qualify for the final three throws, managing only 82.52 m (270-9) in his first throw and then suffering two fouls and ending up ninth. This really was unbelievable.

That opened the door for others. With the second throw of the event, India’s Neeraj Chopra took the lead at 87.03 m (285-6), putting a lot of pressure on the field. German Julian Weber got out to 85.30 m (279-10) for second.

In the second round, Chopra was on it again, reaching 87.58 m (287-4), with no response from the field. The third round was better, with Vitezslav Vesely (CZE) moving into second at 85.44 m (280-4).

In the final three throws, Chopra did not improve and Czech Jakub Vadlejch, the 2017 Worlds silver medalist got hold of one in the fifth round, moving into second at 86.67 m (284-4). That’s how it ended.

Hardly inspiring, except that Chopra, 23, won India’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Games and, incredibly, its second-ever individual gold, after shooter Abhinav Bindra in 2008. That is historic.

● Athletics: Women’s 10,000 m-Marathon-4×400 m-High Jump
After the brutally fast 1,500 m on Friday, what would World Champion Sifan Hassan have left for the 10,000 m on Saturday? As it turned out, plenty.

Ethiopia’s Letsenbet Gidey, the world-record holder, had the lead for most of the race and towing a smaller and smaller number of trailers with her. With five laps to go, she had shaken off everyone except Hassan and Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne, a former Ethiopian!

At the bell, Gidey was still in front, with Hassan and Gezahegne right behind. She kept leading and started to push around the final turn, but Hassan bolted first, with Gezahegne right behind, into the straight and running away from Gidey. Hassan’s sprint took her to the line with a decisive win in 29:55.32, with Gezahegne second (29:56.18) and Gidey in 30:01.72.

A great follow-up by Hassan to her 1,500 bronze and she won both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m in Tokyo.

Francine Niyonsaba (BDI), the 2016 Olympic silver medalist at 800 m, but whose testosterone levels are too high to allow her to compete in events from the 400-mile per the World Athletics regulations, finished an impressive fifth in 30:41.93.

Emily Sisson of the U.S. finished 10th in 31:09.58, followed by Karissa Schweizer (31:19.96) in 12th and Alicia Monson in 13th (31:21.36).

The women’s marathon was moved to 6 a.m. in the morning in Sapporo, but that did not mean the heat – starting at 77 F – was not going to be a major factor.

An excellent field of 88 included the world-record holder, Brigid Kosgei (KEN), and from the start, a large pack moved together at the front of the race, at a modest pace thanks to the conditions.

By halfway, there were 15 in the front group, coming through in 1:15:14 with two-time World Half Marathon champ Peres Chepchirchir leading. Slowly, the pace increased, as did the heat and the number in the front group receded.

By 25 km, there were 12 in the lead pack, then American Sally Kipyego dropped off the pace. By 30 km, 2019 World Marathon Champion Ruth Chepngetich – who had handled the midnight heat in Doha so well – fell off the lead group.

Chepchirchir and American Molly Seidel were in the front, not cooperating, but towing the lead group along. The pace increased slowly but steadily and the lead group broke up.

Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje fell back, as did Germany’s Melat Kejeta and Japan’s Mao Ichiyama, and by 35 km, there were five in front: Chepchirchi, Kosgei, Seidel, Israel’s Lorna Salpeter and Eunice Chumba (BRN).

Then Chumba dropped off the pace and there were four women for three medals. Just past 37 km, Chepchirchir and Kosgei pushed away, with Salpeter following and Seidel dropping back to fourth. This was the major break in the race and the drama wasn’t over.

Chepchirchir and Kosgei ran together, more or less, separating from Salpeter, but just after 38 km, Salpeter just stopped, overcome by the conditions.

Seidel kept motoring, knowing that she had a medal and thinking she could move up again. She remained in visual contact, but kept conserving energy, passing 40 km six seconds back of the Kenyans, with Dereje another 31 seconds behind.

When the Kenyans came to the bottle station after the 40 km mark, Chepchirchir took off and ran unopposed to the finish in 2:27:20, a remarkable performance in the conditions and especially considering this was only her fifth career marathon.

Kosgei labored to the finish in second in 2:27:36 and Seidel stormed home in third in 2:27:46, a staggering achievement in the heat and in her third career marathon. It was her worst time and her best performance.

Dereje was fourth (2:28:38) as the temperature at the finished reached 84 F; Kipyego finished 17th (2:32:53). Salpeter got going again and finished 66th in 2:48:31, wilting in the heat as happened in Doha in 2019. Chepngetich and U.S. Trials winner Aliphine Tuliamuk were among the 14 who did not finish.

Seidel’s achievement is staggering. She’s only the third American woman to win an Olympic medal, after Joan Benoit in 1984 and Deena Kastor in Athens in 2004. At 27, she has a lot of running ahead of her, possibly including a home World Championships in 2002 in Eugene.

The U.S. coaches were taking no chances with the women’s 4×400 m relay. After Jamaica’s impressive times in the 400 m rounds, only one of the top three finishers from the U.S. Trials – Tokyo bronze medalist Allyson Felix – was on the team for the final.

Instead, the 400 m hurdles stars – Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad – and 800 m gold medalist Athing Mu were on the track with McLaughlin to lead off.

Her 50.2 from the blocks brought the U.S. in even with Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland, then Felix got the stick.

Her 49.3 leg opened the race up and she had a clear lead when she handed to Muhammad, who blew away the field with a 48.94 split and gave Mu a huge lead on the anchor.

Mu then finished by terrorizing the entire women’s 400 m world with a 48.32 (!!!) split than ended with the U.S. winning by almost half the straightaway in the no. 5 time in history: 3:16.85.

Poland ran a national record 3:20.53 for second and Jamaica came home third in 3:21.24.

It was the seventh straight U.S. win in this event and the fourth straight for Felix, who ended the Games with 11 career Olympic medals (7-3-1). That’s the most of any American track & field athlete, passing Carl Lewis’s 10 and second-most in history behind Finland’s Paavo Nurmi (12).

At 35 and after maternity, this is more than amazing. And to be sure, the year’s delay from 2020 to 2021 helped her immensely.

Russia’s Mariya Lasitskene has been an outspoken critic of the Russian track & field federation and on the Russian doping scandal that robbed her (and others) of being able to compete in Rio in 2016 and under varying sanctions elsewhere.

Nevertheless, she came in as the 2017 and 2019 World Champion – competing as an “Authorized Neutral Athlete.” This time, she was competing for the “Russian Olympic Committee.”

At least she was competing. And she made the best of it, winning the Olympic gold with a season’s best of 2.04 m (6-8 1/4).

Nine cleared 1.96 m (6-5), but seven had misses along the way. The real jumping started at 1.98 m (6-6), with only Nicola McDermott (AUS) making it on her first try, then Lasitskene and Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko on their second and Yaroslava Manuchikh on her third.

At 2.00 m (6-6 3/4), Gerashchenko went out, McDermott was over again on her first try and Lasitskene and Mahuchikh needed two attempts. So the medal winners were set.

The bar went to 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) and Lasitskene took the lead with a first-time clearance while McDermott needed two tries. Manuchikh missed, and realizing she had nothing to gain by clearing this height, passed to 2.04 m (6-8 1/4).

She missed twice and settled for the bronze medal. Laskitskene made it on her second try, a season’s best and McDermott missed all three to leave with a national record and the silver medal.

Laskiskene has been the best women’s high jumper in the world for quite a while. She now has an Olympic gold medal to prove it.

American Vashti Cunningham – the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist – finished in a tie for sixth at 1.96 m (6-5).

● Baseball: Team
Japan barely edged the U.S. in their first match-up, 7-6, in 10 innings. The second one wasn’t as close.

Playing for the Olympic title in a baseball-crazed country whose fans could not attend, Japan won its first baseball medal since 2004 and it’s first Olympic title by shutting out the U.S., 2-0.

Third baseman Munetaka Murakami opened the scoring with a third-inning home run off of Nick Martinez and the game remained 1-0 all the way into the eighth. Japan’s Masato Morishita held the U.S. to three hits over five innings and then saw a string of relievers hold the lead. The U.S. had chances in the late innings, but could not score.

Japan got a second run in the bottom of the eighth for the 2-0 final.

Infielder Eddy Alvarez of the U.S. is the sixth athlete in Olympic history to win medals in both the Olympic and Winter Games; he won a silver with the U.S. 5,000 m Short Track relay in Sochi in 2014.

The Dominican Republic clubbed South Korea for the bronze by 10-6.

● Basketball: Men
The U.S. men concluded a torturous route to a fourth straight Olympic gold medal by defeating France, 87-82 in the Olympic final in Saitama.

The American men had led France in their opening game of the tournament by seven points in the fourth quarter before a 16-2 run sent to the U.S. into defeat. This time, there was no game-ending rout.

Instead, the U.S. methodically built a 22-18 lead at the quarter and 44-39 at the half. Another closely-played third quarter ended with the U.S. up by eight, 71-63. A Kevin Durant jumper put the U.S. up 73-63, but the French scored seven in a row to close to 73-70 before four points from Jrue Holiday made it 79-70 and when Damian Lillard hit a three to make it 82-72 with 3:24 to go, the issue was decided.

Four points from Nando de Colo closed things up to 85-82 with 10 seconds left, but Durant made two free throws to seal it with eight seconds to go for the 87-82 final.

Durant led all scorers with 29 points on 9-18 from the field and 8-9 from the line. Jayson Tatum had 19 and seven rebounds; and Holiday and Lillard each had 11. Evan Fournier led France with 16.

It was a difficult road for the U.S., but a successful one for Gregg Popovich in his first Olympic head coaching assignment. As he predicted.

The U.S. men have won 16 times in 20 Olympic tournaments played. France has now lost to the U.S. in three finals: 65-21 in 1948 and 85-75 in 2000.

Australia beat Slovenia, 107-93, in the bronze-medal game.

● Beach Volleyball: Men
It only took 40 minutes for Norwegian stars Anders Mol and Christian Sorum to dispense with Russia’s 2019 World Champions Viacheslav Kasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy, 21-17, 21-18, in the final.

Mol and Sorum have won 13 FIVB World Tour tournaments together, and won two of the bellwether Cancun tune-up tournaments in the spring. They are the best in the world.

Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, one of the best pairs on the sand in 2021, won the bronze medal match from Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs (LAT), 21-12, 21-18.

● Boxing: Men’s 52 kg-75 kg
Britain’s Galal Yafai defeated Carlo Paalam of the Philippines in the 52 kg Flyweight final by 4:1, with all judges scoring the very tight match 29-28.

Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka and Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) won the bronze medals.

In the 75 kg Middleweight division, Brazil’s Hebert Conceicao, a 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, was winning the fight on all five cards against World Champion Oleksandr Khyzhniak (UKR), then knocked him out at 1:29 of the third round. Wow!

Eumir Marcial (PHI) and Gleb Bakshi (ROC) share the bronze medals.

● Boxing: Women’s 51 kg-69 kg
Two-time Worlds silver medalist Stoyka Krasteva (BUL) dominated Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the 51 kg Flyweight final.

Krasteva won a 5:0 decision, with four of the five judges giving her a 30-27 edge.

The bronze medals went to Tsukimi Namiki (JPN) and Hsiao-Wen Huang (TPE).

In the 69 kg Welterweight final, a very closely-contested final saw Turkey’s 2019 World Champion Busenaz Surmeneli overcome two-time Worlds silver medalist Hong Gu of China by 3:0.

Two judges had the match even at 28-28, but three had Surmeneli winning, 29-28, for a 3:0 decision.

The bronzes went to American Oshae Jones and India’s Lovlina Borgohain.

● Canoe: Sprint/Men’s K-4 500 m-C-1 1,000 m
Germany, Spain and Slovakia the medal winners from the 2019 World Championships, and they finished in the same order in Tokyo in the debut of the men’s K-4 500 m in the Olympic program.

Spain got out best and had the lead at halfway by 0.29, but the Germans had a strong second half and won by 1:22.219 to 1:22.445. Slovakia was third at 1:23.534.

In the men’s C-1 1,000 m, World Champion Isaquias Queiroz of Brazil came on the back half of the race, passing China’s Hao Liu and won by 4:04.408 to 4:05.724. Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi finished third in 4:06.069.

Queiroz moved up to the top of the podium after winning the silver medal in Rio.

● Canoe: Sprint/Women’s K-4 500 m-C-2 500 m
Belarus got out to the early lead in the women’s K-4 500 m, but Hungary had the fastest second half of all the boats and won by 1:35.463 to 1:36.073. Poland similarly overtook New Zealand for third, in the final 250 m, by 1:36.445 to 1:37.168.

The C-2 500 m was a new event for Tokyo and China’s Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun duplicated their 2019 world title run to become Olympic champions. They led from start to finish, crossing the line in 1:55.495 to 1:57.499 for Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Chetverikova (UKR) and 1:59.041 for Canada.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Madison
Reigning World Champion Denmark, with Lasse Norman Hansen and Niklas Larsen riding in Tokyo, won the 200-lap Madison with 43 points to 40 for Great Britain and France.

The Danes scored on 14 of the 20 sprints – winning three – to edge Matthew Walls and Ethan Hayter, who also had 14 scores.

● Diving: Men’s 10 m Platform
As expected, China’s Yuan Cao and Jian Yang finished 1-2 in a tight battle, 582.35 to 580.40 in the final. Each won three dives and Cao overcame a bad second dive – placing sixth – to finish 1-1-2-2 on his last four. Yang won the last two dives to tighten up what was a 12.95-point lead.

Britain’s Tom Daley – the London bronze medalist – finished third at 548.25, finishing second on two dives and third on two others. Russian Aleksandr Bondar was a not-very-close fourth at 514.50.

Jordan Windle of the U.S. finished ninth and Brandon Loschiavo was 11th.

● Equestrian: Team Jumping
This event required a jump-off to determine the winner after Sweden and the U.S. tied in the final with just eight penalties each.

Belgium was a clear third (12) over the Netherlands (17), but Henrik von Eckermann and Laura Kraut has ridden clean for the Swedes and Americans. Sweden had single penalties (4 points each) from Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Peder Fredricson, while McLain Ward and Jessica Springsteen had penalties for the U.S.

The jump-off was concerned with penalties and time. All six riders concluded their runs without penalties, but the combined times saw Sweden at 122.90 seconds and the U.S. at 124.20 and that decided the gold and silver medals.

This event dates back to Stockholm in 1912 and has France, the U.S. and Germany as the Rio medalists and the U.S., Sweden and Germany as the medalists at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

The amazing Ward, 45, won his fourth Olympic medal; he was a member of the American gold medalists in the 2004 and 2008 Games and the silver winners from Rio and Tokyo.

● Football: Men
Brazil won its second straight Olympic football title with a 2-1 win over Spain in extra time.

The sides played to a 1-1 tie in the first 90 minutes, with Mikel Oyarzabal putting Spain up 1-0 in the 11th minute. Brazil had to chase the game from then on, but got even at 45+2 with a goal from striker Matheus Cunha for a 1-1 halftime tie.

The second half produced no scores and so the extra time commenced and in the second extra period, it was striker Malcom who ended the game with a score in the 108th minute via a shot that deflected off Spanish keeper Unai Simon.

Mexico defeated Japan, 3-1, for the bronze medal on Friday.

● Golf: Women
American Nelly Korda, the LPGA Championship winner this year, took charge of the Olympic tournament with a second-round 62 and rode home to a one-shot victory over Mone Inami (JPN) and Lydia Ko (NZL).

Korda shot 67-62-69-69 to finish at -17 (267) and had as much as a six-shot lead during parts of the last two rounds. But the competition kept getting closer and closer and both Inami and Ko shot find-round 65s to inch up to -16. Korda has a double-bogey five on the seventh hole of the final round, but rebounded to finish the day at two under (69).

Inami and Ko ended up tied and went to a playoff to determine the silver medal. Playing again on 18, Inami parred and Ko shot five, giving Japan the silver. Ko has now won two Olympic medals, after winning the silver in Rio.

● Gymnastics: Rhythmic/All-Around
Israel’s Linoy Ashram, a silver and bronze-medal winner at the World Championships, upset three-time World Champion Dina Averina of Russia in the All-Around final.

Ashram and Averina went 1-2 on each apparatus, with the Israeli winning on Hoop and Clubs and Averina winning on Ball and Ribbon. In the end, Ashram’s 28.650-28.150 margin on Clubs was the difference in a 107.800-107.650 victory.

It’s Israel’s first medal in the sport and breaks a five-Games gold streak for Russia.

Alina Harnasko (BLR) won the bronze medal (102.700) ahead of Arina Averina (102.100). .

● Handball: Men
France grabbed a 14-10 lead at halftime and held off Denmark, 25-23 in the Olympic final despite nine goals from Danish scoring machine Mikkel Hansen.

Nedim Remili scored five for the French, who won their third Olympic gold in the last four tournaments – also in 2008 and 2012 – while defeating the Rio winners.

Hansen was the leading scorer in the tournament, with 61 goals in 100 attempts!

Spain defeated Egypt, 33-31 for the bronze.

● Karate: Men’s +75 kg-Women’s +61 kg
Iran’s 2016 World Champion at +84 kg, Sajad Ganjzadeh won the Olympic tournament in the heaviest weight class with a 4-0 final win over Saudi Arabia’s Tareg Hamedi.

Ganjzadeh was 3-0-1 in his pool matches and advanced to the semis, where he won a 0-0 bout on Senshu (scored first) over Turkey’s 2018 World 84 kg winner Ugur Atkas. Hamedi came out of the same pool, and won his semi by 2-0 over 2016 World 84 kg champ Ryutaro Araga (JPN).

The two finalists had tied, 0-0, in their pool match. This time Ganjzadeh was able to score and took home the gold medal.

Atkas and Araga shared the bronze.

Egypt’s Feryal Abdelazaiz came in ranked no. 2 in the world in the women’s 68 kg class and left with the gold medal in the Olympic +61 kg class tournament. She was 2-1-1 in pool matches, then won a tight, 5-4 semi against Kazak Sofya Berultseva to advance to the final against 2018 World 68 kg winner Iryna Zaretska (AZE). Another tight match ensured, but Abdelaziz managed a 2-0 win and is Olympic champion!

Berultseva and China’s Li Gong shared the bronze medals.

● Modern Pentathlon: Men
Britain’s Joseph Choong moved up from his 2019 Worlds silver medal to Olympic Champion with a strong start that saw him a tight battle with Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy, 1,482-1,477.

Choong was third in the swimming section, won the fencing, and was 14th in riding, good enough to allow him to start first in the Laser Run, with a 12-second lead over 2017 World Champion Jin-Hwa Jung (KOR).

Choong took eight shots to make five on his stage, then shot 5/5, 5/7 and 5/5 to cross the line first and claim an Olympic-record point total.

Behind him, Elgendy was flying through the course, having started 50 seconds back in 13th place. A faster runner than Choong, he shot 5/9 on the first stage, then 5/5, 5/5 and 5/7 to move up quickly, and finished with the second-fastest Laser Run in the field, but ended just a little short and settled for silver.

Korea’s Woong-Tae Jun, also a strong runner, started 28 seconds back and moved up to the bronze medal with the seventh-best Laser Run, ahead of Jung (17th).

● Volleyball: Men
France won its first-ever Olympic volleyball medal and it was the gold, defeating the Russian Olympic Committee in the final by 3-2: 25-23, 25-17, 17-25, 21-25, 15-12.

Earvin N’Gapeth scored 26 for the winners, including 21 kills and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He was aided by 14 points from Jean Patry. Egor Kliuka had 20 for Russia.

France had beaten Russia in their pool match, 3-1, and looked like it might sweep this match, but it ended up in a tense third set after going to 2-2.

Argentina edged Brazil, 3-2 (25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13) for the bronze medal.

● Water Polo: Women
The U.S. women completed another outstanding performance with a fourth straight Olympic gold medal after a 14-5 defeat of Spain in the final.

Maddie Musselman scored three times for the Americans, who took a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The U.S. had a 7-4 lead at half, and 12-4 at the end of the third quarter.

Aria Fischer, Kaleigh Gilchrist and Alys Williams each scored twice for the U.S. and keeper Ashleigh Williams saved 11 of 15 shots.

It continues an amazing streak of success, with the American women not only winning their fourth straight Games, but compiling a 94-2 record in their last 96 games against all comers. In Tokyo, the U.S. out-scored its opponents by 109-47.

Hungary won the bronze with a 11-9 over Russia.

● Wrestling: Men’s 65 kg-97 kg
Japan won its first men’s Freestyle gold of the Games, with 2018 World Champion Takuto Otoguro taking the 65 kg class by 5-4 over three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev (AZE) in the final.

Gadzhimurad Rashidov (ROC) and India’s Bajrang Punia won the bronze medals.

At 97 kg, Russia’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev won a tense battle with American Kyle Snyder, 6-3, in a match-up of Olympic gold medalsts.

The Russian won in Rio at 86 kg and moved up in weight to battle Snyder, the defending champion at this weight from Rio. Sadulaev had a 2-0 lead at the break and maintained was able to hold off Snyder for his second Olympic gold, to go along with four world titles.

Cuba’s Reineris Salas and Abraham Conyedo (ITA) won the bronze medals.

● Wrestling: Women’s 50 kg
Japan’s two-time World Champion Yui Sasaki overwhelmed China’s Yanan Sun, a Rio bronze medalist at 48 kg, by 10-0 in the final.

Sasaki ended the tournament not just winning her four matches, but out-scoring them by 41-0!

The bronze medals were won by Mariya Stadnik (AZE) and American Sarah Hildebrandt. Stadnik defeated Tsogt-Ochiryn Namuuntsetseg (MGL) by 10-0 and Hildebrandt pounded Oksanas Liach (UKR) by 12-1 in her bronze match.

= PREVIEWS: SUNDAY, 8 AUGUST =
(13 events across 8 sports)

● Athletics: Men’s Marathon
After the hot and humid conditions that greeted the women on Saturday, the 106 starters in the men’s 7 a.m. marathon will have to be ready to race in an environment far different than the big-city mega-races that they are so familiar with.

The field includes many stars, beginning with the greatest marathoner of all time, defending champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. He dominated the race in 2016 in Rio, winning in 2:08:44 and in 14 career marathons, has won 12 times. He set the world record of 2:01:39 in Berlin in 2018, but did stumble with an eighth-place finish in the 2020 London Marathon.

Nevertheless, he “warmed up” for Tokyo with an impressive, 2:04:30 win in Enschede in April that’s still no. 5 on the world list for 2021.

His teammates are Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto. Cherono will be running on his 32nd birthday and he’ll be shopping for a medal for himself; he’s a 2:03:04 man from the 2020 Valencia Marathon and won in Boston and Chicago in 2019.

Kipruto won the 2019 Worlds bronze in the midnight run in Doha and also ran his best – 2:03:30 – in that Valencia race in 2020. He was second to Kipchoge in Berlin in 2018.

The Kenyans will principally be challenged by their East African rivals from Ethiopia, led by Lelisa Desisa, the 2019 World Champion who has also logged major wins in Boston in 2013 and 2015 and New York in 2018. His best of 2:04:45 dates back to 2013, but his competitive record speaks for itself.

Shura Kitata (2:04:49) and Sisay Lemma (2:03:36) are the other Ethiopian entries. Kitata won in London in 2020 (2:05:41) and set his best there in 2018. Lemma has been a solid, top-3 placer; in his 18 career marathons, he’s been in the medals 10 times, including five of the last six.

Beyond these six obvious medal candidates are lesser-known talents like Bashir Abdi (BEL), the Tokyo Marathon winner in 2:04:49 in 2020; El Hassan El Abbassi (BRN), seventh in Doha in 2019, with a best of 2:04:43 in 2018; and Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay in his third career marathon, after running 2:04:55 in Milan last May.

There are a dozen others with less flashy times, but excellent skills for these conditions. Britain’s Callum Hawkins was fourth in Doha’s extreme heat (2:08:14 PR); Stephen Mokoka (RSA) was fifth (2:07:40 PR) and others.

The U.S. contingent is led by Trials winner and Rio bronze medalist Galen Rupp, with a best of 2:06:07, but always well prepared and a good tactician. Abdi Abdirahman (2:08:56 in 2006) is now 44 and on his fifth U.S. Olympic Team. He ran in the 10,000 m in 2000-04-08 with best of 10th, he did not finish in the 2012 London Olympic marathon. The newcomer is Jacob Riley, 33, the surprise runner-up to Rupp at the Trials in 2020, running his lifetime best of 2:10:02 there, in his fourth career marathon.

Could he pull off a Molly Seidel-esque performance?

● Basketball: Women
There was more than a little worry when the U.S. women lost two exhibition games to the WNBA All-Stars and to Australia. Even when the six-time defending gold medalists began play in Tokyo, they won by too-close-for-comfort scores of 81-72 over Nigeria, 86-69 over Japan and 93-82 against France.

But as the Games piled up, so did the cohesion, balance and defense. And in the quarterfinals, the U.S. thrashed Australia when it counted, 79-55. More of the same in the semis, a 79-59 win over Serbia. And that brings the American women to the precipice of a seventh-straight Olympic title, going into the final with a 54-game Olympic winning streak.

The opponent is Japan, the four-time defending champions in the FIBA Asia Championships and already with its highest finish ever in the Olympic Games. In its fifth Games in women’s basketball, Japan has placed 4-7-10-8 in 1976-1996-2004-2016, but is now nothing less than silver medalists.

After going 2-1 in Group B behind the U.S., the Japanese edged Belgium by 86-85 and then defeated France, also from Group B, 87-71.

In the group-stage game, the U.S. blew open a tight game with a 21-10 second quarter and outscored Japan in the second half by 37-29. A’Ja Wilson led the U.S. with 20 points and Breanna Stewart added 15 and had 12 rebounds. The U.S. shot 54.5% from the field and held Japan to 34.6%. Center Maki Takada led Japan with 15 points; the U.S. out-rebounded them, 48-33.

The U.S. is the overwhelming favorite in this game, but it was supposed to win those exhibitions, too. Coach Dawn Staley, herself an Olympic gold medalist in 1996-2000-2004 has molded the team into what appears to be yet another Olympic Champion.

If the U.S. wins, it will have two players – Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi – who will be five-time gold-medal winners.

● Boxing: Men’s 63 kg-+91 kg
Cuba has won three boxing golds in Tokyo, equaling its total in Rio 2016, and has one more chance at the top of the podium in Andy Cruz in the Lightweight final, against American Keyshawn Davis.

Cruz is the two-time World Champion at 63 kg, winning in 2017 and 2019 when it was labeled as the “Light Welterweight” division. Now Lightweight, he’s won his bouts by 5:0, 4:1 and 5:0 to get to the final.

Davis, 22, knows Cruz first-hand, having lost a 5:0 decision to him in the finals of the 2019 Worlds and a 4:1 decision in the finals of the 2019 Pan American Games. Since then, he turned professional and has a 3-0 record; when the qualifying tournaments for Tokyo were eliminated due to the coronavirus, Davis – and others – were called back as the IOC’s Boxing Task Force selected fighters based on rankings from the 2017-19 period.

He’s made the most of it, winning 5:0, then by the referee stopping his round of 16 fight, followed by a 4:1 decision and a 5:0 decision in his semi. Can he find a way to deal with Cruz?

The U.S. hasn’t won this division since 1992, when Oscar de la Hoya won gold; Cuba hasn’t won since 2004. Davis would certainly like to emulate de la Hoya at any stage of his career!

Semifinalists Hovhannes Bachkov (ARM) and Harry Garside (AUS) will share the bronze.

The U.S. will have a final chance at a men’s boxing gold in the +91 kg Super Heavy division with Richard Torrez, facing an uphill battle against Bakhodir Jalolov (UZB).

Torrez is an amateur, and won a bronze at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru and finished fifth at the 2019 Worlds in this class. He won a 5:0 decision in his first bout, when 4:1 over Cuba’s Dainier Pero before having the referee stop his bout with Kamshybek Kunkabayev (KAZ) in the semis due to injury.

Jalolov is a pro, with an 8-0 record, with his first seven fights in the U.S. He won the 2019 World Championship in this class, as well as a bronze in 2015. He met Torrez in the 2019 Worlds quarterfinals … and knocked him out. He’s won his Tokyo fights by 5:0, 5:0 and referee-stops-contest for injury in the semis.

The U.S. hasn’t won this class since Tyrell Biggs won gold in 1984, the year it was first contested. The last medal winner came four years later with Riddick Bowe, who lost to Canada’s Lennox Lewis in Seoul. Jalolov is the first Uzbek medal winner in this class since 2000.

Jalolov is the clear favorite, but Torrez is two years advanced from 2019. Enough to make a difference?

Britain’s Frazer Clarke and Kunkabayev will share the bronze.

● Boxing: Women’s 60 kg-75 kg
The Lightweight class has two decorated fighters as finalists in Kellie Harrington (IRL) and Beatriz Ferreira (BRA).

Harrington won the 2018 World Championship in this class after winning a 2016 Worlds silver in the then-Light Welterweight division. She won her first two bouts by 5:0 and then got by Thai Sudaporn Seesondee by 3:2 to make it to the final.

Ferreira is the reigning World Champion in this class, winning the 2019 Worlds as well as the 2019 Pan American Games. She has completely dominated her opponents, winning by decisions: 4:1, 5:0, 5:0 and 5:0 in the semis against Finland’s Mika Potkonen.

Way too close to call this one. Semifinalists Potkonen and Seedondee will share the bronze.

The women’s Middleweight title fight has Lauren Price (GBR) and China’s Qian Li, with Price coming in as the current World Champion at 75 kg, after moving up from bronze in 2018. She won her first two Tokyo fights by 5:0, but had a tough semifinals, winning over the accomplished Nouchka Fontijn (NED) only by 3:2.

Li is returning as the Rio bronze medalist and won the 2018 World Championships title. She’s won all three of her fights by 5:0 decisions.

Fontijn and Zemfira Magomedalieva of Russia will share the bronzes.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Keirin
The Netherlands has already won the Team Sprint and seen Harrie Levreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland go 1-2 in the individual Sprint, so why not try for more in the Keirin?

Lavreysen is the current World Champion in the event, winning over Yuta Wakimoto (JPN) in 2020 and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Azizulhasni Awang (MAS). Dutch teammate Matthijs Buchli won the Rio silver and was the 2019 Worlds in the Keirin!

The Dutch will be trying to break up a three-Games win streak for Great Britain, with Jason Kenny the defending Olympic champion. But he hasn’t won a Worlds medal in this event since 2013 (a gold!). But teammate Jack Carlin was fourth at the 2020 Worlds in the Keirin.

Germany has two strong entries with 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Stefan Boetticher and Rio 2016 silver medalist Maximilian Levy ready to go.

The Keirin is enormously popular in Japan and perhaps the ones to watch are actually the home favorites: Wakimoto and Yudai Nitta. Wakimoto is a four-time Asian Champion in this event in addition to his Worlds silver. Nitta won a 2019 Worlds bronze in the event and was second in the 2018 Asian Games.

Wild cards: Australian sprinter Matthew Glaetzer, France’s Sebastien Vigier and Russia’s Denis Dmitriev.

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Sprint-Omnium
The medalists from the 2020 World Championships is already in the round of 16: winner Emma Hinze (GER), runner-up Anastasiia Voinova, bronze winner Wai Tze Lee (HKG) and fourth-placer Kelsey Mitchell (CAN). The 2019 bronze medalist, Mathilde Gros (FRA) is in, as is the 2016 Rio bronze medalist, Katy Marchant and fifth-placer Tianshi Zhong (CHN).

The medals figure to come from that group, but do not count out the Dutch when talking about women’s track cycling. And with the Keirin winner, Shanne Braspennicx in the line-up, anything is possible. Another wild card: Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich.

In the Omnium, the top seven from the 2020 World Championships are all back: Japan’s Yumi Kajihara (gold), Letizia Paternoster (ITA: silver in 2019 and 2020), Daria Pikulik (POL: bronze), Maria Martins (POR: 4), American Jennifer Valente (5, but the 2019 bronze), Amalie Dideriksen (DEN: 6, but the 2018 silver) and Dutch star Kirsten Wild (7).

Wild, especially, bears watching. Now 38, she has world titles in the event from 2018 and 2019 and three more medals from 2011-17.

London 2012 bronze medalist Annette Edmondson (AUS) is also back, the 2015 World Champion.

● Gymnastics: Rhythmic/Group All-Around
Russia has won this event at five straight Games, in fact in each Games this century! It’s a separate event from the individual All-Around and neither of the Averina sisters is listed on the Russian roster.

However, it’s place in Tokyo figures to be no different, as Russian teams won the 2017–18-19 World Championships golds and start as big, big favorites.

Japan has been a strong contenders for medals, winning silver in 2019 and a bronze in 2017. Same for Bulgaria, bronze medalists in 2019 and 2018 and silver winners in 2017. Italy also won a Worlds medal in 2018 with a silver.

● Handball: Women
France and the Russian Olympic Committee will face off for the Olympic title, repeating the final from Rio in 2016.

There, the Russians managed a 22-19 win for its first Olympic gold, although the USSR won in 1976 and 1980. Russia also won a bronze in the 2019 World Championships, after France won the Worlds in 2017.

The two sides played a thriller in the group stage, a 28-27 Russian win on 31 July. In the knock-out round, the ROC defeated Montenegro, 32-26, then edged Norway, 27-26, to reach the final.

The French battered the Netherlands, 32-22 in the quarters and got by Sweden by 29-27 for the chance to meet the Russians again.

Norway and Sweden will meet for the bronze; the Norwegians have won a medal in this tournament the last three times, including a bronze in Rio.

● Volleyball: Women
Two teams with lots of history – Brazil and the United States – meet in the Olympic women’s final, with the U.S. trying to win the Olympic tournament for the first time. The Brazilians beat the U.S. in the 2008 and 2012 finals; the U.S. won a Rio bronze, while Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Unlike some sports where teams rarely see each other, the Americans and Brazilians know each other well from the FIVB Women’s Nations League. Played in May and June of this year in Rimini (ITA) in a sequestered environment, the U.S. won the title over Brazil by 3-1, after also beating the Brazilian in the round-robin, also by three sets to one.

In Tokyo, the two teams haven’t seen each other until now. Brazil went 5-0 in its group and them pushed aside the Russians, 3-0 nd South Korea by 3-0 to reach the final.

The U.S. won Pool B at 4-1, then eased past the Dominican Republic by 3-0 and Serbia by 3-0 to get a chance for gold.

The American squad, coached by Karch Kiraly – himself an Olympic gold medalist from 1984 and 1988, and on the beach in 1996 – has been resilient, especially after losing Opposite Jordan Thompson, but Andrea Drews has stepped up be the leading American scorer.

The U.S. is favored, but it won’t be easy.

● Water Polo: Men
Greece and Serbia will play for the Olympic title, with the Serbs trying to extend a streak of four straight medals in Olympic play.

As Serbia and Montenegro, they won silver in 2004, then have gone bronze-bronze-gold, winning in Rio in 2016. For Greece, the Tokyo Games is its first medal in the sport,

However, Greece telegraphed its Olympic success with its performance in the FINA Water Polo World League, winning the 2020 tournament that was extended into 2021 by defeating Montenegro in the final in January, 12-7. (The Serbs were knocked out in the quarters.)

That sent the Greeks to the FINA Super Final, ending in a third-place finish over Italy.

In Tokyo, Greece won its group at 4-0-1, then defeated Montenegro, 10-4 and Hungary, 9-6, to reach the final. Serbia was only 3-2 in its group, but got past Italy, 10-6 and edged Spain, 10-9 to clinch at least a silver medal.

Hungary and Spain will play for the bronze.

= INTEL REPORT =

IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) noted during his Friday news conference that their Olympic Scholarship Program – which provides direct payments to athletes – had 836 athletes from 178 NOCs in 26 sports in Tokyo.

They have done quite well; as of the time he was speaking, those athletes had won 23 gold, 25 silver and 25 bronze medals.

With the weightlifting competition completed, Bach was also asked about the future of the sport on the Olympic program, given the IOC’s continued monitoring of the International Weightlifting Federation. He was not positive:

“We still need to see a culture change in this international federation. If you look at the last Congress which has taken place and the vote results there, this does not necessarily speak of a culture change and of real awareness of the need to dramatically improve the governance of this federation.”

The IWF still has not completed approval of a new constitution, preventing elections of new officers and Board members. This is scheduled for after the Games.

The Games-related Covid positives report by the Tokyo 2020 organizers decreased again down to 22 on Saturday, with 13 among contracted personnel resident in Japan. There were also four “Games-concerned” personnel, but no athletes.

The infection total is now 404, of which 207 (55%) are contractors, 108 are “Games-concerned personnel” (27%), 29 are athletes, 20 media and 27 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 5 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 33 positives in 270.409 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 100 positives in 328,941 tests (0.03%).

The number of people coming to the Games through airports actually increased to 71 on 5 August. The infection rate among all Games-related personnel coming to Japan is at 0.08%.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 728 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 6 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July. In August: 0 of 1,088 for 1 August, 0 of 1,010 on 2 August, 0 of 863 on 3 August and 0 for 748 on 4 August; 0 for 726 on 5 August.

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TOKYO 2020/Friday Review & Preview: April and Alix claim Beach gold; Felix gets 10th OG medal with 400 m bronze; Steveson stuns world champ at 125 kg

By
Rich Perelman
-
April Ross and Alix Klineman celebrate an Olympic Beach Volleyball gold in Tokyo (Photo: Jon Gaede)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

“After we had to accept the decision by the Japanese authorities to have no spectators, I must admit that we all – and I personally as well, of course – were concerned that these Olympic Games could become the Games without soul.

“But fortunately what we have seen here is totally different, because the athletes gave these Olympic Games a great Olympic soul.”

That was International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) in a Friday news conference, expressing his deep satisfaction with the way the Tokyo Games have gone so far, especially the enthusiasm of the competing athletes. He added:

“[T]hese Olympic Games have far exceeded my personal expectations. You know, I never had any doubt about the preparedness of Japan, the organizing committee and the Japanese people; I always said that Tokyo was the best-ever prepared Olympic city. This has proven to be true. The venues are fantastic, everybody appreciated the volunteers, of a friendliness which is exemplary; the organization – after the first hiccups that we always have [at] the Games, it’s always the same topic, transportation – was flawless, so we did not need to have any Coordination meetings for a week. All this was following expectations.

“But then the two factors were my expectations and I have been exceeded is the efficiency of the anti-Covid measures and secondly is what I said before, the soul of the Games, which the athletes gave to these Games, this Olympic soul.”

Bach noted further:

“What I experienced in the Olympic Village, and the competition sites, I must say that the atmosphere has been more intense than ever before. There were among the athletes two dominant feelings. The first was, you could experience and feel and see and hear how much they enjoyed to be together, there, again. How much they enjoyed to meet each other and the other feeling which has expressed in all the many, many conversations I had, were that they are extremely grateful for the fact that the Olympic Games could happen now finally.

“And these feelings, this atmosphere was spreading from the Olympic Village to the competition venues, where you could see how they were supporting each other, how they were appreciating each other in all the venues.

“The reason for this you can discuss, I’ve been thinking quite lot about it and come to the conclusion that these two feelings, of the togetherness and the gratefulness are coming from the fact that they have been separated for such a long time.”

He was also thrilled with the low Covid infection rate among Olympic-related personnel, the absence of any (so far) doping positives and the enormous fan interest in the Games worldwide, especially on digital media.

Through Friday, 292 out of 339 (86%) events have been completed in Tokyo; the current medals leaders:

1. 98: United States (31-36-31)
2. 79: China (36-26-17)
3. 62: Russian Olympic Committee (17-23-22)
4. 58: Great Britain (18-20-20)
5. 51: Japan (24-11-16)

An Olympic-record total of 89 countries have won at least one medal, surpassing the 86 for the 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 1,144.5 United States
2. 848.7 China
3. 654.5 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 649.5 Great Britain
5. 606.5 Japan
6. 496.0 Australia
7. 458.5 Italy
8. 456.0 Germany
9. 401.0 France
10. 382.5 Netherlands
11. 304.5 Canada
12. 261.0 Korea

Note that the top five in this tally correspond exactly – so far – with the total medal count shown above. But we’re not done yet.

NBC’s primetime coverage on Wednesday was down to 14.6 million, one of its lowest totals for the Games. As specific numbers were not given for Saturday and Sunday, the available information shows:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): not reported
● 01 Aug. (Sun): not reported
● 02 Aug. (Mon): 15.8 million
● 03 Aug: (Tue): 17.4 million
● 04 Aug: (Wed): 14.6 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.

NBC states that the average is about 16.8 million for the “total audience” in primetime, compared to 27.5 million per night in Rio in 2016.

Hot weather remains a central concern of the Games; the current forecast for the final weekend:

● 07 Aug. (Sat.): 88 F ~ 76 F; scattered thunderstorms
● 08 Aug. (Sun): 88 F ~ 78 F; morning thunderstorms

The forecast for Sapporo for the marathons:

● 07 Aug. (Sat.): projected 77 F at 6 a.m.; sunny (women)
● 08 Aug. (Sun): projected 81 F at 7 a.m.; cloudy (men)

These are warm conditions for endurance events, but cooler than are expected for Tokyo.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s 5,000 m-4×100 m-50 km Walk
Ugandan world-record holder Joshua Cheptegei made sure not to repeat his errors from the 10,000 m and ensured a fast pace that allowed him to win going away in 12:58.15.

He was in the lead or close to it almost the entire way, with a fast 7:55.3 at 3,000 m and then leading a group of six at the bell, with Nicholas Kimeli (KEN), Paul Chelimo of the U.S., Birhanu Balew (BRN), Ugadan teammate Jacob Kiplimo and Mo Ahmed of Canada.

Cheptegei led, but Kimeli made a surge on the back straight, forcing Cheptegei to sprint to stay ahead going into the curve. Around the turn, Balew fell away and on the straight, Ahmed started a dead sprint with 80 m left that passed Chelimo and Kimeli for second. While Cheptegei sprinted away to the win, Ahmed was a clear second and Kimeli and Chelimo strained for the line, with Chelimo diving forward to get the bronze medal.

Ahmed finished in 12:58.61, with Chelimo at 12:59.05 and Kimeli at 12:59.17. Grant Fisher of the U.S. was ninth at 13:08.40 and Woody Kincaid was 14th (13:17.20).

Ahmed moved up from bronze at the 2019 Worlds to silver in Tokyo, while Chelimo – ever the master tactician – won his second straight Olympic medal after getting the silver in Rio. Neither Kenya nor Ethiopia won a medal in this race for the first time since 1984.

Dreamland. That’s the only way to describe Italian track and field fans today.

The men’s 4×100 m was expected to have Jamaica at the front after the U.S. did not qualify. But off the start, the teams were even, with Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain taking the lead on the backstraight and giving a good pass to Richard Kilty. But Italy’s Eseosa Desalu surged at the end of the third leg, drawing even with the Brits and actually making the pass to anchor Filippo Tortu first.

But Britain’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, a veteran anchor, accelerated best and had the lead with 90 m to go. He held steady, but Tortu gained a little with 20 m to go, a little more with 10 m left and then stunned everyone at the line with a quick lean … and the gold medal!

Italy’s 37.50 makes it the no. 5 nation ever, with the equal-18th performance all-time. Britain was second in 37.51 and Andre De Grasse brought Canada to a medal in 37.70. Jamaica ended up fifth in 37.84.

It was Italy’s first medal in the event since 1948 and it’s first win. Impossible, but it happened.

The last edition of the 50 km Walk on the Olympic program was held in Sapporo, starting in 77 F temperatures.

China’s Yadong Luo had the early lead through 20 km, then faded and the almost-unknown Dawid Tomala, really a 20 km competitor, took over and was never headed. Only 24th on the year list coming in, in only his third career 50 km race, he had a nine-second lead over Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert – leading a pack of seven walkers – at 30 km, 2:50 at 40 km and at the finish, Tomala timed 3:50:08 to Hilbert’s 3:50:44.

Canada’s Evan Dunfee, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, finished third again in 3:50:59.

There were 47 finishers, two disqualifications and 10 who did not finish; the race ended in 86 F temps.

● Athletics: Women’s 400 m-1,500 m-4×100 m-20 km Walk-Javelin
Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) said for the longest time that she would not be running the 400 m in Tokyo, but she was in lane seven at the start of the final, and a co-favorite.

Best off the start, however, was Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson, the other co-favorite, who led the semifinal qualifiers.

Past 200 m, McPherson – in lane six – and Miller-Uibo were 1-2 with Great Britain’s Jodie Williams running well in lane seven and Allyson Felix of the U.S. hanging in out in lane eight.

Then Miller-Uibo took off around the turn and forged a strong lead into the straight, with Felix suddenly in second, Williams third and McPherson fading to fourth. Into the straight, Marileidy Paulino (DOM) pushed hard to get into second place with 75 m left, with Felix and McPherson battling for the bronze.

Miller-Uibo won in 49.36, a national record and now no. 6 on the all-time list. She’s the first to win back-to-back since Marie-Jose Perec (FRA) did it in 1992 and 1996.

Paulino was a clear second in a national record 49.20, with Felix holding off McPherson in the last five meters for the bronze, 49.46-49.61.

This was Felix’s 10th Olympic medal, the most ever for women and she will have a shot at another in the 4×400 m. More than that, to go from 49.65 in 2017, then fall back to 51.35 and 51.36 from maternity and come back to 49.46, her fastest since 2015 (!) is astonishing. At 35, is she done? One more year to finish at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene? Paris?

Quanera Hayes of the U.S. was never in it and finished seventh in 50.88.

How was defending champion Faith Kipyegon going to blunt the fearsome finishing speed of 5,000 m winner Sifan Hassan?

The answer turned out to be: let Hassan lead the field through a hard early pace and then out-kick her!

Hassan took the lead by the 300 m mark and led through 400 m (62.9), 800 m (2:07.0) and 1,200 m (3:09.4), with Kipyegon, Britain’s Laura Muir and Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford in close attendance.

With 200 m to go, Kipyegon kicked in the jets and tore away from Hassan on the turn, with Muir coming up to challenge Hassan as well. This time, the Dutch star had no answer and Kipyegon stormed away on the straight to win in a brilliant 3:51.09, the no. 4 performance of all time.

Muir pulled away on the straight as well to win the Olympic medal she has so desperately wanted, in 3:54.50, a national record and no. 14 all-time. Hassan was third in an impressive 3:55.86, but not enough on this day.

Ethiopia’s Freweyni Gebreezibeher came up for fourth (3:57.60) and Debues-Stafford was fifth in 3:48.93. Americans Elle Purrier St. Pierre (4:01.75) and Cory McGee (4:05.50) were 10th and 12th.

Jamaica was considered unbeatable in the women’s 4×100 m and were just that, winning in 41.02, the no. 3 performance ever, with Elaine Thompson-Herah on second leg, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce running the turn and Shericka Jackson on anchor.

The U.S. team of Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, Jenna Prandini and Gabby Thomas ran beautifully, with Oliver actually making the first pass ahead of Jamaica’s Briana Williams. Daniels held her own against everyone except Thompson-Herah and then Prandini stormed the turn to pass Switzerland to her outside and hand to Thomas, who was clear in second all the way to the tape.

Great Britain pushed home for third in 41.88, ahead of the Swiss (42.08).

The U.S. women showed what good passing is; maybe they should coach the U.S. men?

The women’s 20 km Walk in Sapporo was going to be tough, starting in 88 F temperatures at 4:30 p.m. and ending in 86 degrees at the finish.

Italy’s Antonella Palmisano, the 2017 Worlds bronze medalist, was at or near the lead with a pack of 15 walkers at halfway, was even with China’s defending champion Hong Liu at 15 km and then surged to victory. She shook Liu just after 15 km and finished in 1:29:12, 25 seconds ahead of Sandy Arenas (ECU: 1:29:37) and Liu, who hung on for third in 1:29:57. Spain’s Maria Perez was fourth in 1:30:05.

American Robyn Stevens was 33rd (1:37:42) on a day in which 53 of the 58 starters finished, in itself a medal-worthy performance.

No one talks much about strategy in field events, but here’s something that works every time: get a big performance early and put the pressure on everyone else.

China’s Shiying Liu, the 2019 World silver medalist, did just that with a big first-round throw of 66.34 m (217-8) that essentially ended the event after 12 throws.

Liu only had one other fair throw, but it didn’t matter on a warm, 84-degree evening. Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk, the world leader at 71.40 m (234-3), managed 64.61 m (211-11) in the second round and could not improve from there.

Australian Kelsey-Lee Barber, the 2019 Worlds winner, was third after three rounds at 63.69 m (208-11) and then fought back after Eda Tugsuz (TUR) moved her down to fourth with a final throw of 64.00 m (210-0). Barber got the bronze medal with a last-throw comeback to 64.56 m (211-10), a season’s best.

American Maggie Malone, considered a medal contender, never found her stride and finished 10th at 59.82 m (196-3).

Liu’s win was China’s first medal in the event, and Andrejczyk won Poland’s first in the event since 1936!

● Beach Volleyball: Women
The long road to Tokyo turned out to be paved with gold for Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman, as they dominated Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in the women’s final, winning in 43 minutes by 21-15, 21-16.

That April and Alix – as they are known on the beach – won so cleanly was all the more impressive since the official report showed the match was played in 90-degree (F) temperatures with a sand temp of 113 and 60% humidity!

It cements Ross’s place as one of the finest beach players ever. She now has a complete set of Olympic medals: paired with Jen Kessy in the London 2012 final won by Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA), then teamed with Walsh Jennings in Rio for the bronze medal and now a gold with Klineman. Of the seven women’s beach tournaments in the Games, the U.S. has now won four and medaled in the last five.

Ross is 39 and Klineman is 31; Ross has talked about continuing to Paris given the three-year time frame vs. the normal four. But her future is not certain, as she has said, “My husband is not on board with that yet.”

Swiss Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre won the bronze medal over Latvians Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina, 21-19, 21-15.

● Boxing: Men’s 91 kg
The legendary Julio Cesar la Cruz (CUB), 31, won a second career Olympic gold by winning a 5:0 decision from reigning World Champion, Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (ROC) in the Heavyweight final.

La Cruz won by 29:28 on three cards and 30:27 on the other two. He moved up from the Light Heavyweight class in 2016 and also has four World Championships in that class between 2011 and 2017. One of the greatest Olympic fighters in history.

New Zealand’s David Nyika and Abner Teixeira (BRA) shared the bronze.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Sprint
The 1-2 finishers in the last two World Championships were Dutch stars Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland. So why not in Tokyo?

They staged a memorable duel in the Sprint final, with Hoogland winning the first race by 0.012 seconds, then seeing Lavreysen come back in round two to win by 0.015. That set up the decider, won by the World Champion; Lavreysen was 0.208 ahead at the line.

It’s the first medal for the Netherlands in the men’s Sprint since 2004, and it’s first win since 1932!

Britain’s Jack Carlin grabbed third, winning the first two races over Russian Denis Dmitriev. It’s the fourth straight Games for Britain with a Sprint medal.

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Madison
The debut of the Madison on the Olympic program for women saw Great Britain’s Kate Archibald and Elinor Barker – both Worlds medalist in the event – ride away with an easy win with 78 points.

They scored top points on 10 of the 12 sprints and then added 20 lap points to win easily over Denmark’s Amalie Dideriksen and Julie Leth (35) and Russians Gulnaz Khatuntseva and Mariia Novolodskaia (26).

The American pair of Megan Jastrab and Jennifer Valente finished ninth.

● Football: Women
Sweden had been the dominant team in this tournament from the start, but at the end, Canada decided the Olympic tournament on penalty kicks and walked away with the gold medals after a 1-1 tie in regulation.

The Swedes took the lead on the fifth goal of the tournament from Stina Blackstenius in the 34th minute and the half ended 1-0. But Canada struck back in the 67th, with a Jessie Fleming goal to equalize and send the game into extra time.

Despite having 54% of the possession and a 24-14 edge on shots, the Swedes ran into the same stubborn defense used by Canada against the U.S. in the semifinal. In the shoot-out, both sides made two of their first five and in the sixth round, Joanna Andersson’s try was saved by Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe, but Julia Grosso scored to win the title.

Canada moved up from consecutive bronzes in London and Rio; Sweden won the silver for the second Games in a row.

The U.S. had already won the bronze medal by beating Australia, 4-3.

● Hockey: Women
All the scoring took place in the second quarter as the Netherlands defeated Argentina, 3-1, to win the Olympic title for the third time in the last four Games.

After a scoreless first quarter, Margot von Geffen scored in the 23rd minute for a 1-0 lead, followed quickly by to goals from Maia van Maasakker in the 26th and 29th minutes for a commanding 3-0 lead. Argentina got one back at the end of the half by Augustina Gorzelany, but that was all.

The Netherlands women upgraded their Rio silver to gold and have earned a medal in seven straight Games, beginning in 1996: bronze-bronze-silver-gold-gold-silver-gold. Argentina got back into the medal list after missing out in Rio.

Rio champion Great Britain defeated India, 4-3, for the bronze.

● Karate: Women’s Kumite 61 kg
Neither World Champion Jovana Prekovic of Serbia and four-time Asian Champion Xiaoyan Yin could score a point in the gold-medal final. But three of the four judges decided that Prekovic had fought the best and she was awarded the gold on “hantei” (form). A very otugh way to lose.

Egypt’s Gina Lofty and Turk Merve Coban shared the bronze as semifinalists.

● Karate: Men’s Kata-Kumite 75 kg
The men’s Kata came down to a match between Japan’s reigning World Champion, Rio Kiyuna and Spain’s world no. 1 Damian Quintero. It was tight, but the judges gave the nod to Kiyuna by 28.72 to 27.66.

In the bronze-medal matches, Ali Sofuoglu (TUR) defeated Hee-Jin Park (KOR), 27.36-26.14 and Ariel Gutierrez (USA) won over Antonio Diaz (VEN), 26.72-26.34.

In the 75 kg class, two-time World Champion Luigi Busa (ITA) faced another two-time Worlds winner in Rafael Aghayev (AZE) in the final and neither was giving an inch.

Busa got a score after 1:42 and it stood up for the victory, 1-0, to win the match and the gold medal.

Ukraine’s Stanislav Horuna and K.G. Harspataki (HUN) shared the bronze medals.

● Modern Pentathlon: Women
Britain’s Kate French took the women’s gold, moving up from her bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships, and holding off 2012 Olympic champ Laura Asadauskaite (LTU) in the Laser run for the gold medal.

French was consistently good, finishing eighth in swimming, seventh in fencing and fourth in riding. That left her in fifth place starting the Laser run, 15 seconds behind the leader, Russia’s Uliana Batashova. She ended with the fifth-best time in the Laser run at 12:00.34, but that was enough to win with an Olympic Record score of 1,385.

Asadauskaite was, as usual, near the back on swimming (25th), and fencing (25th), but then she won the riding and was set up for the Laser run. Starting 13th, at 52 seconds behind, she posted the fastest time in the field at 11:38.37, but that totaled only 1,370 and left her with the silver medal.

Hungary’s Sarolta Kovacs finished third (1,368), ranking fourth in the swim and ninth in riding and fencing, but only 11th-fastest in the Laser run. Batashova finished 22nd in the Laser run and ended in ninth; American Samantha Schultz was 21st.

● Sport Climbing: Women
Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret established herself as the clear Olympic favorite and she lived up to expectations, winning two of the three disciplines on the way to a 5.00-45.00-64.00 win over Japanese stars Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi.

Garnbret was never the best on Speed, but she managed to finish fifth – pretty good for her – and the dominated the Bouldering and Lead events, winning both. Final placements are determined by multiplying the places for each discipline and she ended at 5 x 1 x 1 for a 5.00 total. Wow.

Nonaka was also excellent, finishing third in Speed and Bouldering and fifth in Lead for 3 x 3 x 5 for a 45.00 total and the silver medal. Noguchi and Poland’s Speed star Aleksandra Miroslaw tied with 64.00 points, but Noguchi finished higher in two of the three disciplines and that gave her the bronze medal.

American Brooke Raboutou was seventh in Speed, but second in Bouldering and sixth in Lead for a 84.00 total and fifth place.

● Table Tennis: Men’s Team
China swept aside Germany, 3-0, in the final to win the tournament, adding a fourth Olympic gold in this event, which it has won every time it has been contested at the Games.

The Chinese squad of Xin Xu, gold medalist Long Ma and silver medalist Zhendong Fan did not lose a set in their four matches, winning each by 3-0. Germany won a tight, 3-2 emifinal vs. Japan to get to the final.

Japan defeated South Korea, 3-1, for the bronze medal.

● Wrestling: Men’s Freestyle 74kg-125 kg
Russia’s two-time World Champion Zaurbek Sidakov completed his domination of the 74 kg class by shutting out Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov of Belarus by 7-0 in the gold-medal final.

Sidakov finished off a tournament in which he won his matches by 10-0, 13-6, 11-0 and 7-0 for a 41-6 total.

American Kyle Dake, who had been defeated by Kadimagemedov, wrestled back through the repechage bracket and defeated former World Champion Frank Chamizo (ITA) for one bronze medal, 5-0. The other bronze went to Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (UZB), who pounded Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ), 13-2.

Total, unbelievable shock. That’s the only way to describe the men’s 125 kg final between Georgia’s 2017-18-19 World Champion Geno Petriashvili, 27, and American Gable Steveson.

The 21-year-old Steveson – named for Olympic champ and icon Dan Gable – is a Minnesota junior and NCAA Champion at 285 lbs. He surprised Petriashvili in the first period and led 4-0 at the break.

But the World Champion came back hard and built at 8-5 lead with about a minute to go. With just 10 seconds left, Steveson scored a takedown to close to 8-7. With 6.5 seconds remaining, Steveson rushed around Petriashvili’s left side and twirled him to the ground for a takedown as time ran out, with Steveson holding up two fingers for the points! The referee agreed and Steveson had an upset win, with a point added later for the 10-8 final.

It’s the U.S.’s first win in this class since Bruce Baumgartner in 1992. Storybook for sure.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 53 kg
Japan won its third women’s Freestyle gold with two-time World Champion Mayu Mukaida eking out a 5-4 decision over China’s Qianyu Pang in the 53 kg final.

Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (BLR) won one bronze by pinning American Jacarra Winchester and Bat-Ochiryn Bolortuyaa (MGL) won the other with a 24-4 win over Joseph Essombe (CMR).

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: The U.S. men’s 4×400 m team put on a show in qualifying, winning the first heat in 2:57.77 with a team of Trevor Stewart (44.79), Randolph Ross (44.56), Bryce Deadmon (44.08) and Vernon Norwood (44.34).

That was enough to beat Botswana (2:58.33), which got a 43.95 anchor from Bayapo Ndori for an African Record, and Trinidad & Tobago (2:58.60). Italy and the Netherlands ran 2:58.91 and 2:59.06 – national records – and did not qualify.

Poland got a 43.79 second leg from Karol Zalewski and won heat two at 2:58.55, over Jamaica (2:59.29) and Belgium (2:59.37).

The U.S. will certainly substitute in Michael Norman and Michael Cherry. Is Rai Benjamin still in Tokyo?

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. women dominated Serbia in their semifinal, 79-59, taking a 25-12 lead at the quarter and 41-27 at half. Brittney Griner led with 15 points and 12 rebounds; Chelsea Gray had 14 points and Breanna Stewart has 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Next up: Japan in the championship game and a shot at a seventh straight gold medal.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. women pounded Serbia, 25-19, 25-15, 25-23, to advance to the gold-medal game against Brazil, which also won by sweeping South Korea.

The U.S. got 17 points from Andrea Drews and 15 from Jordan Larson in the win. The American women have now won 18 of the 25 sets played in this tournament and eight straight.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 7 AUGUST =
(34 events across 17 sports/disciplines)

● Artistic Swimming: Team
Write it down: Russia will win the team event easily, extending their legacy of five Olympic golds in this event in a row.

China will be second, extending its streak of two Olympic silvers in a row. These two countries already went 1-2 in the Duet.

Ukraine is the most likely choice for bronze. Already third in the Duet in Tokyo, the blue-and-gold won bronze in this event at the 2019 World Championships in both the Technical and Free routines. Their most serious challenger will be Japan. There you have it; enjoy the artistry!

● Athletics: Men’s 1,500 m-4×400 m-Javelin
(Apologies to 400 m star Anthony Zambrano, identified as Dominican instead of from Colombia in yesterday’s post; this was corrected on the site.)

Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot has been the man to beat since he began dominating the Diamond League circuit in 2018. His best of 3:28.28, set this year, is no. 7 all-time and he is the reigning World Champion.

His foil in Tokyo is expected to be Norway’s young star, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 20, who ran 3:29.25 this year in Monaco behind Cheruiyot and has run 3:28.68, no. 8 all-time. The two know each other and Cheruiyot’s aggressive tactics and finishing speed off the final turn have won out every time. In their 10 races together, Cheruiyot has won all 10. So far.

Will this be a fast race, as Cheruiyot is used to, or a dawdling pace as in Rio in 2016 when American Matthew Centrowitz sprinted to the line to win in 3:50.00?

There are other contenders. Kenyan Abel Kipsang won one of the Tokyo semis in 3:31.65, Australia has two potential medalists in the dangerous Stewart McSweyn (3:29.51 in 2021) and Oliver Hoare (3:32.35) and Britain has three entries: Josh Kerr (3:31.55), Jake Wightman (3:33.48 in 2021) and Jake Heyward (3:32.82). In fact, nine of the 13 finalists have run under 3:33 this year.

One who has not, but who could benefit from a slower pace is American Cole Hocker (3:33.87). He has shown remarkable savvy for age 20 and has excellent finishing speed. Could he pull a Centrowitz and get a medal?

The men’s javelin is really about Germany’s Johannes Vetter. There was a time when 90 m throws (295-3) were cause for celebration, but he has made it routine. He has 13 alone this year and 28 in his career.

His world-leading mark of 96.29 m (315-11) is the no. 3 toss of all time and he is the no. 2 performer in history. He is the clear favorite.

His nearest competitor could be India’s Neeraj Chopra (88.07 m this year/288-11), Arshad Niadeem (PAK: 86.38 m/283-5) and Moldova’s Andrian Mardare (86.66 m/284-4). The 2017 Worlds bronze medalist, Czech Jakub Vadlejch got a season’s best of 84.93 m (278-7); if he has more in the tank, he could be on the podium.

● Athletics: Women’s 10,000 m-Marathon-4×400 m-High Jump
It’s a large field of 29 getting ready for the women’s 10,000 m, with all eyes on one person: World Champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. Born in Ethiopia, she left the country as a refugee and came to the Netherlands in 2008 at age fifteen.

In 2019, she won the Worlds 1,500 m and 10,000 m and owns the no. 2 time in history at 29:06.82 from 6 June of this year, a world record at the time. Two days later, running on the same track, Letesenbet Gidey (ETH) ran 29:01.03 to take the mark for herself.

Hassan has been busy: she won the 5,000 m in Tokyo and finished third in the 1,500 m on Friday (3:55.86). She will face a much fresher Gidey and teammates Tsehay Gemechu (30:19.29) and Tsigie Gebreselama (30:06.01). Will they work together in a pace-setting program for Gidey to break Hassan early?

Kenya will send Hellen Obiri, the 5,000 m silver medalist, in this race as well, with a 30:35.82 best from 2019; she was fifth at the 2019 Worlds that Hassan won. Surely, she can run faster. Ex-Ethiopian Kalkidan Gezahegne, the 1,500 m World Indoor Champion in 2010, has run 29:50.77 this year; off a slow pace, she could be a contender.

There are other fascinating entries, like Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, with excellent 1,500 m speed, but with only a 31:01.71 best at 10,000. And Francine Niyonsaba (BDI), the 2016 Olympic silver medalist at 800 m, but whose testosterone levels are too high to allow her to compete in events from the 400-mile per the World Athletics regulations. But she is in the field, having qualified with a best of 31:08.51.

The U.S. has Emily Sisson (31:02.82 in 2021) and Karissa Schweizer (30:47.99) in the race, along with Alicia Monson (31:18.55 in 2021). They are not expected to contend for medals, but Sison’s performance in hot weather at the U.S. Trials could out her in a competitive spot in a slow race.

Hassan’s kick is deadly and the Ethiopians, Obiri and the others know this. Will they take it out early?

The women’s marathon in Sapporo has been moved back to start at 6 a.m., with 88 starters expected at the line. The list of starters includes some very familiar names:

Kenya has sent Ruth Chepngetich, the 2019 World Champion who successfully navigated the high temperatures in Doha; world-record holder Brigid Koskei (2:14.04) and the 2020 world leader, Peres Jepchirchir (2:17:16).

Ethiopia has Rosa Dereje (2:18:30 lifetime best), Birhane Dibaba (2:18:35, a two-time Tokyo Marathon winner) and Zeineba Yimer (2:19:28 in 2019).

A wild card is Israel’s Lonah Salpeter (2:17:45), who was a contender in Doha, but struggled in the heat.

This is not like the big-city, paced marathons which are strictly controlled; it’s up to the entrants to figure out how they want to run. But it is possible that the Ethiopians and Kenyans may have their own team concept – which they will not discuss – to set themselves up best. Who is able to handle the conditions best?

The American trio of Molly Seidel (2:25:13 lifetime best), Sally Kipyego (2:25:10) and Aliphine Tuliamuk (2:26:50) are not expected to be in the medal hunt, but if the pace is slow, anything can happen.

The heats of the women’s 4×400 m relay showed that the U.S. depth is still impressive, as it led all teams at 3:20.86, running a team of Kaylin Whitney, Wadeline Jonathas, Kendall Ellis and Lynna Irby. Two will be replaced by Quanera Hayes and Allyson Felix, who were busy with the open 400 m.

Jamaica was second to the U.S. in heat two (3:21.95), but will have more firepower in the final and Great Britain third in 3:23.99. The first heat was won by Poland (3:23.10).

The Jamaicans have Stephenie Ann McPherson and Candice McLeod to add to their team in the qualifying and can definitely run with the U.S. If McPherson gets the stick close to likely anchor Hayes, the Americans are in trouble.

Will Sydney McLaughlin be asked to help?

All the major players in the women’s high jump are in, waiting for the first time to really tangle since the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

Russia’s Mariya Lasitskene, the 2017 and 2019 World Champion, has to be considered a co-favorite, even if she is not in her usual position at the top of the world list (she’s fourth at 2.00 m/6-6 3/4).

Ukraine’s 2019 Worlds silver winner Yaroslava Mahuchikh is on top of the 2021 outdoor list at 2.03 m (6-8), with American Vashti Cunningham – the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist – at 2.02 m (6-7 1/2) and Australia’s Nicola McDermott at a national record 2.01 m (6-7). Manuchikh cleared a sensational 2.06 m (6-9) indoors.

Only Mirela Demireva (BUL) is back from the Rio podium; she’s only gotten over 1.95 m (6-4 3/4) this year, but a little higher might get her in the medal hunt. Will one of the 2017 Worlds minor medalists: Ukraine’s Yuliya Levchenko or Poland’s Katrina Licwinko spring to life?

But if Lasitskene is fit, she will be hard to beat.

● Baseball:
This is the sixth Olympic baseball tournament final and the first which does not include Cuba.

The U.S. made it all the way back to the gold-medal game in Tokyo after losing to Japan, 7-6, in 10 innings back on the 2nd. The two will meet again after the U.S. sailed past South Korea, 7-2, in Thursday’s semifinal.

Both teams won their two group games, then played each other in a 10-inning tug-of-war, with Japan scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth to tie and then one in the bottom of the 10th to win.

The U.S. had to work its way back to the final, beating the Dominican Republic (3-1) and South Korea by 7-2. The Dominicans and Koreans will play for bronze.

Both the U.S. and Japan have been in an Olympic final before. Japan lost a wild game to Cuba in Atlanta in 1996, with a 13-9 final. In Sydney in 2000, the U.S. – managed by the late Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda – shut down the Cubans, 4-0. Japan and the U.S. have met twice for the bronze medal: an 8-3 Japanese win in 1992 and a U.S. victory by 8-4 in Beijing in 2008.

Regardless of the outcome, infielder Eddy Alvarez of the U.S. is the sixth athlete in Olympic history to win medals in both the Olympic and Winter Games; he won a silver with the U.s. 5,000 m Short Track relay in Sochi in 2014.

● Basketball: Men
When the U.S. men lost to France, 83-76, in the Group A opener in Tokyo on a 16-2 run by the French in the closing minutes of the game, Americans wondered if the wheels had come off.

U.S. coach Gregg Popovich assured everyone that France was a good team and that better things were to come from the American squad, only at full strength for the first time after the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

He was right.

After crushing Iran, 120-66, the U.S. defeated the Czech Republic by 119-84 and then entered the playoffs with a 95-81 win over Spain and an impressive 97-78 pounding of nemesis Australia in the semifinals. That included a 32-10 third quarter, with Kevin Durant leading all scorers with 23. Durant also scored 29 against Spain.

In the meantime, France won the group at 3-0, then beat Italy by 84-75 and squeezed past Slovenia by 90-89, thanks to defensive heroics by Nicolas Batum in the final seconds. Nando de Colo led the French with 25 points.

There is no doubt that the U.S. is favored and highly motivated after the opening loss to the French. Nevertheless, France will play the U.S. tough and held the Americans to just 36.2% shooting (while shooting 46.8% from the field itself). Durant played only 20 minutes in that game; look for him to play more this time.

The U.S. men are trying to win their fourth Olympic title in a row, and have won 15 times in 19 tournaments played. France has played in the final twice, losing 65-21 to the U.S. in 1948 and 85-75 to the U.S. in 2000.

Australia and Slovenia will meet for the bronze; the Aussies have played and lost in the bronze-medal game four times, including in 2016. This will be the first time for Slovenia in a medal round.

● Beach Volleyball: Men
The inevitable match-up has come through, with Norwegian stars Anders Mol and Christian Sorum facing 2019 World Champions Viacheslav Kasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy in the men’s final.

Mol and Sorum have won 13 FIVB World Tour tournaments together, including the 2018 Tour Final in Hamburg. In 2021, they won the first two Cancun tournaments, major tune-ups for the Games in a very limited competition schedule.

True, they were “only” third in the 2019 World Championships, losing in the semifinals before getting a chance to face the Russians. But they are definitely favored.

Kasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy have been playing together since 2018 and besides the world title in 2019, have two World Tour wins (from 2018 and 2019).

The bronze medal match will put veterans Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs (LAT) against Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, one of the best pairs on the sand in 2021. Plavins was half of the 2012 Olympic bronze winners with Janis Smedins.

● Boxing: Men’s 52 kg-75 kg
Carlo Paalam of the Philippines will face Britain’s Galal Yafai in the Flyweight final, with Yafai having won the 2018 Commonwealth Games title at 49 kg.

Paalam has been almost unchallenged on the road to the final, winning his bouts on decisions by 4:1, 5:0, 4:0 and 5:0 in the semis against Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka. Yafai has had the tougher time, with wins in his last three fights by 3:2, an impressive 4:1 against Cuban Yosvany Veitia and then 3:2 in his semi vs. Saken Bibossinov (KAZ).

But Yafai won the match of this weight class so far, when he eliminated Rio 2016 gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov (UZB) by a 4:1 decision when the referee stopped the contests due to cuts to both fighters. If Yafai is OK, that match may give him the confidence he needs to win.

Tanaka and Bibossunov will share the bronze medals.

At 75 kg Middleweight division, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak has reached the final against Brazil’s Hebert Conceicao.

Khyzhniak comes in as the 2017 World Champion in this class; he also won at the European Games in 2019. Conceocao won a bronze at the 2019 World Championships and a silver at the 2019 Pan American Games.

This fight figures to be very close; both fighters have been winning tight decisions in their three bouts. The different may be Khyzhniak’s depth of experience in European tournaments.

Eumir Marcial (PHI) and Gleb Bakshi (ROC) share the bronze medals.

● Boxing: Women’s 51 kg-69 kg
The women’s Flyweight title will be decided between Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu and Stoyka Krasteva (BUL). The Turk was the 2019 World Championships silver winner while Krasteva won Worlds silvers in 2016 and 2018 at 54 kg.

Both have stomped on their opponents, with Krasteva winning her opening bout by only 3:2, but them by decisions of 5:0, 4:1 and 5:0. Cakiroglu also won a 3:2 opener, then won two 5:0 decisions to reach the final. Perhaps being a Bantamweight previously brings more punching power?

The bronze medals went to Tsukimi Namiki (JPN) and Hsiao-Wen Huang (TPE).

In the 69 kg Welterweight final, Turkey has another finalist in Busenaz Surmeneli, going up against Hong Gu of China. Surmeneli is the reigning World Champion in this class from 2019 and also won a European Championships bronze. Gu has Worlds silvers from 2016 and 2018 in this class and three Asian Championships wins.

Both have breezed through their three fights; too close to call.

The bronzes went to American Oshae Jones and India’s Lovlina Borgohain.

● Canoe: Sprint/Men’s K-4 500 m-C-1 1,000 m
The men’s K-4 500 m is a new event for Tokyo, with Germany, Spain and Slovakia the medal winners from the 2019 World Championships. And true to form, Germany was the winner of heat one over Australia and Spain defeated Slovakia in a close finish in heat two.

Based on the heat times, the Worlds medal podium may be maintained in Tokyo.

The men’s C-1 1,000 m has a long Olympic history, back to 1936. Of late, Germany’s Sebastian Brendel has owned the event with Olympic golds in London and Rio; but he will have a longer road to the final after finishing only third in his heat on the 6th.

World Champion Isaquias Queiroz of Brazil won heat two in an impressive 3:59.894; Czech veteran Martin Fuksa – a two-time Worlds silver winner at this distance – won heat three just ahead of Balazs Adolf (HUN), 4:01.620-4:01.665 and Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi won heat four in 4:02.794.

Queiroz won the Rio silver; with Brendel now 33, this might be his chance for an Olympic gold. Fuksa and Brendel were 4-5 at the 2019 Worlds, so they are competitive, but this looks like Queiroz’s opportunity.

● Canoe: Sprint/Women’s K-4 500 m-C-2 500 m
The women’s K-4 500 m dates back to 1984, with Germany defeating Hungary for golds in 2000-04-08, then the Hungarians winning over Germany in London and Rio, with Belarus third both times.

Hungary, Belarus and Poland won the 2019 Worlds medals, with New Zealand fourth. In the heats, Hungary and New Zealand were a clear 1-2 in heat one and Poland and Germany were the top two in the second heat. Look for the Hungarians, with Danuta Kozak and Tamara Csipes back from the Rio winners, to be on the podium again.

The C-2 500 m is another new event for Tokyo, with China, Hungary and Belarus taking the 2019 Worlds medals and Canada, Hungary and Belarus on the podium in 2018.

The heat winners started with China winning by more than three seconds over Germany in heat one, then Ukraine squeezing past Hungary in the second heat, but almost four seconds slower. Canada got into the semis with a win in the quarterfinals and Cuba joined the party with a slower win in quarterfinal two.

China is going to be hard to beat, but Hungary and Canada have promising chances, especially if Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun are unable to duplicate their sensational heat time in the final.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Madison
The men’s Madison has not been held since Beijing in 2008, but is back on the program for Tokyo. The reigning World Champion is Denmark, which has Lasse Norman Hansen back but with Niklas Larsen now instead of Michael Morkov.

Silver winners Campbell Stewart and Aaron Gate (NZL) are, as are Germans Theo Reinhart and Roger Kluge, who won bronze. Kluge and Reinhart won the 2018 and 2019 Worlds; Hansen and Denmark were second in 2019, and 2019 Belgian bronze winners Kenny De Ketele and Robbie Ghys are ready to go.

The other medalists in the field include Spain’s silver winners Albert Torres and Sebastian Mora.

Very little doubt that the Danes and Germans are favorites; expect additional challenges from France’s Benjamin Thomas and Donavan Grondin and Great Britain’s Matthew Walls and Ethan Hayter.

● Diving: Men’s 10 m Platform
Reigning World Champion Jiang Yang and teammate Yuan Cao, the Rio 2016 3m winner are the Chinese entrants and start as the divers to beat. Both are experienced and Yang has a bronze medal from 2017 Worlds as well.

But China has not dominated this event in recent Games as it has others. Aisen Chen won in 2016, but David Boudia of the U.S. won in 2012 and Australia’s Matthew Mitcham in 2008.

Nevertheless, they are the ones to beat. The leading challengers start with Britain’s Tom Daley, the bronze medalist from London and the 2009 and 2017 World Champion. Russia’s Aleksandr Bondar was the 2019 Worlds bronze winner and the 2018 and 2020 European Champion.

Ukraine’s Oleksiy Sereda, 15, caused a sensation at the 2019 Worlds at age 13, scoring a fourth-place finish and beating many more experienced divers, including Daley. Korea’s Ha-Ram Woo was sixth in 2019 and Brandon Loschiavo of the U.S. was eighth.

The U.S. also has Jordan Windle, who competed in the 2017 Worlds and is a two-time NCAA Champion for Texas.

● Equestrian: Team Jumping
This event dates back to Stockholm in 1912 and has France, the U.S. and Germany as the Rio medalists and the U.S., Sweden and Germany as the medalists at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

The U.S., Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Australia and expected to be the leading contenders for medals. The members of the team continue to change from year to year, but if the U.S. is to do well, it will be led by the amazing McLain Ward, 45, who was a member of the American gold medalists in the 2004 and 2008 Games and the Rio silver, and gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2018, 2006 and 2014 World Championships, respectively. The other American riders are Laura Kraut – also on the 2018 Worlds team – and Jessica Springsteen.

Individual Jumping winner Ben Maher is on the British squad, as is silver medalist Peder Fredricsson for Sweden and bronze winner Maikel van der Vleuten for the Dutch.

● Football: Men
Superpowers Brazil and Spain are meeting in the men’s final, with the Brazilians defending their emotional 2016 title won on home turf in Rio and Spain looking for its first Olympic gold since 1992.

This is a U-24 tournament for the most part, with three overage players allowed for each team. Both teams have had a rocky road to the final, with Brazil winning its knock-out games by 1-0 over Egypt and a 0-0 tie with Mexico that was decided on penalties (4-1).

Spain throttled the Ivory Coast by 5-2 in the quarters, then went to the 115th minute of extra time to finally score a goal and eliminate Japan by 1-0.

This final is hard to predict because of all the young players, and both teams have scored eight goals. Brazil has appeared more explosive and striker Richarlison will be tracked closely as he has five of his team’s eight scores.

Mexico defeated Japan, 3-1, for the bronze medal on Friday.

● Golf: Women
This tournament has been continuously threatened by weather, but three rounds have been played with American Nelly Korda shooting a first round 67 and then taking the lead with a second-round 62 and a third-round 69 for a three-shot lead at -15.

Aditi Ashok (IND: -12) moved into second at 201, shooting 68 on Thursday, and is trailed by four players at -10: Lydia Ko (NZL) and Hannah Green (AUS), moving up from ninth and eighth, and Dane Emily Pedersen and Japan’s Mone Inami.

Ko is the defending silver medalist from Rio; bronze winner Shenshen Feng (CHN) was tied for 10th after a 74 in the first round, followed by 64-68.

It is possible that the tournament could be shortened by the weather, but for now, Korda is looking strong heading into the final round on Friday, now scheduled to start at 6:30 a.m.!

● Gymnastics: Rhythmic/All-Around
No doubt about the favorite: it’s Russia’s Dina Averina, 22, the 2017-18-19 World Champion in the All-Around. She is one of the true locks of the Games.

She and her sister Arina have dominated the World Championships, with Arina also winning All-Around silvers in 2017 and 2019. The only one who has been able to compete with them on a fairly consistent level has been Israel’s Linoy Ashram, silver winner in 2018 and the bronze winner in 2017 and 2019.

In case of catastrophe, other contenders will include Alina Harnasko (BLR), Bulgarian Boryana Kaleyn, and Italy’s Alexandra Agiurgiuculese and Milena Baldassarri. Americans Evita Griskenas and Laura Zeng finished 8-10 in the 2019 Worlds.

● Handball: Men
European powerhouses France and Denmark are matched up in the final of the Olympic tournament, representing the winners of the last three Games.

France won in 2008 and 2012, but the Danes prevailed in Rio, with the French second. This is a continuation of the play seen at the 2021 World Handball Championship held in January in a sequestered environment in Egypt.

There both teams made it to the semis, with Denmark prevailing against Spain, 35-33, to make the final and then winning a tight, 26-24 game against Sweden. The French lost to the Swedes, 32-26, in the semis and then in the third-place game, to Spain, 35-29.

In Tokyo, the French stomped Bahrain, 42-28 in the quarterfinals and then edged Egypt, 27-23 in the semis. Denmark got by Norway, 31-25, in the quarters and then took Spain, 27-23, to get to the gold-medal round. Mikkel Hansen (DEN) is the leading scorer in the tournament, with 52 goals; France’s top scorer has been Hugo Descat with 29.

Egypt and Spain will play for the bronze.

● Karate: Men’s +75 kg-Women’s +61 kg
The men’s +75 kg class is the largest on the Tokyo program and features 2018 World Champions Ivan Kvesic (CRO) from the 84 kg class and Jonathan Horne (GER) from the +84 kg class, plus 2016 winners Ryutaro Araga (JPN: 84 kg) and Iran’s Sajjad Ganjzadeh (+84 kg).

Those four start as favorites, but Turkey’s Ugur Atkas, the 2018 84 kg bronze winner, has to be accounted for as well.

The women’s +61 kg class encompasses the WKF’s 68 kg and +68 kg classes, with more World Champions entered, including 2018 68 kg winner Iryna Zaretska (AZE) and the 2016 champion in the +68 kg class, home favorite Ayumi Uekusa.

Lamya Matoub (ALG) won the 2018 bronze at 68 kg and also figures as a medal contender.

The World Karate Federation’s top-ranked fighters at +68 kg are Turkey’s Meltem Hocauglu Akyol, followed by Hamideh Abbasali of Iran, and Kazak Sofya Berultseva, all entered. Add in the top three from the 68 kg rankings – Zaretska, Feryal Abdelazaiz (EGY) and Gong Li from China and this is a class to watch … and stay away from!

● Modern Pentathlon: Men
In terms of bringing together the most dazzling array of talent in the sport, you can’t do much better than an entry list which includes all 12 medal winners from the last four World Championships:

= 2017: 1. Jin-Hwa Jun (KOR), 2. Robert Kasza (HUN), 3. Justinas Kinderis (LTU)
= 2018: 1. James Cooke (GBR), 2. Valentin Prades (FRA), 3. Pavlo Tymoshchenko (UKR)
= 2019: 1. Valentin Belaud (FRA), 2. Joseph Choong (GBR), 3. Woon-Tae Jun (KOR)
= 2021: 1. Adam Marosi (HUN), 2. Alexander Lifanov (ROC), 3. Ahmed Elgendy (EGY)

Two of these folks already own Olympic medals: Hungary’s Marosi won bronze in 2012 and Tymoshchenko, the 2016 silver medalist.

The difference will likely be on the shooting segments of the Laser Run; almost all of the medalists are already good runners. Watch out for the Koreans.

● Volleyball: Men
France and the Russian Olympic Committee will play for the gold medal, a scenario not envisioned when the FIVB drew up the groups. France came in fifth in the world rankings and the Russians, ninth.

They were both assigned to Pool B, which Russia won with a 4-1 record; the French were fourth at 2-3. But the French beat the ROC, 3-1, in their group match.

In the playoffs, France got by Poland, 3-2, in five close games and then swept Argentina, 3-0 to reach the final. The Russians swept Canada, 3-0, then stomped Brazil, no. 1 in the world rankings, by 3-1, coming back after losing the first set.

The head-to-head result in the group stage says the French can win. This is the first time for France in the medal round of Olympic men’s volleyball since its inception in Tokyo in 1964. For the Russians, it’s a chance to regain the title they won in 2012; the USSR played in five finals from 1964-88, winning three.

● Water Polo: Women
The U.S. women are in their fourth straight Olympic final and trying to win their third straight Olympic title, this time against Spain.

This has not been a cakewalk. The American women came in having won 88 of their last 89 matches and on a 19-match win streak. Wins over Japan (25-4) and China (12-7) were a good start, but then came a loss to Hungary, 10-9. Undaunted, the U.S. defeated Russia for a 3-1 record to win the group. In the playoffs: 16-5 over Canada and 15-11 over Russia in the semis.

So that’s 93-2 in their last 95.

Spain has been methodical, winning Group A at 3-1, then defeating China, 11-7 and Hungary, 8-6. It knows the U.S. well, finishing with the silver in the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.

The U.S. is certainly the favorite to make it three straight Olympic wins and confirm this group of players as among the best to ever play.

Hungary will meet Russia for the bronze.

● Wrestling: Men’s 65 kg-97 kg
Japan will have chance for a men’s wrestling gold at 65 kg, with 2018 World Champion Takuto Otoguro facing three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev (AZE) in the final.

The 2020 and 2021 Asian Championships winner, Otoguro’s matches have been close: 6-3 and 4-1 in the first two rounds and then 3-2 over Gadzhimurad Rashidov (ROC) in the semifinal.

Aliyev won world titles at 61 kg in 2014-15-17 and was the Rio bronze winner at 57 kg. He opened with a 4-0 win, then 9-1 in the quarterfinals and 12-5 over India’s Bajrang Punia in the semis. This is too close to call, but Otoguro will be hard to beat on home soil.

Rashidov and Punia will wrestle for bronzes with the winners of the repechage bracket.

At 97 kg, American Kyle Snyder is trying to defend his 2016 Rio championship against one of the great wrestlers of this era, Russia’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev.

The Russian won in Rio at 86 kg and has moved up in weight. He owns four world titles, at 86 kg in 2014 and 2015 and at 97 kg in 2018 and 2019. He has won his Tokyo matches in workmanlike fashion: 5-0, 10-0 and then 4-0 over Cuba’s Reineris Salas in the semis.

Snyder, who surprised with the victory in Rio, won the 2015 and 2017 world titles at this weight, but lost to Sadulaev in the 2018 Worlds final and then won a bronze in 2019. In 2018, Sadelaev was leading 2-0, then was able to pin Snyder in the final.

Snyder has also been efficient, winning 12-2, 6-0 and 5-0 in the semi against Suleyman Karadeniz of Turkey. He’s the underdog in this final, but with more than enough strength and strategy to win.

Salas and Karadeniz will wrestle for bronzes against the repechage winners.

● Wrestling: Women’s 50 kg
The lightest women’s class is expected to be a Japanese gold for Yui Sasaki, the 2017 and 2018 World Champion. She will face China’s Yanan Sun, the Rio bronze medalist at 48 kg and a World Champion in her own right at 51 kg in 2013.

Sasaki has been on a tear, winning 10-0, 10-0 and 11-0 in her semi against Mariya Stadnik (AZE). That’s 31-0 so far! Sun won her matches by 8-2, 7-3 and then a 10-7 brawl against American Sarah Hildebrandt in her semifinal.

Sasaki is the clear favorite; Japan has won three of the five weights in women’s Freestyle so far and she wants to add a fourth. Stadnik and Hildebrandt will wrestle for bronzes against the repechage winners.

= INTEL REPORT =

The IOC announced that a “Disciplinary Commission has been set up in the case of [Belarusian sprinter] Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to clarify the circumstances around the incident and the roles the coaches Mr Artur Shimak and Mr Yury Maisevich played.

“In the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the NOC of Belarus who are still in Tokyo and as a provisional measure, the IOC cancelled and removed last night the accreditations of the two coaches, Mr A. Shimak and Mr Y. Maisevich.

“The two coaches were requested to leave the Olympic Village immediately and have done so. They will be offered an opportunity to be heard.”

Tsimanouskaya is apparently now in Poland and being looked after by the Polish Ministry of Sport.

American BMX star Connor Fields was released from St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo on Thursday, after suffering a head injury during the semifinals on 30 July. He is returning home to Henderson, Nevada for further recovery.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced that javelin thrower Kara Winger was selected as the flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony.

A massive volunteer effort was mounted for the Tokyo Games: 70,970, with only 110 from outside of Japan due to the pandemic. The oldest was 91 and the youngest is 19.

The IOC Athletes’ Commission elected ice hockey star Emma Terho (FIN) as its new Chair and Korea’s Seung-Min Ryu (table tennis) as the Vice-Chair.

The Games-related Covid positives report by the Tokyo 2020 organizers showed a slight decrease down to 29 on Friday, again mostly from contracted personnel resident in Japan (19). There were also six “Games-concerned” personnel and one athlete.

The infection total is now 382, of which 207 (59%) are contractors, 104 are “Games-concerned personnel” (29%), 29 are athletes, 18 media and 24 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 4 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 33 positives in 260,255 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 91 positives in 310,987 tests (0.03%).

The number of people coming to the Games through airports was down to 65 on 4 August. The infection rate among all Games-related personnel coming to Japan is at 0.08%.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 726 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 5 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July. In August: 0 of 1,088 for 1 August, 0 of 1,010 on 2 August, 0 of 863 on 3 August and 0 for 748 on 4 August.

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TOKYO 2020/Thursday Review & Preview: Crouser crushes Olympic shot field; surprise U.S. golds from canoeist Harrison and wrestler Taylor

By
Rich Perelman
-
Twice Olympic Shot Champion and World Champion: Ryan Crouser of the U.S. (Photo: Adam Eberhardt for Tracktown USA)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

The International Olympic Committee has made a major push for sustainability, especially in reducing the number of venues built for any Games.

On Wednesday, the IOC’s head of legacy planning, Brazilian Tania Braga noted that of the 43 venues being used in Tokyo, eight are new and the others are either existing or temporary. All eight of the new sites also have an operator and business plan in place for the future.

She and her team have been digging into the history and shared some fascinating research into the history of venues used at the Games:

● From 1896, an average of 39% of the venues used at each Games was newly built; this is down to 20% for Tokyo and will be reduced to 5% for Paris 2024 and – of course – zero for Los Angeles in 2028.

● A study still in process by the IOC revealed the use of facilities from over time:

= 878 venues have been used from Athens 1896 through PyeongChang 2018;
= 77% of these are still in use;
= 12% are not in use anymore;
= 7% have been dismantled;
= 4% have missing data.

That’s actually pretty good! Braga noted that the full study should be completed by the end of the year.

She also underscored a theme which has been an Olympic favorite since the London 2012 Games. Surveys in Tokyo have showed that in the build-up to the Games, sports participation by the public – at least once per week – is up from 53.9% in 2012 to 60.4% in 2020. The goal was 70%.

Heading towards the close now, with 269 events in – out of 339 – (79%), the current medals leaders:

1. 91: United States (29-35-37)
2. 74: China (34-24-16)
3. 58: Russian Olympic Committee (16-22-20)
4. 51: Great Britain (16-18-17)
5. 46: Japan (22-10-14)

So far, 88 countries have won at least one medal, surpassing the 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 1,076.5 United States
2. 787.2 China
3. 625.5 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 589.5 Great Britain
5. 556.5 Japan
6. 460.0 Australia
7. 417.5 Italy
8. 415.0 Germany
9. 384.5 France
10. 339.5 Netherlands
11. 263.5 Canada
12. 251.5 Korea

Expect the U.S. to add quite a few more points with so many of its teams playing in medal matches over the weekend.

NBC announced that Tuesday evening’s primetime coverage drew 17.4 million viewers, powered by Simone Biles and Suni Lee in the gymnastics Beam final and the Sydney McLaughlon vs. Dalilah Muhammad duel in the women’s 400 m hurdles. As specific numbers were not given for Saturday and Sunday, the available information shows:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): not reported
● 01 Aug. (Sun): not reported
● 02 Aug. (Mon): 15.8 million
● 03 Aug: (Tue): 17.4 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.

NBC states that the average is at 16.8 million for the “total audience” in primetime, compared to 27.5 million per night in Rio in 2016.

Hot weather remains a central concern of the Games; the current forecast for the final weekend:

● 06 Aug. (Fri.): 94 F high ~ 79 F low; cloudy
● 07 Aug. (Sat.): 90 F ~ 77 F; scattered thunderstorms
● 08 Aug. (Sun): 84 F ~ 78 F; wind and thunderstorms

The forecast for Sapporo for the walks and marathons:

● 06 Aug. (Fri.): projected 80 F at 7 a.m.; partly cloudy (Men’s 50 km Walk)
● 06 Aug. (Fri.): projected 86 F at 5 p.m.; partly cloudy (Women’s 20 km Walk)
● 07 Aug. (Sat.): projected 80 F at 7 a.m.; sunny
● 08 Aug. (Sun): projected 80 F at 7 a.m.; possible rain

These are warm conditions for endurance events, but cooler than are expected for Tokyo.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: THURSDAY, 5 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s 400 m-110 m hurdles-Triple Jump-Shot Put-20 km Walk-Decathlon
For the second time in three Games, the U.S. was shut out of the medals in the 400 m, an almost unthinkable scenario just a month ago.

The U.S. had Michael Cherry, a semifinal winner, in lane six and star Michael Norman in lane eight. Knowing that he could not see his competitors, Norman got out like a shot off the gun and he and Cherry were out fast and while Cherry faded quickly, Norman was leading down the backstraight with favored Steven Gardiner (BAH) coming up strongly, as was 2012 gold medalist Kirani James (GRN) from lane four.

Into the home straight, Norman surrendered the lead to Gardiner, with James second and Isaac Makwala (BOT) coming on from lane two. Then Gardiner pulled away and Anthony Zambrano (COL) made his patented late move in the middle of the track to get up to second. Cherry and Norman both surged, but ended up fourth and fifth as Gardiner won in 43.85, with Zambrano at 44.08, James at 44.19, Cherry in a lifetime best of 44.21 and Norman at 44.31.

After sweeping the medals in 2004 and 2008, the U.S. was shut out in 2012 and LaShawn Merritt got a bronze in 2016. The U.S. came in with six of the fastest 10 in the world; maybe that will help on the 4×400 m.

Grant Holloway got out of the blocks like a rocket and was running away with the men’s 110 m hurdles final. Then he wasn’t.

Holloway’s brilliant start and crisp hurdling through the first two rounds of the event had made him all but a sure bet to win. But in the last third of the race, the field was gaining, especially 2012 London bronze medalist Hansle Parchment of Jamaica and his teammate Ronald Levy.

Holloway was in lane four, with Levy to his right, then American Devon Allen and Parchment in seven. He could feel all three coming up on him at the ninth hurdles, but maintained a small lead, then leaped over the 10th hurdle instead of actually hurdling over. That mistake slowed his momentum and allowed all three of the others to close hard, with Parchment getting to the line first – by daylight – in 13.04 to Holloway’s 13.09.

(Remember that Holloway ran 13.02 in his heat.)

Levy and Allen dove to the line almost together, with Levy nearly getting second, but ending up third in 13.10 and Allen was fourth in 13.14.

Holloway, in his first Games, won the silver medal, but knows he let one get away. Parchment, 31, will be smiling at the maximum effort that brought him an Olympic gold nine years after his London bronze.

There was always the possibility that Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo could put away the men’s triple jump early. He did.

After leading the qualifying with a crushing 17.71 m (58-1 1/4), Pichardo – twice a Worlds silver medalist for Cuba in 2013-15 – put the hammer down in round one, getting out to 17.61 m (57-9 1/2) and essentially ending the competition then and there.

China’s Yaming Zhu got out to 17.41 m (57-1 1/2) in round two, only to be passed by former Texas A&M star Yasser Triki (ALG) by one cm at 17.42 m (57-2). Then American Will Claye got fired up to start round three and reached 17.44 m (57-2 3/4) – a season’s best – and took over second place.

Pichardo had jumped 17.61 m again in the second round, but now uncorked a long one that measured 17.98 m (59-0), best in the world for 2021 and underscored that he would be the winner.

Behind him, however, things kept bubbling. Hugues Fabrice Zango, expected to challenge Pichardo, got out to 17.47 m (57-3 3/4) to push Claye to third at the end of the third round.

Claye kept trying, but did not improve in the final three rounds. Neither did Zango, but Zhu came up with a lifetime best in round five at 17.57 m (57-7 3/4) to push Zango to third and Claye out of the medals altogether.

Pichardo won Portugal’s second Olympic gold in this event in the last four, after Nelson Evora’s win in London. Zango won the first-ever medal for Burkina Faso and Claye failed to win a medal after taking silver in 2012 and 2016.

American Donald Scott finished seventh, equaling his seasonal best of 17.18 m (56-4 1/2).

World-record setter Ryan Crouser was one of the sure bets of the Tokyo Games, and he performed like it.

Crouser re-wrote the record books with his sensational 23.37 m (76-8 1/4) win at the U.S. Trials, and started off as the seventh thrower in the first round and send the ball beyond the last line, at 22.00 m (72-2 1/4).

The distance was 22.83 m (74-11), improving his own Olympic Record from Rio, a mark no one else in the world has reached this year. The event was, as far as the gold medal, over.

Brazil’s Darlan Romani moved into second late in the first round at 21.88 m (71-9 1/2), but then American Joe Kovacs, second in Rio behind Crouser, got into the action with a throw past the last line, measuring 22.19 m (72-9 3/4). That was going to be hard to beat for silver.

Crouser kept going, pounding the ball beyond the 22 m line, improving to 22.93 m (75-2 3/4) in the second round, and 22.86 m (75-0) in the third. In the finals, he reached 22.74 m (74-7 1/4) and 22.54 m (73-11 1/2).

Behind him, New Zealand’s Tom Walsh moved into third at 22.17 m (72-9), still behind Kovacs, who unleashed a monster throw of his own at 22.65 m (74-3 3/4) in round five. Walsh gave a big effort in round six at 22.47 m (73-8 3/4), but that only cemented his bronze medal.

Kovacs, as the next-to-last thrower, got another big one to 22.60 m (74-1 3/4), bringing up Crouser for the final throw of the day. Unpressured, he spun and sent the ball way out on the field, close to his world-record distance. It wasn’t quite as far, but his 23.30 m (76-5 1/2) distance was the no. 2 throw of all time.

Crouser’s series was the greatest in Olympic history and averaged 22.87 m (75-0 1/2) … which would make him the number seven performer of all time. His individual throws of 23.30 m, 22.93 m and 22.86 m ranked as the nos. 2, 5, and equal-12th throws of all time. Awesome.

American Payton Otterdahl finished 10th at 20.32 m (66-8).

Super-statistician Dr. Bill Mallon (USA) tweeted that this was the first time in Olympic history that the same athletes had finished in the same order in the same event in two consecutive Games!

In Sapporo, the men’s 20 km Walk began in 86-degree heat at 4:30 p.m., Italy’s Massino Stano shocked the field with a 1:21:05-1:21:14-1:21:28 win over Japan’s Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi.

Stano, 29, had a bronze to his credit from the 2018 World Race Walking Cup, but no finishes at major races, although his lifetime best of 1:17:45 is impressive.

China’s Kaihua Wang took off early in the race and had the lead at halfway in 40:55, with seven others in hot pursuit, up to 12 seconds behind. Wang faded a couple of km later and Yamanishi took over. Stano had the lead at 15 km, with the pack still tight, but then broke away from all but Ikeda and Yamanishi in the 18th km. Yamanishi fell back, but Stano and Ikeda were together into the final 1,000 m when Stano had too much speed and won by nine seconds. It’s Italy’s first win in this race since 2004.

American Nick Christie finished 50th in 1:34:37.

In the decathlon, Canada’s Damian Warner got the two things he was looking for: the Olympic title and a 9,000-point score.

Leading with 4,722 points after the first day, he won the 110 m hurdles in 13.46, was third in the discus, equaled his lifetime best in the vault, had a season’s best in the javelin and finished with the fifth-best time in the 1,500 m (4:03.08) to total 9,018, an Olympic Record and moving him to no. 4 on the all-time list with the fifth-best score ever.

The race for silver started with world-record holder Kevin Mayer of France moving up from fifth at the end of the first day with the no. 2 mark in the hurdles, and then he just kept going. He was no. 6 in the discus, third in the vault at 5.20 m (17-0 3/4), second in the javelin at 63.44 m (208-2) and then ran 4:43.17 in the final event to pass everyone except Warner and win the silver at 8,726.

Australia’s Ashley Moloney, second at the end of the first day, held on for third at 8,649, a national record and a 157-point lifetime best. Garrett Scantling of the U.S. moved up from sixth to fourth (8,611), ahead of Canada’s Pierce LePage (8.604) and American Zach Ziemek (8,435). The third American, Steve Bastien, finished 10th at 8,236.

● Athletics: Women’s Pole Vault-Heptathlon
American Katie Nageotte has been, quietly, the best women’s vaulter in the world all season. And she confirmed it with a win at 4.90 m (16-0 3/4) in Tokyo.

This was a difficult competition, with the temps at 93 F to start! Two vaulters – including Morgann Leleux of the U.S. – missed the opening height of 4.50 m (14-9). Then only four made it over 4.70 m (15-5), causing a three-way tie for fifth and a five-way tie for eighth!

The four remaining were defending champ Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), reigning World Champion Anzhelika Sidorova (ROC) and British star Holly Bradshaw and Nageotte. All four made 4.80 m (15-9), with Nageotte, Sidorova and Bradshaw then clearing 4.85 m (15-11) on their first try. Stefanidi missed, then passed, since she couldn’t win a medal at this height.

At 4.90 m (16-0 3/4), Stefanidi missed twice and was eliminated. Nageotte made it on her second try and took the lead. Sidorova missed three times and was out, but Bradshaw missed twice and then opted to try 4.95 m (16-2 3/4) to try and take the lead. She missed and Nageotte was the winner.

She tried 5.01 m (16-5 1/4) once and missed, then retired to appreciate that the gold medal was hers and to get some shade. It was 82 F when she finished.

The U.S. has now won this event three times out of the six times it has been held.

Reigning Olympic champ Nafi Thiam was determined not to have another off day in the women’s heptathlon after standing third following a brutally hot first day in Tokyo.

The conditions were much better on Thursday, with the long jump starting in 90 F temperatures and 58% humidity. Trailing Dutch star Anouk Vetter by 47 points, Thiam won the long jump at 6.60 m (21-8) to close to within four points, then won the javelin at 54.68 m (179-5) to take a 64-point lead and trotted home a little ahead of Vetter in the 800 m to win a second gold with 6,791 points to Vetter’s 6,689, a national record.

Dutch teammate Emma Oosterwegel put together an excellent second day to move up from 11th to third with 6,590, ahead of Belgian Noor Vidts (6,571), who slid from third to fourth, but got a lifetime best in the process.

Americans Kendell Williams and Annie Kunz finished 5-6 at 6,508 and 6,420, with teammate Erica Bougard ninth at 6.379.

There wasn’t much let-up in the heat the whole day, with the 800 m races run in 86-degree temps at the end of a long event. All credit to the 20 finishers.

● Boxing: Men’s 57 kg
Russian Albert Batyrgaziev.out-pointed American Duke Ragan in the Featherweight final on a 3:2 decision. Four judges had the bout 29-28 – two for Batyrgaziev.and two for Ragan – and one had the Russian winning by 30-27.

Ragan was trying to become the first American since Andre Ward at 81 kg in Athens 2004 to win an Olympic gold medal. He had to settle for silver.

Batyrgaziev earned his win, not only in the final, but with an upset in the semifinals against Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez, a two-time Olympic medalist with bronzes in 2012 (Bantamweight) and 2016 (Lightweight) and three World Championships.

Samuel Takyi (GHA) and Alvarez are the bronze medalists.

● Canoe: Sprint/Men’s K-1 200 m-K-2 1,000 m
Defending Olympic gold medalist Liam Heath was back to defend his title and set an Olympic Best time in the heats on Wednesday.

But in the semifinals, Hungary’s Kolos Csizmadia and Sandor Totka were the winners, with Heath second in his semi. In the final, it was more of the same, as Totka and Manfred Rizzi (ITA) got to the line first and second, ahead of Heath in third and Csizmadia in fourth.

Totka had only competed in this event once in the World Championships, finishing 10th in 2013. Now, he’s Olympic Champion!

In the K-2 1,000 m, the 2018 and 2019 World Champions from Germany – Max Hoff and Jacob Schopf – were the ones to beat and Australia did just that. Jean van der Westhuyzen and Thomas Green, both 22 and with modest international experience, took the lead from the start, never let up, and scored a tight, upset win in 3:15.280 ahead of the Germans in 3:15.584.

The Czech Republic, with star Josef Dostal and Radek Slouf, were second for much of the race, but were passed in the final 200 m to get the bronze in 3:16.106.

● Canoe: Sprint/Women’s K-1 500 m-C-1 200 m
She did it: New Zealand star Lisa Carrington won her third gold of this Games with a clean, 1:51.216-1:51.855 win over Hungary’s Tamara Csipes in the women’s K-1 500 m.

Carrington took the lead right away and maintained her lead in the final 500 m to earn her fifth career Olympic gold medal, moving up in this event from bronze in Rio in 2016.

Rio runner-up Emma Jorgensen of Denmark, already the K-1 200 m bronze winner, finished third again, this time in 1:52.773.

The C-1 200 m race was a new event for the Tokyo Games, and through 2018, the prohibitive favorite was Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, the World Champion in 2010-11-13-14-17-18. A doping suspension that was later overturned kept her from paddling in the 2019 World Championships, won by American Nevin Harrison, then 17.

The two were in the water in Tokyo and Harrison was as hot as the air around her. She set an Olympic Best of 44.038 in her heat, then won her semifinal with Vincent-Lapointe third, and in the final, she paddled away to a dominant win in 45.932. Vincent-Lapointe won the silver at 46.786 and Liudmyla Uzan (UKR) grabbed the bronze at 47.034.

Harrison, 19, established without doubt that she is the best in the world.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Omnium
Consistency counts in the four-race Omnium program and 2020 Worlds bronze medalist Matthew Walls (GBR) was the most consistent and won the event with 153 points to 129 for Campbell Stewart of New Zealand 124 for Italian road race star (and defending champion) Elia Viviani.

Walls got off to a great start by winning the Scratch Race, then finished third in the Tempo Race and second in the Elimination Race. Entering the Points Race finale, he had a four-point lead by Jan Willem van Schip (NED), but finished second to secure his win.

Meanwhile, as van Schip faded to seventh in the Points Race, Stewart got a big bonus near the end to move up to second and Viviani finished fourth and got more bonus points to get the bronze medal.

Benjamin Thomas, the 2020 World Champion, was in third before the Points Race but dropped to fourth at 118. American Gavin Hoover finished eighth (99).

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Keirin
The big favorites in this race, like 2020 World Champion Emma Hinze (GER), ended up in the B-final, while Shanne Braspennicx (NED) won the gold medal.

Braspennicx, 30, had been fifth in this event in the 2017-18-19 Worlds and had a silver medal from way back in 2015. But she was good as gold this time, outlasting Ellesse Andrews (NZL) and Lauriane Genest (CAN) by 0.061 and 0.148.

This is exactly why races are won on the track and not on paper. Wow.

● Diving: Women’s 10 m Platform
As expected, China went 1-2, finishing with a four-event sweep of the women’s diving program in Tokyo.

Teens Hongchan Quan, 14, and Yuxi Chen, 15, won the gold and silver at 466.20 and 425.40, finishing 1-2 on every dive. Australia’s Melissa Wu won the bronze at 371.40. American Delaney Schnell was fifth at 340.40. Great artistry, little drama.

● Hockey: Men
The winners of the last three World Cups, Australia and Belgium, were so closely matched that it required the inevitable penalty shoot-out to decide the gold medal.

The game ended 1-1 in regulation, but Florent van Aubel, Arthur de Sloover and Alexander Hendrickx scored for Belgium in the shoot-out and as the Aussies could only manage two goals, the 3-2 final gave the victory and the gold medal to 2018 World Cup champions Belgium.

The Belgians moved up from their Rio silver and won their first Olympic title; Hendrickx ended up as the top scorer in the tournament with 14.

● Karate: Men’s Kumite 67 kg
France’s Steven Da Costa is the reigning World Champion from 2019 and ranked no. 1 in the world and he showed why with an impressive performance in winning the gold medal at 67 kg.

He wasn’t perfect; he lost a bout in the group stage, but was 3-1 and qualified second, moving to the semifinals. Once there, he stopped Pool A winner Darkhan Assadilov (KAZ) by 5-2 and then won in the final against Turkey’s Eray Samdan, 5-0. All together, she out-scored his opponents by 31-9 to capture the sport’s ultimate prize in its first appearance on the Olympic program.

Assadilov and semifinalist Abdel Almasatfa (JOR) shared the bronzes.

● Karate: Women’s Kata-Kumite 55 kg
No doubt that the woman to beat in the Kata class was Spain’s Sandra Sanchez, the 2018 World Champion. No one could.

Inevitably, it came down to Sanchez and Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu, the 2014 and 2016 World Champion and the silver winner in 2018. In the final, Sanchez scored 28.06 to 27.88 for Shimizu for the gold medal.

The bronze medals were won by Hong Kong’s Mo Sheung Grace Lau and Italy’s Viviana Bottaro, who defeated Sakura Kokumai of the U.S., 26.48-25.40.

In the Kumite 55 kg class, Bulgaria’s Ivet Goranova sailed through Pool A with a 3-0 record and 15-5 scoring edge, while Ukraine’s Anzhelika Terliuga was 2-0-2 with a 9-4 scoring advantage.

Both barely survived their semifinal bouts, but in the final, it was Terliuga who was dominant, winning 5-1 for the gold medal. Ranked no. 1 by the WKF, it’s her third major win of 2020-21.

Austria’s Bettina Plank and Tzuyun Wen (TPE) both received bronze medals.

● Skateboard: Men’s Park
No, Japan did not sweep the skateboard events. In men’s Park, the 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, Keegan Palmer (AUS) put down two dazzling routines that scored 94.04 and 95.83 and either would suffice to win the gold medal.

Brazil’s Pedro Barros, the most decorated Worlds medalist ever, scored 86.14 on his first routine and that held up for second, ahead of American Cory Juneau – the Worlds bronze winner from 2017 – at 84.13.

Brazil’s Luiz Francisco was fourth at 83.14.

● Sport Climbing: Men’s Combined
The Speed segment was not supposed to be a major part of the winning formula for the Combined event at the Games, but Spain’s Alberto Gines Lopez made it work.

He was the best on Speed in the final and with fourth place in Lead and seventh in Bouldering, his multiplied score was 1 x 4 x 7 for 28.00 points. That won the gold medal.

The three medal winners were the winners of each of the components: American Nathaniel Coleman surprised as the Bouldering winner and was fifth in Lead and sixth in Speed for 30.00 points for silver. Austria’s Jakob Schubert won Lead, but was only fifth in Bouldering and seventh in Speed, for 35.00, one less than Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki in fourth

● Swimming: Men’s open-water 10 km
Germany’s Florian Wellbrock entered as the reigning World Champion in the open-water 10 km swim and showed he was in shape with a bronze medal in the pool in the men’s 1,500 m Freestyle.

In the open-water swim, he decided to take control right away and led at every timing point on the way to a 25.3-second victory over Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, the 2019 Worlds 5 km champion.

By the end of the third lap (of 7), Wellbrock was swimming with France’s Rio bronze medalist Marc-Antoine Olivier, with Rasovszky 2.7 seconds back and five others within 30 seconds.

Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri – the 2020 European Champion – made a push on the fourth lap and was within 8.3 seconds of Wellbrock at its end. The race tightened further on lap five, with Wellbrock still leading, but now with six swimmers within 7.2 seconds.

But then Wellbrock cut in the jets and by the end of the sixth lap, he had a lead of 4.6 seconds over Rasovszky and 13.7 seconds over Paltrinieri. The lead increased to 16.3 over the Hungarian with 500 m to go and Wellbrock finished with the 25.3 margin in 1:48.33.7.

Rasovszky was trailed by Paltrinieri was third, 27.4 seconds back with Israel’s Matan Roditi coming up for fourth at 1:49.24.9.

Defending champion Ferry Weertman (NED) finished seventh, 2:57.1 back; American Jordan Wilimovsky was 10th, 3:06.45 behind the winner.

In the two open-water swims, all 25 women finished the race; there were two male swimmers out of 26 who did not finish.

● Table Tennis: Women’s Team
No problem for China in this event, winning for the fourth time in four Olympic tournaments with a 3-0 defeat of Japan in the final.

Individual gold medalist Meng Chen and Manyu Wang won their double match against Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano by 3-1; Yingsha Sun defeated Mima Ito in singles, 3-1 and Wang defeated Hirano, 3-0 for the title.

Hong Kong got past Germany, 3-1, for the bronze medal. It’s Hong Kong first Olympic medal in this event.

● Wrestling: Men’s Freestyle 57 kg-86 kg
Russia’s Zaur Uguev, the 2018 and 2019 World Champion at this weight, overcame a strong effort by India’s Ravi Kumar Dahiya by 7-4 to win the Olympic gold.

American Tom Gilman won a bronze medal by 9-1 over Iran’s Reza Atri and Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) took the other bronze by beating Georgi Vangelov (BUL), 5-1.

At 86 kg, a classic battle between Hassan Yazdani of Iran, the Rio 2016 gold medalist at 74 kg and World Champion at this weight in 2017 and 2019 – and Dave Taylor of the U.S., the 2018 World Champion, was resolved with Taylor’s 4-3 victory.

Taylor had faced the legendary Yazdani twice before and won; the last U.S. winner in this class was in 2004 with Cael Sanderson.

Arthur Naifonov (ROC) won one of the bronze medals over Javrail Shapiev (UZB), 2-0, and San Marino got a third medal in this Games with Amine Myles defeating Deepak Punia (IND), 4-2.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 57 kg
Japan’s Risako Kawai won her second Olympic gold, this time at 57 kg with a 5-0 defeat of Iryna Kurachkina (BLR) in the final. Kawai won in Rio at 63 kg as well.

American Helen Maroulis, the 2016 gold medalist at 53 kg, took a bronze medal with an 11-0 thrashing of Boldsaikhany Khongorzul (MGL), while Evelina Nikolina (BUL) pinned Valeria Koblova from Russia for the other.

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: Rio Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz of the U.S. was eliminated in the men’s 1,500 m semis, running 3:33.69 in finishing ninth in the second heat. Kenya’s Abel Kipsang won in 3:31.65 to set an Olympic Record, followed by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:32.13) and Britain’s Josh Kerr (3:32.18). The top seven in the race advanced, but Centro did not.

Semi one was slower, with Britain’s Jake Wightman moving best down the straight to win in 3:33.48 and Cole Hocker of the U.S. getting a lifetime best of 3:33.87 in second, just ahead of favorite Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN: 3:33.95) as the top five in that heat advanced.

In the women’s high jump qualifying, 14 jumpers advanced to the final, including American Vashti Cunningham, all at 1.95 m (6-4 3/4). Cunningham needed a third-try clearance at that height to move on. All of the other contenders are still in.

U.S. jumpers Rachel McCoy and Ty Butts-Townsend finished 25th and 31st.

● Team/Baseball: The U.S. made it all the way back to the gold-medal game in Tokyo after losing to Japan, 7-6, in 10 innings back on the 2nd. The two will meet again after the U.S. sailed past South Korea, 7-2, in Thursday’s semifinal.

Ryder Ryan relieved Joe Ryan (no relation) in the fifth and got through the inning with Korea scoring only once, then pitched a scoreless sixth for the win. Leading 2-1, the U.S. then got five runs in the bottom of the sixth to break the game open. Jamie Westbrook had the only home run of the game for the U.S.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. men’s team exorcised its nemesis Australia in its semifinal, 97-78, and will play France – the team it lost to in its first game – for the Olympic title.

The Aussies had beaten the U.S. in an exhibition game, with NBA star guard Paddy Mills doing much of the damage. And Australia was out to a 24-18 lead at the quarter before the U.S. cut the deficit to 45-42 at half.

But the third quarter was decisive and the U.S. ran away with a 32-10 surge to lead by 19 at the end of the quarter and the game was over. Kevin Durant scored 23 for the U.S. and grabbed nine rebounds; Devin Booker added 20 and Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday had 11 each as the U.S. shot 51.4% from the floor. Mills led Australia with 15, but on just 5-14 shooting; the team shot 41.0% for the game, and was out-rebounded, 44-29.

France edged Slovenia, 90-89 in its semi to set up the re-match.

● Team/Football: The U.S. women’s National Team, so dispirited after the semifinal loss to Canada, regrouped to win the bronze medal with an energetic, 4-3 victory over Australia.

Unlike the slow starts in its other games, the Americans got a goal early from Megan Rapinoe in the eighth minute for a 1-0 lead. Sam Kerr tied it for Australia in the 17th, but Rapinoe got another goal in the 21st minute to keep the U.S. up. A Carli Lloyd goal in stoppage time at the end of the half was crucial to put more pressure on the Aussies and Lloyd scored again in the 51st for a 4-1 lead and a safe ride to the podium.

Australia scored again with Caitlin Foord in the 54th to cut the deficit to 4-2 and then Emily Gielnik got a final goal in the 90th minute, but it was too late to do any more. The U.S. returned to the medal stand after missing out in Rio.

● Team/Water Polo: /Updated/The American women earned their spot in the final with a 15-11 win over the Russian Olympic Committee, led by five goals from Maddy Musselman. The Russians had a 7-6 lead at half, but the U.S. turned it around with a 5-2 third quarter and 4-2 final quarters. The U.S. will now play Spain for the gold, an 8-6 winner over Hungary. /Thanks to USWP’s Chris Ramsey for the correction on the U.S. opponent./

= PREVIEWS: FRIDAY, 6 AUGUST =
(23 events across 11 sports)

● Athletics: Men’s 5,000 m-4×100 m-50 km Walk
After the tactical mistakes by world-record holder Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) and teammate Jacob Kiplimo in the 10,000 m allowed Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega to win, what will they do in the 5,000 m?

Cheptegei is once again the world-record holder, at 12:35.36 in a controlled race in Monaco in 2020. Kiplimo is no. 13 all-time at 12:48.63 from 2020. Will they allow the race to dawdle and become a kicker’s finish, or push the pace to remove almost everyone else?

There are finalists who can run with them, like Mo Ahmed of Canada (12:50.12 in 2021), his teammate Justyn Knight (12:51.93) or Spain’s Mohamed Katir (12:50.79) or perhaps Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha (12:58.28) or Kenyan Nicolas Kimeli.

And if the race becomes at all tactical, watch out for Rio silver winner Paul Chelimo if the U.S., with excellent finishing speed and superb positioning in the final 200 m. Americans Grant Fisher and Woody Kincaid are also in the final and Fisher was in the 10,000 m medal hunt on the final lap. But neither has Chelimo’s closing speed.

What will Cheptegei do?

Relays. Even the word strikes fear into the hearts of American fans, who have witnessed consistent disappointment with the American 4×100 m squad over decades.

Jamaica looked sharp in heat one, winning in 37.82 from Great Britain (38.02) and Japan (38.16).

In heat two, the U.S. fielded a very good team of Trayvon Bromell – the world 100 m leader – silver medalist Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie and were the favorites.

Bromell got out well and made a good pass to Kerley, who had the U.S. in the thick of the race, heading toward Baker. But Kerley and Baker blew the pass and Baker had to come to almost a standstill to take the stick and then get going again.

China, Italy and Canada were all running well and Baker was well behind when he passed to Gillespie, who zoomed toward the Chinese and looked for just a moment like he would get the U.S. into the race. But he faded badly in the final 40 m, while Andre De Grasse was bringing Canada almost to the front, finishing just behind China with both given 37.92.

Italy got third (37.95), Germany fourth (38.06) and Ghana passed the U.S. just before the line, 38.08 to 38.10. The U.S. was out of the final.

Jamaica looks good for the win now, which would be their third straight. For varying reasons, the U.S. hasn’t won a medal in this event since 2004 and hasn’t won since 2000. The Olympic curse continues.

The men’s 50 km Walk was introduced to the Olympic program in 1932 in Los Angeles, but will end in Tokyo as the event will be replaced by some kind of mixed-gender program for Paris. This race is being help in the northern city of Sapporo to give some relief from the heat in Tokyo.

The Rio gold medalist, Matej Toth (SVK) – also the 2015 World Champion – is back for the Games, as are the silver and bronze medalists from the 2019 World Championships, Joao Vieira (POR) and Canada’s Evan Dunfee.

But Japan has great hopes for this event and a tradition of success. Winners of four Worlds medals in the last championships, Japanese walkers hold positions 1-2-3 on the world list for 2021: Satoshi Mauro (3:38:42), Hayato Katsuki (3:42:24) and Kai Kobayashi (3:43:31). The first two are in the race, but Masatora Kawano is the third entry, the national record holder at 3:36:45 from 2019; he’s no. 11 all-time.

China also has three strong entries, starting with national champion Yadong Luo (3:46:51), then Qin Wang (3:37:35) and Tongda Bian (3:47:56).

Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert (3:43:44) won his national title and is no. 4 on the 2021 world list, and there are more contenders, but the issue will be the heat. The Japanese are the most used to the conditions they will see and are expecting to win at least one medal.

Although now 43, the world-record holder Yohann Diniz of France – 3:32:33 from 2014 is in and a sentimental favorite. A colorful character, Diniz is in his fourth Games, with no luck. He did not finish in 2008, disqualified in 2012 and eighth in 2016.

● Athletics: Women’s 400 m-1,500 m-4×100 m-20 km Walk-Javelin
It took 49.97 to get into the women’s 400 m final, with Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson running a lifetime best of 49.34 to lead all qualifiers.

Favored Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH), the defending champion, won semi two in 49.60 and looks ready. But the shock came in semi one, where Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won in a national record of 49.38, just ahead of Candice McLeod (JAM), who improved from 49.91 at the Jamaican Trials to be a real medal contender.

Where are the Americans? Quanera Hayes was the sixth qualifier at 49.81 and Allyson Felix was seventh at 49.89. That means that Hayes starts in lane two and Felix is on the far outside in lane nine. Paulino, McPherson and Miller-Uibo are in 5-6-7.

Those three look like the medal winners, although who knows about the order. Both Hayes and Felix have the talent to contend for medals, but it will be a remarkable achievement for either.

By winning, Miller-Uibo can equal the achievement of France’s Marie-Jose Perec in 1992 and 1996.

The women’s 1,500 m final pits defending champion Faith Kipyegon (KEN) against the unstoppable force that has been Dutch star Sifan Hassan.

Hassan won the 2019 Worlds final in 3:51.95, with Kipyegon second in 3:54.22 and Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay third in 3:54.38. Tsegay is not in this event, but Freweyni Gebreezibeher is, running 3:57.54 behind Kipyegon in the first semifinal.

Those three, along with Britain’s Laura Muir (3:55.59) this year, Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford (3:58.28 this year) and perhaps Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:58.81) could be contenders for medals. American Elle Purrier St. Pierre, the U.S. Trials winner, has shown excellent tactical sense, but at 3:58.03, does she have enough closing speed?

Hassan’s final sprints are deadly and Kipyegon knows she has to take some of the sting away by pushing hard from perhaps 600 m out. If Hassan is close, it’s all over and she will win her second gold, with the 10,000 m – and an unprecedented possible Olympic triple – coming on Saturday.

The women’s 4×100 m heats were just all wrong, with Jamaica, the U.S. and Great Britain all in the first race and teams from Germany and Switzerland “heading” heat two. But that’s because the U.S. and Jamaica don’t run their teams except at championship events and so the seeding get skewed.

No matter. The U.S. qualifying quartet of Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, English Gardner and Aleia Hobbs had nice, safe passes and came home safely in second at 41.90. On to the final, where it will be fascinating to see what replacements might be made: Jenna Prandini perhaps, possibly Gabby Thomas?

The winner of the heat was Great Britain, with Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita. Their passing was excellent and they finished in 41.55, a national record. Jamaica, running Briana Williams at the start and finishing with Shericka Jackson, finished third at 42.15.

Germany won the second heat in 42.00, from the Swiss (42.05).

For the final, the U.S. drew lane six, with Great Britain in five and Jamaica in front of them in eight. That’s an advantage, with the Jamaicans expected to add double Olympic champ Elaine Thompson Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to the team.

The Jamaicans are the favorites and with good passing, the U.S.’s world record of 40.82 from 2012 could be under threat.

The women’s 20 km Walk will be held in Sapporo, hopefully with cooler conditions than in Tokyo. What is expected to be hot are the Chinese walkers.

China is sending the top three on the 2021 world list to Sapporo: world-record setter Jiayu Yang (1:23:49), Hong Liu (1:24:27) and Shenjie Qieyang (1:24:45) with Liu the 2012 bronze medalist and defending champion from Rio.

Elvira Kashmanova (1:27:13) is the lone Russian entry, Spain has 2018 European Champion Maria Perez (1:28:03) and Italian Antonella Palmisano (1:27:42) – the 2017 Worlds bronze medalist – are expected to contend. Maybe.

Ecuador’s Glenda Morejon (1:25:29 in 2019) and Sandy Arenas (ECU) – fifth at the 2017 and 2019 Worlds – and Erica Sena (BRA), who has been sixth, fourth and fourth in the 2015-17-19 Worlds could be surprises as well. How everyone handles the heat will be the question.

The women’s javelin final returns all three medal winners from the 2019 Worlds in Doha: Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia and China’s Shiying Liu and Huihui Lu.

But this event appears wide open, with the top three on the world list also in the field: Pole Maria Andrejczyk (71.40 m/234-3), German Christin Hussong (69.19 m/227-0) and American record-setter Maggie Malone (67.40 m/221-1).

Any of those six look like possible medal winners. China has never won an Olympic medal in the women’s javelin, Poland hasn’t won a medal in this event since 1936, and the U.S. hasn’t had a medal since Kate Schmidt took bronzes in 1972 and 1976!

● Beach Volleyball: Women
The top-seeded American pair of April Ross and Alix Klineman will play Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in the women’s final after both won their semifinals in straight sets.

April and Alix – as they are known on the sand – defeated Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre (SUI) by 21-12, 21-11 in a 43-minute match played in 86-degree heat and 66% humidity. The sand temperature was reported at 95 F.

Clancy and Artacho del Solar had a tighter match with Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina (LAT), but prevailed 23-21, 21-13. Some 13 errors by the Latvians hurt them badly.

Ross and Klineman will be favored; for Ross, this is her second Olympic final and her third Olympic medal. She paired with Jen Kessy in the London 2012 final won by Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, then teamed with Walsh Jennings in Rio for the bronze medal. May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings won three Olympic golds in a row before Germany won in 2016.

Heidrich-Verge-Depre and Kravcenoka-Graudina will play for bronze.

● Boxing: Men’s 91 kg
At 91 kg (Heavyweight), Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov comes in as the reigning World Champion from 2019 and was the 2017 European Champion at Light Heavyweight. Those are good credentials, but not like those of the legendary Julio Cesar la Cruz (CUB), 31.

La Cruz won the Rio gold in the Light Heavyweight class and owns four world titles from 2011-13-15-17 at Light Heavyweight, but slipped to bronze in 2019.

The finalists both won their semifinals by 4:1, with Gadzhimagomedov defeating New Zealand’s David Nyika, and the Cuban out-punching Abner Teixeira (BRA), the 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist.

Nyika, the Commonwealth Games winner in 2018, gained some unwanted notoriety for a bite attempt by Morocco’s Youness Baalla in the round-of-16 match; Myika won the match by a 5:0 decision.

Gadzhimagomedov is 24 years old vs. 31 for the Cuban star, but it’s hard not to see La Cruz working his magic again, especially for a Cuban team which is on a mission to confirm its status as the world’s top Olympic boxing power.

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Sprint
Britain’s Jason Kenny is back for a try at a third straight gold medal in this event; he’s the defending champion in the Keirin as well. In Tokyo, he’s already won a silver as part of the British Team Sprint, where he was trying for a fourth consecutive gold, but was thwarted.

In the individual Sprint, he will be facing a stiff test with 2017 World Champion and Rio bronze winner, Denis Dmitriev in the round of 16.

The round of 16 also includes 2019 and 2020 World Champion Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands and 2019- and 2020 runner-up Jeffrey Hoogland (NED), both part of the winning Dutch Team Sprint entry. The 2020 bronze medalist Awang Ma is also saddled up.

Kenny’s teammate Jack Carlin, the 2018 Worlds Spring silver winner is also in the round of 16, as is France’s 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, Sebastien Vegier.

Japan’s Yuta Wakimoto was the 2020 Worlds Keirin silver medalist and is a dangerous challenger, but even with the home track, the Dutch stars appear to be tough to stop.

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Madison
This popular team event will be held for women for the first time in Tokyo. The reigning World Champions from 2020 are Dutch stars Kirsten Wild and Amy Pieters, trailed by France’s Clara Copponi and Marie Le Net and Italy’s Letizia Paternoster and Elisa Balsamo. All three are entered, along with fourth-placers Jolien D’Hoore and Lotte Kopecky (BEL; the 2017 World Champions!).

Wild and Pieters also won in 2019, beating Australia (with Georgia Baker returning) and Denmark, which has both Amalie Dideriksen and Julie Leth back. Australia also has Alexandra Manly back from the 2017 Worlds bronze winners.

Great Britain will have a strong entry with 2018 World Champion Kate Archibald back and excellent new support in Laura Kenny and Elinor Barker (who won the 2017 Worlds bronze in this event).

The traditional power players are ready to go and the Dutch are the constant favorites. The U.S. is a wild-card team this time, but with a talented entry of Jennifer Valente, Megan Jastrab and Lily Williams.

● Football: Women
Sweden has been the team of the tournament since it shut out the Women’s World Cup champions from the U.S. by 3-0 in their first group game. Since then, the Swedes have never looked back, beating Australia, 4-2 and New Zealand, 2-0 to move to the quarters. In the elimination round, they outplayed Japan, 3-1 and overcame Australia again in a 1-0 semifinal win.

In terms of experience, Sweden is in the final for the second straight Games, having lost to Germany, 2-1, in Rio.

Opponent Canada is also a conqueror of the U.S., beating their southern neighbors for the first time in 20 years by 1-0 in their semi. Canada was only 1-0-2 in its group, tying Japan (1-1), then beating Chile, 2-1, and playing Great Britain to a 1-1 tie.

But they prevailed in the quarters over Brazil on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie.

So expect the game to be low-scoring unless the Swedes can get an early goal and then open up the game as the Canadians have had only modest scoring success. No matter what the outcome, the Canadians will have finished better than in Rio, where they won the bronze medal.

Given the heat in Tokyo, the game was moved from mid-day to 9 p.m. at night upon request of the teams.

● Hockey: Women
Traditional powers Argentina and the Netherlands are set to meet in the gold-medal match. The South Americans won silver-bronze-bronze-silver at the Games from 2000-12, then lost in the quarterfinals to the Dutch, 3-2, in Rio.

The Netherlands women earned the silver medal in Rio, as part of a streak of medals in six straight Games, beginning in 1996: bronze-bronze-silver-gold-gold-silver.

Moreover, in the FIH Women’s World Cup, these two countries have won the last five titles: Argentina in 2002 and 2010 and the Dutch in 2006-14-18. There were two finals between the two, with Argentina winning on penalties in 2002 and again, 3-1, in 2010.

The Dutch have the top two scorers in the tournament with Frederique Matla (9 goals) and Felice Alberts (6).

Defending champion Great Britain will play India for the bronze.

● Karate: Women’s Kumite 61 kg
In the women’s 61 kg class, the field starts with World Champion Jovana Prekovic of Serbia, who defeated four-time Asian Champion Xiaoyan Yin in the final, plus bronze medalists Ibtissam Sadini (MAR) and Egypt’s Giana Lofty, now no. 1 in the WKF rankings.

Lofty is a two-time World Champion from 2014 and 2016 and Ukraine’s bronze medalist Anita Serogina is also in.

Japan will have, as expected, a strong competitor in Mayumi Someya, 28, the 2014 Worlds bronze medalist and a two-time Asian Championships medal winner.

The top competitor from the Americas is Peru’s 2019 Pan American Games winner, Alexandra Grande.

Lots of pressure on Yin, ranked no. 2, for gold here, but Prekovic, Lofty and Japan’s Someya must be accounted for.

● Karate: Men’s Kata-Kumite 75 kg
In the Kata class, six of the top-10 ranked performers are in, starting with top-ranked Damien Quintero (ESP), the 2016 and 2018 Worlds silver medalist.

No. 2 ranked Ali Sofuoglu (TUR) is the 2021 European Champion and a 2018 Worlds bronze medalist. But the reigning World Champion is only no. 3 in the WKF rankings: Rio Kiyuna (JPN).

Kiyuna has dominated this class, with World titles in 2014-16-18 and four Asian Championships titles from 2015-19. He’s the favorite, regardless of what his ranking is.

Also in the fight for medals will be 2018 Worlds bronze medalist Mattia Busato (ITA), ranked no. 5. Venezuelan veteran Antonio Diaz (VEN), now 41, has collected eight Worlds medals from 2002-16; he will be a contender. The U.S. entry, Ariel Gutierrez (USA), is ranked no. 10 worldwide.

In the 75 kg class, two-time World Champion – in 2006 and 2012 – Luigi Busa (ITA) is ranked no. 1 worldwide and will start as one of the medal favorites. But he is not the only World Champion in the field.

Fourth-ranked Rafael Aghayev (AZE), now 36, won the 2010 and 2016 World Championships and more recently, a 2018 bronze.

Three other Worlds medal winners are in the tournament: Stanislav Horuna (UKR: ranked 3rd) from 2014; Japan’s Ken Nishimura (JPN: 5th), from 2018 and German Noah Bitsch (10th), also a 2014 bronze medalist.

Sixth-ranked Tom Scott (USA) was the 2015 and 2019 Pan American Games champion.

● Modern Pentathlon: Women
This figures to be closely contested, with returning Olympic medal winners including 2012 gold medalists Laura Asadauskaite (LTU), a brilliant runner, who also won the 2013-14 World Championships, but has been slowed by injuries. France’s Elodie Clouvel, the Rio silver medalist, is also back, the 2016 and 2021 Worlds silver medalist.

The winners of the last five World Championships will be on the line as well: Sarolta Kovacs (HUN) from 2016, Russian Gulnaz Gubaydullina from 2017, Anastasiya Prokopenko (BLR) from 2018 and 2021 and her teammate, Volha Silkina, from 2019.

Worlds medalists such as Annika Schleu (GER: 2018 silver), Elena Micheli (ITA: 2019 silver), Marie Oteiza (FRA: 2018 bronze), Kate French (GBR: 2019 bronze) and Michelle Gulyas (HUN: 2021 bronze) all have a shot at the podium.

The Belarusian have been unbeatable for the last three Worlds and Prokopenko has been especially balanced among her events. But if Asadauskaite is over her injuries and is close starting the Laser Run, she will be hard to deal with.

● Sport Climbing: Women
The debut of women’s climbing should feature Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, now 22, the two-time World Champion in the Combined, a two-time World Champion in Bouldering and a two-time World Champion in Lead. She’s good enough on Speed to win it all.

She’s the favorite, no doubt. But she will be challenged; perhaps first in line will be Britain’s Shauna Coxsey, third in the Combined at the 2019 Worlds, but a two-time winner of the IFSC World Cup series in Bouldering in 2016 and 2017.

Japan has a strong entry, with Akiyo Noguchi and Miho Nonaka. Noguchi was the silver medalist in the Combined in 2019, and has five career Worlds medals in Bouldering and one in Lead. Nonaka won a 2016 silver in Bouldering , but also won the 2018 World Cup series.

Austria’s Jessica Pilz won the 2018 Worlds bronze in the Combined and the 2018 world title in Lead.

Not expected to compete for the overall title, but strong in the Speed component are two-time World Champion Alexandra Miroslaw (POL), France’s Anouk Jaubert and Iulliia Kaplina from Russia.

● Table Tennis: Men’s Team
China is the obvious favorite, having won this event all three times it has been on the Olympic program and nine times in a row in the World Team Table Tennis Championships.

Superstars Xin Xu, gold medalist Long Ma and silver medalist Zhendong Fan are in for China. The battle for silver should feature Germany – with bronze winner Dmitij Ovtcharov – as well as Japan, Korea and Sweden.

Japan and Germany went 2-3 in Rio in 2016 and Germany won silver at the 2010-12-14-18 Worlds and Japan grabbed the runner-up honors in 2016. Korea has won a Worlds bronze in four of the last five championships.

● Wrestling: Men’s Freestyle 74kg-125 kg
Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov of Belarus and Zaurbek Sidakov of Russia will contest the 74 kg final, pitting two wrestlers who have dominated their opponents so far.

Kadimagomedov, a former Russian and that country’s 70 kg national champion in 2017 (!), started with a, 8-2 win over Cuba’s Geandry Garzon, a four-time World Championships medal winner.

Then he clobbered American Kyle Dake, the two-time World Champion at 79 kg, by 11-0. In the semifinals, he got a challenge from two-time World Champion Frank Chamizo of Italy, but prevailed by 9-7. Very, very impressive.

Sidakov, the 2018 and 2019 World Champion in this class, won by first two matches by 10-0 and 13-6, then pounded 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ) by 11-0. That’s a cumulative score of 34-6 so far.

Hard to see Sidakov losing, but this match of two native Russians will include a lot of extra emotion that could be a factor.

Chamizo and Kaisanov will wrestle for bronzes against the repechage bracket winners; Dake is still wrestling and could face Chamizo.

In the super-heavy 125 kg class, Georgia’s 2017-18-19 World Champion Geno Petriashvili will face American Gable Steveson in the final.

Petriashvili, 27, is trying to move up from his Rio 2016 bronze medal and and has methodically disposed of his opponents by 11-0, 5-2 and 6-3. Steveson won the 2017 World Junior title at 120 kg, the 2021 Pan American Championships and at 21, suddenly finds himself an Olympic medal winner.

He won his opening match by 10-0, then stunned Rio 2016 gold medalist Taha Atgul in the quarterfinals by 8-0 before moving on to a 5-0 semifinal win over Mongolia’s Monkhtorin Lkhagvagerel.

Both are young, both are strong, but experience is on Petriashvili’s side.

Lkhagvagerel and Amir Hossein Zare (IRI) will wrestle for bronzes with the winners of the repechage rounds.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 53 kg
Two-time World Champion Mayu Mukaida will try to earn another Japanese gold in Tokyo against China’s Qianyu Pang in the 53 kg final.

Mukaida won the 55 kg world title in 2016 and 2018, but finished second in this weight class in 2017 and 2019. She’s stormed through her bracket, winning by 10-0, 12-2 and 6-3 in her semi.

Pang is a veteran of this weight class and has two Worlds bronzes from 2018 and 2019. Her matches have been closer: 2-0 in the opening round, then 6-3 over American Jacarra Winchester and then a 2-2 criteria win in the semifinals.

Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (BLR) and Bat-Ochiryn Bolortuyaa (MGL) will wrestle for bronzes against the repechage winners; Winchester is still competing in that bracket.

Japan has been the best women’s wrestling program in the world; a Mukaida win would give in a minimum of three wins in the six classes at the Games.

= INTEL REPORT =

The Tokyo 2020 organizers apologized for a slip-up by one of its public address announcers at the awards ceremony for the Artistic Swimming Duet event. Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk won the bronze medal, but the French-language announcer identified them as from “ROC” – the Russian Olympic Committee.

The announcements in Japanese and English were apparently correct, but the “operational error” was widely noted and an apologies were made. Stuff happens.

The number of Covid positives reported by the Tokyo 2020 organizers edged up again to another Games-high of 31 on Thursday, once again mostly from contracted personnel resident in Japan (16). There were also seven “Games-concerned” personnel and one athlete.

The infection total is now 353, of which 188 (53%) are contractors, 98 are “Games-concerned personnel” (28%), 29 are athletes, 17 media and 21 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 3 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 33 positives in 248,677 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 78 positives in 294,837 tests (0.03%).

The number of people coming to the Games through airports went down again, 186 reported on 2 August to 162. The infection rate among all Games-related personnel coming to Japan is at 0.09%.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 748 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 4 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July. In August: 0 of 1,088 for 1 August, 0 of 1,010 on 2 August and 0 of 863 on 3 August.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Wednesday Review & Preview: McLaughlin shatters 400H WR; De Grasse beats U.S. in 200 m; Talakhadze lifts WR 1,065 lbs.!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Double Olympic gold medalist and world-record setter Sydney McLaughlin (USA) (Photo: Tim Healy for TrackTown USA)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

Two amazing feats of sprinting have produced world 400 m hurdles records on consecutive days on the track in Tokyo, with Norway’s Karsten Warholm running a stunning 45.94 and then American Sydney McLaughlin winning on Wednesday in 51.46.

Commentators are finding it hard to draw comparisons to these brilliant performances, but there’s actually an app – really a book – for that.

World Athletics publishes a seldom-referred-to book called the “IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics,” last updated in 2017 (before the World Athletics name was adopted). It’s available on the World Athletics Web site and is based on decades of statistical research, mostly by Bulgaria’s Dr. Bojidar Spiriev and after his death in 2010, by his son, Attila.

The 370 pages of tables offer comparisons of the “value” of times or distances in men’s and women’s events, allowing a comparison. So how do Warholm’s and McLaughlin’s world records stand up?

The tables are not designed to compare men’s and women’s events against each other, but only within genders. So, in the comparison of the men’s world records, the top 10:

1,356 ~ 100 m: 9.58 by Usain Bolt (JAM)
1,351 ~ 200 m: 19.19 by Usain Bolt (JAM)
1,346 ~ Long Jump: 8.95 m by Mike Powell (USA)
1,341 ~ 400 m H: 45.94 by Karsten Warholm (NOR)
1,323 ~ Shot Put: 23.37 m by Ryan Crouser (USA)

1,321 ~ 400 m: 43.03 by Wayde van Niekerk (RSA)
1,317 ~ Pole Vault: 6.18 m by Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
1,316 ~ Marathon: 2:01.39 by Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
1,314 ~ High Jump: 2.45 m by Javier Sotomayor (CUB)
1,306 ~ 10,000 m: 26:11.00 by Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)

Among the women’s events:

1,382 ~ Discus: 76.80 m by Gabrielle Reinsch (GDR)
1,372 ~ Shot Put: 22.63 m by Natalya Lisovskaya (URS)
1,333 ~ Long Jump: 7.52 m by Galina Christyakova (URS)
1,331 ~ Heptathlon: 7,291 by Jackie Joyner-Kersee (USA)
1,314 ~ 100 m: 10.49 by Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)

1,309 ~ High Jump: 2.09 m by Stefka Kostadinova (BUL)
1,308 ~ 200 m: 21.34 by Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)
1,305 ~ Javelin: 72.28 m by Barbora Spotakova (CZE)
1,304 ~ 400 m: 47.60 by Marita Koch (GDR)
1,303 ~ Hammer: 82.98 m by Anita Wlodarczyk (POL)

McLaughlin’s 51.46 was scored at 1,286 points, behind the 1,295 for the marathon record of 2:14:04 by Brigid Koskei (KEN), the 1,290 for the pole vault (5.06 m by Yelena Isinbayeva/RUS) and Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas’s new 15.67 m triple jump, and the 1,287 points for records in the 1,500 m (3:50.07 by Ginzebe Dibaba/ETH) and 10,000 m (29:17.45 by Almaz Ayana/ETH).

The 800 m mark of 1:53.28 by Jarmila Kratochvilova (CZE) also scores 1,286.

That means she can go faster.

It’s worthwhile to note that several of the above women’s records were set by chemically-enhanced Eastern Europeans in a time with much less effective anti-doping activities. When will those records fall?

Now 242 events in – out of 339 – (71%), the current medals leaders:

1. 79: United States (25-31-23)
2. 70: China (32-22-16)
3. 53: Russian Olympic Committee (14-21-18)
4. 48: Great Britain (15-18-15)
5. 40: Japan (21-7-12)

So far, 85 countries have won at least one medal, compared to 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 933.0 United States
2. 742.0 China
3. 597.5 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 559.5 Great Britain
5. 505.5 Japan
6. 415.0 Australia
7. 378.0 Italy
8. 376.5 Germany
9. 345.0 France
10. 306.5 Netherlands
11. 249.0 Korea
12. 232.5 Canada

NBC announced that Monday evening’s primetime coverage drew 15.8 million viewers, the ninth time in 10 nights that more than 15 million have tuned in. As specific numbers were not given for Saturday and Sunday, the available information shows:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): not reported
● 01 Aug. (Sun): not reported
● 02 Aug. (Mon): 15.8 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.

The average is still over 16 million for the “total audience” in primetime, compared to 27.5 million per night in Rio in 2016.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: WEDNESDAY, 4 AUG. =

● Artistic Swimming: Duet
Russians Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko dominated the event, winning both the Technical and Free routines and compiling a score of 195.9079.

That was well ahead of the Chinese par of Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun (192.4499) and they were far ahead of bronze medalists Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk (189.4620). Japan’s Yukiko Inui and Moeka Yoshida (187.8166) were fourth.

This is the third straight gold for Romashina, who won with Natalia Ishchenko in London and Rio.

● Athletics: Men’s 200 m-800 m-Hammer
American Noah Lyles came into Tokyo with two-year win streak of 11 finals in a row and did everything right in the 200 m final … and lost.

Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the 2016 silver medalist, impressed everyone with his world-leading 19.73 in the semifinals and re-shaped the race. Lyles, who jogged at the finish of his semi and ended up third, drew an unfamiliar inside lane (three) instead of his preferred lane seven and knew he had to burn the turn to be able to use his top-end speed to catch everyone else.

Off the gun, Lyles executed his plan to perfection. He ran hard on the curve and coming into the straight, actually had the lead and looked like he might be on his way to gold. But De Grasse (in six) and American Kenny Bednarek (in seven) were hot on his tail and when De Grasse pushed hard in the middle of the straight, Lyles did not have the overdrive gear so often employed in his big wins.

De Grasse got him in the end, winning in a national record 19.62, into a headwind of 0.5 m/s, moving him to no. 8 on the all-time list and giving him two medals in Tokyo after his 100 m bronze.

Bednarek also passed Lyles near the line, finishing in 19.68, making no. equal-11th all-time. Lyles was third in 1974, equaling his seasonal best, ahead of the third American, teen Erriyon Knighton (19.93) and then Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh (19.98 national record).

It was Canada’s first win in this event since Percy Williams in 1928!

Kenya’s Ferguson Rotich had controlled his heat and semi with blistering pace from the front of the pack, but in the final, he was happy to let Australia’s Peter Bol do the pacework, leading the pack through the first lap in 53.8.

Everyone was still in contention with 200 m to go, and then Emmanuel Korir (KEN) – the slowest qualifier from the semis – screamed into the lead past Bol and into the home straight.

Korir was all-out into the lead with Bol fading and Poland’s Patryk Dobek moving into second and Rotich coming from the back.

Rotich found an extra gear in the final and passed Dobek and closed n Korir as the Kenyans went 1-2 in a slow 1:45.06-1:45.23. Dobek was third in 1:45.39 and Bol fourth in 1:45.92.

American Clayton Murphy had the same idea as at the Olympic Trials, waiting to slingshot down the straight, but was too far back to make a meaningful move when Korir blew the race apart around the final bend and finished last in 1:46.53.

How slow was this? Rotich won his heat in 1:43.75 and his semi at 1:44.04. But it was Kenya’s fourth straight win in the event.

Poland celebrated a men’s-women’s hammer sweep, with Wojciech Nowicki, 32, so many times a medalist, but never the winner, grabbing hold of the event from his very first throw.

A three-time Worlds bronze medalist and the Rio 2016 bronze winner, he opened with the only throw over 80 m in the first round, at 81.18 m (266-4) and improved in round two to 81.72 m (268-1), a distance no one else could match. His third-round toss of 82.52 m (270-9) ended up being the winner and he had five straight throws over 80 m before a final foul. Any of three of his throws would have won the gold.

Behind him, Norway’s unheralded Eivind Henriksen was sitting third most of the day, then was shunted to fourth when four-time World Champion Pawel Fajdek muscled into second in the firth round at 81.53 m (267-6). Two throws later, Henriksen got his chance and sent the ball-and-chain to 81.58 m (267-8) for a national record and moved into second. That’s how it ended.

American Rudy Winkler figured to be a factor, but could not improve on his opening throw of 77.06 m (252-10) and finished a disappointing seventh. Teammate Daniel Haugh threw 76.22 m (250-1) and had two fouls and finished 11th. Along with the women’s throwers, this was a downer of a meet for the U.S. hammer throwers, but the World Championships in Eugene are only a year away.

● Athletics: Women’s 3,000 m Steeple-400 m Hurdles
Everyone wanted to see if world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) was just going to run away and hide, as she had done in so many races in the past. She had the lead off the start, but was sixth after three laps and finished in seventh at 9:16.33.

So someone else was going to win. Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai went to the lead, shadowed closely by American Courtney Frerichs and Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng, a former World Champion. With three laps to go, Frerichs had the lead and was working to split a pack of five runners behind her that included Chemutai, Kiyeng, Winfred Yavi (BRN) and fellow American Emma Coburn.

Frerichs poured on the pressure, and had broken away from everyone except Chemutai with two laps to go. At the bell, Frerichs had a 5 m lead, but after the barrier around the first turn, Chemutai took off and breezed to a comfortable win in 9:01.45, a national record.

Frerichs was unchallenged for silver, finishing in 9:04.79, a season’s best, with Kiyeng third (9:05.39) and Mekides Abebe (ETH) coming up for fourth in 9:06.16. Coburn was tryin g to move up on the final lap, but fell and was ultimately disqualified for a lane violation.

The third American in the final, Val Constein, finished 12th in 9:31.61.

Another staggering, historical, awesome race was run in the 400 m hurdles, this time by the women.

All eyes were on the trio of American world-record setter Sydney McLaughlin in lane four, Dutch star Femke Bol – undefeated in 2021 – in five and Rio 2016 champion Dalilah Muhammad in seven. McLaughlin had taken away Muhammad’s world mark with a blazing 51.90 at the U.S. Trials, but here they were again.

Muhammad had a strategy: go full bore from the gun. She made up the two staggers outside of her within the first two hurdles, while McLaughlin was running fast but steady in the middle of the track, moving up on Bol.

Muhammad pushed and pushed, with McLaughlin behind her and came off of the far turn in the lead, but the gap was closing. Bol had charged hard around the turn and came toward the straight actually leading McLaughlin.

But McLaughlin – who has the best Twitter handle in the sport, @GoSydGo – passed Bol by the ninth hurdle and set her sights on Muhammad. She was still behind over the 10th hurdle, but charging and her superior flat speed sent her past the Rio gold medalist into the tape as the 2020 Olympic Champion.

The time? A mind-boggling 51.46, taking another 0.44 off of her mark from the Trials, with Muhammad the second woman under 52 with a brilliant 51.58, the no. 2 performance ever. Bol lost, but moved to no. 3 all-time at 52.03, the fourth-fastest time ever run. Five of the seven finishers got lifetime bests; American Anna Cockrell was disqualified for a lane infraction. Jamaica’s Janieve Russell was fourth in 53.08.

This isn’t the end, folks. Muhammad is 31 and can be a factor in Paris. McLaughlin and Bol are both 21.

● Boxing: Men’s 81 kg
Cuba won its second Olympic boxing gold – both over Great Britain – as Arlen Lopez won his second Olympic gold with a 4:1 decision over Benjamin Whittaker.

Lopez won a close one: four judges had him by 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, with one judge voting for Whitaker, 29-28. Lopez moved up from the 75 kg class he won in Rio.

Imam Khataev of Russia and Loren Alfonso (AZE) won the bronze medals.

● Cycling: Men’s Team Pursuit
Italy dominated this event, setting a world record of 3:42.307 in winning its heat and then taking it down further to 3:42.032 in the final. The team of Francesco Lamon, Simone Consonni, Jonathan Milan and World Time Trial Champion Filippo Ganna were more than a match for everyone, but the final with 2020 World Champion Denmark was close: 3:42.032 to 3:42.198.

The final reversed Italy’s silver-medal finish at the 2020 Worlds and was their first win in this event since 1960, then Italy’s third win in a row (and seven of the prior nine).

Australia won the bronze by overtaking New Zealand in the 3-4 race.

● Equestrian: Jumping
Eight riders finished the Jumping competition with perfect, no-penalty records, requiring a jump-off for the medals. This was a test of execution and time, with a 45-second limit and the places determined by time in case there were no penalties.

It was close, but Britain’s Ben Maher won his second career Olympic gold – also from 2012 in Team Jumping – by getting Explosion W around the course without incident in 37.85 seconds. All six rides in the jump-off had no penalties – again – but Peder Fredricson (SWE) was second-fastest at 38.02 and Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) was third in 38.90. Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann was fourth in 39.71.

Fredricson won his second consecutive Olympic silver in the event; Britain won its second straight gold.

● Sailing: Men’s and Women’s 470
Australia’s Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan won silver in Rio, but moved to the top of the podium for Tokyo, winning this class with ease at just 23 points. They were in the top two in seven of the 11 races and had four wins, including the medal race.

With their World Championships golds – Belcher has won eight times with Ryan aboard for five – they’re one of the best ever in this class.

Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrick Bergstrom were comfortably second with 45 points, including three wins and a second in the medal race. Spanish veterans Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodriguez finished third at 55, just edging New Zealand’s Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox (57).

In the women’s 470, Britain’s Hannah Mills won silver in this event in London and gold in Rio and added another gold in Tokyo, sailing this time with Eilidh McIntyre.

They moved up from being 2019 Worlds bronze medalists to the top of the podium, winning at 38 points with seven top-3 finishes in the 11 races.

Poles Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar were in third before the medal race, but finished fourth to tie France’s Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz at 54. Because the Poles were fourth in the medal race and the French sixth, Skrzypulec and Ogar took silver.

The U.S. pair of Nikole Barnes and Lara Dallman-Weiss were 12th (98).

● Skateboarding: Women’s Park
Japan celebrated another Skateboarding gold, with 2018 World Champion Sakura Yosozumi – 19 years old – putting up a big score in the first round of 60.09 and then seeing it stand up for the entire event.

Teammate Kokona Hiraki, age 12, also scored high in the first round at 58.05, then improved to 59.04 for the silver. Britain’s Sky Brown, 13, had two middling runs, but then scored well in the third round at 56/47 to claim the bronze medal.

Japan’s 2019 World Champion, Misugu Okamoto, 15, was fourth at 53.58. They were the only ones to break 50.00.

This gives Japan three straight Skateboarding golds, no doubt to the disappointment of street maintenance crews throughout the country. American Bryce Wettstein, 17, was sixth (44.50).

● Swimming: Women’s Open Water 10 km
To avoid the heat of the day in Tokyo, the women’s 10 km was started at 6:30 a.m. and came down to a pack of five women heading into the final 1.4 km lap.

The leader at the lap-to-go buoy was Germany’s Leonie Beck, with Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), defending champion Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) close behind and American Ashley Twichell and Australia’s Kareena Lee a couple of meters further behind.

That’s when it was go-time for Cunha, a four-time winner of the World 25 km Championship, but a silver and bronze winner at 10 km. She took the lead over Beck, but with van Rouwendaal right behind. These two dueled it out, stroke for stroke for perhaps 1,000 m right to the touch, with Cunha getting there first in 1:59:30.8 to 1:59.31.7 for the defending champion.

Lee had moved up steadily from fifth to third and touched in 1:59.32.5, just 1.7 seconds behind the winner and Anna Olasz (HUN) moved up steadily from eighth to fourth in 1:59:34.8.

Beck was fifth; American Haley Anderson and Twichell were 6-7 in 1:59.36.9 and 1:59.37.9.

Cunha finally has the 10 km medal she was looking for.

● Weightlifting: Men’s +109 kg
Georgia’s Lasha Talakhadze won his second Olympic gold in dominating fashion, posting three world records and putting on the show everyone was hoping for.

He made all six of his lifts, claiming world and Olympic marks in the Snatch (223 kg/491 lbs.), the Clean & Jerk (265 kg/584 lbs.) and the combined total of 488 kg (1,075 lbs.), erasing his mark of 485 kg from April of this year. Wow!

Behind him, Ali Davoudi of Iran made five of his six lifts and totaled 461 kg for second, followed by Man Assad of Syria (424 kg). American Caine Wilkes finished ninth at 390 kg.

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 67 kg-87 kg
At 67 kg, Iran’s Mohammad Reza Geraei handled Ukraine’s Parviz Nasibov, 9-1, to win the gold medal, stepping down from 72 kg quite successfully. It’s Iran’s first-ever medal in this class.

Three-time World Champion Frank Stabler (GER) came back through the repechage rounds to defeat Ramaz Zoidze (GEO) by 5-4, for one bronze medal, and Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed (EGY) won the other against Russia’s Artem Surkov on criteria after a 1-1 tie.

At 87 kg, Ukraine’s Zhan Beleniuk defeated Viktor Lorincz (HUN), 5-1, to deny the Lorincz family two Olympic golds. Older brother Tamas Lorincz won the 77 kg class and now has bragging rights until Paris.

Beleniuk was the favorite, moving up from the silver he won in Rio in 2016 at 85 kg.

Germany’s Denis Kudla wrestling back through the repechage bracket and won a bronze medal with a pin of Mohamed Metwally (EGY). Same for Serb Zurab Datunashvili, who defeated Ivan Huklek (CRO), 6-1.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 62 kg
Japan’s perfect record in this class continues, with a fifth gold medal in five Games, this time for Yukako Kawai.

She defeated Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ) – the 2019 World Champion at 62 kg – in a tight, 4-3 match. That reversed a Tynybekova win in the 2019 Worlds round of 16. Kawai finished the tournament at 4-0 and outscoring her opponents by 27-7.

Ukraine’s Iryna Koliadenko won one bronze with a 3-1 win vs. Anastasija Grigorjeva (LAT) and Taybe Yusein (BUL) took the other, beating Lyubov Ovcharova of Russia, 10-0.

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: The morning qualifying was in the men’s 110 m hurdles and javelin. The hurdles is previewed further below; the javelin had some surprises.

There was no surprise as far as prohibitive favorite Johannes Vetter (GER) was concerned; he was an auto-qualifier at 85.64 m (281-0) and no. 2 overall.

The qualifying leader was India’s Neeraj Chopra at 86.65 m (284-3); Vetter was second.

Among the non-qualifiers was 2012 Olympic champ Keshorn Walcott (TTO: 79.33 m/260-3), 2019 World Champion Anderson Peters (GRN: 80.42 m/263-10) and 2015 World Champion (and Rio silver winner) Julius Yego (KEN: 77.34 m/253-9).

Americans Curtis Thompson finished 21st at 78.20 m (256-7) and Michael Shuey did not get a legal mark.

In the evening session, qualifying continued in the women’s 400 and 1,500 m. Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson led all of the 400 m qualifiers in a lifetime best of 49.34 in winning semifinal three, ahead of Allyson Felix of the U.S. (49.89). Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, looking very much like a medal winner, ran a national-record 49.38 to win semi one, beating Jamaica’s Candice McLeod (49.51 PR), Cuba’s Roxana Gomez (49.71 PR) and American Quanera Hayes (49.81).

Favorite Shaunae Miller-Uibo won semi two at 49.60 over Jodie Williams of Great Britain (49.97 PR). American Wadeline Jonathas was fourth in semi two and did not advance.

Paulino, McPherson and Miller-Uibo drew 4-5-6 for the final, with Hayes in lane two and Felix on the outside in lane nine. Felix broke 50.0 for the first time since 2017, but has an uphill climb to a medal in the final.

The semis in the women’s 1,500 m were staggeringly fast, with reigning Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon winning semi one in 3:56.80, the no. 8 performance of the year! The first five were all under 4:00, and American Elle Purrier St. Pierre was sixth at 4:01.00, but qualified on time.

American Cory McGee was involved in a crash with Kenyan Winny Chebet and was advanced to the final after finishing 11th in 4:10.39.

In semi two, Sifan Hassan won in a more sensible time of 4:00.23, ahead of Britain’s Laura Muir (4:00.73); American Heather MacLean was 12th (4:05.33) and did not advance. It took 4:01.69 to make the final.

● Team/Baseball: The U.S. got home runs from Triston Casas and Tyler Austin and five innings of shutout pitching from Scott Kazmir and defeated the Dominican Republic, 3-1, to stay alive in the Olympic tournament.

The U.S. will now play South Korea, a 5-2 loser in the semifinals with Japan, for the right to play Japan in the gold-medal game. That match-up will be on the 5th. The loser will play the Dominican Republic for the bronze medal. The Americans beat South Korea, 4-2, in the group stage.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. women’s team ran its Olympic win streak to 53 with an impressive 79-55 pounding of Australia to move to the semifinals against Serbia.

The Aussies shot just 30% against the U.S. and were out-rebounded, 44-38. Breanna Stewart poured in 23 points for the U.S. on 8-10 shooting from the field, and center Brittany Griner added 15. The U.S. was up 26-12 at the quarter and 48-27 at half.

In the other bracket, China and France will play in the other semi, both on the 6th.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. women stomped on the Dominican Republic, winning 25-11, 25-20 and 25-19 to move on to the semifinals against Serbia on the 6th. Brazil will play South Korea in the other semifinal.

Andrea Drews led the U.S. once again with 21 points on 21-36 kill tries.

= PREVIEWS: THURSDAY, 5 AUGUST =
(27 events across 12 sports)

● Athletics: Men’s 400 m-110 m hurdles-Triple Jump-Shot Put-20 km Walk-Decathlon
The U.S. has six of the 10 fastest men on the 400 m world list for 2021 and Michael Norman and Michael Cherry are safely through to the final. But U.S. fans are worried.

Cherry, having a career year, looked great in winning his semi in 44.44. But Norman, who won the U.S. Trials in 44.07, was second in his semi in 44.52, behind Steven Gardiner (BAH), who ran 44.14, a season’s best.

Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic Champion from Grenada, won semi one in a season’s best 43.88, followed by a national record from the increasingly dangerous Anthony Zambrano (COL: 43.93).

James and Zambrano also have the best lane draw for the final, in four and five, with Cherry in six, Gardiner in seven and Norman in eight. Cherry’s all-time best is 44.35, in 2021, and he will need to bust his PR into the 43s to have a shot at winning.

James, Zambrano, Gardiner and Norman are all capable of running in the mid-43s and even in the low 43s for Gardiner and Norman. Will being in lane eight get Norman to run the race hard, as Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) did in 2016, on the way to a win and the world record of 43.03?

If Norman is in shape and has just been waiting, this could be special. Based on the rounds, the U.S. could also get shut out.

In the men’s 110 m hurdles, the U.S. won 15 of 17 Olympic golds through 1972, then only four times since, and only once (2012: Aries Merritt) in the last five Games.

But world leader Grant Holloway – who has run 12.81, 1/100ths off of Merritt’s world record – blazed away in his heat at 13.02 and confirmed his favorite’s status.

Holloway and U.S. teammate Devon Allen won semis two and three in 13.13 and 13.18, the two fastest times of the day.

Jamaica’s Ronald Levy won semi one at 13.23, ahead of Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (FRA: 13.25) and Asier Martinez of Spain (13.27, lifetime best). Daniel Roberts of the U.S. could not close on the leaders and ended up finishing fifth in the struggle for the line in 13.33 and did not qualify for the final.

Holloway is the clear, undisputed favorite and a world record is not out of reach. Behind him, Allen could get a medal, but he has to have a good start and keep from hitting hurdles. Levy and fellow Jamaican Hansle Parchment are more than capable of running 2-3, or better, if Holloway stumbles.

Confusion reigns in the men’s triple jump, where Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR) did exactly what he was supposed to in the qualifying and Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR) did not.

Pichardo, the 2013 and 2015 Worlds silver medalist, boomed out to 17.71 m (58-1 1/4) to lead all qualifiers and he’s the world leader at 17.92 m (58-9 1/2). Zango, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, set a World Indoor Record of 18.07 m (59-3 1/2) in January and is no. 2 on the year list at 17.82 m (58-5 3/4).

So what was he doing as the last qualifier at 16.83 m (55-2 3/4)?

In fact, only five men made the auto-standard of 17.05 m (55-11 1/4). Americans Will Claye and Donald Scott are in, but have managed only season bests of 17.21 m (56-5 3/4 for Claye) and 17.18 m (56-4 1/2 for Scott).

Beyond Pichardo, China’s Yaming Zhu (17.39 m/57-0 3/4 in 2021), Algeria’s Yasser Triki (17.33 m/56-10 3/4) and maybe Cuba’s Cristian Napoles (17.38 m/57-0 1/4 in 2019) might be the best bets.

Or are Claye – twice an Olympic silver medalist in 2012 and 2016 – and Scott hiding something special?

The Doha World Championships shot put was the greatest competition in the history of the event, with the lead passing back and forth in the final round until American Joe Kovacs uncorked a sensational 22.91 m (75-2) to best teammate Ryan Crouser (22.90 m/75-1 3/4) and New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh (22.90 m/75-1 3/4).

No one expects that this time. Since Doha, Crouser has become an unstoppable force, culminating in an amazing Olympic Trials performance in which he massacred the 31-year-old world record and sent the 16-pound ball out to 23.37 m (76-8 1/4). He’s on a winning streak of 19 finals from February 2020 to today and no one expects him to lose. He won the 2016 Rio Olympic title at 24 and will surely – injuries notwithstanding – add a second.

Kovacs has not been rested on his laurels, either. He continues to compete at a level just less than Crouser, believing there is another Doha miracle coming sometime. He’s no. 2 in the world for 2021 at 22.72 m (74-6 1/2) and has promised more than that in Tokyo. He threw poorly in the qualifying, however, standing 11th at 20.93 m (68-8).

Walsh, still very much a threat, is the leading candidate for third and was second in the qualifying. Poland’s Michal Haratyk, a contender, did not make the final, so challengers for medals might include Brazil’s Darlan Romani, Serbia’s Armin Sinancevic and maybe even American Payton Otterdahl, the final qualifier.

The 20 km walk will take place in Sapporo, in cooler temperatures than were expected in Tokyo, at 4:30 p.m. local time. It will still be hot, around 80 F.

China has won the last two Olympic races in this event, and Rio silver medalist Zelin Cai is back again. However, Japan has the reigning World Champion in Toshikazu Yamanishi, who won over Vasily Mizinov of Russia and Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden.

The Chinese want to win this race badly and have the world leader, Kaihua Wang at 1:16.54 from the nationals last March, Cai and Jun Zhang (1:17:39, no. 4 on the year list). Japan counters with Yamanishi, Eiki Takahashi (1:18:04) and Koki Ikeda (1:18:45).

Spain’s Alvaro Martin (1:19:14) and Diego Garcia (1:19:19) might be able to handle the heat a bit better. It may come down to just that.

In the decathlon, Canada’s Damian Warner was expected to make another assault on the 9,000-point mark, achieved by only three men in history. The world leader at 8,995 from his win at Gotzis in May, he equaled his lifetime best of 10.12 in the 100 m, and got a season’s best in the shot put. His 8.24 m (27-0 1/2) long jump would have won the bronze medal in the open event.

He’s on track to win, leading with 4,722 points and ahead of Australia’s Ashley Moloney (4,641) and Canadian teammate Pierce LePage (4,529).

Americans Steve Bastien (4,369), Garrett Scantling (4,338) and Zach Ziemek (4,322) stand 4-6-7, with world-record holder Kevin Mayer (FRA) fifth at 4,340.

Moloney, 21, is having a great meet, getting a lifetime best in the 100 m (10.34) and them equaling his best ever in the high jump (2.11 m/6-11). He’s scored 8,492, in 2020.

● Athletics: Women’s Pole Vault-Heptathlon
The women’s vault suffered a blow when American Sandi Morris, a real contender, broke her pole in qualifying after a rain delay and ended up with a leg injury that did not allow her to qualify.

So, the U.S. will soldier on with Katie Nageotte, the U.S. Trials winner and the world leader at 4.95 m (16-2 3/4). American Morgann Leleux (4.70 m/15-5 this year) also made the final.

The medal contenders certainly include 2016 gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), a supreme big-meet jumper – 2017 World Champion and third at the 2019 Worlds – but only at 4.80 m (15-9) this year.

The 2019 World Champion is Russia Anzhelika Sidorova, no. 2 on the year list at 4.91 m (16-1 1/4), and Britain’s Holly Bradshaw is no. 3 at 4.90 m (16-0 3/4).

If you’re looking for surprises, consider Tina Sutej (SLO), a former NCAA champ at Arkansas; she’s done 4.74 m (15-6 1/2) this year, or Iryna Zhik (BLR), who has also cleared 4.74 m.

After the first day of the heptathlon, Anouk Vetter (NED) found herself in first place at 3,968 after a strong 200 m, in which she had the third-fastest time in the field.

The reigning Olympic Champion, Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, had the lead after winning the high jump at 1.92 m (6-4 1/4) and was fourth in the shot put, but ran poorly in the 200 m (18th) and sits third, behind teammate Noor Vidts, 3,941-3,921.

American Annie Kunz, the world leader at 6,703 from the U.S. trials, is fourth at 3,870 and teammate Erica Bougard is sixth at 3,837.

Vetter was 10th in Rio and the bronze medalist at the 2017 Worlds, so she is no stranger to pressure. She already has a lifetime best in the hurdles in Tokyo and seasonal bests in the shot put and high jump.; she has scored as high as 6,636 from 2017. Thiam had trouble with the heat; this is her first hep since 2019. The surprise is Vidts, 25, who has a lifetime best of 6,240 and was 15th at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. She’s on track to do much better in Tokyo.

Kunz has not been close to her running form from the Trials in Tokyo so far, but is still in contention for a medal. Bougard, too, the fourth-placer at the 2019 Worlds, could made a push for a medal, but will need big performances in the long jump and javelin.

Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson suffered a right calf strain in the 200 m and was disqualified; she was the 2019 World Champion in the event.

● Boxing: Men’s 57 kg
The Featherweight final at 57 kg could be a history-making one for the United States, with Duke Ragan facing Russian Albert Batyrgaziev.

Ragan won the 2017 World Championships silver in the Bantamweight class and the 2019 Pan Am Games silver, then turned professional. He has a 4-0 record as a Featherweight and had left the Olympic ranks behind. Then came the pandemic and qualification for the Games was suddenly based on rankings from 2017-19. So here he is, having won his bouts by decisions: 3:2, 5:0, 3:2 in the quarters and then 4:1 over Ghana’s Samuel Takyi.

Now, in the final, Ragan can become the first American since Andre Ward at 81 kg in Athens 2004 to win an Olympic gold medal.

Batyrgaziev is also a pro, with a 3-0 record in the Super-Featherweight class since July 2020. He got to the Games by winning the European Qualification Tournament in 2020; he also competed at the 2019 World Championships.

The Russian won a 3:2 decision – an upset for sure – in the semifinals against Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez, a two-time Olympic medalist with bronzes in 2012 (Bantamweight) and 2016 (Lightweight) and three World Championships.

Takyi and Alvarez are the bronze medalists.

● Canoe: Sprint/Men’s K-1 200 m-K-2 1,000 m
Great Britain has won the K-1 200 m both times it has been on the Olympic program, with Ed McKeever in 2012 and Liam Heath in 2016.

Heath is back to defend his title and he’s the favorite, having also won the World Championship race in both 2017 and 2019.

His rival from Rio, France’s Maxime Beaumont is also back. Now 39, he won the Rio silver and has one K-1 200 m silver from the Worlds back in 2015. Since then, he has won a European Champs bronze in 2017 and the European Games gold in 2019, so he will be heard from.

Spain’s Saul Craviotto, one of the two Rio bronze winners is in; he owns Olympic golds from 2008 in the K-2 500 m and Rio 2016 in the K-2 200 m. At 36, his record since then has been spotty.

The runner-up to Heath at the 2019 Worlds, Serbia’s Strahinja Stefanovic is on the rise. He won silver at the 2018 World U-23 Champs in this event and then moved up to silver on the senior level a year later. Russia’s two-time Worlds bronze medalist Evgenii Lukantsov, is also going to be a factor.

Heath is 36, but appears still be in top form. He will need to be to fend off Stefanovic.

In the K-2 1,000 m, the 2018 and 2019 World Champions from Germany, Max Hoff and Jacob Schopf, lead the field and have a legacy to live up. German boats have won gold-silver-gold in the last three Games in this event. Hoff already owns an Olympic gold from the K-4 10,000 m race in 2016 and won a London bronze in the K-1 1,000 m as well. The pair won the 2021 European Championships as well.

They will be challenged by the 2018 and 2019 runner-ups Francisco Cubelos and Inigo Pena (ESP), France, which has Etienne Hubert back from the 2019 Worlds bronze winners, and boats with established stars such as Josef Dostal (CZE), silver winner in Rio in the L-1 1,000 m.

Hungary’s Balint Kopasz, winner of the K-1 1,000 m gold in Tokyo, is paired with Bence Nadas in this race.

● Canoe: Sprint/Women’s K-1 500 m-C-1 200 m
In the K-1 500 m, the answer is yes. New Zealand star Lisa Carrington is entered, looking for her third gold of this Games.

Already, she’s won the K-1 200 m and teamed with Caitlin Regal for the K-2 500 gold. Now she and Regal will be competitors. Carrington was the bronze medalist in Rio in the K-1 500 m.

Challenging them will be two-time Olympic champion Danuta Kozak of Hungary and Rio runner-up Emma Jorgensen of Denmark, already the K-1 200 m bronze winner.

Carrington won the 2019 Worlds in this event, beating Volha Khudzenka (BLR) and Kozak, with Serbia’s Milica Novakovic fourth and Jorgensen fifth. Kozak won in 2018, over Carrington and Khudzenka. This is going to be close, but Carrington is hunting Olympic gold no. 5

The C-1 200 m race is a new event for the Tokyo Games, as is the C-2 500 m. In the C-1, American Nevin Harrison is the reigning World Champion, winning in 2019 over Russia’s three-time silver medalist Olesia Romasenko and two-time bronze winner Alena Nazdrova of Belarus. Maria Mailliard of Chile was fourth and Canada’s Katie Vincent fifth. Expect more from Vincent, who won the Worlds bronze in the C-1 500 m race in 2018.

Canada also has high hopes for 11-time World Canoeing Champion Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, who won this event in 2010-11-13-14-17-18, but was hit for doping in 2019 and missed the World Championships. She was cleared of the charge and fully reinstated, and is frankly still the favorite.

Harrison is just 19 and moved from winning the Pan American Games in 2019 to the Worlds and won again, the first American to win at the Canoe Sprint Worlds. Is she ready for Vincent-Lapointe?

● Cycling: Track/Men’s Omnium
A big field of 34 is ready for the multi-event championship in cycling, the Omnium, including a Scratch Race, Tempo Race, Elimination Race and Points Race.

This will only be the third time on the program for this event, and gold (2012) and bronze (2016) medalist Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN) is in Tokyo, but only as a substitute for Niklas Larsen! However, Italian road star Elia Viviani, who won the Rio 2016 gold, is back and ready to defend.

All three medal winners from the 2020 Track Worlds are in: Benjamin Thomas (FRA: also the 2017 winner), Jan-Willem van Schip of the Netherlands (also silver in 2018) and Matthew Walls of Great Britain. The 2018 World Champion, Poland’s Szymon Sajnok, is also ready to go, as is New Zealand’s Aaron Gate, the 2013 Worlds winner and 2017 silver medalist.

Thomas , 25, has gone gold-silver-gold at the Worlds in 2017-19-20. He’s the one to beat.

● Cycling: Track/Women’s Keirin
A close relative of the Sprint, the Keirin lets the riders loose three laps from the finish. It’s the third time for this race on the Olympic program, with a big field assembled. The lone returning Olympic medalist is star Hong Kong sprinter Wai Sze Lee, who won bronze in 2012 and was also the 2018 Worlds silver medalist and 2019 World Champion.

She will be contending with the 2020 World Champion, German Emma Hinze, who defeated Korea’s Hje-Jin Lee in the final, and also won the individual Sprint. The 2019 Worlds silver winner, Kaarla McCulloch (AUS), and bronze medalist, Russian Daria Shmeleva and Lithuania’s 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, Simona Krupeckaite, all have shots at a medal.

The American entry is Madalyn Godby, who made the B-final in 2020.

Wai Sze Lee and Hinze are superstars in the track cycling world; will we get a final between those two?

● Diving: Women’s 10 m Platform
China has dominated this event over the past nine Games, winning seven golds, three silvers and a bronze. Qian Ren and Yajie Sie went 1-2 in Rio, with Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito third.

The last two bronze medalists are back: Pandelela Pamg (MAS) from 2012 and Benfeito from 2016. China has entered teens Yuxi Chen (15), the reigning World Champion on the 10 m, and Hongchan Quan, age 14. Even at that age, they are the favorites to start. Wow.

The U.S. has Delaney Schnell, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist; she’s fresh off her 10 m Synchro silver at Tokyo and should contend for a medal again. Australia’s Melissa Wu was fourth in 2019, with Pamg fourth and Benfeito fifth.

Malaysia’s Jun Hoong Cheong won the 2017 Worlds in a major upset, but was only last seen at a major tournament in 2018, when she the Commonwealth Games title.

Can someone equal Cheong’s performance from 2017? So far, China is 3-3 on the women’s side and Chen is the clear favorite for another Olympic sweep.

● Hockey: Men
The past two World Cup champions will meet for the gold medal in Hockey, with 2018 winner Belgium facing 2010 and 2014 winner Australia.

Belgium won the men’s silver in Rio in 2016, helping to break a streak of six straight Games in which Australia had won a medal, including the gold in 2004.

The Aussies whipped Group A with a 4-0-1 record, outscoring its opponents by 22-9, but had a tough time in the quarterfinals, tying with the Netherlands and then winning a penalty shoot-out to advance. The semifinal with Germany was cleaner, with a 3-1 to advance.

Belgium was also 4-0-1 in its group, with a 26-9 scoring edge, and defeated Spain (3-1) and India (5-2) to get to the gold-medal round.

Does Belgium’s 3-1 win against the Dutch in group play mean anything? Belgium won its 2018 world title with a penalty shoot-out win against the Netherlands, but never met third-place Australia in the tournament.

The two teams have the top scorers in the tournament so far: Alexander Hendrickx has 14 goals for the Belgians, while Blake Govers (AUS) is second with seven, and Tim Brand and Thomas Wickham each have five.

● Karate: Men’s Kumite 67 kg
Karate makes its debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but will not be continued to Paris in 2024. Who knows if the sport will be on again, so it’s important for the karatekas to make the best show possible.

France’s Steven Da Costa is the reigning World Champion from 2019 and also has a 2016 bronze to his credit. He’s ranked no. 1 in the world on the WKF rankings, followed by Egypt’s Ali Elsawy. Venezuela’s Andres Madera also won a 2016 Worlds bronze and is ranked no. 21.

Italy’s Angelo Crescenzo won the world title at 60 kg in 2018, but as 67 kg is the lightest class on the Olympic program, he has moved up. Same for Naoto Sago (JPN: 60 kg silver) and Firdovsi Farzaliyev (AZE) the Worlds bronze winner at 60 kg in 2016. Kazak Darkhan Assadilov has won two 60 kg Worlds medals, in 2018 and 2008!

All of them will literally be chasing Da Costa.

● Karate: Women’s Kata-Kumite 55 kg
Two women’s divisions are on the schedule, starting with the Kata (stance) competition.

Spain’s Sandra Sanchez is the 2018 World Champion and ranked no. 1 by the World Karate Federation. She will face off once again with Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu, the 2014 and 2016 World Champion and the silver winner in 2018.

They are the favorites. Hong Kong’s Grace Lau and Italy’s Viviana Bottero both won Worlds bronzes in 2018 and are ranked sixth and third at present. Turkey’s Dilara Bozan and American Sakura Kokumai are ranked sixth and seventh and expected to contend for (bronze) medals.

Hard to see anyone other than Sanchez and Shimizu on top of the podium.

In the 55 kg Kumite class, most of the medal winners from the 50 and 55 kg classes from the 2018 Worlds are in: 50 kg champ Miho Miyahara (JPN), silver winner Serap Ozcelik (TUR), bronze winners Bettina Plank (AUT) and Sara Bahmanyar (IRI), and 55 kg bronze medalists Tzu-Yun Wen (TPE) and Ivet Goranova (BUL).

However, it’s Ukraine’s Anzhelika Terliuga who is ranked no. 1, winner of two Karate 1 Premier League events in the 2020-21 season.

Wild card: Russia’s Anna Chernysheva, 19, the 2021 European Champion at 55 kg. Is she too young for the pressure?

● Skateboard: Men’s Park
Also making its debut in Tokyo is the Skateboard Park event, with World Championships held since 2016.

The dominant force in this event is Pedro Barros (BRA), winner of the 2018 world title, but also second in 2016 and 2017, so he’s won a quarter of all World Championships medals ever offered by himself.

He has two medalist teammates, Luiz Francisco and Pedro Quintas, the silver and bronze medalists from 2019.

The reigning World Champion is Heimana Reynolds (USA), the winner in 2019 and silver medalist in 2018; he also has a medalist teammate in Cory Juneau, the 2017 Worlds bronze winner.

Add in Italian Ivan Federico – bronze winner in 2016 – and Australia’s Keegan Palmer, bronze medalist in 2018, and you have 10 of the 12 Worlds medals ever won represented in Tokyo.

● Sport Climbing: Men’s Combined
Another first-time sport for Tokyo, the Combined event brings together the normally-separate disciplines of Bouldering, Lead and Speed.

The Combined, as a World Championship event, has been held since 2012 and the 2012-14-16 titles all went to Sean McColl of Canada. He’s in the field, but the favorite is more likely Czech Adam Ondra, the three-time Lead World Champion and 2014 Bouldering gold medalist. Ondra was also the 2018 Combined silver medalist.

The last two world titles in the Combined have been won by Austria’s Jacob Schubert (2018) and and Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki, who won over Schubert in 2019. Germany’s Jan Hojer and Kazak Rishat Khaibullin were the bronze medalists the last two years.

Ondra, Schubert and German Alexander Megos are great in Lead; Narasaki, teammate Kai Harada and Jong-Won Chon are Bouldering experts, and Italy’s Ludovico Fossali and France’s Bassa Mawem are best in Speed.

But Ondra and Narasaki are the likely favorites.

● Swimming: Men’s open-water 10 km
The 10 km of open-water swimming are tough enough, but the competitors are keeping a close watch on the heat as well.

Tokyo will be the fourth 10km open-water event for men, and two of the three prior gold medalists are back: London 2012’s Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia and Ferry Weertman (NED) from Rio 2016. The Rio bronze medalist, Marc Antoine Olivier (FRA) is also back.

Multiple medalists from the FINA World Championships are ready to go. The 2019 World Champion, Germany’s Florian Wellbrock – already the Tokyo 2020 1,500 m Freestyle bronze medalist – is in, along with teammate Rob Muffels, the 2019 bronze medalist.

Weertman, Olivier and American Jordan Wilimovsky have dominated the Worlds medal lists over the last three Worlds:

● 2015: 1. Wilimovsky; 2. Weertman; 3. S. Gianniotis (GRE)
● 2017: 1. Weertman; 2. Wilimovsky; 3. Olivier
● 2019: 1. Wellbrock; 2. Olivier; 3. Muffels

They’re all contenders again, and let’s add in Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, the 2019 World 5 km winner; Italy’s Giorgio Paltrinieri, the Rio 1,500 m Freestyle winner and Tokyo 800 m Free silver winner, and his teammate Mario Sanzullo, the 2017 World 5 k silver medalist.

Weertman has consistently been at his best when medals are on the line; if he is fit, he’s first among equals when the horn sounds.

● Table Tennis: Women’s Team
China owns this event, having won all three Olympic tournaments and winning the World Team Championship four times in a row and 12 of the last 13, from 1992-2018.

The trio of Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Meng Chen, silver medalist Yingsha Sun and Manyu Wang is in the final against second-seed Japan, with bronze medalist Mima Ito, Kasumi Ishikawa and Miu Hirano.

China has been perfect so far, ringing up match wins by 3-0 in each of its three rounds. Japan, the second seed, has also not lost a set: 9-0 over three matches. Japan has been second to China in each of the last three World Team titles events; time for a breakthrough?

The third-place match will be between third-seed Germany and fourth-seed Hong Kong. Germany won the Olympic silver in 2016, with Japan third. Hong Kong has not won an Olympic medal in this event.

● Wrestling: Men’s Freestyle 57 kg-86 kg
In the men’s 57 kg Freestyle final, India’s Ravi Kumar Dahiya will try to become the country’s first-ever wrestling gold medalist. He has a severe challenge in Russia’s Zaur Uguev, the 2018 and 2019 World Champion at this weight.

Kumar won the 2019 Worlds bronze at this weight and the two met in the semifinals, with Uguev winning a tight battle by 6-4. So they know each other well.

While Uguev has won his bouts close – 5-4 over Tom Gilman of the U.S., 6-6 on criteria in the quarters and then 8-3 over Reza Atri (IRI) in the semis – Kumar rolled over his first two opponents by 13-2 and 14-4 and then pinned Nurislam Sanayev (KAZ) in the semis. Maybe he does have a chance at history!

Atri and Sanayev will wrestle for bronze medals against the repechage winners; Gilman of the U.S. is still a possible opponent for Atri.

At 86 kg, a classic battle is on with Hassan Yazdani of Iran, the Rio 2016 gold medalist at 74 kg and World Champion at this weight in 2017 and 2019 – and Dave Taylor of the U.S., the 2018 World Champion.

According to a Wikipedia account of Yazdani’s international career, they have met twice, with Taylor winning both times. The first was in the 2017 World Cup, where Taylor had an 8-4 lead before pinning Yazdani. The second was at the 2018 Worlds, where Taylor won 11-6 in the first round on the way to the world title.

Both have been impressive, with Yazdani winning his bouts by 11-2, 12-1 and 7-1 in the semis against Russia’s Artur Naifonov. Taylor has won his matches by 11-0, 12-2 and a 10-0 shutout of India’s Deepak Punia in his semifinal.

Iran has never had a gold medalist in this weight class; the U.S. last won it in 2004 with Cael Sanderson.

Naifonov and Punia will wrestle for bronzes against the repechage bracket winners.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 57 kg
The comeback attempt from American Helen Maroulis fell a little short in Tokyo, as she lost in the semifinals of the women’s Freestyle 57 kg class to Japan’s Risako Kawai.

Maroulis famously won the 2016 Rio gold at 53 kg, beating three-time gold medalist Saori Yoshida in the final. Maroulis then won the 2017 World Championship at 58 kg, but suffered concussion problems in 2018 that have dogged her since.

She whipped through the U.S. Trials and won her matches in Tokyo by 8-4 and 8-0, but fell in the semis. She will now wrestle for a bronze medal against a repechage bracket winners.

Kawai will try to keep Japan’s record in this class perfect: they have won all four prior Olympic golds. She will face Iryna Kurchkina (BLR), who has sailed through her matches by 8-2, 6-3 and 11-0 in her semi against Bulgarian Evelina Nikolova.

Kawai comes to the final with World Championships in 2017 (60 kg), 2018 (59 kg) and 2019 (57 kg); she won her first two Olympic matches by 8-2 and 7-0 before successfully battling Maroulis in the semis.

Nikolova will also wrestle for a bronze.

= INTEL REPORT =

International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told a Tuesday news conference that a “Disciplinary Commission” is being formed to “establish the facts” in the situation of Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsymanouskaya and the circumstances that led her to seek Japanese police protection at the airport and to ask for political asylum in Poland.

Adams noted that the requested report on the matter from the Belarus National Olympic Committee had been received; the new Commission is especially interested to “hear the two officials, Mr. Artur Shumak and Mr. Yuri Moisevich, who have allegedly been involved in the incident.”

U.S. silver-medal-winning shot putter Raven Saunders revealed that her mother, Clarissa, passed away on Tuesday (3rd) after watching her daughter compete on Sunday at a viewing party in Orlando, Florida.

The IOC had been inquiring into her post-medal ceremony arm-crossing for photographers; Adams noted “the process for the moment is being fully suspended for the time being.”

The Chinese Olympic Committee is preparing a report, at the request of the IOC, on the wearing of “Chairman Mao” buttons by Track Cycling women’s Team Sprint winners Shanju Bao and Tianshi Zong at their medal ceremony. While the report is in process, Adams said the Chinese NOC “have assured us this will not happen again.”

The International Olympic Committee held elections for its Athletes’ Commission for four positions that will run through the Los Angeles 2028 Games. According to the IOC:

“Between 13 July and 3 August, 6,825 athletes voted in the IOC AC election at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, representing a participation rate of 61.27 per cent, one of the highest in the history of AC elections, the first of which was held at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996.”

There were 30 candidates; those elected to be members of the IOC for the next eight years include Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol, Polish cyclist Maja Wloszczowska, Italian swimming star Federica Pellegrini and Japanese fencer Yuki Ota. All four are four- or five-time Olympians and multi-medal winners.

Shooter Danka Bartekova (SVK), canoeist and Paris 2024 Chair Tony Estanguet (FRA) and Australian rower James Tomkins are leaving the Athletes’ Commission. The chair of the group, Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, is also completing her term, but has been elected as an individual member of the IOC and will serve to age 70.

The first instance of a team-wide Covid infection problem surfaced with the Greek squad in Artistic Swimming. Four of the 11 athletes tested positive, plus a team official, although they were asymptomatic, and two more members of the team were deemed to be “close contacts.”

On a proposal from the Tokyo organizers to the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the team was quarantined. This resulted in its withdrawal prior to the Team event, since there would not be enough competitors (eight) remaining.

Evangelia Papazoglou and Evangelia Platanioti participated in the Duet preliminaries, but were withdrawn from the Duet Technical and Duet Free routines.

The number of Covid positives report by the Tokyo 2020 organizers edged up slightly to a Games-high 29 on Wednesday, with 19 of the 29 from Games contractors and four athletes (three from the Greek Artistic Swimming team)..

The infection total is now 322, of which 172 (53%) are contractors, 91 are “Games-concerned personnel” (28%), 28 are athletes, 14 media and 17 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 2 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 33 positives in 236,258 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 72 positives in 278,203 tests (0.03%).

The number of people coming to the Games through airports has slowed to a trickle, with only 186 reported on 2 August. The infection rate among all Games-related personnel coming to Japan remains at 0.08%.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 863 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 3 August; note how the delegation size is shrinking quickly now as the Games near the close.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July. In August: 0 of 1,088 for 1 August, 0 of 1,010 on 2 August.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Tuesday Review & Preview: Warholm 45.94 400H world-record stunner; Biles back with bronze; Mu & Mensah-Stock win gold

By
Rich Perelman
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Olympic women's 68 kg Freestyle wrestling gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock of the U.S. in action! (Photo: Larry Slater via USA Wrestling)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

As was expected, the Tokyo Games are a major hit on television worldwide, but especially in Japan.

Timo Lumme (FIN), the managing director of the International Olympic Committee’s television and marketing services division, told reporters on Tuesday:

“There’s been incredibly strong engagement. As of the close of play on Sunday, August the first, 113 and a half million Japanese people had watched some coverage of the Olympic Games. So, translated, that means nine out of 10 Japanese people have watched coverage of the Games.

“The most-watched program, not surprisingly perhaps, was the Opening Ceremony, with 70 million, or 56%of the addressable Japanese population watched the Opening Ceremony.”

He noted that there has been strong viewing in many countries:

● “In China, again strong viewership … The highest-rated programs have been the men’s 100 m final and the two table tennis Singles finals, which have been the three most-watched sports broadcasts since the FIFA 2018 World Cup final.”

● “In Europe, which as you know, has no primetime coverage because of the time zones, broadcast channels have also enjoyed a dominant share of viewing compared to when they didn’t have the Games, and in general, 1 in 2 Europeans have followed the Games. Some markets like the U.K. has gone up to two out of three people following the broadcast of the Games.”

● “In the U.S. … it’s the only program – of course not just sports – with a primetime average of around 17 million spectators or viewers each night. NBC’s broadcast is therefore regularly beating the opposition, the other networks, by double or triple the combined amount of all the other three networks’ viewership.”

● “Similar story in Canada: 56% of the population have watched some of the broadcasts, that translates to 21 million Canadians.”

● “Also a stat on India: the only data we have so far is for the Opening Ceremony, where the viewership was six times higher compared to Rio 2016.”

Noting that the 1964 Tokyo Games was the first to offer color coverage, Lumme suggested that the this edition, “I suppose you could say were the first streaming Olympic Games.”

The total amount of program hours being produced by the Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) group will be about 30% more than for Rio 2016, or about 9,500 hours in all.

In terms of value, he pointed out that “TV ratings again, generally, are much higher for the channels showing the Games than they would have in an ordinary, non-Olympic year.”

Lumme wasn’t sure about the total number of global viewers of the Opening Ceremony, but guessed it would be in the 600 million range once all the data was collected.

Asked about the high Japanese viewership in a country where pre-Games polling was highly negative about holding the event there, Lumme observed:

“No, we weren’t surprised. … I think we think we were always confident in one thing, is that the athlete stories – sport – will break out, because we know very well what the athletes have been preparing for and what they are capable of and so we were very, very confident that once the Games started, their stories would have huge appeal and would really transcend discussion before, because that’s what the Games are about at the end of the day.

“Of course, we never know the exact number, but we were very confident – and I think we’ve been proved right – that the Japanese people have totally embraced the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

Some 225 events out of the 339 total events in Tokyo (67%) have been completed. The current medals leaders:

1. 73: United States (24-28-21)
2. 69: China (32-21-16)
3. 52: Russian Olympic Committee (13-21-18)
4. 43: Great Britain (13-17-13)
5. 36: Japan (19-6-11)

So far, 84 countries have won at least one medal, compared to 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 878.0 United States
2. 733.0 China
3. 571.0 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 515.0 Great Britain
5. 460.5 Japan
6. 384.0 Australia
7. 362.0 Italy
8. 351.5 Germany
9. 332.0 France
10. 283.6 Netherlands
11. 247.0 Korea
12. 211.5 Canada

In terms of individual places won, the U.S. has won 163 (across 225 events), followed by China (117), the Russian Olympic Committee (108), Great Britain (100) and Japan (89).

No numbers posted by NBC for Sunday’s Olympic primetime programming, for the second day in a row. The average is still over 16 million for the “total audience,” but Saturday’s numbers were under 15 million in primetime for the first time.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s 400 m hurdles-Pole Vault
One of the most-anticipated showdowns of the Tokyo Games is the men’s 400 m hurdles with world-record setter Karsten Warholm (NOR) facing off with American Rai Benjamin.

It was even more, much more, than expected.

Benjamin was in lane five and Warholm in six and the Norwegian took off like a shot – as he always does – building a lead down the backstraight and into the turn.

Warholm came off the turn with a solid lead, but Benjamin was gaining, over hurdles eight and nine. Coming to the 10th, Benjamin nearly caught up, but Warholm had one more burst that sent him across the line, with Benjamin close, but a clear second.

Then the time was posted: 45.94.

Consider that the world record from 1992 to earlier this year was 46.78 by American Kevin Young from Barcelona in 1992. Warholm ran 46.70 on 1 July and has now lowered what was a 29-year-old mark by 0.84 in about a month.

It’s a staggering time, one of the greatest performances in any event in history. Right there with Bob Beamon’s 8.90 m (29-2 1/2) jump in 1968 or any of Usain Bolt’s sprint records. Warholm’s time over hurdles would have ranked hin 140th on the 2019 world list for the flat 400 m. Unbelievable, but it happened.

Benjamin was second in an also-unreal 46.17, now the American Record. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos was third as expected, in 46.72 – also faster than Young’s 1992 time – ahead of Kyron McMaster’s fourth-place mark of 47.08, moving him to no. 7 on the all-time list.

How great was this race? Of the eight finishers, six set or equaled their national records.

Not too much suspense in the men’s vault, as world-record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE) made five straight heights, including 6.02 m (19-9) and won the event easily. At 21, you can easily envision him with golds at Paris and Los Angeles; he would only be 32 in Brisbane in 2032!

Behind him, six others cleared 5.80 m (19-0 1/4), but at 5.87 m (19-3), only American Chris Nilsen and Rio champ Thiago Braz could clear and were set for silver and bronze medals.

At 5.92 m (19-5), Nilsen cleared on his second attempt while Braz missed all three and settled for bronze, a remarkable feat as he had been suffering from injuries since his magical night in 2016.

Nilsen moved on to a lifetime best of 5.97 m (19-7), now no. 8 on the all-time U.S. list, with his first-try clearance. Nilsen missed all three tries at 6.02 m, and Duplantis sailed over for the win.

American K.C. Lightfoot was one of those who cleared 5.80 m and settled for a tie for fourth, pretty good for the U.S., which was without World Champion Sam Kendricks due to Covid.

● Athletics: Women’s 200 m-800 m-Long Jump-Hammer
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah won the 100 m in dazzling fashion and then looked tired on the first round of the 200. She obviously got some rest.

She blitzed the semifinals, posting a brilliant 21.66 for the fastest qualifier. And she had more in the tank, taking the lead off the turn in the final and zooming home to complete a history-making double-double in 21.53, the second-fastest time in history. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 win in Seoul in 1988 is faster.

Behind Thompson was a wild race for second. Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce came off the turn in good position, but was passed on the inside by American Gabby Thomas. But in the final 60 m came a rocket in lane five, Namibia’s 18-year-old Christine Mboma, who flew past Fraser-Pryce and then Thomas to grab the silver, 21.81-21.87-21.94.

Mboma was supposed to run in the 400 m, but her testosterone levels were above the World Athletics regulations for females in events from the 400 m to the mile. So she moved to the 200 and is now the Olympic silver medalist and the world U-20 record holder. She’s no. 20 on the all-time list … and moving up.

Her teammate, Beatrice Masilingi, in the same situation, finished sixth in a lifetime best of 22.28. Shaunae Miller-Uibo, considered a favorite in this event, was eighth in 24.00.

Thompson is the first woman in history to win the 100-200 double twice and has to be considered among the best sprinters in history … when healthy.

If there were any doubts about American teen sensation Athing Mu, they have been answered.

She took the lead right away in the 800 m Olympic final, kept her poise and when the time came to put down the hammer, she ran away from the field to win in 1:55.21, an American Record and now no. 11 on the all–time list. It’s the first win for an American in this race since Madeline Manning did it in 1968.

Mu strung out the field coming into the home straight and the sprint finish saw Britain’s Kelly Hodgkinson get second in 1:55.88, a national record, with American Raevyn Rogers coming up fast for third in 1:56.81, a lifetime best. Britain’s Jemma Reekie was fourth by 0.09 (1:56.90).

As for Mu, her 1:55.21 is slightly faster than Caster Semenya (RSA) winners in the last two OG 800s in 1:56.19 (2012) and 1:55.28 (2016).

Nigeria’s Ese Brume took the lead with the sixth jump of the first round at an impressive 6.97 m (22-10 1/2). It looked like the gateway to a plethora of seven-meter jumps, but it didn’t turn out that way.

This was a close event, not decided until the final jump, with twists and turns primarily involving Brume, 2012 Olympic champ Brittney Reese of the U.S. and 2019 World Champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany.

Mihambo got out to 6.95 m (22-9 3/4) for second in round two, with Ivana Spanovic (SRB) reaching 6.91 m (22-8) to stand third. Then Reese got going, matching Brume at 6.97 m but taking the lead with a better second jump.

No problem for Brume; she went 6.88 m (22-7) in the fourth round to take the lead with a better second mark. Reese jumped 6.87 m (22-6 1/2) and stayed second.

The strain was showing on a hot day, but Mihambo got a big jump off in the fifth round, with a tiny foul at the board. Reese got going and reached 6.95 m (22-9 3/4) to push Brume to second again with one round left.

American Tara Davis had step problems all day, but managed 6.84 m (22-5 1/4) in the fourth round, but could not improve and finished sixth.

Spanovic did not improve and finished fourth, bringing up Mihambo for her final trial. She hit the board cleanly this time and sailed right at the 7 m mark and when the measurement was posted, it was 7.00 m (22-11 3/4) on the dot. She had the lead.

Brume was game and jumped 6.90 m (22-7 3/4), but did not improve and won the bronze. Reese had good speed on the runway on the final jump of the day, but ended at 6.84 m (22-5 1/4) to win her second Olympic silver in the last two Games.

Mihambo seemed stunned, but after the 2019 world title and now this, she’s the world’s pre-eminent long jumper.

American DeAnna Price came to Tokyo as the world leader at 80.31 m (263-6). She left in eighth place.

Two-time defending champion Anita Wlodarczyk (POL), 35, won her third Olympic gold by taking the lead in the second round and then upping it in rounds three and four, finishing at 78.48 m (257-6) a seasonal best at just the right time.

Her teammate Malwina Kopron was second going into the sixth round at 75.49 m (247-8), but was passed by a season’s best from China’s Zheng Wang of 77.03 m (252-8) on her final throw.

This was not an impressive final in terms of marks; Wlodarczyk threw 82.29 m (269-11) in Rio in 2016. And it was an absolute failure for the three American throwers: Price, Brooke Andersen and Gwen Berry.

Price finished eighth in 73.09 m (239-9) – same as she finished in Rio – getting that far on her final throw. Andersen, no. 2 in the qualifying, was 10th at 72.16 m (236-9) and Berry finished 11th at 71.35 m (234-1). Price is 28, Anderson will be 26 later this month and Berry is 32, and Paris is only three years away.

● Boxing: Men’s 69 kg
In the 69 kg Welterweight class, Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias out-classed 2019 Worlds silver medalist Pat McCormack (GBR) with a unanimous 5:0 decision.

It’s the second career Olympic gold in four Olympic starts for Iglesias, now 32, after winning in 2012 at 63 kg (Lightweight) and a bronze at that weight in Rio in 2016.

The bronze medals went to semifinalists Aidan Walsh (IRL) and Russian Andrey Zamkovoy.

● Boxing: Women’s 57 kg
Reigning World Champion Nesthy Petecio had faced Japan’s Sena Irie before in international competition, defeating her in the 2019 Worlds quarterfinal, 4:1.

But this time, in Tokyo, Irie claimed the Olympic title with a unanimous, 5:0 decision in the final. It topped an amazing run by Irie, just 20, who won her first two bouts by 5:0, then two by 3:2, and overcoming Karriss Artingstall (GBR) in the semifinals. Now she’s Olympic champion and part of the best gold-medal haul in Japanese history.

Semifinalists Artingstall and Irma Testa (ITA) received the bronze medals.

● Canoe-Kayak: Sprint-Men’s K-1 1,000 m-C-2 1,000 m
In the K-1 1,000 m, the 2019 World Champion, Hungary’s Balint Kopasz, was too much for this field, taking the lead in mid-race and rolling to an Olympic-best time in 3:20.643.

He led a 1-2 finish with teammate Adam Varga (3:22.431), who passed Portugal’s former World Champion Fernando Pimenta (3:22.478) in the final quarter of the race for the silver.

In the C-2 1,000 m, Cuba’s 2019 Worlds silver winners Serguey Torres and Fernando Jorge were too much for this field. They sat second to China’s favored Hao Liu and Hao Wang for the middle of the race, then moved ahead in the final quarter to win with an Olympic-best 3:24.995 to 3:25.198.

Germany’s Sebastian Brendel and Tim Hecker took the bronze in 3:25.615; Brendel won his fourth career Olympic medal.

● Canoe-Kayak: Sprint-Women’s K-1 200 m-K-2 500 m
This day figured to be all about New Zealand’s star, Lisa Carrington and it was.

The London and Rio gold medalist in the K-1 200 m, handled a good field in an Olympic-best 38.120, ahead of 2019 Worlds co-bronze medalist Teresa Portela (ESP: 38.883) in second and the other co-bronze winner, Emma Jorgensen (DEN: 38.901) third. Poland’s Marta Walczykiewicz, the Rio silver medalist, was fourth.

Carrington is in line to become the second woman to win four consecutive golds in a single event in Paris … if she chooses to continue. She’s 32.

Later in the day, Carrington came back for the women’s K-2 500 m and teamed with Caitlin regal to win by almost a second over Poland’s Karolina Naja and Anna Pulawska, 1:35.785-1:36.753. Hungary went 3-4, with Danuta Kozak and Dora Nodonyi getting the bronze (1:36.867).

That’s four career golds for Carrington, and New Zealand’s first-ever medal in this event.

● Cycling: Track-Men’s Team Sprint
The Netherlands came in as the reigning World Champions from 2019 and walked out as Olympic champions, winning the final from Great Britain and breaking its own Olympic Record at 41.369-44.589 in the final.

Roy van den Berg, Jeffrey Hoogland and Harrie Lavreysen were outstanding the dominated the field. The British had won this event three times in a row, but got silver this time.

France defeated Australia, 42.331-44.013 for the bronze.

● Cycling: Track-Women’s Team Pursuit
Germany dominated this event, setting a world record of 4:07.307 in the qualifying, improving that to 4:06.166 in the first round and finally to 4:04.242 in the final, defeating Great Britain, which had won in 2012 and 2016.

The U.S. was third in the qualifying and got to the bronze-medal match and won it over Canada, with Jennifer Valente, Chloe Dygert, Emma White and Megan Jastrab aboard.

● Diving: Men’s 3 m Springboard
Exactly as expected, China went 1-2 behind two-time World Champion Siyi Xie and Zongyuan Wang, scoring 558.75 and 534.90. Britain’s Rio silver winner Jack Laugher settled for bronze this time (518.00).

American Andrew Capobianco was 10th in 401.70.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Parallel Bars-Horizontal Bar
In the Parallel Bars, China’s Jingyuan Zou – World Champion in 2017 and 2018 – led the qualifying with a big score of 16.166 and did even better in the final, scoring 16.233 for the gold medal.

Germany’s Lukas Dauser was the second qualifier at 15.733 and scored 15.700 to win silver. Although “only” fourth in the qualifying. Turkey’s Ferhat Arican improved to 15.633 and edged China’s Hao You (15.466) for the bronze.

American Sam Mikulak was sixth at 15.000.

In the Horizontal Bar, Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto – the All-Around winner – was the only one to score over 15 points in the qualifying (15.033) and that was the case again in the final. His total of 15.066 was golden ahead of Croatia’s 2017 World Champion Tin Srbic (14.900) and Russian star Nikita Nagornyy (14.533).

American Brody Malone, in his first Games, scored 14.200 for fourth.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Balance Beam
The performances in the final did not score as high as in the qualifying, but China’s Chenchen Guan (14.633) and Xijing Tang (14.233) maintained their places and won gold and silver.

American Simone Biles was only seventh in the qualifying, but returning from her gyroscopic issues, was an impressive third in the final, scoring 14.000. If this is her final competition, she will be remembered for going out with full effort and grace after what for her has been a nightmare of a Games: one silver, one bronze and missed possibilities in the All-Around, Vault, Bars and Floor.

Canadian Ellie Black was fourth (13.866) with Suni Lee of the U.S. fifth with the same score.

● Sailing: Men’s 49er-Women’s 49er FX
The men’s 49er class came down to the medal race, with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand (52) leading Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR: 56) and Diego Botin le Chever and Iago Lopez from Spain (56).

Needing to save every point, Fletcher and Bithell won the medal race, their second win in the 13 races and ended with a net total of 58. Burling and Tuke needed to finish second to win the gold, but finished third to also end with 58 points. But the Brits had finished ahead in the medal race and took the top prize. Burling and Tuke now have medals in three straight Games: silver-gold-silver.

Botin and Lopez managed only seventh in the medal race and finished with 70 points, allowing Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel – the 2016 bronze medalists – to catch them with a second-place finish and also end on 70. But they won the bronze medal due to their higher finish in the medal race and won a second straight bronze.

Defending Olympic champs Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) were locked up with 2018 Worlds gold medalists Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz of the Netherlands at 70 points each going into the medal race, with Germany’s Tina Lutz and Susann Beuke are third at 73.

The medal-race format was designed to untangle this. Grael and Kunze navigated best, finishing third and adding only six points to their total (76). With Bekkering and Duetz finishing ninth, their total was 88 and were passed by the Germans, who finished fifth and ended with the silver at 83.

Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barcelo finished sixth in the medal race and missed the bronze by a point (89). The U.S. entry of Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea finished 11th (101).

● Sailing: Men’s Finn
The curtain call for this class in Olympic racing saw a tight finish between Rio 2016 gold medalist Giles Scott (GBR), Zsombor Berecz (HUN) and Joan Cardona of Spain. Scott had a 28-37-39 lead going into the medal race, so if he finished no worse than fifth, he was golden again.

In fact, Berecz did win the medal race and finished at 39 net points. Scott managed to finish fourth and ended with a 36-39 advantage and Britain’s sixth consecutive win in this class. Cardona was sixth in the medal race and won the bronze at 51.

American Luke Miller was 13th (92).

● Sailing: Mixed Nacra 17
The medal races didn’t change anything among the medal winners and the 2018 World Champions Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (ITA) sailed home as Olympic Champions, scoring 35 net points after a sixth-place medal-race finish.

The 2017 World Champions, John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR), were standing second going into the final race and finished fifth, ending on 45 points. Germany’s Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer finished eighth in the medal race and were third with 63.

The U.S. entry of Riley Gibbs and Anna Weis was ninth with 99.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 109 kg
The 2019 Worlds fourth-placer, Uzbek Akbar Djuraev, upset world-record holder and 2019 World Champion Simon Martirosyan (ARM), with an Olympic Record total of 430 kg.

Djuraev missed his opening Snatch lift and one Clean & Jerk try, but he made his final lifts to collect his maximum weight for the competition. Martirosyan made only three of his six lifts and while he won the Snatch competition at 195 kg (Olympic Record), he missed his last two Clean & Jerk lifts, each at 238 kg: either would have given him the gold medal.

Latvia’s Arturs Plesnieks made five of his six lifts to edge Timur Naniev (ROC) for the bronze, 410-409 kg. American Wesley Kitts was eighth at 390 kg, but got an American Record in the Snatch at 177 kg.

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 77 kg-97 kg
The Greco 77 kg class final gave 2012 Olympic 66 kg Champion and 2019 World Champion Tomas Lorincz of Hungary his second career gold medal, beating emerging star Akzhol Makhmudov (KGZ), 2-1.

His younger brother, Viktor, is going for his first gold in the 87 kg final today.

Japan scored another medal as Shohei Yabiku (JPN) defeated Mohammad Ali Gerei of Iran, 13-3, and Rafig Huseynov (AZE) out-scored Karapet Chalyan (ARM), 4-1.

At 97 kg, Russia’s Musa Evloev won a battle of past World Champions by defeating Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) by 5-1. It’s the first Olympic medal for Evloev (a two-time World Champion), while Alexsanyan (a three-time World Champion) has his second Olympic medal after a bronze in 2012.

Tadeusz Michalik (POL) and Mohammad Hadi Saravi (IRI) won the bronze medals.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 68 kg
The 2019 World Champion, American Tamyra Mensah-Stock, add an Olympic gold medal to her collection by stopping Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu in the final by 4-1. All the scoring came in the first period, with Mensah-Stock scoring two takedowns and then holding off Oborududu from there.

Mensah-Stock won her four bouts by a combined score of 34-5 and became the second American woman to win an Olympic gold; Helen Maroulis did it in 2016 (and will wrestle later in Tokyo).

Ukraine’s Alla Cherkasova won a bronze medal by pinning Rio winner Sara Dosho (JPN); Meerrim Zhumanazarova (KGZ) won the other bronze with a pin over Soronzonboldyn Battsetseg (MGL).

Elsewhere:

● Athletics:
The men’s 1,500 m heats saw the major medal contenders advance, with heat wins by Ismael Debjani (BEL: 3:36.00) over favorite Tim Cheruiyot (KEN); Kenya’s Abel Kipsang (3:40.68) ahead of defending champion Matthew Centrowitz (USA: 3:41.12) and Jake Heyward (GBR: 3:36.14) in heat three.

American Cole Hocker qualified on time after a 3:16.16 forth in heat one. Surprising non-qualifiers were Ethiopia’s Sam Tefera and Norway’s Filip Ingebrightsen. American Yared Nuguse did not start due to an injury.

The men’s triple jump saw five automatic qualifiers, led by a sensational 17.71 m (58-1 1/4) leap for Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo! Four others were beyond 17.00 m (55-9 1/4), led by Turk Necati Er at 17.13m (56-2 1/2), a season’s best.

Americans Will Claye (16.91 m/55-5 3/4) and Donald Scott (17.01 m/55-9 3/4) advanced to the final. Chris Benard was 18th at 16.59 m (54-5 1/4) and did not qualify. The last to make it into the final was one of the medal favorites: Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR), at 16.83 m (55-2 3/4). But he’s get to start all over again in the final.

Despite her insistence for months that she was concentrating only on the 200 m in Tokyo, defending 400 m champ Shaunae Miller-Uibo was on the starting line for the women’s 400 m qualifying. She won heat one in 50.50, the second-fastest time of the day, behind only heat six winner Marileidy Paulino (DOM), who raced to a 50.06!

Americans Allyson Felix (50.84), Wadeline Jonathas (50.93) and Quanera Hayes (51.07) all advanced without incident, as did Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson (50.89).

The women’s javelin qualifying was led by Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk at 65.24 m (214-10), with Maggie Malone of the U.S. second at 63.07 m (206-11). World-record holder Barbora Spotakova, in poor form this year, did not advance in 14th place; Americans Kara Winger and Ariana Ince were 17th and 27th.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. men’s basketball team advanced to the semifinals with a 95-81 win over Spain, despite 38 points from Spanish guard Ricky Rubio.

The game was tied at 43 at half, but the U.S. pulled away with a 26-20 third quarter and then out-scored Spain in the fourth by 26-18 for the final, 14-point margin. Kevin Durant had his best game of the tournament with 29 points on 10-17 shooting, including 4-7 from three-point range.

The U.S. had five players in double figures, including Jayson Tatum with 13 and Jrue Holiday with 12. Spain out-rebounded the U.S., 42-32, but the U.S. defense held Spain to 45.3% from the field.

Next up: Australia, which pounded Argentina, 95-59. The U.S. has lost its last two games with the Aussies. France and Slovenia will play in the other semi.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman continued their march through the Olympic tournament, defeating Germans Maggie Kozuch and Laura Ludwig (GER) by 21-19, 21-19 to reach the semifinals.

The U.S. will play Swiss pair Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre in the semis, after they fought off Brazil’s Ana Patricia and Rebecca, 21-19, 18-21, 15-12. The other semi has Latvia’s Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina facing Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar.

● Team/Football: Two dramatic semifinals sent Spain and Brazil into the Olympic men’s final, and Japan’s “Cinderella” story came to an end in Tokyo.

Spain and Japan were scoreless through regulation and the first period of extra time, but Marco Asensio scored in the 118th minute (!) to avoid penalties and give Spain its appearance in the Olympic final since 2000.

Rio 2016 winner Brazil and 2012 gold medalist Mexico could not score within 120 minutes and had to go to penalties. Dani Alves, Gabriel Martinelli, Bruno Guimares and Reinier Jesus all scored for Brazil and only Carlos Rodriguez was able to convert for Mexico for a 4-1 final. The championship match will be on the seventh.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. women’s team crushed Canada, 16-5, in its quarterfinal match and moves into the semifinals, to be played on the 5th. A 7-1 first quarter meant the match was over early; Maggie Steffens, Makenzie Fischer and Alys Williams all scored three goals. The next opponent will be the “ROC,” which beat Australia – usually the U.S.’s toughest foe – by 9-8 in its quarterfinal. The U.S. stomped the Russians, 18-5, in their group-stage game. Spain and Hungary are in the other semifinal.

= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 4 AUG.=
(17 events across 10 sports)

● Artistic Swimming: Duet
Russia has won this event in five straight Games, the last two with Svetlana Romashina and Natalia Ishchenko. Romashina is back, now paired with Svetlana Kolesnichenko and they are overwhelming favorites to win again. They are the 2019 World Champions.

Romashina and Kolesnichenko won the Technical Routine phase at 97.1079, followed by Xuechen Huang and Wenyan Sun (CHN: 95.4599), Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk (93.8620) and Japan’s Yukiko Inui and Moeka Yoshida (93.3499).

The Russian pair also led the Free Routine prelims at 97.9000, ahead of China (95.7667) and Ukraine (94.9333). If any of the top three perform badly, Canada’s Claudia Holzner and Jacqueline Simoneau (5th) and Italy’s Linda Cerruti and Constanza Ferro (6th) are ready to pounce.

It should be a lively fight for the bronze, but the Russians and Chinese look likely for gold and silver.

● Athletics: Men’s 200 m-800 m-Hammer
The men’s 200 m is not supposed to have the surprises that the 100 m did. That’s because of Noah Lyles, the 2019 World Champion and the clear favorite at this distance.

But the semifinals changed all that. Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the 2016 silver medalist, ran a world-leading 19.73 to win semi three – a national record – and has to figure as a major player now. He edged American Kenny Bednarek (19.83), also poised for a medal.

In semi one, American teen Erriyon Knighton won with ease in 20.02 and looked impressive. In semi two, Lyles came off the turn well and was in the lead when he slowed to the finish and was passed (!) by Canada’s Aaron Brown and Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh as all were timed in 19.99.

So now what? The semis resulted in a lane draw with Lyles in three, Knighton in five, De Grasse in six, Bednarek in seven and Fahnbulleh – always a slow starter – in eight. Lyles prefers to be on the outside, shortening his running around the curve, but he’s inside now. At least he can see De Grasse and Bednarek ahead of him.

Canada won this event in 1908 (Robert Kerr) and 1928 with Percy Williams. Will De Grasse join them?

The men’s 800 m is going to be wild, with two-time winner Daniel Rushida (KEN) out with injuries and 2019 World Champion Donavan Brazier of the U.S. failing to make the team.

Kenya’s Ferguson Rotich has been running away in the prelims: he won his heat in a ridiculous 1:43.75 – fastest of the day – and then led the semis at 1:44.04. Pole Patryk Dobek (1:44.60) and Australia’s Peter Bol (1:44.11) won the other semis.

Will Rotich try to run away again? The rest of the field is onto him, and will have plotted their strategy. Clayton Murphy of the U.S. (1:43.17) this year likes to hang on and then surge at the end, but can he stick with Rotich to be able to challenge?

The top two on the world list are in: Nigel Amos (BOT: 1:42.91), who fell in the semi, but was advanced on appeal to the final, and Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir (1:43.04). Wild cards? How about these fast finishers in the semis who are under the radar: Gabriel Tual (FRA: 1:44.28) and Adrian Ben (ESP: 1:44.30)?

The men’s hammer throw figures to be a match-up of young and old(er). Poland’s 32-year-old Pawel Fajdek is the four-time World Champion in this event, in 2013-15-17-19, but failed to qualify for the final in Rio.

American Rudy Winkler is 26 and was also a Rio non-qualifier. But he has blossomed and stands second on the year list to Fajdek with an American Record of 82.71 m (271-4) at the U.S. Trials.

They are 1-2 on the year list; this should be quite a duel.

Both have teammates in the final: Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki, the qualifying leader and 2019 Worlds bronze medalist and Daniel Haugh of the U.S., sixth on the year list (79.39 m/260-5). Nowcki, especially, could win the whole thing.

Behind them Quentin Bigot of France, the 2019 silver medalist; Ukraine’s Myhaylo Kokhan, no. 4 on the 2021 year list and maybe Elvind Henriksen (NOR), who got a national record of 78.79 m (258-6) in the qualifying.

● Athletics: Women’s 3,000 m Steeple-400 m Hurdles
Rio 2016 silver medalist Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya and bronze winner Emma Coburn (USA) are back again, but the question is about world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech.

Her stupendous 2018 world mark of 8:44.32 is far beyond everyone else’s times, or capability really, so what is she going to do? Play safe and sprint? Run away from everyone, as she did from Coburn and Germany’s Gesa Krause at the 2019 Worlds?

Those four are clear contenders; Coburn was the shock 2017 World Champion with teammate Courtney Frerichs winning the silver and both will be chasing medals but also to become the first American women under nine minutes.

The semifinals underlined that lesser lights Winfred Yavi (BRN: 9:02.64 this year) and Peruth Chemetai (UGA: 9:12.72) will contend along with the not-always-consistent Mekides Abebe (ETH: 9:02.52).

Another world record? That’s what many are expecting in the next clash between Rio 2016 champ – and two-time world-record setter – Dalilah Muhammad and the Olympic Trials winner – and world-record setter at 51.90 – Sydney McLaughlin, both from the U.S.

But there is also the matter of Dutch star Femke Bol, who has vaulted into medal class, won all eight of her races this year – including her two rounds at the Games – and is no. 2 on the world list at 52.37, ahead of Muhammad (52..42).

Another record is certainly possible. It would be an upset for anyone other than these three to medal, but in case something drastic happens, next up would be Ukraine’s Anna Ryzhykova (52.96 in 2021), Janieve Russell (JAM: 53.68), Anna Cockrell of the U.S. (53.70) and Panama’s Gianna Woodruff (54.70).

● Boxing: Men’s 81 kg
The final in the Light Heavyweight division will see another Cuban, Arlen Lopez take on Britain’s Benjamin Whittaker.

Whittaker was the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist and won the European Championship in this class in 2018. But he faces the Rio 75 kg (Middleweight) champion, who also won the 2015 Middleweight title and Pan American Games golds in 2015 and 2019 but has moved up in weight for Tokyo.

Whittaker got to the final by decisioning Imam Khataev of Russia – 4:1 – in the semis, with Khataev getting a bronze medal. Lopez has pounded his three opponents, winning each bout on a 5:0 decision; he beat Loren Alfonso (AZE) in the semis and Alfonso has a bronze medal for his troubles.

● Cycling: Men’s Team Pursuit
Great Britain has won this event at the last three Games and is in the hunt again, having posted the fourth-fastest time in qualifying and facing qualifying leader Denmark for advancement to the gold-medal final.

But they will have their hands full, as Denmark won the 2020 World Championships and set the world record at 3:44.672. In Tokyo, the team of Lasse Norman Hansen, Niklas Larsen, Frederik Madsen and Rasmus Pedersen timed 3:45.014, an Olympic Record.

That was 0.881 seconds faster than second-place Italy, bronze medalists in 2020 and more than a full second better than New Zealand, the 2020 silver medalists.

Italy will race New Zealand and Denmark will race Great Britain with the winners moving on to the gold-medal final. The next two fastest teams will face off for the bronze medals. The next-best time outside the top four was Australia, last year’s fourth-place team.

● Equestrian: Jumping
The qualifying was led by Britain’s Ben Maher, already the owner of an Olympic gold from 2012 as a member of the Team Jumping winners. His time of 81.34 led 25 finalists who all went penalty-free in this round.

Following were Darragh Kenny of Ireland (82.01), Ashlee Bond (ISR: 82.84), Maikel van der Vleuten (NED: 84.61) and Mario Deslauriers (CAN: 84.76).

Van der Vleuten also has an Olympic medal – silver – from the Team Jumping in London, and a gold in Team Jumping from the 2014 World Equestrian Games. Deslauriers is amazing: now 56, he won the Jumping World Cup way back in 1984, and competed in the Los Angeles and Seoul Games.

Maher’s teammate from the London 2012 gold medalists, Scott Brash, stands ninth. In 10th is the Rio 2016 silver winner, Peter Fredricson (SWE), at 85.83 seconds. World no. 1 Daniel Deusser (GER) qualified in 12th place (86.14).

All three Americans were eliminated in the qualifying round: Jessica Springsteen, Kent Farrington and Laura Kraut.

● Sailing: Men’s and Women’s 470
Australia’s Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan won silver in Rio, but have owned this class in the World Championships, with Belcher winning eight times and Ryan aboard for five.

They are owning it in Tokyo as well, finishing in the top three in seven of 10 races and scoring just 21 net points. Barring disaster, they’re good as gold.

Well back are Sweden’s Anton Dahlberg and Fredrick Bergstrom (41: three wins), Spanish veterans Jordi Xammar and Nicolas Rodrigurz at 45 (net) and then New Zealand’s Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox (51) and Luke Patience and Chris Grube (GBR: 54).

Patience won Olympic silver in London, paired with Stuart Bithell and Xammar has gone bronze-silver-bronze in the last three World Championships. Dahlberg and Bergstrom were sixth in Rio and won the 2021 World 470 title. But none compare to Belcher and Ryan, soon to celebrate another major victory.

In the women’s 470, Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (GBR) won silver in this event in London and gold in Rio and Mills is back with new partner, Eilidh McIntyre. The 2019 Worlds bronze medalists, they have a modest lead of 28-42 over France’s Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz, with Lecointre a returning bronze medalist from Rio 2016.

Mills and McIntyre have six top-3 finishes in the first 10 races compared to three for the French and that’s the difference to far.

Poles Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar are in the fight for medals, standing third at 46; Skrzypulec is in her third Games and competed with Ogar in London, but a different partner in Rio. As a team, they won a European Championships bronze in 2017.

Slovenia’s Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol have moved up to fourth (55) to contend for a medal and are being chased by crews from Brazil (62), Switzerland (62) and Japan (63).

● Skateboarding: Women’s Park
Another new event for this Games, World Championships have been held in women’s Park from 2016-19 and then, of course, interrupted by the pandemic.

The Olympic field includes Brighton Zeuner of the U.S., the first World Champion from 2016 and the silver-medal winner from 2017 and, just as with the Street event, strong entries from Japan.

Sakura Yosozumi was the 2018 World Champion and 2019 silver medalist and Misugu Okamoto won the 2019 world title and are both medal prospects. So are Australia’s Poppy Olsen, the 2018 Worlds bronze winner and Britain’s 13-year-old Sky Brown, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist.

Britain has Brown and Bombette Martin, 15; what other “Olympic team” in Tokyo averages 14 years old?

● Swimming: Women’s Open Water 10 km
Much concern has been directed to the open-water events in Tokyo because of the water temperature, but the readings on heat and water quality have been good enough to move ahead as scheduled.

There are 25 entries, with Rio Olympic Champion Sharon van Rouwendaal and silver medalist Rachele Bruni (ITA) and London 2012 silver winner Haley Anderson of the U.S. all returning to contest this event.

But the one to beat might be China’s Xin Xin, the 2019 World Champion, who beat Anderson and Bruni to the touch in Gwangju, Korea by one and two seconds, respectively.

Xin will be pressured by fourth-placer Lara Grangeon of France and Brazil’s amazing Ana Marcel Cunha. The latter was fifth in the 2019 Worlds, but won silver in 2013 abd bronzes in 2015 and 2017. And she might be the fittest person in the world, as she has four world titles in the grueling 25 km open-water swim, in 2011-15-17-19. Close observers will not be surprised to see Ana Olasz (HUN), or Germans Leonie Beck or Finnia Wunram win a medal.

A second American, Ashley Twichell is also in, the 2017 World 5 km champion, who has dueled with Anderson repeatedly at the U.S. national championships.

● Weightlifting: Men’s +109 kg
The winner of the men’s super-heavy category can rightfully be called the “strongest man in the world.”

So watch out for Georgia’s Lasha Talakhadze, the world-record holder at 485 kg – about 1,065 pounds – and the World Champion in 2015-17-18-19 and the reigning Olympic Champion from 2016. He will be focus of the evening.

There will be silver and bronze medals to hand out. Back from the 2019 World Championships are fifth-placer Walid Bidani (ALG), sixth-placer Man Assad (SYR) and ninth-placer Ali Davoudi of Iran. They were all within 11 kg of each other in the totals.

Hojamuhammet Toycyyew (TKM) was in Rio in 2016, but failed in the Snatch; he’s been as high as sixth in the Worlds, in 2018 and could be a factor.

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 67 kg-87 kg
At 67 kg, the final will feature Iran’s Mohammad Reza Geraei and Ukraine’s Parviz Nasibov. Geraei won the 2019 Asian Championship at 72 kg but stepped down for the Games, and is a medal winner.

Nasibov, just 22, won the World Junior bronze at this weight in 2018, making both finalists first-time Olympic medalists.

Semifinalists Ramaz Zoidze (GEO) and Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed (EGY) will wrestle for bronze medals against the repechage bracket winners.

At 87 kg, Hungary’s Viktor Lorincz is trying to match his older brother’s gold medal in the 77 kg class, facing Zhan Beleniuk (UKR) in the final.

A three-time Worlds medalist, Lorincz saw brother Tamas win the 77 kg division and now wants a gold of his own. Viktor was the silver-medal winner at the 2019 World Championships in this class and won bronze at the 2020 European Championships at 84 kg.

Beleniuk has to be favored, however. He won the Rio 2016 silver at 85 kg and was World Champion at 85 kg in 2015 and at 87 kg in 2019. He was third at the 2021 European Championships, so he is not invincible.

Mohamed Metwally (EGY) and Ivan Huklek (CRO) will wrestle for bronze medals against the repechage bracket winners.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 62 kg
Japan has a perfect record in this class: four gold medals in four Games. This could get to five as Yukako Kuwai has reached the final, against Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ).

Kuwai is the Worlds silver medalist in this class from 2018 and won bronze in 2019, but can continue’s Japan’s dominance of women’s Freestyle with a win. She will have her hands full with Tynybekova, the 2019 World Champion at 62 kg, following a bronze at 58 kg in 2017.

The two met up at the 2019 Worlds in the round of 16, with Tynybekova advancing by pin while the score was 3-3. The rematch should be great.

Ukraine’s Iryna Koliadenko and Taybe Yusein (BUL) will wrestle for bronze medals against repechage-bracket winners.

= INTEL REPORT =

“The IOC has decided to launch a formal investigation into the situation of the NOC of Belarus. It will be led by the IOC administration. We need to establish the full facts, we need to hear everyone involved.”

The announcement by International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) on Tuesday reflects the deep concern over the situation surrounding sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya. After criticizing the team coaches on Instagram, she was told to leave the Olympic Village and was taken to the airport to return to Belarus.

She sought out Japanese police and asked for protection; she has been offered assistance by the Polish government and will apparently ask for political asylum there. The IOC had already imposed small sanctions on some Belarus sports officials for interference with the operation of the National Olympic Committee. Now, more may be coming.

There are a couple of protest inquiries being made by the IOC, starting with U.S. silver medalist shot putter Raven Saunders, who crossed her arms for photographers after the awards ceremony was concluded on Sunday. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has cleared her, declaring her gesture was a “peaceful expression in support of racial and social justice [that] was respectful of her competitors.” The IOC is working through its own process, including talking to the USOPC.

Chinese women’s Team Sprint winners Shanju Bao and Tianshi Zong wore pins with the image of former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao on their uniforms at the medal ceremony. This was reported; IOC spokesman Adams said at a news conference, “We contacted the Chinese Olympic Committee and asked them for a report on the situation. We are looking into the matter.”

Tuesday’s report from the Tokyo 2020 organizers showed 18 positive coronavirus tests related to the Games, with 10 from contractors and five from “Games-concerned personnel.” The latter category includes team officials, but also sports competition officials, IOC and International Paralympic Committee personnel, sponsors and the host broadcast crew.

The infection total is now 294, of which 153 (52%) are contractors, 89 are “Games-concerned personnel” (30%), 25 are athletes, 14 media and 13 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 1 August:

● Athletes and team officials: 32 positives in 222,447 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 65 positives in 260,452 tests (0.02%).

The total number of people screen at airports coming into Japan for the Games is a so-far staggeringly low total of 41,997, from which 35 positives were found (0.08%).

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 1,010 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 2 August; there were none among 1,088 on 1 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July.

Dear readers:

You may have noticed some format changes to this report, with names not bolded and larger section titles. This is primarily to save time and get this post up more quickly as the number of events surges in the second week. The goal is always to give you the most information in a timely way … and saving an hour in bolding names is a big help. Thank you for your support.

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TOKYO 2020/Monday Review & Preview: Carey good as gold for U.S., Allman dominates discus, but USWNT loses, plays for bronze

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic gold medalist and now twice World Champion Jade Carey (USA)

(★ Friends: Very grateful to say that 46 donors have now covered 67% of our current server & support bill. If you like this coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is what motivates this site. Thank you. ★)

= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

A lot of reporting from Tokyo has been about the coronavirus, heat, political protests and a lot of other things that have nothing to do with sports. But sometimes the sports actually shines through.

This was especially true on Monday, when Cuban Mijain Lopez, 34, won his fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the super-heavy 130 kg class in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Four in a row, in 2008-2012-2016-2021, a feat which has rarely been contemplated, let alone accomplished.

According to a Wikipedia listing, Lopez is only the sixth to do this:

● 1948-1960: Paul Elvstrom (DEN) in men’s sailing (Firefly/Fin classes)

● 1956-1968: Al Oerter (USA) in men’s athletics (discus)

● 1984-1996: Carl Lewis (USA) in men’s athletics (long jump)

● 2004-2016: Kaori Icho (JPN) in women’s wrestling (58 and 83 kg Freestyle)

● 2004-2016: Michael Phelps (USA) in men’s swimming (200 m medley)

● 2008-2020: Mijain Lopez (CUB) in men’s wrestling (120 and 130 kg Greco-Roman)

Said Lopez afterwards: “It’s incredible. I have sacrificed 20 years and I deserve the gold medals and I have achieved that with the help of my coaches. I am going to enjoy it.”

Lopez was in his fifth Games in Tokyo; he participated in Athens in 2004 and was fifth. Then he started his Olympic run, winning 16 straight matches over four years and outscoring his opponents by 78-3.

All this from a resource-starved country like Cuba. It’s an amazing feat and deserves to be not just remembered, but celebrated.

We’re past halfway, with 109 of 339 events (59%) completed in Tokyo. The current medals leaders:

1. 64: United States (22-25-17)
2. 62: China (29-17-16)
3. 50: Russian Olympic Committee (12-21-17)
4. 35: Great Britain (11-11-12)
5. 33: Japan (17-6-10) and Australia (14-4-15)

So far, 80 countries have won at least one medal, compared to 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 784.0 United States
2. 657.0 China
3. 529.5 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 428.5 Great Britain
5. 425.5 Japan
6. 353.5 Australia
7. 340.5 Italy
8. 315.0 France
9. 285.5 Germany
10. 257.6 Netherlands
11. 239.0 Korea
12. 192.0 Canada

Perhaps the most impressive performance on a team-wide basis has to be the Netherlands, standing 10th overall with a population of just 17.3 million. The Dutch have 18 medals – no. 11 by total – with five golds, seven silvers and six bronzes.

No numbers posted by NBC for Saturday’s Olympic primetime programming ratings, with a note that competition sessions have averaged more than 15 million on eight of nine nights. Since the first eight nights were all 15 million or better, Saturday’s was less than that.
The average is still over 16 million a night; what we know so far:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million
● 31 July (Sat): less than 15 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. NBC says more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Games so far.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: MONDAY, 2 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s 3,000 m Steeple-Long Jump
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali was the favorite and he underscored his dominance with a 57.9 last lap to move from third to first and win in 8:08.90.

Ethiopians Lamecha Girma and Getnet Wale led a pack of seven runners through 2,000 m in 5:35.7, but this has dropped to just four by the bell, with Girma and Wale leading El Bakkali and Benjamin Kigen (KEN). El Bakkali waited, then took off with a half-lap to go, over the final water jump and had the lead into the straightway and won going away.

Girma was second in 8:10.38, with Kigen third (8:11.45) and Wale fourth (8:14.97). American Benard Keter was 11th in 8:22.12.

This wasn’t a brilliant time, but showed El Bakkali’s experience and patience. He’s the Olympic champ and ended a streak of nine straight Olympic Steeple golds by Kenya. He did, however, keep the Steeple title in Africa for a 10th consecutive Games.

Exciting, confusing and ultimately thrilling were words to describe the wild men’s long jump final on Monday morning in Tokyo.

The party got started on the final jump of the first round, with Cuba’s Maykel Masso taking the lead at 8.21 m (26-11 1/4) and waking everyone up. He held the lead until the first jump of the third round, when teammate Juan Miguel Echevarria uncorked a strong jump that measured 8.41 m (27-7 1/4) and certainly would win a medal. Of the 36 jumps in the first three rounds, only seven reached the 8 m mark (26-3). Jamaica’s 2019 World Champion, Tajay Gayle, was not right and didn’t advance to the final three jumps. Masso was injured after his second jump and retired.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, the world leader at 8.60 m (28-2 3/4) in May, was standing third at 8.11 m (26-7 1/4) from the first round, and added an 8.10 m (26-7) to his ledger in the fourth round. Echavarria got hurt – a hamstring or ankle injury – on his fourth jump and passed his fifth attempt.

Then American JuVaughn Harrison, having problems with his steps all day, finally hit the board in round five, passing Tentoglou for third at 8.15 m (26-9)! But Tentoglou came back to match him and took third based on his better second jump.

In the final round, Spain’s Eusebio Caceres launched out to a season’s best of 8.18 n (26-10) and shocked both Tentoglou and Harrison, now fourth and fifth. Harrison missed his steps again and reached only 7.49 m (24-7) and finished fifth. Tentoglou was next and hit the board well and got excellent extension in the air, landing about where Echevarria had been … in fact, exactly the same: 8.41 m, taking the lead since his second jump was better!

Hurt, Echavarria tried to make a final jump, but could not run at all and stopped at the board, kneeling and pounding the runway in frustration at winning a silver medal when he had more to give.

Tentoglou wasn’t actually sure he had won, but was finally happy to wrap himself in the Greek flag, even if he hadn’t jumped as well as he would have liked. But what was lacking in the performances was more than made up for in drama.

● Athletics: Women’s 5,000 m-100 m hurdles-Discus
In the morning heats of the women’s 1,500 m, Dutch star Sifan Hassan fell just after the start of the final lap, got up, caught the back of the pack on the back straight and sprinted home to win the race in 4:05.17. She covered the final 200 m in 29.6.

In the evening, speed was the key once again. Rio silver medalist and two-time World Champion Hellen Obiri (KEN) was at or near the front of the race almost from the start and was towing a pack of 11 runners through 4,000 m, with Hassan in seventh.

Seven were still in contention with two laps to go, with Hassan sixth. At the bell, she was fifth, but unleashed that same sprint on the backstraight to take the lead from Obiri. There was no let-up and Hassan could not be stopped, winning in 14:36.79, with a final lap of 57.1 and a final 200 m of 27.7.

Obiri was second for the second consecutive Games in 14:38.36, with world leader Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia third in 14:38.87. Hassan is trying for an unprecedented 1,500-5,000-10,000 m triple and this might have been her hardest test. Tsegay’s world-leading time is 14:13.32 and the race was not nearly fast enough to blunt Hassan’s closing speed. Kenya’s defending 1,500 m champion Faith Kipyegon was watching carefully.

Americans Karissa Schweizer and Elise Cranny finished 11th and 13th in 14:55.80 and 14:55.98.

After Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn set an Olympic Record of 12.26 – equal-fourth on the all-time list – in the semis, the only way she was going to lose was if she fell.

In the final, she got a good start and she and American Keni Harrison – the world-record holder – ran together for the first five hurdles, but Camacho-Quinn pulled away with a surge so powerful that she could have tripped on the tenth flight. But she held her balance and won in dominating fashion in 12.37 (wind: -0.3 m/s). How dominant is she? She owns the top five times in 2021 and eight of the top 10.

Harrison got the silver in 12.52, clearly ahead of Jamaica’s Megan Tapper (12.55) and Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan (12.60). American Gabbi Cunningham was seventh in 13.01.

American Valarie Allman was thinking about quitting the sport a couple of years ago, before she found a new technique that made her a star.

She set a staggering American Record at 70.15 m (230-2) in 2020 and had the longest throw in the world for 2021 at 70.01 m (229-8).

When she got into the ring for her first throw, the leader was Cuba’s Yaime Perez, the reigning World Champion, at 65.72 m (215-7). Allman spun and sent the disc much further, landing at 68.58 m (225-0), a distance which only Perez had exceeded all year among the field.

That big first throw had mammoth consequences, as a hard rain came and caused a delay in the event. The slippery conditions made it even harder to catch Allman, and no one did.

She fouled her next two throws, but Perez did not improve either. Two-time defending champion Sandra Perkovic (CRO) got out to 65.01 m (213-3) in the third round, but could do no better. The surprise came from Germany’s Kristin Pudenz in round five, who got a lifetime best of 66.86 m (219-4) and pushed Perez to bronze and Perkovic out of the medals.

Allman put an exclamation point on her win with a fifth-round throw – in a light rain – of 66.78 m (219-1) that only Pudenz bettered all day.

Allman’s win was reminiscent of Stephanie Brown-Trafton’s shock victory in 2008, when her first-round throw of 64.74 m (212-5) was never approached. Allman’s big first throw and the rain combined to give her a win she could not have contemplated a couple of years ago.

● Badminton: Men’s Singles
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen was the 2017 World Champion and has been ranked no. 1 several times since 2017. But he has played mostly in the shadow of China’s great players. No more.

Axelsen, 27, won the Olympic singles title on Monday with a 21-15, 21-12 win over defending Olympic champion Long Chen of China, reversing a defeat in the Rio semifinals.

Axelsen was perfect in the tournament, winning his six matches by 12 sets to none and defeating both Chen and China’s other entry, Yuqi Shi, in the quarterfinals. By moving up from the bronze medal in Rio, he is Denmark’s second winner in this event, as Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen won in Atlanta in 1992; he ended a streak of three straight Chinese wins in men’s Singles.

Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting won the bronze over Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon, 21-11, 21-13. It’s Indonesia’s first medal in this event since 2000.

● Badminton: Women’s Doubles
Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu (INA) were clearly underdogs in their Olympic final against second-seeded Qingchen Chen and Yifan Jia, but scored a 21-19, 21-15 win in 57 minutes to win Indonesia’s first medal in the event and first win in women’s Badminton since 1996.

China had won five of the seven Olympic golds in this event coming in, but fell this time.

The all-Korean bronze-medal match was won by Soyeong Kim and Heeyong Kong over Sohee Lee and Seungchan Shin, 21-10, 21-17.

● Cycling: Track Women’s Team Sprint
China won this event in 2016 with Tianshi Zhong and Jinjie Gong and Zhong was back with Shanju Bao for more. They made it clear what the outcome would be with a world-record win in their heat in 31.804, also bettering their Olympic Record of 31.928 from Rio.

In the final, Bao and Zhong defeated Germany’s Emma Hinze and Lea Sophie Friedrich, 31.895-31.980.

Russia’s Rio silver medalists Daria Shmeleva and Anastasiia Voinova won the bronze medal over the Netherlands, 32.252-32.504.

● Equestrian: Team Eventing-Individual Eventing
Great Britain came in as the World Equestrian Games champions from 2018 and were runaway runners in the Team Eventing with 86.30 points to 100.20 for Australia and 101.50 for France.

The leaders after the Dressage and Cross Country segments, Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen had only eight penalty points in Jumping and posted Great Britain’s first win in this event since 1972.

In the Individual Eventing, Germany won for the fourth Games in a row, with Julia Krajewski moving from second to first with no penalties in Jumping. Britain’s Oliver Townend suffered on penalty in the Jumping phase and ended up with silver, 25.60-27.60. Britain’s Tom McEwen and Australia’s Andrew Hoy also had clean Jumping cards and ended up 3-4 at 28.90-29.60.

The top U.S. finisher was 15th-place Boyd Martin at 38.70; Rio bronze medalist Philip Dutton was 19th at 43.30.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Rings-Vault
China’s Yang Liu was fourth in Rio and second in the qualifying at 15.300, but he saved his best for last and won the Rings event at 15.500. He added the Olympic gold to his 2014 World Championship victory.

He led teammates Hao You to a 1-2, as You scored 15.300 to edge defending champion Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece (15.200). France’s Samir Ait Said was well back in fourth at 14.900. It’s the first 1-2 in the event from the same country since China did it back in 2008.

Korea’s Jean-Wan Shin was the co-leader in qualifying at 14.866 and then he and Russian Denis Ablyazin both scored 14.783 in the final, but Shin was awarded the gold for a higher degree of difficulty on his first vault.

This is an amazing story, as Shin, 23, is a relative unknown, with a couple of 2020 wins in the FIG World Cup series and no World Championships experience. But that’s the beauty of sport: pedigree means nothing, it’s performance that counts. That’s an underrated lesson sport can teach the world.

Ablyazin continued a remarkable streak of his own, winning the silver medal in this event for the third Games in a row! Armenia’s Artur Davtyan, the qualifying co-leader, was third at 14.733, moving up from 11th in Rio and winning a medal in his third Games.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Floor Exercise
American Jade Carey followed an odd path created by the international federation for gymnastics (FIG) that allowed individual qualification in specific events for Tokyo, rather than through the team program. She qualified for Vault and Floor and made the finals in both.

In the finals, she was up against All-Around silver winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, a familiar competitor on the World Cup circuit and Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari, the qualifying leader at 14.166.

Carey’s routine offered higher rewards for higher risk and she took full advantage. With a degree of difficulty of 6.300, she scored 8.066 on execution for a total score of 14.366, better than Ferrari’s qualifying score.

Ferrari, Japan’s Mai Kurakmai and Russian Angelina Melnikova and Andrade all offered routines with difficulty levels of 5.900, meaning they would have to significantly out-perform Carey to win. None did.

Ferrari was the best, scoring 8.300 on execution but 14.200 overall; Murakami and Melnikova scored 8,266 and ended up sharing the bronze at 14.166 and Andrade scored 8.233, but had a 0.1-point penalty to finish fifth at 14.033.

It was the first-ever Floor Exercise medal for Italy, while Carey gave the U.S. its third straight title after Aly Raisman in 2012 and Simone Biles in 2016.

● Sailing: Men’s 49er-Women’s 49er FX
Rough weather has forced a one-day postponement of these events to 3 August (weather permitting). Our previews have been carried over to the next section.

● Shooting: Men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol-50 m Rifle/3 Positions
France’s Juan Quiquampoix has been near the top of the podium, winning silver in Rio and a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships in the 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol event. In Tokyo, he claimed the gold.

Quiquampoix shot 5-4-4-5-4 in the final, five-shot elimination stage, losing only one round and winning 4-2 in the final against Cuba’s 2012 Olympic Champion Leuris Pupo. Qiaquampoix’s total of 34 equaled Pupo’s Olympic Record. Chuna’s Yuehong Li collected his second straight bronze in the event; defending champ Christian Reitz (GER) was fifth.

The 50 m Rifle/3 Positions final offered one of the most stunning results of the Games. China’s Changhong Zhang, 21, a virtual unknown with little international experience, didn’t simply win, but destroyed a world-class field, shooting a world-record total of 466.0. He was the leader in all three phases and finished with 10.3, 10.6, 10.9, 10.3 and 10.3 in the elimination round to finish off Russia’s Sergey Kamenskiy, the Rio silver medalist (464.2).

Serbia’s Milenko Sebic was third at 448.2. Zhang won China’s third gold in this event in the last five Games.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 87 kg-+87 kg
China’s Zhouyu Wang was the obvious favorite as the 2019 World Champion and won comfortably, making four of her six lifts and totaling 270 kg.

Ecuador’s Worlds bronze medalist Tamara Salazar improved from 252 kg in 2019 to 263 kg, making all six of her lifts and taking the silver medal. Crismary Santana of the Dominican Republic made only three of her lifts, but that was good enough for a 256 kg total and the bronze medal, equaling her performance at the 2018 Worlds.

American Mattie Rogers, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist at 71 kg, moved up to this weight and was able to make one Snatch lift and one Clean & Jerk lift for a total of 246 kg, good for sixth.

At +87 kg, China’s Wenwen Li, the 2019 World Champion, lifted a total of 320 kg and set Olympic Records for all three lifts on the way to the gold medal.

Behind her was a tight race for the silver, with Britain’s Emily Campbell lifting 161 kg in the Clean & Jerk to pass American Sarah Robles, 283-282 kg.

Robles made all three of her Snatch lifts and was second only to Li at 128 kg. She made her Clean & Jerk tries at 150 kg and 154 kg, but failed on her final try at 157 kg, which would have given her the silver medal.

Said Robles, 33, who won her second Olympic medal – bronze also in 2016 – and became the first American woman to win two career Olympic medals:

“It’s a really big deal. I’ve struggled a lot throughout my career, it almost feels like I’ve been going uphill both ways with the wind against me. Going from the bottom in the sport, to the top in the sport, to making history in this sport means a lot to me.

“This past quad and even further back than that, we’ve had a complete overhaul of our leadership and policies. The programs that have been implemented for quality of lifting, mental health, funding for the athletes is all stuff that never existed before.

“It’s for the better, we’ll continue to improve. The improvement has to come from the athletes, you invest in us and we’ll show you that your investment is worthwhile. That reciprocity will continue.”

Transgender New Zealand lifter Laurel Hubbard failed on her three Snatch attempts and did not place.

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 60 kg-130 kg
At 60 kg, Cuba’s Luis Orta culminated a surprise run from 16th at the 2019 World Championships to Olympic Champion by defeating Japan’s two-time World Champion Kenichiro Fumita, 5-1 in the gold-medal final. It’s Cuba’s second straight gold in this class.

China’s Sailike Walihan won a bronze medal over Lenur Temirov (UKR) on criteria after a 1-1 tie. Russia’s 2-18 World Champion Sergey Emelin crushed Victor Ciobanu (ROU) , 12-1, for the other bronze.

At 130 kg, Mijain Lopez of Cuba – at 38 – won a historic fourth consecutive Olympic gold in this class by defeating Iakobi Kajaia of Georgia, 5-0. Lopez was up 3-0 at the break and added two more points to finish not only unbeaten, but unscored upon in the tournament: 24-0. Fantastic.

The bronze medals went to Turkey’s 2019 World Champion Riza Kayaalp – defeating Amin Mirzazadeh (IRI), 7-2 – and Sergei Semenov of Russia, who won on criteria over Yasmani Acosta (CHI) after a 1-1 score.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 76 kg
In a battle of champions, Germany’s 2014 World Champion Aline Rotter Focken out-pointed American Adeline Gray by 7-3 to win the women’s gold at 76 kg.

Rotter Focken took a 3-0 lead after one period and was up 7-0 before two late scores by Gray ended the bout at 7-3. Rotter Focken won Germany’s first Olympic medal in women’s freestyle, while Gray earned her first Olympic medal to go with her five World Championships golds.

Turkey’s Yasemin Adar and China’s Qian Zhou won the bronze medals.

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: A busy morning of qualifying started with the men’s hammer and Rio bronze medalist Wojciech Nowicki (POL) led five automatic qualifiers at 79.78 m (261-9), with American Rudy Winkler second at 78.81 m (258-6) on his second try.

The four-time World Champion Pawel Fajdek (POL) qualified ninth at 7646 m (250-10) and American Daniel Haugh was the final qualifier at 75.73 m (248-5). The third U.S. thrower, Alex Young, was 16th at 75.09 m (246-4).

The women’s 200 m heats had some surprises. Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) won the first heat in a strong 22.30, beating favorite Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH: 22.40). Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce sailed through heat two in 22.22, and Swiss Mujinga Kambundji won heat three in 22.26, a national record!

Then came a head-turner in heat four, as U.S. star Gabby Thomas stormed the turn and was striding to an easy win when a sudden burst from Namibian teen Christine Mboma pushed her into the lead and surprised Thomas, who tried to get in gear again, but eased up in second, 22.11-22.20. It’s a World Junior Record for Mboma, who was removed from the 400 m due to high testosterone levels, but suddenly looks like a medal theat in the 200 m. In heat five, Anthonique Strachan (BAH) won in a modest 22.76, but 100 m bronze winner Shericka Jackson (JAM) slowed at the finish and faded to fourth in 23.26; she did not advance.

Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel won heat six in 22.74, but Elaine Thompson-Herah looked slow down the straight and finished only third in 22.86. Tired? Uninterested? American Jenna Prandini won heat seven in 22.56; the third U.S. entry, Anavia Battle also advanced to the semis.

The women’s 1,500 m heats also had some strange incidents. Heat one saw Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford edge Laura Muir (GBR), 4:03.70-4:03.89; American Cory McGee was eighth in 4:05.15 and did not advance.

Heat two was really wild, as World Champion Sifan Hassan got caught in a pile-up at the back of the pack at the bell and fell to the track. She got up immediately, got running and then on a sprint on the backstraight that got her within striking distance of the second group of runners. On the turn, she caught the lead pack and then surged the rest of the way to win the heat in 4:05.17! That’s the kind of speed she has.

Jessica Hull (AUS) and American Elle Purrier St. Pierre were at the front of the race and finished 2-3 without incident in 4:05.28 and 4:05.34. Heat three was a clinic put on by defending Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon (KEN), who ran from the front most of the way and won in 4:01.40! Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo was second in 4:02.24 and American Heather MacLean qualified in fifth at 4:02.40.

The evening qualifying included the 400 m semis for men and 400 m hurdles semis for women. In the men’s 400 m, 2012 Olympic champ, Kirani James of Grenada impressed with a 43.88 win in semi one, ahead of Colombia’s dangerous Anthony Zambrano (43.93), a South American record. American Michael Cherry won semi two at 44.44 and Steven Gardiner (BAH) took heat three over Michael Norman of the U.S., 44.14-44.52 with Isaac Makwala (BOT) third in 44.59. James is obviously ready to run, but what do Gardiner, Cherry and Norman have in the tank?

The U.S. star duo of world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin and Rio gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad were 1-2 in the women’s 400 m hurdles semis. Muhammad won the first semi in 53.30, ahead of Janieve Russell (JAM: 54.10); McLaughlin won semi two in 53.03 and Dutch star Femke Bol won semi three in 53.91, with Anna Cockrell of the U.S. second at 54.17. No surprises here.

In the women’s vault qualifying, 4.55 m (14-11) was the required height and all of the medal contenders were over except Rio silver winner Sandi Morris of the U.S. After a rain delay, she took a practice jump and broke her pole and crashed into the pit at a bad angle, injuring her hip. She missed her three attempts and did not qualify, a rough end to her hopes of moving up on the podium.

● Team/Baseball: The U.S. lost to Japan, 7-6, in 10 innings in a battle of 2-0 teams. The U.S. had a 6-3 lead after scoring three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, but Japan scored two in the bottom of the fifth to close to 6-5 and then got a run in the ninth to tie it.

In the 10th, runners were placed at first and second and with Edwin Jackson pitching, Takuya Kai singled and scored Yuki Yanagita for the victory.

Japan moves on to the semifinals vs. Korea, while the U.S. will play the winner of Israel-Dominican Republic for the right to get to the other semifinal (against the loser of Japan-Korea).

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. women extended their Olympic unbeaten streak to 52 in a row with a 92-83 win over France in their final group game. A’ja Wilson had 22 points for the U.S., Breanna Stewart had 17 and Tina Charles had 15. The U.S. women will face Australia – 1-2 in Group C – in the quarters.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: The U.S. men’s team of Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne was eliminated in the round of 16 by Germans Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler, 21-17, 15-21, 11-15. The tournament is now in the quarterfinals with Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum the favorites.

The top-seeded U.S. women’s duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman moved on to the quarters with a 21-17, 21-15 win over Cubans Lidy Echevarria and Leila Martinez. They will play Germany’s Maggie Kozuch and and Laura Ludwig, who eliminated Brazil’s highly-regarded Agatha Bednarczuk and Duda Lisboa in three closely-contested sets: 21-19, 19-21, 16-14.

● Team/Football: Coming into Tokyo, no team had ever held the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympic title at the same time. That is still the case after Canada shocked the U.S. women, 1-0, in the semifinal of the Olympic tournament in Tokyo.

Star U.S. keeper Alyssa Naeher had to leave the game in the 30th minute due to a right leg injury and was replaced by Adrianna Franch.

The game was scoreless, with the U.S. controlling possession and Canada looking for openings. In the 76th minute, Deanne Rose of Canada tripped while running with American defender Tierna Davidson and fell. The referee waived it off at first, but was signaled to check the play again on video review. The call was reversed and Canada was awarded a penalty shot.

Jesse Fleming took the shot and scored inside the right post for a 1-0 lead and that’s how it ended. Canada was out-shot, 13-3, and out-possessed, 40-60, but is on to the Olympic final against Sweden, a 1-0 win vs. Australia.

The American women are now 51-4-7 vs. Canada all-time and hadn’t lost since 2001, going 30-0-7 in that time. The U.S. will play Australia for the bronze, while Sweden and Canada play for the gold.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. women improved to 4-1 and won Pool B with a tight 3-2 win over Italy: 21-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12. Andrea Drews led the U.S. with 22 points. The Americans now move to the elimination round to face the Dominican Republic (2-3) in the quarterfinals; a win will advance them to play the winner of Serbia-Italy (!) in the semis.

= PREVIEWS: TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST =
(28 events across nine sports)

● Athletics: Men’s 400 m hurdles-Pole Vault
One of the most-anticipated showdowns of the Tokyo Games is the men’s 400 m hurdles with world-record setter Karsten Warholm (NOR) facing off with American Rai Benjamin.

Warholm has taken over the event since Rio, winning the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, the latter over Benjamin, 47.42-47.66. In 2021, Benjamin ran a stunning 46.83 at the U.S. Trials, the no. 2 mark of all-time, only to have Warholm set the world record in his season opener (!) at 46.70 on 1 July. Warholm broke the 1992 Olympic winning mark of American Kevin Young (46.78).

Since then, Warholm ran 47.08 on 9 July and beat Benjamin in the Tokyo semis, 47.30-47.37. The problem for Warholm is that the lane draw favors Benjamin! The American will be in lane five, with Warholm directly in front of him in six, then the bronze-medal threats Alison dos Santos (BRA) in seven and Abderrahman Samba (QAT) in eight.

Warholm will strike early and hard, while Benjamin will try to stay close and use his superior sprint speed to close on the final straight. Another world record is a distinct possibility.

Dos Santos at 47.37 and Samba at 47.47 are the likely contestants for bronze, although the inconsistent Kyron McMaster (IVB) has run 47.50 this year and could upset both.

The men’s vault had some of its excitement ebb when World Champion Sam Kendricks of the U.S. was declared out with the coronavirus. That leaves world-record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE) with a clear lane to the top of the podium … barring a disaster.

There is no one in his class and everyone knows it. The next best contenders will start with the 2012 Olympic champ Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), which has cleared 6.06 m (19-10 1/2) this season. Americans K.C. Lightfoot (6.00 m/19-8 1/4 this year) and Chris Nilsen (5.93 m/19-5 1/2) are in the hunt for medals, with Poland’s Piotr Lisek (5.82 m/19-1) and new Dutch star Menno Vloon (5.96 m/19-6 1/2).

Duplantis is not invincible; no one is. Brazil’s Thiago Braz had the meet of his life in Rio to defeat Lavillenie and Kendricks; it could happen again, maybe for someone like Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines (5.87 m/19-3)?

The most likely outcome is Duplantis winning at 6.00 m or thereabouts and then trying to raise his world record from 6.18 m (20-3 1/4) …

● Athletics: Women’s 200 m-800 m-Long Jump-Hammer
Many questions were raised by the 200 m heats in the morning. There were answers in the semis in the evening.

First of all, Elaine Thompson-Herah is fine. The defending gold medalist from Rio won semi two in the fastest time of the round and a lifetime best of 21.66, the no. 2 time in the world for 2021. She beat Namibian teen Christine Mboma, who continued to amaze with a 21.97 second-place finish, a World U-20 Record. American Gabby Thomas, the world leader at 21.61, was third in 22.01 and qualified only on time.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the first heat in 22.13, ahead of the other Namibian teen star, Beatrice Masilingi (22.40); American Jenna Prandini was fifth (22.57) and did not advance. Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) won semi three in 22.11, ahead of Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH), who was supposed to be the favorite in this event; American Anavia Battle was sixth in 23.02 and did not advance.

The final will have Thomas in lane two – at least she can see everyone in front of her – Fraser-Pryce in three, then Mboma, Ta Lou, Thompson-Herah, Maslingi and Miller-Uibo. Right now, Thompon-Herah looks ready to double (again) … if she can hold off Mboma. Thomas will have to run the curve of her life to get into contention for a medal on the straightaway.

The women’s 800 m final is about the unknown. The contenders include Jamaica’s veteran Natoya Goule, a cagey tactician with excellent speed (1:56.44 this season). There’s Britain’s Jemma Reekie (1:56.96) and Keely Hodgkinson (1:57.51). Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemuhas run 1:57.71 this season, but has run a full second faster.

Then there is American Raevyn Rogers, with tremendous closing speed and a 1:57.66 best in 2021.

But all eyes will be on American teen Athing Mu, who leads the world at 1:56.07 from the U.S. Olympic Trials and won her semifinal in Tokyo in 1:58.07 … and appeared not to break a sweat.

Is she the golden girl of the 800? Will she take to the front and simply run away from this world-class field? Measuring sticks: the fastest time in this century is Pamela Jelimo’s 1:54.01 in 2008, and Caster Semenya (RSA) won the last two OG 800s in 1:56.19 (2012) and 1:55.28 (2016).

What will Mu do?

A clash of generations is on in the women’s long jump, with 2012 London champion Brittney Reese trying for a third Olympic medal, after her silver in Rio in 2016. Four times the World Champion in 2009-11-13-17, she upped her season’s best four times, up to 7.13 m (23-4 3/4) at the U.S. Olympic Trials and stands no. 3 on the world list for 2021. There is no better big-meet jumper.

But she’s not the current World Champion. That’s Malaika Mihambo (GER), who jumped 7.30 m (23-11 1/2) to win in 2019 in Doha. And there’s the Rio bronze medalist, Serbian Ivana Spanovic, who led the Tokyo qualifying at 7.00 m (22-11 3/4).

The runners-up to Mihambo in Doha in 2019 are here: Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk and Nigeria’s Ese Brume; Brume has the longest jump in the world this year at 7.17 m (23-6 1/4) in May.

But the most intriguing jumpers are the newcomers: American Tara Davis and Kyra Gittens from Trinidad & Tobago. Davis excited the track world with a 7.14 m (23-5 1/4) win at the Texas Relays and went on to take the NCAA title and was second to Reese at the U.S. Trials. She has speed and style and the personality of a champion.

Gittens competed for Texas A&M and won the NCAA heptathlon, and also competed in the high jump (3rd) and long jump (2nd)! She’s reached 6.96 m (22-10) this year, but with one event to concentrate on, what can she do?

There are other contenders, such as Chantal Malone (IVB), a strong jumper in the spring, but not lately, and Australian vet Brooke Stratton, who has a lifetime best of 7.05 m (23-1 3/4). But Reese and Davis will be looking to put on a show for the Europeans, who have their own ideas of how to entertain themselves during the final.

American DeAnna Price broke through with a world title in 2019, winning in Doha, and is the world leader at 80.31 m (263-6) in 2021.

Anita Wlodarczyk (POL), now 35, was out with injuries in 2019, but is the two-time defending Olympic Champion and owns world titles in 2009-13-15-17. The world-record holder at 82.98 m (272-3) from 2016, she led the qualifying at 76.99 m (252-7).

Can Price – eighth in Rio – produce the same big throws she has all year? If so, she can win. But Wlodarczyk on the field creates pressure she has not felt for a while. Price will not be alone, however, as the U.S. stands 1-3-4 on the year list, with Brooke Andersen at 78.18 m (256-6) and 2019 Pan American Games winner Gwen Berry – she of the raised fist – at 76.79 m (251-11).

Those four will be challenged for medal positions by Canada’s Camryn Rogers and China’s Zheng Wang, the Doha third-placer. The latter got a season’s best in qualifying at 74.29 m (243-8) for second and Rogers is no. 5 on the year list with 75.52 m (247-9) throwing for Cal. Poland’s Joanna Fidorow was second at the 2019 Worlds, but only 10th in the qualifying in Tokyo.

Price got off to a big start in Doha in 2019, opening with 76.87 m (252-2), a mark no one else touched all day. She doesn’t have to win it on her first throw – she improved in Doha to eventually reach 77.54 m (254-5) – but a big early mark will tell Wlodarczyk that she’s in a fight.

● Boxing: Men’s 57 kg-69 kg-91 kg
The first medals in boxing are getting unboxed as four classes will be settled on Tuesday: three men’s weights and one for women. Even with all of the tumult surrounding this tournament, one thing has remained constant: Cuban excellence.

In the men’s 57 kg (Featherweight) class, the semifinals have been set with Duke Ragan (USA) vs. Samuel Takyi (GHA) and Lazaro Alvarez (CUB) against Albert Batyrgaziev (ROC).

Ragan was not supposed to be on the U.S. team as he had already turned pro and has a 4-0 record through April of 2021. But with nearly the entire Olympic qualifying program cancelled due to the coronavirus, the IOC Boxing Task Force mandated selections based on fighter rankings from 2017-19. Ragan was the 2017 Worlds silver medalist at 56 kg (Bantamweight) and qualified as the U.S. fighter in this class.

Takhi, 20, is new to a medal round in a major tournament, having won his two fights by a 5:0 decision in the first round and 3:2 in the quarterfinals.

Alvarez, 30, is highly decorated, with Olympic bronzes in the last two Games, at Bantam and Lightweight. He’s won three Worlds titles in 2011-13-15, but silvers at Lightweight in 2017 and Featherweight in 2019. Batyrgaziev was decisioned by Alvarez (4:1) in the 2019 Worlds quarterfinals, but is 3-0 as a professional.

A Ragan-Alvarez final would be epic.

In the 69 kg Welterweight class, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist Pat McCormack (GBR) will face Cuban star Roniel Iglesias.

McCormick, 26, has European Championships medals at Light Welterweight (2015) and Welterweight (2017), while Iglesias has now 32, and was the 2012 Olympic Champion at Lightweight (63 kg) and won a bronze in that class in 2008. He moved up to 69 kg for the 2016 Olympic Games, but lost in the round of 16; he rebounded at the 2017 Worlds and finished second.

Is younger better? Iglesias has not been as successful at 69 kg as he was at 63.

At 91 kg (Heavyweight), Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov comes in as the reigning World Champion from 2019 and was the 2017 European Champion at Light Heavyweight. David Myika (NZL) won the Commonwealth Games title in 2018, but gained some unwanted notoriety for a bite attempt by Morocco’s Youness Baalla in the round-of-16 match; Myika won the match by a 5:0 decision.

The other semi has Abner Teixeira (BRA), the 2019 Pan America Games bronze medalist, against legendary Julio Cesar la Cruz (CUB), 31. La Cruz won the Rio gold in the Light Heavyweight class and owns four world titles from 2011-13-15-17 at Light Heavyweight, but slipped to bronze in 2019.

La Cruz decisioned former Cuban Emmanuel Reyes in the quarterfinals in a match that received a lot of attention.

Gadzhimagomedov is 24 vs. 31 for the Cuban star, but it’s hard not to see La Cruz working his magic again.

● Boxing: Women’s 57 kg
The Featherweight final will pit reigning World Champion Nesthy Petecio (PHI) against Japan’s Sena Irie.

Petecio pulled through the rounds with wins by decision of 5:0, 3:2, 5:0 and 4:1 in the semis against Irma Testa of Italy. She moved to the top of the podium in 2019 after finishing second in the 2014 Worlds. Irie has no major international credentials; after all, she’s just 20! She won her first two bouts by 5:0, then two by 3:2; she overcame Karriss Artingstall (GBR) in the semifinals.

Petecio has faced Irie before in international competition, defeating her in the 2019 Worlds quarterfinal, 4:1. She will be favored to do again.

● Canoe-Kayak: Sprint-Men’s K-1 1,000 m-C-2 1,000 m
In the K-1 1,000 m, the heat winners included Czech Josef Dostal, Hungary’s Adam Varga, Fernando Pimenta (POR), Aleh Yurenia (BLR) and Germany’s Jacob Schopf.

Dostal returns as the Olympic silver medalist from Rio; Russian Roman Anoshkin is also back and in the semifinals.

The 2019 World Champion, Balint Kopasz has also advanced to the semis; the 2019 runner-up was Dostal and Portugal’s Pimenta won the silver. Both Dostal and Pimenta have won world titles in this class. The 2019 Worlds fourth-placer – Peter Gelle (SVK) – is also into the semifinal round.

Dostal and Pimenta have been consistent placers and should be considered favorites.

In the C-2 1,000 m, Germany has won the last two Olympic golds, in Rio with Sebastian Brendel and Jan Vandrey. Brendel is back and has three Olympic golds: two in the C-1 1,000 m and the C-2 1,000 m race in Rio. He’s partnered this time with Tim Hecker and won heat two on Monday.

However, the 2019 World Champions ere from China – Hao Liu and Hao Wang – and Liu is back, this time with Pengfei Zheng. They impressively won heat one in 3:37.783, fastest of the day. But they will have competition from Cuba’s 2019 Worlds silver winners Serguey Torres and Fernando Jorge, Brazil’s bronze medalist (and Rio silver winner) Isaquias Querioz (this time with Jacky Nascimento) and Ukraine’s returning Rio bronze medalist Dmytro Ianchuk (this time with Pavlo Altukhov).

● Canoe-Kayak: Sprint-Women’s K-1 200 m-K-2 500 m
The K-1 200 m is about New Zealand star and seven-time World Champion in this event, Lisa Carrington. Winner at London and Rio, she led all of the qualifiers on Monday at 40.715 seconds, with only Spain’s Teresa Portela really close at 40.812.

Poland’s Marta Walczykiewicz won the Rio silver and was runner-up to Carrington at the 2019 World Championships as well, with Portela and Denmark’s Emma Jorgensen third. They are definitely in the fight for medals, along with both Hungarian entries, Anna Karasz and Dora Lucz and the 2018 Worlds silver medalist, Linnea Stensils.

But Carrington is the star of the event, and at 32, a win could line her up for a try at four straight Olympic golds in the same event in Paris.

The women’s K-2 500 m race has been dominated by Hungary in recent Games, winning three of four golds from 2004-16. Danuta Kozak is back from the 2016 team, now paired with Dora Bodonyi and they and teammates Tamara Csipes and Erika Medveczky both won their heats impressively on Monday.

Germany’s Tina Dietze won gold n 2012 and the 2016 silver and is now paddling with Sabrina Hering-Pradler; they are also into the semifinals. Poland’s Karolina Naja won bronzes in 2012 and 2016 and is now with Anna Pulawska; they won silver at the 2019 Worlds. The 2019 Worlds bronze medalists from Slovenia – Anja Osterman and Spela Ponomarenko Janic are also safely through to the semis.

But the big challengers will be 2019 World Champions Volha Khudenska and Maryna Litvinchuk (BLR) and the New Zealand pair of Carrington and Caitlin Regal, the 2018 Worlds silver medalists. New Zealand has never won a medal in this event.

● Cycling: Track-Men’s Team Sprint
The Netherlands comes in as the reigning World Champions from 2019, winning the final from France, with Russia defeating Germany for bronze. Roy van den Berg, Jeffrey Hoogland and Harrie Lavreysen are all back and ready to claim this event.

However, Great Britain has owned the men’s Team Sprint for the last three Games, although only Jason Kenny is back from the Rio champions. Ryan Owens and Jack Carlin are certainly competent teammates.

France, with Sebastien Vigier back from the 2019 Worlds bronze medalists, will be a contender, as will Germany (two of three members back from 2019), but the Russians are a prime choice, with Denis Dmitriev and Pavel Yakushevskiy back and adding Ivan Gladishev.

New Zealand won silver in Rio in 2016 and Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster are back from that team. Only sixth-fastest in 2019, they have to improve significantly.

● Cycling: Track-Women’s Team Pursuit
The U.S. women won this race at the 2016-17-18-20 World Championships and Jennifer Valente, Chloe Dygert, Emma White and Lily Williams – the winning 2020 team – are all back and start as favorites.

Great Britain has owned this race at the Games, winning both times it has been held – in 2012 and 2016 – with the U.S. second and Canada third both times. Kate Archibald and Elinor Barker are back from the Rio 2016 winners and those two and Neah Evans were members of the 2020 Worlds silver medalists behind the U.S.

Germany won bronze in 2020, and has three members of its team and Canada has all four of its Worlds fourth-place team back from 2019 and 2020. Also in contention: Australia, which has three (of four) of its 2019 Worlds gold medalists back, with Annette Edmondson, Ashlee Ankudinoff and Georgia Baker and figure to challenge for a medal as well.

● Diving: Men’s 3 m Springboard
Familiar faces in this event, as China’s Siyi Xie and Zongyuan Wang won the 3 m Synchro and American Andrew Capobianco was a silver medalist and Patrick Hausding (GER) a bronze medalist in that event.

Xie is the favorite, having won the world title in 2017 and 2019. Wang is also a World Champion, winning the 1 m Springboard title in 2019. They’re the favorites, no doubt. China has won this event in five of the last six Games.

Two medal winners are back from Rio: silver winner Jack Laugher (GBR) – also the 2015 and 2019 Worlds bronze winner – and Hausding, who was third.

Korea’s Ha-Ram Woo was fourth at the 2019 Worlds and is a clear medal contender. Mexico’s Rommel Pacheco was eighth in 2019 and Russia’s Nikita Shleikher and Evgeny Kuznetsov were 9-10 in 2019. Ukraine’s Oleh Kolodiy won the 2017 Worlds bronze. Lot of candidates for bronze, after the two Chinese stars.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Parallel Bars-Horizontal Bar
In the Parallel Bars, China’s Jingyuan Zou led the qualifying with a big score of 16.166 and is the clear favorite. He’s the two-time World Champion from 2017 and 2018, but somehow missed qualifying in 2019. He’s the one to beat.

All of the qualifiers scored 15.325 or better; Lukas Dauser (GER) was second at 15.733 and Hao You (CHN) and Turk Ferhat Arican were 3-4, scoring 15.666 and 15.566. American Sam Mikulak was fifth at 15.433.

Joe Fraser (GBR) qualified only seventh, but won the 2019 world title, with Arican fifth and Dauser eighth. David Belyavskiy, the final qualifier, was the Rio bronze medalist and also won the 2017 Worlds bronze. Mikulak was fourth at the 2018 Worlds. Plenty of choices for silver and bronze, but not for gold.

In the Horizontal Bar, Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto – the All-Around winner – had the only score over 15 points at 15.033 in the qualifying, followed by Milad Karimi (KAZ: 14.766), Tin Srbic (CRO: 14.633), American Brody Malone (14.533) and Nikita Nagornyy (RUS: 14.466).

Hashimoto was fourth in this event at the 2019 Worlds, but is riding the momentum of his All-Around win. Srbic has been a star in this event during this quadrennial, winning the 2017 world title and grabbing the silver in 2019. This isn’t Nagornyy’s best event, but he is a capable performer in all circumstances.

The surprise in qualifying was Karimi, who was 54th and 24th in the Worlds in 2018 and 2019. Can he duplicate his first-day performance?

● Gymnastics: Women’s Balance Beam
The qualifying was led by China’s Chenchen Guan (14.933) and Xijing Tang (14.333), followed by American Suni Lee (14.200) and Romania’s Larisa Iordache (14.133). U.S. star Simone Biles was seventh in the qualifying, but has declared she will compete in this event final.

Let’s remember that Biles was the World Champion on Beam in 2014-15-19, and if right, will be the definite favorite. She certainly will be highly motivated after missing the All-Around and the three prior apparatus finals.

Iordache was European Championship in 2013 and 2020. Also worth noting: Russia’s Vladislava Urazova had the best Beam score in the All-Around competition – 14.200 – with Lee second (13.833) and Tang only ninth.

It’s all about Simone.

● Sailing: Men’s 49er-Women’s 49er FX
(postponed from 2 August due to weather)

The men’s 49er medal race will be needed to untangle as many as seven candidates for the medals, spread out from 52 to 75 net points.

The leaders and real contenders for the gold medal are Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand (52), Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR: 56) and Diego Botin le Chever and Iago Lopez from Spain (52).

Burley and Tuke won silver in London and gold in Rio, and have six placements in the top three in the first 12 races. Fletcher and Bithell won the 2017 Worlds and Botin and Lopez were ninth in Rio. Any of the three could end up on top of the podium.

Further back at 66 net points are Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel – the 2016 bronze medalists – and Danes Jonas Warrier and Jakob Jensen, with an outside chance to get to the medals if one of the three falters in the medal race.

The women’s 49er FX race is even closer than the men’s! Defending Olympic champs Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are locked up with 2018 Worlds gold medalists Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz of the Netherlands, at 70 points each.

Germany’s Tina Lutz and Susann Beuke are third at 73, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barcelo (ESP: 77) are fourth and Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR: 81) are fifth and there are five more under 100 net points.

Echegoyen was fourth in Rio with a different partner; Dobson was eighth, also with a different partner, so both have plenty of experience.

In Tokyo, both the Brazilians and Dutch have two wins apiece and three top-3 finishes. Lutz and Beucke have been very consistent: four third places, but no finish worse than 13th. Dobson and Tidey have six top-5 finishes, but had a bad patch in the middle, with finishes of 16-13-14-15 to put them outside the medals for now.

Too close to call.

● Sailing: Men’s Finn
This is likely the last time the Finn Class will be seen at the Games, as it will be removed from the program for Paris in 2024, after having been part of the Games since 1952.

The medal race will see if Britain’s Giles Scott can hold onto a 28-37-39 net points lead over Zsombor Berecz (HUN) and Joan Cardona of Spain. Scott was the Rio 2016 gold medalist and is trying to extend a five-Games win streak for British Finn sailors. He’s also the 2011-14-15-16 World Champion in Finn and has won six of the 10 races so far. He will be tough to beat.

Berecz won this class at the 2018 World Sailing Championships and has been in the top five in seven of 10 races, just ahead of Cardona, who also has been top-5 in seven of 10.

Behind them are New Zealand’s Josh Junior, with 47 and two wins (!) and Nicolas Heiner (NED) and Facundo Olezza Bazan (ARG), both at 52. They could attack the medals if any of the top three falter badly in the Medal Race.

● Sailing: Mixed Nacra 17
This race was changed from an open division to a mixed-gender multihull race in 2016, with Argentina’s Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza Saroli winning the gold in Rio, followed by Australia’s Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin. They’re both in the regatta this time, with Langa and Carranza sitting seventh (75 net points), but Waterhouse and Darmanin fourth at 54.

The leaders are 2018 World Champions Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti (ITA), with eight top-two finishes in the first 12 races and just 23 net points. They are being chased by John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR: 35, with three wins and three seconds) and Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer (GER: 47). Gimson and Burnet won the 2020 Nacra 17 World Chaampionship, and Kohlhoff and Stuhlemmer have moved up nicely from their 14th-place finish at the 2018 Worlds.

Only a catastrophe in the Medal Race will move the medalists around, but as these Games have shown, anything is possible.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 109 kg
Armenia’s Simon Martirosyan won the 2019 World Championships and owns the world record at 435 kg. He’s the favorite.

The 2019 Worlds fourth-placer, Uzbek Akbar Djuraev is also in, along with Russian Timur Naniev (6th), Iran’s Ali Hashemi (7th) and Arkadiusz Michalski of Poland (8th, but the 2018 bronze medalist). American Wesley Kitts, 14th in 2019, is also entered.

Djuraev, just 21, was fourth at the 2018 Worlds also won the World Junior Championship in 2019 and bears close attention. Hashemi is a proven competitor, winning world titles at 105 kg in 2017 and 102 kg in 2018, but he’s in a heavier class now. Can Michalski find his 2018 magic?

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 77 kg-97 kg
The Greco 77 kg class final will gave 2012 Olympic 66 kg Champion and 2019 World Champion Tomas Lorincz of Hungary back for another gold, this time against emerging star Akzhol Makhmudov (KGZ).

Lorincz, 34, in his fourth Games, won medals at the 2017 (silver), 2018 (silver) and 2019 (gold) World Championships. Makhmudov won an Asian Games silver in this class in 2018, but will be in his first major worldwide final in Tokyo.

The bronze medal matches will include Shohei Yabiku (JPN) vs. Mohammad Ali Gerei of Iran and Karapet Chalyan (ARM) against the winner of the last repechage round.

At 97 kg, Armenia’s Artur Aleksanyan will try to continue his medal collection tour with a gold in the final against Russia’s Musa Evloev of Russia. Aleksanyan is the defending champion from Rio, won a bronze in this class in Londonand owns three world titles from 2014-15-17.

But he was defeated in the 2019 Worlds final by Evloev, who also won the 2018 world title and lost to Aleksanyan in the 2017 Worlds final. This should be a classic.

The bronze-medal matches will have Tadeusz Michalik (POL) and Mohammad Hadi Saravi (IRI) against winners of the repechage round.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 68 kg
American hopes are high for World Champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who stormed her way into the final with technical fall wins over Rio gold medalist Sara Dosho (JPN) and Feng Zhou (CHN) and a 10-4 semifinal win over Ukraine’s Alla Cherkasova.

Mensah-Stock will face Blessing Oborududu (NGR), who has won her three matches by a combined total of 23-6. She was the 2021 Worlds silver medalist.

Cherkasova and Feng will wrestle for bronze medals against opponents coming from the repechage round, including Dosho and Feng.

= INTEL REPORT =

Good news for Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who is reported to be seeking political asylum in Poland after refusing to return to Belarus and likely punishment for criticizing her coaches.

She obtained police protection at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo from Japanese authorities and was assisted by the International Olympic Committee. She went to the Polish Embassy on Monday and will reportedly receive a humanitarian visa, with a promise to help her continue her track & field career.

Tsimanouskaya also received an offer of support from the Czech Republic. A lot of tumult in the life of a 24-year-old.

The Tokyo 2020 organizers reported 17 positive coronavirus tests related to the Games for Monday, with nine from contractors and six from “Games-concerned personnel.”

This brings the total number of positives to 276, of which 144 (52%) are contractors, 83 are “Games-concerned personnel” (30%), 24 are athletes, 13 media and 12 are Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 31 July:

● Athletes and team officials: 30 positives in 207,366 tests (0.01%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 60 positives in 241,449 tests (0.02%).

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 1,088 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 1 August.

Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July, 0 of 1,174 on 30 July and 0 for 1,148 on 31 July.

Outside the Games, the final of the 16th CONCACAF Gold Cup was played in Las Vegas on Sunday evening, with the U.S. and Mexico going scoreless in regulation, through the first extra-time period and finally settled in the 117th minute on a header by U.S. defender Miles Robinson for a 1-0 win.

A free kick by Kellyn Acosta found Robinson for the goal, finishing a game in which there were lots of chances, but no scoring.

Mexico had 64% of the possession and 22 shots, but the U.S. had 14 shots of its own and each side had only five on target. As usual, the game was physical, with 51 total fouls called and four yellow cards distributed (three to Mexico).

It was the seventh Gold Cup title for the U.S., one short of Mexico’s total of eight, and the U.S. won its second final against El Tri, in seven tries.

The U.S. won its quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches by 1-0.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Sunday Review & Preview: Dressel leads U.S. relay to world record; Finke doubles in 1,500 Free; Italy’s Jacobs stuns in men’s 100 m

By
Rich Perelman
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(l-r) Michael Andrew, Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple celebrate a world record and gold medal in the men's 4x100 m Medley Relay in Tokyo (Photo: USA Swimming via Twitter)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

The raging argument about sport and politics has bubbled up in Tokyo, this time over Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.

Fourth in her heat of the women’s 100 m in 11.47, she did not advance to the semifinals. She is scheduled to run in the heats of the 200 m this week, but Reuters reported that she was ordered to pack and fly back to Belarus on Sunday.

She said she had been removed from the team due “to the fact that I spoke on my Instagram about the negligence of our coaches.” She complained that she had been added to run in the 4×400 m relay without her knowledge: “I spoke about this publicly. The head coach came over to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me.”

Tsimanouskaya went to the airport but refused to get on any flight, instead asking for help from the Japanese police. The International Olympic Committee got involved quickly and tweeted:

“The IOC and Tokyo 2020 have spoken to Krystsina Tsymanouskaya [sic] directly tonight. She is with the authorities at Haneda airport and is currently accompanied by a staff member of Tokyo 2020. She has told us that she feels safe. /1

“The IOC and Tokyo 2020 will continue their conversations with Krystsina Tsymanouskaya and the authorities to determine the next steps in the upcoming days. /2″

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, set up to help athletes during the political turmoil in Belarus, said it has reached out and received an offer of assistance from Poland and that Tsimanouskaya could be asking for asylum in Germany or Austria on Monday.

All of this is a reflection of the public protests against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who was continued in office in a controversial election in 2020. Protests sprang up almost immediately and have continued. Belarusian athletes who have spoken up have been arrested and some jailed.

This is hardly the first time this has happened at an international sports event, but in the cauldron of the Olympic Games, it draws extra attention not only to her and to what is happening in Belarus – whose sports officials have been sanctioned by the IOC for interference – but also to the responsibility of organizers and federations in dealing with issues far beyond who wins medals.

We’re past halfway, with 179 of 339 events (53%) completed in Tokyo. The current medals leaders:

1. 59: United States (20-23-16)
2. 51: China (24-14-13)
3. 44: Russian Olympic Committee (12-19-13)
4. 32: Great Britain (10-10-12)
5. 31: Japan (17-5-9) and Australia (14-3-14)

So far, 76 countries have won at least one medal, compared to 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 730.0 United States
2. 558.0 China
3. 485.0 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 395.5 Japan
5. 387.5 Great Britain
6. 338.5 Australia
7. 327.5 Italy
8. 285.0 France
9. 237.5 Germany
10.236.0 Netherlands
11. 205.5 Korea
12. 189.0 Canada

All credit to the Japanese athletes, competing better than ever before at an Olympic Games. Wow!

NBC announced that more than 105 million Americans have watched some part of the Tokyo Games, a little less than a third of the country. Friday’s ratings were steady:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million
● 30 July (Fri): 15.2 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. The 2020 Games average audience is now about 16.7 million per night, down from 27.5 million per night for Rio in 2016.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: SUNDAY, 1 AUGUST =

● Athletics: Men’s 100 m-High Jump
One of the crazier days in this sport started with the semifinals in the men’s 100 m, where world leader Trayvon Bromell of the U.S. was eliminated by 1/1000th of a second. He finished third in the second semi to Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke, with each timing 10.00, but Adegoke’s extended time was 9.995 and Bromell’s was 9.996. Incredible.

American Fred Kerley won semi one in 9.96, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes won semi two in 9.98 and then a sensational third semi saw China’s Bigntian Su run an Asian Record 9.83 to win over American Ronnie Baker (9.83), Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs (9.84 European Record) and South Africa’s Akani Simbine (9.90), all of whom moved on to the final.

Hughes never got to run the final as he was disqualified for a false start. On the re-start, Kerley had the best reaction time, but the race was fairly even for the first 40 m. Kerley started to move well, then Adegoke shot into the air in lane eight, then collapsed with an injury.

Kerley continued strong, but Jacobs was coming steadily to his left in lane three and Canada’s Andre De Grasse was moving well on the opposite side of the track in lane nine. Jacobs had the most strength in the last 10 m and won in a stunning 9.80, another European Record, with Kerley – a 400 m runner at the start of the season – second in 9.84 (lifetime best) and De Grasse getting third in a lifetime best of 9.89. Simbine was fourth and Baker was fifth.

Jacobs is the son of an Italian mother and American father, born in El Paso, Texas. When his father, a U.S. Army member, was transferred to Korea, mother and son moved to Italy and have stayed ever since. Jacobs becomes the first European men’s 100 m champ since Britain’s Linford Christie in 1992, and the first Italian 100 m medalist! (Thanks to reader Tom Casacky for this correction!)

Kerley’s silver extends the U.S. medal streak in the event to six.

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim has been moving up all his Olympic life. The bronze-medal winner in London and the silver medalist in Rio, he came in as the 2019 World Champion and, if healthy, no less than a medal favorite for Tokyo.

The real jumping started at 2.35 m (7-8 1/2), with seven men still in. American JuVaughn Harrison passed the height (!) and Russian Mikhail Arimenko missed twice, then decided to try for 2.37 m (7-9 1/4). In the meantime, Barshim, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, Maksim Nedasekau (BLR), Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) and Brandon Starc (AUS) all cleared 2.35 m.

Now the bar went to 2.37 m, and Harrison missed once. Akimenko missed for a third time and was out. Barshim, Tamberi and Nedasekau all made 2.37 m on their first tries, putting the pressure on Woo, Starc and Harrison.

All three realized that there were no medals to be had at 2.37 m and asked to jump at 2.39 m (7-10), the next height. All missed twice and were eliminated, finishing 4-5-7 (Akimenko was sixth).

Barshim, Tamberi and Nedasekau all missed three times at 2.39 m, with Nedasekau third due to an earlier miss. Barshim and Tamberi decided to stay tied and shared the gold. This completed Barshim’s medal set, while Tamberi, with such great expectations through the years, finally got his golden moment and Italy’s first-ever win in the event.

Italy: Olympic champions in the men’s 100 m and high jump, on the same day!

● Athletics: Women’s Triple Jump-Shot Put
The women’s triple jump winner is a foregone conclusion: world-record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela.

Coming into the Games, she was the world indoor record holder. Now she’s the World Record Holder.

She ended the competition with her first jump of 15.41 m (50-6 3/4), the equal-third-best jump of all time. Jumping only for fun now, she also got out to 15.25 m (50-0 1/2) in round four and then had one more try in the sixth round to end the day. With only a 0.7 m/s wind at her back, she exploded to 15.67 m (51-5), blowing up the existing record of Inessa Kravets (UKR) – 15.50 m (50-10 1/4) – from 1995. It gives Rojas five of the top seven jumps of all time, at age 25.

Behind her, Portugal’s Patricia Mamona was making some history of her own. The sixth placer in Rio, she came in with a best of 14.66 m (48-1 1/4), but boomed out to 14.91 m (48-11) on her first try, then 15.01 m (49-3) on her fourth and then 14.97 m (49-1 1/2) in the sixth round. She’s the 25th female jumper in history to reach the 15 m mark and her reward was an unexpected silver medal.

Spain’s Ana Peleteiro out-dueled Jamaica’s Shanieka Rickets for the bronze, 14.87 m (48-9 1/2) to 14.84 m (48-8 1/4) in perhaps the best women’s TJ competition in history. American Keturah Orji finished seventh at 14.59 m (47-10 1/2).

The women’s shot final had two-time champion Valerie Adams (NZL) and two-time medalist Lijiao Gong contending for the medals, and both ended up on the podium.

In fact, the event was decided in the first round. Throwing first, American Raven Saunders – in gold and purple hair – got off a big first throw of 19.65 m (64-5 3/4) that looked like a medal-winner right from the start!

Adams, throwing third, got a nice opener at 18.62 m (61-1 1/4), but Gong got busy as the fifth thrower. The world leader in 2021, she powered out to 19.95 m (65-5 1/2) and it appeared that two of the medals were already decided. In fact, they were.

Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo was third after the first round at 19.29 m (63-3 1/2), but Adams moved up to third in round two at 19.49 m (63-11 1/2) and improved to 19.62 m (64-4 1/2) in round three. After Saunders fouled a long throw in round two, Gong improved to 19.98 m (65-6 3/4) in round three. American Jessica Ramsey, also a potential medalist, could not find the right balance and fouled all three of her throws and was eliminated.

Dongmo kept knocking on Adams’ door, reaching 19.57 m (64-2 1/2), but couldn’t do better and finished fourth. Saunders kept chasing and got out to 19.79 m (64-11 1/4) but Gong hammered her fifth throw, to 20.53 m (67-4 1/4).

Saunders had another big throw in the final round, but couldn’t stay in, finishing with the silver. Gong, already the winner, got her final throw out to 20.58 m (67-6 1/4) and the ultimate winning mark, the furthest in the world this year.

● Badminton: Women’s Singles
China regained the top spot in women’s Singles as Yufei Chen managed a tight, 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 win in 1:21 over Chinese Taipei’s Tzu-Ying Tai for the gold medal.

Chinese players had won four straight titles until Rio, when they went without a medal. Chen moved up from winning two bronzes in the World Championships in 2017 and 2019 to gold medalist. Tai won Taipei’s first-ever medal in this event.

India’s V. Sindhu Pusarla won the bronze, defeating Bing Jiao He (CHN), 21-13, 21-15, in 53 minutes for a second straight Olympic medal, after a silver in Rio.

● Cycling: Men’s & Women’s BMX Freestyle
This first-time event included some surprises. The men’s final saw Australia’s two-time World Champion Logan Martin put enormous pressure on his competitors with a 93.30 score on the final run of the first round. The gold was essentially his at that points.

Venezuela’s Daniel Dhers – the 2019 Pan American Games champ – had been the leader at 90.10 and was not intimidated. His second-round run scored 92.05 and won him the silver. Britain’s Declan Brooks had an excellent 89.40 in the first round and improved to 90.80 in the second, enough to hold off Kenneth Tencio Esquivel, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist (90.50) for the bronze.

Americans Justin Dowell and Nick Bruce had a tough day, finishing eighth and ninth.

American Hannah Roberts was the favorite in the women’s Park Freestyle, as the 2017-19-21 World Champion and starting last in the order, put down a sensational 96.10 score at the end of the first round that looked like the winning run.

But Britain’s Charlotte Worthington, a two-time Worlds bronze winner, was equal to the challenge and midway through the second round, produced a gorgeous run that stunned the judges and resulted in a 97.50 score and the lead.

Roberts had a chance to respond as the last to go, but came up short on an all-out attempt for gold and scored just 28.40.

Swiss Nikita Ducarroz was third in the qualifying and scored an upset of her own, with her first-round 89.20 enough to hold off 2018 World Champion Perris Benegas of the U.S. (88.50) for the bronze.

● Diving: Women’s 3m Springboard
No surprise at the results, with China going 1-2 with 2016 Olympic Champion Tingmao Shi repeating at 383.50 points, way ahead of the field. She has the top score on all five dives in the finals.

Teammate Han Wang scored 348.75 for second, scoring second on three dives and third on two more. However, she was pressed by American Krysta Palmer, who finished 2-4-3 on her final three dives and ended up close, scoring 343.75 for the bronze medal. Pretty impressive for the 37th-place finisher in the 2017 World Championships and who did not make the U.S. team for the 2019 Worlds.

It’s the first medal in this event for the U.S. since Kelly McCormack’s bronze in 1988. Fellow American Hailey Hernandez ended up ninth.

● Fencing: Men’s Team Foil
A powerful performance for France, which squashed Egypt, 45-34, out-lasted Japan, 45-42 and then stomped Russia, 45-28 to win the gold. The 2019 Worlds silver medal winners, Enzo Lefort, Julien Mertine and Maxime Pauty were not to be denied; it’s France’s sixth Olympic gold in this event, but the first since 2000.

It was the first Russian medal in the event ever; the USSR had won the event in 1988.

The U.S. team, Rio bronze medalists, repeated that performance with a 45-31 win over Japan with Alexander Massialas, Gerek Meinhardt and Race Imboden competing; Nick Itkin fenced in an earlier round. The U.S. won seven of the nine matches in the final and tied in the other two.

● Golf: Men
The men’s tournament saw the first-round leaders shoot 63s on the Kasumigaseki Country Club course: Austria’s Sepp Straka in round one and then American Xavier Schauffele in round 2. The latter’s 131 (-11) gave him a one-stroke lead over Carlos Ortiz (MEX: -10) and two over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (-9).

Schauffele maintained his one-stroke advantage through round three with a 68, but with Matsuyama looking over his shoulder at -13 (67), with Paul Casey (GBR) and Ortiz at -12 (201).

In the wild final round, Schauffele won with 67, to end at 266 (-18). But he had to scramble to hold off a sensational final-day 61 (-10) from Rory Sabbatini (SVK), who moved up 15 places to win the silver medal at 267 (-17)! Schauffele needed a birdie on 17 to assure he would not be in a playoff.

There was a massive tie for third, with seven golfers moving into a playoff for the bronze medal. C.T. Pan (TPE) ended up on the podium, eventually winning out over Collin Morikawa (USA) on the fourth extra hole. Six shared fourth place at 269 (-15).

● Gymnastics: Men’s Floor Exercise-Pommel Horse
Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat, born in the Ukraine but who moved to Israel at 12, led the qualifying in the Floor Exercise and won the gold at 14.933, despite a 0.1 penalty. That was the same score as Spain’s Rayderley Zapata, but Dolgopyat had the higher difficulty score and was awarded the gold on that basis.

It’s Israel’s first-ever gold in Olympic gymnastics and the country’s second-ever gold after Gal Fridman won the men’s Sailboard event in 2004. Dolgopyat now owns an Olympic gold to go with his silver medals in the 2017 and 2019 Worlds and the 2020 European title.

China’s Ruoteng Xiao scored 14.766 for third; American Yul Moldauer was sixth at 13.533.

On the Pommel Horse, Britain’s Max Whitlock came in as the defending champion from Rio, and looking for a third medal after winning a home bronze in 2012 in London. He got it, winning cleanly at 15.583, well ahead of runner-up Chih Kai Lee (TPE: 15.400) and Japan’s Kazuma Kaya (14.900).

Whitlock now has two Olympic golds to go with being a three-time World Champion.

American Alec Yoder finished sixth at 14.566.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Vault-Uneven Bars
The U.S. did not have Simone Biles in either event, but came away with two more medals.

In the Vault, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade got the gold medal that eluded her in the All-Around, scoring 15.166 and 15.000 to end at 15.083, the only final score over 15 points.

Biles’ replacement, MyKayla Skinner, who was fourth in the qualifying, scored 15.033 on her first try and then 14.900 on the second for a 14.916 average and the silver medal.

Korea’s Seojeong Yeo, eighth at the 2019 World Championships, moved up to third, scoring 14.733; she scored 15.333 on her first vault – best of the night – but only 14.133 on her second.

American Jade Carey was eighth at 12.416.

In the Uneven Bars, Belgium’s Nina Derawel came in as a two-time World Champion in this event and won decisively at 15.200.

Russia’s Anastasiia Iliankova had been third in the qualifying and produced a 14.833 to grab the silver, while American Suni Lee – second in qualifying – was third at 14.500.

For Derwael, it’s a sweet second Games, after she finished 12th in this event in Rio.

● Sailing: Men’s Laser-Women’s Laser Radial
Australia’s Matt Wearn sailed away with the third straight gold medal for his country in the men’s Laser class, following Tom Slingsby and Tom Burton. He ended with 53 net points after a second in the medal race and was a dominant winner with seven top-5 finishes in 11 races.

Tonci Stipanovic (CRO) – the Rio silver medalist – managed to get silver again with a fourth-place finish in the medal race, passing Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard, 82 to 85 on net points. Tomasgaard was seventh in the medal race and lost six points on the final day.

The 2018 World Champion, Pavlos Kontides (CYP: 88), finished fourth. American Charlie Buckingham was 13th.

Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom added an Olympic gold to her medal collection in the women’s Laser Radial class, to go with her 2016 Olympic and 2018 Worlds bronze medals. She only finished seventh in the medal race and that closed her final margin to 78-81 over Swede Josefin Olsson, who won the medal race and moved up from sixth to second on the final day.

Dutch star Marit Bouwmeester, the gold and silver medalist in the last two Games, added a bronze with 83 points after finishing sixth in the medal race. Belgian Emma Plasschaert, the 2018 World Champion, was forth at 87.

American Paige Railey finished 37th.

● Swimming: Men’s 50 m Free-1,500 m Free-4×100 m Medley
Caeleb Dressel was going for a third individual gold and got his patented super start and came up with the lead once again. With French giant Florent Manaudou to his right, Dressel pulled furiously and moved away from his rivals and touched the wall in an Olympic Record of 21.07, the no. 6 performance of all time.

Manaudou won the silver, meaning he has finished 1-2-2 in this event in the last three Games, in 21.55, followed by Brazil’s Bruno Fratus (21.57). American Michael Andrew, at 21.60, was just off the podium.

Manaudou’s silver is all the more impressive given that he retired after 2016, but returned in 2019 to participate in the International Swimming League, and now he’s won a third Olympic 50 m Free medal.

The men’s 1,500 m Free final turned into a four-man race by midway, with Germany’s 2019 World Champion Florian Wellbrock leading Rio Olympic champ Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), Bobby Finke of the U.S. – the 800 m Free winner – and Ukraine’s European Champion Mykhallo Romanchuk.

By 1,200 m, Wellbrock, Romanchuk and Finke had about a second on Paltrinieri and Wellbrock had 0.61 on the other two with two laps left. Finke was second by the turn and then cut in overdrive to win going away in 14:39.65, the no. 2 performance of 2021.

That was a lifetime best by more than six seconds, and he is now the no. 10 performer of all time. It was the first U.S. win in this event since Mike O’Brien back in Los Angeles in 1984. At just 21, Finke may well be competing in Los Angeles in 2028!

Romanchuk won the silver in 14:40.66, followed by Wellbrock (14:40.91) and Paltrinieri (14:45.01).

The U.S. had won the men’s 4×100 m Medley 14 times in the 15 times it has been contested at the Games; only at the 1980 Games did the American fail to win … as it did not attend. But Great Britain was the favorite this time and the U.S. barely got into the final and swam in lane one!

But there was world-record holder Ryan Murphy on the Backstroke, giving the U.S. the lead by 0.21 over Italy (52.32) with Britain’s Luke Greenbank seventh. Then Adam Peaty took over for Britain and started closing on Michael Andrew of the U.S.

Peaty swam 56.53 to Andrew’s 58.49, and Britain had a 1:50.16-1:50.80 lead. But Caleb Dressel was into the water for the U.S. and took a 0.07-second lead on James Guy at the turn and then built up the lead to 0.60 after a 49.03 leg, the fastest relay split of all time!

The question was whether Zach Apple, who anchored the U.S. so brilliantly in the 4×100 m Freestyle, could hang on against Duncan Scott. He built the lead to 1.15 after the first lap and came home strong to bring the U.S. a 15th win in this event in a world-record 3:26.78.

Apple split 46.95 to Guy’s 47.08 and the U.S. won by 0.73 as Britain had the no. 3 performance ever at 3:27.51.

The victory capped a brilliant Games for Dressel, with five golds – three individual and two on relays – and a fifth-place finish on the U.S. Mixed 4×100 m Medley. At 24, he’s certain to continue to Paris three years from now and then?

Murphy won his fourth career gold, Andrew his first and Apple his third (all on relays).

Italy won the bronze in 3:29.17, its first-ever medal in this event.

● Swimming: Women’s 50 m Free-4×100 m Medley
Australia’s Emma McKeon was in a fight with most of the field, then accelerated just in the last 15 m to touch the wall first in 23.81, an Olympic Record and now no. 5 on the all-time performer list.

World-record holder Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), who had been having a tough Games with a fifth in the 100 m Free and seventh in the 100 m Fly after suffering a broken elbow earlier this year, got up for second in 24.07. Defending champ Pernilla Blume was third (23.21); American Abbey Weitzeil was last in 24.41.

McKeon finished her individual swims with wins in the Freestyle sprints and a third in the 100 m Fly, plus three relays medals so far. That’s six medals and equals the total for Kristin Otto (GDR: 6-0-0) and American Natalie Coughlan in 2008 (1-2-3). But there was one more event to come …

The U.S. and Australia were favored and they had an epic struggle right to the touch.

On the Backstroke, Canada’s Kylie Masse had the lead by just 0.11 over Kaylee McKeown (AUS) and 0.15 over Regan Smith of the U.S.

American Lydia Jacoby burst into the lead on the Breast leg, timing 1:05.03 – over Chelsea Hodges’s 1:05.57 for Australia, while Canada fell out of contention.

Torri Huske was in the pool for the Fly, swimming strongly, but fading in the last 20 m of her leg to Emma McKeon, but still giving the U.S. a 25/100ths advantage into the final leg.

Australian star Cate Campbell almost false-started, starting just 0.04 after McKeon touched, while American anchor Abbey Weitzeil took 0.38 to get going. That turned out to be critical, because Campbell cut the deficit to 0.12 at the turn and then powered away in the final 15 m to touch first in 3:51.60, an Olympic Record and the no. 3 performance of all time.

Weitzeil finished in 52.49 vs. 52.11 for Campbell and brought the U.S. home with a medal in 3:51.73 – no. 4 all-time – 15th time in 16 Games; the U.S. has never failed to medal in this event except for the boycott year of 1980.

With Australia’s win, McKeon won her seventh medal in Tokyo (4-0-3), the most ever for a female swimmer in a single Games. She joins Mark Spitz (1972) and Matt Biondi (1988) as swimmers who have won seven medals at one Games, while Michael Phelps won eight in 2004 and 2008.

● Tennis:
Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 6-1 to win his biggest title since the 2018 Tour Finals. A finalist at the U.S. Open in 2020, he’ll be using the Olympic title for inspiration there as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic goes for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s Olympic experience ended on a down note, as he lost the bronze-medal match to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

In the Mixed Doubles final, Anastasiia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev won in the all-Russian decider, defeating Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev, 6-3, 6-7, 13-11.

However, Djokovic and Nina Stojanovic qualified for the bronze-medal match, but withdrew after Djokovic cited a left shoulder injury. That handed the bronze medal to Australians Ash Barty and John Peers.

In the women’s Doubles final, top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (CZE) defeated Swiss Singles winner Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic, 7-5, 6-1. Brazil’s Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani won the bronze over Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 76 kg
Ecuador’s Neisi Dajomes, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, took the lead immediately with 118 kg in the Snatch and went on to win easily, lifting 145 in the Clean & Jerk for a final total of 263 kg.

The fight for silver saw American Katie Nye, moving up from the 71 kg class where she was World Champion in 2019, standing third after the Snatch, behind Ukraine’s Iryna Dekha. Nye made two of her Clean & Jerk lifts, including the second at 138 kg to get to 249 kg in total.

Dekha, meanwhile, missed all three of her Clean & Jerk attempts and did not place; Mexico’s Aremi Fuentes, fourth after the Snatch, lifted 137 kg in the Clean & Jerk and ended at 245 kg, winning the bronze, with Nye getting silver.

Nye’s silver is the best American performance since Tara Nott won at 48 kg in Sydney in 2000. Said the silver medalist:

“I think this last year is the most challenging year of my career, so far. I made it to the top in 2019 in my true weight class, which is 71kg, and then after that it was kind of, let’s get into this Olympic weight class and figure things out. Between that, COVID, a coaching switch [to Spencer Arnold], lots of personal stuff with my mental health, it’s been a really hard year, but I think all of those trials and tribulations make me the person I am today, and I don’t think I’d be in this second-place spot without them.”

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: In the morning qualifying for the women’s hammer, Poland’s world-record holder Anna Wlodarczyk led Group A, qualifying at 76.99 m (252-7) on her first throw, with American Brooke Andersen getting the auto-qualifier on her second try, at 74.00 m (242-9). Americans Gwen Berry and DeAnna Price – the reigning World Champion – qualified in the top 12 from the second group at 73.19 m (7th: 240-1) and 72.55 m (9th: 238-0)

In the women’s 3,000 m Steeplechase, Winfred Yavi won the first heat in 9:10.80, with American Emma Coburn an auto-qualifier in third (9:16.91). U.S. record-holder Courtney Frerichs led at the bell in heat two and won in 9:19.34, with world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) an auto-qualified third. Rio silver medalist Hyvin Kiyeng won heat three in 9:23.17, with American Val Constein qualifying for the final in fourth (9:24.31).

In the women’s long jump, American Tara Davis auto-qualified for the final with her first jump of 6.85 m (22-5 3/4) in the first group; 2012 Olympic champ Brittney Reese – who failed to qualify for the final at the 2019 Worlds – got to 6.86 m (22-6 1/4) to auto-qualify on her second try. Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic was the qualifying leader at an impressive 7.00 m (22-11 3/4), ahead of German favorite Malaika Mihambo (6.98 m/22-10 3/4). The third American, Quanesha Burks, finished 13th (6.56 m/21-6 1/4) and missed the final spot by a couple of inches.

In the men’s 400 m, the heat winners included Isaac Makwala (BOT: 44.86), Mazen Al Yassin (KSA: 45.16), American Michael Cherry (44.82, fastest of the day), Anthony Zambrano (COL: 44.87), Steven Gardiner (BAH: 45.05) and Liemarvin Bonevacia (NED: 44.95). Michael Norman of the U.S. (45.35) was second in heat six and qualified; defending Olympic champ Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) was third in heat four (45.25), but advanced. Randolph Ross of the U.S. was fourth in the second heat in 45.67 and did not advance as a time qualifier. “That was terrible,” he said afterwards; he’ll be needed later in the relay.

In the evening session, qualifying continued in the men’s 800 m, with Ferguson Rotich again running hard to lead all finishers at 1:44.04, ahead of Amel Tuka (BIH: 1:44.53). Australia’s Peter Bol won semi two in a national record 1:44.11, just ahead of American Clayton Murphy in 1:44.18. Poland’s Patryk Dobek won semi one in 1:44.60, ahead of Kenyan Emmanuel Korir (1:44.74).

There was a bad crash in the third semi, with American Isaiah Jewett getting clipped from behind by Nigel Amos (BOT) with less than 200 m to go and sitting in third and fourth place, ready to make a push to qualify. They went down in a heap, but got to their feet and walked through the finish together. Good sportsmanship, but very bad luck.

Not qualifying were American Bryce Hoppel and Britain’s Elliot Giles; it took 1:44.74 to get to the medal round.

In the 400 m hurdles semis, the four medal candidates qualified easily, Karsten Warholm (NOR) won semi one over Rai Benjamin (USA), 47.30-47.37, and Alison dos Santos (BRA) took semi two in 47.31 – another national record – over Abderrahman Samba (QAT: 47.47). Americans Kenny Selmon (48.58) and David Kendziera (48.67) ran well, but finished 10th and 12th. But Benjamin may have won this round, as he will be in lane five for the final, inside of Warholm in six, dos Santos in seven and Samba in eight!

● Team/Beach Volleyball: In the men’s playoffs, American Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser lost to the hot Qatar pair of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, 21-14, 19-21, 11-15 and were eliminated. The other U.S. pair, Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne, play on Monday.

In the women’s playoffs, Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil were eliminated by Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson (CAN) in a tight match by 24-22, 18-21, 13-15. The Canadians move on to the quarters; the top-ranked U.S. pair of April Ross and Alix Klineman play tomorrow.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. men’s team was edged by Argentina in straight sets – 25-21, 25-23, 25-23 – and eliminated from the playoff round. The U.S. (2-3) ended up fifth in Pool B behind Russia (4-1), Brazil (4-1), Argentina (3-2) and France (2-3). The French advanced on a better sets won-lost total of 10-10 vs. 8-10 for the Americans.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. women ended up as the winners of Group B as Hungary lost to China, 11-9, in its final group game. The U.S. will play Canada in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

= PREVIEWS: MONDAY, 2 AUGUST =
(22 events across nine sports)

● Athletics: Men’s 3,000 m Steeple-Long Jump
Kenyans have won nine straight Olympic Steeple golds, but none of those runners will be on the line in Tokyo.

The favorites are Morocco’s 2019 World Champion, Soufiane El Bakkali, no. 3 in the world this year at 8:08.54 and the only man in the field with a lifetime best under 8 :00 (7:58.15). He has speed, experience and is an excellent tactician.

Less experienced, but just as talented are Ethiopia’s Lemecha Girma, the world leader at 8:07.75 and Getnet Wale, , who has run 8:09.47 this year. There are Kenyan possibilities: Abraham Kibiwot, no. 2 on the world list at 8:07.81 and Benjamin Kigen, who ran 8:10.80 in qualifying.

The wild card is Japan’s Ryuji Miura, who went crazy in the heats and lowered his best from 8:15.99 to 8:09.92.. Does he have more left? American Benard Keter is in the final, but is not expected to be a factor.

The long jump final is a confused mess, mostly because of Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria. At his best, he threatens the world record. Or he can be an also-ran.

The world leader is Greek Miltiadis Tentoglu, who jumped an amazing 8.60 m (28-2 3/4) in May. Echevarria, who has reached 8.68 m (28-5 3/4) in 2018, had been fairly quiet in 2021 until he erupted in qualifying at 8.50 m (27-10 3/4). Echevarria was the World Indoor Champion in 2018 and the Worlds bronze medalist in 2019.

Then comes American JuVaughn Harrison. The SEC, NCAA and Olympic Trials champs, he has jumps of 8.44 m (27-8 1/4) in May and 8.47 m (27-9 1/2) to win the Trials. He might be the most consistent jumper in the field and a favorite for a medal.

There are other contenders, especially World Champion Tajay Gayle of Jamaica, who jumped 8.69 m/28-6 1/4) to win in Doha in 2019; he’s done 8.29 m (27-2 1/4) this year. Add to the list of contenders: Cuba’s Maykel Masso (8.39 m/27-6 1/2) this year and Japan’s Yuki Hashioka (8.36 m/27-5 1/4) this year.

● Athletics: Women’s 5,000 m-100 m hurdles-Discus
Hassan or Obiri or an Ethiopian?

Dutch star Sifan Hassan is in the first leg of what might be an Olympic triple of the 1,500-5,000-10,000 m; she’s the reigning World Champion at 1,500 and 10,000 m. But she has an enormous challenge in reigning two-time World Champion – and returning Rio silver medalist – Hellen Obiri of Kenya and the three Ethiopians at the top of the 2021 world list: Gudaf Tsegay (14:13.32), Ejgayehu Taye (14:14.09) and Senbere Teferi (14:15.24).

Add in Kenya’s Agnes Tirop (14:20.68 lifetime best) and Hassan will need all her tactical skills to even get a medal. But she can do it, if her fitness is as advertised. She set a then-world record of 29:06.82 in the 10,000 m in June.

Americans Karissa Schweizer and Elise Cranny are in the final, but are not expected to be in the medal hunt.

In the 100 m hurdles, the U.S. swept this event in 2016, but none of the medalists are back for Tokyo. The best all year has been Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the world leader at 12.32 coming in and the semi-final leader at 12.26 – an Olympic Record – moving to equal-fourth on the all-time list.

Jamaica’s Britney Anderson ran a lifetime best of 12.40 to win semi two ahead of world-record holder Keni Harrison (USA: 12.51) and Megan Tapper (JAM: 12.62). Tobi Amusan (NGR) won the first semi in 12.62. American Gabbi Cunningham (12.67) was the final time qualifier.

Camacho-Quinn looks unbeatable, but if Harrison is right and gets off to a good start, she can really press her for the gold. Anderson, Amusan and even Tapper are strong contenders for medals; who can keep their form under pressure?

The women’s discus should be about Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic trying to become the first three-time winner of the event in Olympic history. But the 2012-16 gold medalist and two-time World Champion ranks only third on the year list for performers in the final.

American Valarie Allman, the American Record holder at 70.15 m (230-2) in 2020, won the Olympic Trials in 70.01 m (229-8) and has impressed all year. If she reaches that standard, she’s an almost sure winner.

Cuba’s Yaime Perez, the 2019 World Champion, has thrown 68.99 m (226-4) in 2021 and Perkovic, 68.31 m (224-1). Who can break up these three?

The best candidates are 2021 national-record-setters Shadae Lawrence (JAM: 67.05 m/219-11), Kamalpreet Kaur (IND: 66.59 m/218-5) and Liliana Ca (POR: 66.40 m/217-10).

● Badminton: Men’s Singles
The men’s Singles final will be a re-match of a 2016 Rio semifinal between China’s defending gold medalist Long Chen and Dane Viktor Axelsen.

Chen won that match by 21-14, 21-15 and went on to a straight-set win to take the Olympic title, moving up from third in 2012. He’s also the 2014-15 World Champion.

Axelsen defeated Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon in the semifinals, 21-18, 21-11 and through his five matches in Tokyo, has not lost a set: 10-0. That includes an impressive, straight-set win over Yuqi Shi (CHN) in the quarters.

Chen had to get by Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the semis, but has dropped a couple of sets during the Olympic tournament. He is trying to win China’s fourth straight gold in this event.

Cordon and Ginting will play for the bronze; Guatemala has never won an Olympic medal in this sport.

● Badminton: Women’s Doubles
China has won five of seven Olympic golds in the history of this event and will go for no. 6 as second-seeded Qingchen Chen and Yifan Jia face Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu (INA).

Chen and Jia were the 2017 World Champions and the 2018 Asian Games winners; Polii and Rahayu have won two Worlds bronze medals as partners, in 2018 and 2019 and bronze at the 2018 Asian Games. The Chinese are clear favorites, but the Indonesians are clearly capable.

The bronze-medal match is an all-Korean match between Sohee Lee and Seungchan Shin and Soyeong Kim and Heeyong Kong (KOR).

● Cycling: Track Women’s Team Sprint
The track cycling program in Tokyo gets going with the Team Sprint, being held for the third time.

China won in 2016 with Tianshi Zhong and Jinjie Gong, and Zhong is back with new partner Shanju Bao. The Russian runner-up pair of Daria Shmeleva and Anastasiia Voinova are back in force and were the 2019 Worlds silver-medal winners.

Germany won the Worlds bronze over Mexico in 2019 and Emma Hinze is back for the Germans, now teamed with Lea Sophie Friedrich. Half of the Mexican team is here: Yuli Verdugo, with new partner Luz Gaxiola.

Also in contention: Lithuania (Marozaite and Krupeckaite) and the Dutch (Braspennincx and van Riessen), from whom much will be heard at the velodrome.

● Equestrian: Team Eventing-Individual Eventing
These events are already tinged with sadness after an injury to Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel (SUI). The horse pulled up lame after clearing a fence, and according to an FEI statement:

“The horse received immediate veterinary attention at the fence and, after an initial assessment, was transferred by horse ambulance to the onsite veterinary clinic.

“Sadly, ultrasound scans revealed an irreparable ligament rupture in the lower right limb, just above the hoof, and on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and athlete, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep.”

It’s a shocker to the equestrian community and a post mortem will be conducted.

The Eventing program began on Sunday with Great Britain – the 2018 World Equestrian Games winners – leading at 78.30, followed by Australia (96.20), France (97.10) and New Zealand (140.00).

France is the defending Olympic champion, with Australia third; the French were third at the World Equestrian Games as well.

The top individuals after the Cross Country round were Britain’s Oliver Townend (23.60), Germany’s Julia Krajewski (25.60) and Laura Collett (GBR: 25,80). Seven riders scored sub-30.00.

German Michael Jung, the two-time Olympic champ from 2012-16 sits 10th (32.10), American Philip Dutton – the Rio bronze winner – is 17th (35.30).

● Gymnastics: Men’s Rings-Vault
The second set of apparatus finals starts with the Rings, with defending champion Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) – the “King of the Rings” – leading the qualifying. He scored 15.333, just better than the 15.300 from Yang Liu (CHN) and 15.066 from France’s Samir Ait Said.

Petrounias won world titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018, but in 2019, he finished out of the medals and Turkey’s Ibrahim Colak won (14.933) and Ait Said was third (14.800), ahead of Petrounias.

The 2012 gold medalist, Arthur Zanetti, 31, of Brazil is back in the final; he was fifth in the qualifying at 14.900, won a Worlds silver as recently as 2018 and was fifth in the 2019 Worlds. Russian Denis Ablyazin won the Rio bronze, won the 2017 Worlds silver on Rings and was sixth in 2019.

Liu was fourth in Rio and won the world title way back in 2014; he won bronzes in the event in 2015 and 2017.

It’s going to be tight, but Petrounias can become only the third two-time Olympic champion in this event.

The Vault leaders in qualifying were Korea’s Jeah-Wan Shin and Armenian vet Artur Davtyan at 14.866, followed by Russia’s Nikita Nagornyy at 14.783.

Shin is a relative unknown, with a couple of 2020 wins in the FIG World Cup series. Davtyan is in his third Olympics and was 11th in this event in Rio and seventh in the 2018 Worlds. They are both a surprise.

Nagornyy won this event at the 2019 World Championships and is a nominal favorite this time based on his experience. His teammate, Ablyazin, won Olympic silvers in this event in London and Rio, but scored only 14.733 in qualifying for fifth place.

Medals from Turkey’s Adem Asil, Brazil’s Caio Souza or Carlos Yulo of the Philippines would rate as surprises.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Floor Exercise
Simone Biles opted out of this event, eliminating the reigning Olympic Champion and World Champion.

However, she did not lead the qualifying in Tokyo. That was Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) at 14.166, followed by Biles, the American Jade Carey (14.100) and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (14.066). Russia’s Angelina Melnikova qualified seventh, but was the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist in this event.

Because of Biles’ exit, the British sisters Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova will be competing; they were fifth and ninth in the qualifying. And although only eighth in the qualifying, Japan’s Mai Murakami was the 2018 Worlds bronze winner on Floor.

This is the fourth Olympic Games for Ferrari, 30, who finished fourth on Floor at both London and Rio. This is her chance for a medal, or even for an upset win as Carey, Andrade and Melnikova are probably the medal favorites. Italy has never won an Olympic Floor Exercise medal.

● Sailing: Men’s 49er-Women’s 49er FX
The medal race will be needed to untangle as many as seven candidates for the medals, spread out from 52 to 75 net points.

The leaders and real contenders for the gold medal are Peter Burling and Blair Tuke from New Zealand (52), Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell (GBR: 56) and Diego Botin le Chever and Iago Lopez from Spain (52).

Burley and Tuke won silver in London and gold in Rio, and have six placements in the top three in the first 12 races. Fletcher and Bithell won the 2017 Worlds and Botin and Lopez were ninth in Rio. Any of the three could end up on top of the podium.

Further back at 66 net points are Germany’s Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel – the 2016 bronze medalists – and Danes Jonas Warrier and Jakob Jensen, with an outside chance to get to the medals if one of the three falters in the medal race.

The women’s 49er FX race is even closer than the men’s! Defending Olympic champs Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA) are locked up with 2018 Worlds gold medalists Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz of the Netherlands, at 70 points each.

Germany’s Tina Lutz and Susann Beuke are third at 73, Tamara Echegoyen and Paula Barcelo (ESP: 77) are fourth and Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey (GBR: 81) are fifth and there are five more under 100 net points.

Echegoyen was fourth in Rio with a different partner; Dobson was eighth, also with a different partner, so both have plenty of experience.

In Tokyo, both the Brazilians and Dutch have two wins apiece and three top-3 finishes. Lutz and Beucke have been very consistent: four third places, but no finish worse than 13th. Dobson and Tidey have six top-5 finishes, but had a bad patch in the middle, with finishes of 16-13-14-15 to put them outside the medals for now.

Too close to call.

● Shooting: Men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol-50 m Rifle/3 Positions
The entire podium from Rio is back: Germany’s Christian Reitz (gold), France’s Jean Quiquampoix (silver) and China’s Yuehong Li (bronze). And from the 2018 World Championships, gold medalist Junmin Lin and bronze-medal winner Quiquampoix.

Reitz will be going for his third Olympic medal, after winning a bronze in 2008. Add in 2012 Olympic gold winner Leuris Pupo of Cuba and it’s a little surprising to find France’s Clement Bessaguet at the top of the qualifying leaderboard after the first of two stages.

Quiquampoix and Reitz were 2-3 and are still the favorites; they went 1-2 at the ISSF World Cup in June, showing that they are still at the top of their game.

In the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions , Russian veteran Sergey Kamenskiy, 33, was the Rio silver-medal winner and already has a Tokyo bronze from the Mixed 10 m Air Rifle event. He was part of the Russian World Championships team winners in 2018 and won silver in the individual event in the 2014 Worlds and got a silver in the ISSF World Cup in June. Consistency counts in shooting, so make him the first among equals going in.

The 2018 World Champion, Poland’s Tomasz Bartnik and silver medalist, Petar Gorsa (CRO) are also in and expect to contend for medals. But in Tokyo, the medal winners from this year’s ISSF World Cups have done well and all six medal winners are on the starting line: Aishwary Tomar (IND), Istvan Peni (HUN) and Steffen Olsen (DEN) from the first competition in March, and Serhiy Kulish (UKR), Kamenskiy and Patrik Jany (SVK) from the event in Croatia in June. Will the medals come from three of those six?

● Weightlifting: Women’s 87 kg-+87 kg
China’s Zhouyu Wang enters as the 87 kg favorite after winning the 2019 World Championships at 278 kg, clear of the field by nine kg.

Worlds bronze medalist Tamara Salazar (ECU: 252 kg) is back as are fourth-place Maria Valdes (CHI), fifth-place Naryury Perez of Venezuela and eighth-place Elena Cilcic (MDA).

The wild card is American Mattie Rogers, who won Worlds silvers at 69 kg in 2017 and at 71 kg in 2019. She has moved up in weight and believes she can be a factor. But perhaps for silver or bronze; Wang is the clear favorite for gold.

At +87 kg, the showdown will also be for silver and bronze as China has world-record holder Wenwen Li, the 2019 World Champion.

The nos. 6-7-9 finishers from 2019 are also back: Laurel Hubbard (NZL), Rio bronze medalist Sarah Robles of the U.S. and Emily Campbell (GBR). Robles won her Rio bronze at +75 kg, the highest class then available and she was memorably the 2017 World Champion at +90 kg.

Hubbard is a transgender – a first for the Games – who has followed the relevant International Olympic Committee and International Weightlifting Federation rules on the reduction of testosterone levels. Hubbard won the Worlds silver behind Robles in 2017, the first year of international competition after transitioning in 2012.

Hubbard’s presence has further heightened controversy over transgenders in the women’s category and there will be more discussion concerning regulations in the coming year. None of this, however, will concern Li.

● Wrestling: Greco-Roman 60 kg-130 kg
The Bantamweight final pits Japan’s two-time World Champion Kenichiro Fumita against surprise finalist, Cuban Luis Orta.

Fumita is the reigning Worlds winner from 2017 and 2019 and a two-time Asian Championships winner as well. Orta was 16th in the 2019 Worlds at this weight, but won Pan American Championships in 2019 and 2020. He’s following Cuban star Ismael Borrero, who won this class in Rio; can he bring a second straight gold to Cuba? It would be an upset.

The bronze-medal match-ups will have Lenur Temirov (UKR) and Victor Ciobanu (ROU) facing opponents coming through the repechage process. One of those still wrestling is American Ildar Hafizov, matched against Russia’s 2018 World Champion Sergey Emelin for the right to get to the bronze match.

At 130 kg, the heaviest class in all of wrestling, the amazing Mijain Lopez of Cuba will be trying for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold and Iakobi Kajaia of Georgia.

Lopez is in Al Oerter (discus) and Carl Lewis (long jump) territory, having defeated three different opponents in 2008-12-16 and now in 2020. Kajaia is no slouch, winning the 130 kg bronze at the 2019 Worlds and European Championships silvers in 2018-19.

Now 38, Lopez won his bouts by 9-0 and 8-0 in his first two rounds, then faced three-time defending World Champion Riza Kayaalp (TUR) in the semis and eked out a 2-0 victory.

Kayaalp and Yasmani Acosta of Chile will wrestle for bronzes, with Kayaalp looking for a third Olympic medal after bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016. Both will face wrestlers coming out of the repechage bracket.

● Wrestling: Women’s Freestyle 76 kg
American Adeline Gray is one of the greatest women’s wrestlers in history, winning World Championship golds in 2012-14-15-18-19, plus two more bronze medals. But she has been driven to return to the mat after her seventh-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

She’s into the final in Tokyo, assured of a medal, after pinning Zaineb Sghaier (TUN) in 2:11, out-pointing 2017 World Champion Yasemin Adar (TUR), 6-4, and then out-lasted Aiperi Medet Kyzy (KGZ), 3-2.

Gray will meet Aline Rotter Focken (GER) in the final. She won a 3-1 decision over Japan’s Hiroe Minagawa and with that win, becomes Germany’s first women’s freestyle Olympic medalist.

The bronze-medal matches will have Minagawa and Medet Kyzy facing opponents coming through the repechage bracket.

= INTEL REPORT =

There has been a lot of attention to protests in Tokyo, but the U.S. men’s Epee fencing team pulled off one of the strangest yet, against one of its own members.

In the opening match of the men’s Team Epee event on the 30th (Friday), Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez came out on the piste wearing pink masks as a protest against reserve fencer Alen Hadzic, who had a black mask.

Hadzic has been accused of sexual misconduct between 2013 and 2015 by three women, denied the allegations, but was suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, set up by the U.S. Congress to police such matters in Olympic sports in the U.S. But Hadzic was reinstated in an arbitration hearing which is available as an appeal for those suspended.

NPR reported that USA Fencing, which disagreed with the arbitration result, made special arrangements:

“Hadzic was prohibited from staying in the Olympic Village. Instead, he’s been staying at a hotel nearby. He also was forced to travel to Tokyo separately from his teammates and forbidden from practicing with female teammates.”

Hadzic filed another arbitration appeal to these conditions, but was denied after a hearing on 22 July, the day before the Opening Ceremony. The U.S. lost in the opening match to Japan, 45-38.

Contractor positives continue to plague the Tokyo 2020 organizers, who announced 18 positive tests for Covid-19 on 1 August, 11 of which were from contractor personnel.

The grand total of Olympic-related positives is up to 259, of which 135 (52%) are contractors, 77 are “Games-concerned personnel” (30%), 24 are athletes, 12 media and 11 Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 30 July:

● Athletes and team officials: 30 positives in 191,207 tests (0.02%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 55 positives in 222,493 tests (0.02%).

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 1,148 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 31 July. Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, 0 of 1,214 for 28 July, 1 in 1,174 on 29 July and 0 of 1,174 on 30 July.

Outside of Tokyo, the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s World Tour have resumed, with American Neilson Powless winning the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa on the 31st in 5:34:41 over a hilly 23.5 km course. It’s a breakthrough win for Powless, 24, who out-sprinted Slovenian star Matej Mohoric and two others for his first international win!

In the women’s San Sebastian Klasikoa (139.8 km), Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten kept on motoring – so to speak – racing away in the final 9 km to win over American Ruth Winder (+0:36) and Tatiana Guderzo (ITA: +1:35).

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Saturday Review & Preview: Thompson-Herah (10.61) erases FloJo; Dressel gets 50 m Fly WR; Ledecky wins 800 Free over Titmus

By
Rich Perelman
-
What history looks like: Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah win the women's 100 m in 10.61, breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner's 1988 Olympic Record of 10.62 (Official timing photo by Omega)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

/Updated/There may not be spectators in the stands and parts of the country are under states of emergency, and the popular narrative is that Japan doesn’t want the Olympic Games, but it turns out that the Games are a hit in the host country.

Viewership of the Opening Ceremony was reported at 56.4% in the Tokyo area, with few thousands folks gathered – against government recommendations – near the stadium. There were reports of protestors, but most were out to soak up some of the atmosphere of the Games (like the fireworks and music).

Then the competition start and daily reports show consistent viewing of the Games daily, with a projected 111.1 million Japanese – about 88% of the country – having watched some part of the competitions.

It doesn’t hurt that Japan has already set a national record for the most gold medals won in a single Games, including a sweep of the new skateboard events and dominating the judo tournament.

On the streets, Kyodo News reported:

“While public skepticism about holding the games during a pandemic was strong when they officially opened a week ago, many people in Japan appear keen to get hold of souvenirs of what is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime event — especially as the country has so far stayed near to or at the top of the gold medal count.

“The official online store, which sells goods ranging from apparel to Japanese traditional crafts, even became temporarily inaccessible due to a traffic surge.”

After eight full days of competition, 154 of 339 events (45%) have been completed in Tokyo. The current medals leaders:

1. 46: China (21-13-12) and United States (16-17-13)
3. 37: Russian Olympic Committee (11-15-11)
4. 30: Japan (17-5-8)
5. 28: Great Britain (8-9-11)

So far, 76 countries have won at least one medal, compared to 86 for the entire 2016 Games in Rio.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 592.0 United States
2. 486.0 China
3. 464.0 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 362.0 Japan
5. 304.0 Great Britain
6. 286.5 Italy
7. 273.5 Australia
8. 254.0 France
9. 220.0 Netherlands
10. 202.0 Germany
11. 184.0 Korea
12. 167.0 Canada

Even with a reduced-sized squad of 335 athletes, the “Russian Olympic Committee” is doing quite well in Tokyo.

Thursday night was a big one for NBC, with 19.5 million viewers across all channels, its biggest audience of the Game:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million
● 29 July (Thu): 19.5 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. The 2020 Games average audience is 17.5 million per night and NBC announced that more than 100 million Americans have watched some part of the Games on television.

NBC noted that Olympic viewing via streaming has passed 2,000,000,000 minutes, up 19% from Rio in 2016 and up 74% from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: SATURDAY, 31 JULY =

● Archery: Men
Turkey’s Mete Gazoz, 22, told reporters after a World Archery World Cup win in 2019 that he would win at the Games “by smiling.”

Instead, he was shouting for joy after defeating Italy’s Mauro Nespoli, 6-4, to take the Olympic title in Tokyo. He took out reigning World Champion Brady Ellison of the U.S. in the quarters, 7-3, then stopped Chih-Chen Tang (TPE) by 6-2 in the semis and then stormed past Nespoli, also something of a surprise finalist.

It was Turkey’s first-ever medal in Olympic archery.

Japan’s Taraharu Furukawa, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist, won the bronze in Tokyo by defeating Tang, 7-3.

● Athletics: Men’s Discus
Sweden’s Daniel Stahl was supposed to win and he did.

Stahl, the world leader, took the lead at 68.90 m (226-0) in the second round and never looked back to become Sweden’s first-ever discus gold medalist.

Behind him, the battle was on between Stahl’s teammate Simon Pettersson, Austria’s Lukas Weisshaidinger and Australian Matthew Denny. Weisshaidinger got out to 66.65 m (218-8) in the second round to stand second over Pettersson (66.58 m/218-5) and Denny (65.53 m/215-0).

Weisshaidinger improved to 67.07 m (220-0) in round three and Denny got out to 65.94 m (216-4) but was still fourth.

Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh was expected to fight for a medal and moved to fourth in the fourth round with his 66.05 m (216-8) throw. Then Pettersson got hold of a good one in the fifth round and spun out to 67.39 m (221-1) to take second. Weisshaidinger fouled his last two throws and Sweden now had gold and silver in the same Games … after having won only one medal ever in this event before, a 1972 bronze from Ricky Bruch.

Denny got back to fourth on his final attempt, a lifetime best of 67.02 m (219-10). Sam Mattis was the only American in the final; he finished eighth with a seasonal best of 63.88 m (209-7).

● Athletics: Women’s 100 m
Dramatic is one way to describe this historic event. After a sensational first round in which six women ran under 11 seconds, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced a provisional suspension of Nigerian star Blessing Okagbare for Human Growth Hormone from an out-of-competition test on 19 July.

In the semis, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah – the defending champion – ran away to a 10.76 stunner in the first race, only to see Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) run 10.79 to win the second semi and then a 10.73 victory from 2008-12 Olympic champ Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce (JAM) in the third semi.

Those three, along with Shericka Jackson (JAM: 10.79 behind Ta Lou), were in the medal hunt. American Teahna Daniels ran a lifetime best of 10.98 in semi three and was the only U.S. runner to qualify for the final.

The fast times had everyone wondering about the final: was there something special coming?

Off the gun, Fraser-Pryce got out well and was joined by Thompson-Herah in front by 25 m. They ran together, heads down and were separated from everyone else by mid race and moving away. They were stride for stride and then Thompson-Herah found a magical gear not seen since 1988 and sprinted away from Fraser-Pryce, raising her left hand in celebration as she crossed in 10.61!

The wind was actually slightly in the faces of the runners at -0.6 m/s, so Thompson-Herah’s time is even more amazing, equaling the no. 2 performance in history, Florence Griffith-Joyner’s winning time at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. Thompson-Herah eclipsed FloJo’s Olympic Record of 10.62 from the Seoul Games in 1988.

Fraser-Pryce ran 10.74 for second and Jackson passed Ta Lou in the final 10 m for a lifetime best of 10.76 and the bronze medal. Ta Lou was fourth in 10.91; Daniels was seventh in 11.02.

In the last four Games, Jamaica has won 10 of the 12 medals in this race and the medals sweep was the first since 2008. Usain Bolt may be gone, but the Jamaican women are as dominant as ever.

● Athletics: Mixed 4×400 m
The U.S. was disqualified, then reinstated for the final, but it still didn’t turn out the way they hoped.

The quartet of Trevor Stewart, Kendall Ellis, Kaylin Whitney and Vernon Norwood were the fourth and fifth-place finishers at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 m. They were game, but they were simply outrun.

Stewart (44.9) passed second to Ellis, who ran 50.2, but saw Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic run a sensational 48.7 – she has run 49.99 from blocks – and give the lead to Anabel Medina.

Medina faded, but Whitney managed only 50.29 and the U.S. was fourth by a half-second when Norwood got the stick, behind the Netherlands (Femke Bol, 49.74), the Dominicans and Poland. Norwood’s 44.43 anchor was good, but only third-best in the field as Kajetan Duszynski finished for Poland in 44.38 and won the race.

The Dominicans, with a 44.90 from Alexander Ogando, held off Norwood, who passed the Netherlands to win the bronze medal.

U.S. depth had always been its strong suit in relays, but once again, notice was served that the world is catching up. The U.S. selections were made by relay coach Orin Richburg, and the next-in-line athletes from the Trials were in this final. That might not have been the best-available U.S. team, but it was a team which made sense from a procedural point of view; maybe that’s what’s most important in the U.S. today.

● Badminton: Men’s Doubles
Joy for Chinese Taipei, with Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang defeating China’s JunHui Li and YuChen Liu in the final, 21-18, 21-12.

Lee and Wang got to the final with a 21-11, 21-10 of expected finalists Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia, while Li and Liu struggled past Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh, 24-22, 21-13.

Chia and Soh did win the bronze medal, 17-21, 21-17, 21-14 over Ahsan and Setiawan, to complete another upset in a topsy-turvy event. It was the first-ever medal in the sport for Chinese Taipei.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Sabre
Favored Russia came through as expected and won the gold with a 45-41 win over France in the gold-medal final.

The Russian Olympic Committee entry moved past Japan in its quarterfinal by 45-34, then rolled over Korea, 45-26, in the semis. In the final, the Russians actually lost five of the nine matches, but a big 11-3 win by Olga Nikitina over Charlotte Lembach proved to be the difference.

Korea salvaged the bronze with a 45-42 win over Italy. The U.S. finished sixth, after losing to France in the quarterfinals.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Trampoline
Belarus won a second straight gold medal, but not in the way it was expected.

Returning champion Uladzislau Hancharou finished fourth, so instead it was Ivan Litvinovich whose degree-of-difficulty propelled his routine to a 61.175 score, enough to edge Chinese star Dong Dong (61.235).

New Zealand’s Dylan Schmidt won the bronze (60.675) and Hancharou was fourth (60.565).

The shocks started in qualifying, when China’s Lei Gao, winner of four straight world titles, crashed on his second routine and did not advance to the final. Litvinovich, 20, had won silver at the 2019 Worlds and moved up to the top of the podium, one place ahead of Dong for the second straight major championship.

Dong added to his Olympic medals set: the 2012 gold medalist, he won bronze in 2008 and the silver in 2016.

● Judo: Mixed Team
France thrashed Japan, 4-1 in the final event of the Olympic Judo program, earning a third Olympic gold medal for superstar Teddy Riner.

Japan had beaten France in the 2019 World Championships, but Clarisse Agbegnenou defeated Chizuru Arai in the women’s 70 kg opener and then Axel Clerget downed Shoichiro Mukai in the men’s 90 kg class by golden score for a 2-0 lead.

Akira Sone, the women’s +78 kg champ, won over Romane Dicko in the +70 kg group to close to 2-1, but then Riner defeated Aaron Wolf in golden score to give the French a 3-1 advantage. Sarah Leonie Cysique finished the job with a win over Tsukasa Yoishida in the women’s 57 kg class and France had the gold.

In the bronze-medal matches, Israel defeated Russia, 4-1, and Germany stopped the Netherlands, 4-2.

● Rugby 7s: Women
New Zealand’s “Black Ferns” came into the tournament as favorites after winning the 2019-20 Sevens Series and they left with the gold medal after a 26-12 win over France in the Olympic final.

New Zealand was up 19-5 in the first half and sailed home thanks to tries from Michaela Blyde, Gayle Broughton, Stacey Fluhler, and Tyla Nathan-Wong. Nathan-Wong added three conversions for 11 total points.

Fuji defeated Great Britain, 21-12, in the bronze match to take home Olympic medals in both rugby events. The U.S. finished sixth, losing to Australia, 17-7, in the fifth-place match.

● Sailing: Men’s and Women’s RS:X
Three-time World Champion Kiran Badloe (NED) finished off a brilliant performance with a fourth-place in the medal race and took the Olympic title with a net of 37 points, an amazing 37 points ahead of his nearest competitor. Badloe won five of the first 12 races and was second in another, and had top-five finishes in 11 of 13 races.

The fight for second saw France’s Thomas Goyard fail to start in the medal race, but his net score of 74 was just enough to hold onto the silver. China’s Kun Bi finished eighth and moved up to bronze with 75 points, just ahead of Yoav Cohen (ISR: 76), the medal race runner-up and Mattia Camboni (ITA: 76), who also did not start.

China’s Yunxiu Lu claimed with two wins and six seconds and finished in the top six in 11 o 13 races to win the women’s RS:X title with 36 points. That was just enough to edge France’s Charlene Picon, the Rio gold medalist, who finished second in the medal race and scored a net of 38 points for silver.

Great Britain’s Emma Wilson, a two-time European Championships medalist, also ended with a net of 38 points, but her total score was higher than Picon and had to settle for bronze.

● Shooting: Team Mixed Trap
Spain and tiny San Marino ended up as the top two teams in qualifying and faced off for the gold medal, with San Marino assured to win its second medal ever … in the same Games!

In the final – this was a new event at the Games – it was Fatima Galvez and Alberto Fernandez (ESP) who were only slightly better than Alessandra Perilli and Gian Marco Berti, 41-40. Fernandez was a rock, making all 75 shots in the qualifying and then 24 of 25 in the final.

The U.S. pair of Madelynn Bernau and Brian Burrows qualified for the bronze-medal match and defeated Slovakia, 3-2 in the shoot-off after a 42-42 tie after 50 shots in regulation. Burrows made his last nine shots to get the U.S. even and into the shoot-off.

● Shooting: Women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions
Swiss Nina Christen was the only shooter to win medals at both of the ISSF World Cups in this event in 2021. Consistency matters most in shooting and she navigated best through the three-position test to win the gold with an Olympic Record of 463.9 points.

She had only the fifth-best score in the kneeling portion, and was fifth-best in prone shooting. But in the standing portion, she scored 102.9 to lead everyone in the third round and then began eliminating the others. She shot 10.8, 10.4, 10.7, 10.4 and 10.2 to be the best scorer in each of the last five rounds and win the event.

Russians Yulia Zykova was second (461.9) and Yuliya Karimova – the 2018 World Champion – finished third at 450.3. American Sagen Maddalena was fifth with 427.8.

It was the first-ever medal for Switzerland in the event and Christen’s second in the Games after her bronze in the 10 m Air Rifle.

● Swimming: W 800 m Free-200 m Backstroke
The tension for American fans was palpable as Katie Ledecky – the world-record holder and two-time Olympic champion – facing Australian Ariarne Titmus for the third time.

Here, Ledecky was the favorite, but needed to grind down her rival, lap after lap, to ensure no last-lap miracles from the Australian. And that’s what she did.

Slowly, methodically, powerfully, Ledecky did just that. She had a 1.22-second edge on Titmus at the halfway mark and then kept pouring on the pressure. There was no let-up and the lead was 1.32 seconds after 500 m, 1.72 seconds after 600 m, then 2.43 seconds after 700 m and looking clear. Titmus made up a little ground on the penultimate lap, but it was not enough to challenge Ledecky, who won in 8:12.57, the no. 16 performance in history. Ledecky now owns the top 23 times ever.

Titmus was no slouch, moving to no. 2 on the all-time list at 8:13.3, a national record. Italy’s Simona Quadarella, the silver-medal winner in this event at the 2019 Worlds, finished third in 8:18.35 with American teen Katie Grimes fourth in 8:19.38.

Ledecky has said previously that she is committed to swim through 2024 and her contract with swim apparel maker TYR is into that year. She told NBC that 2024 is for sure, and maybe even 2028?

Her scorecard for Tokyo: 800 and 1,500 m Freestyle golds, 400 m Free and 4×200 m Free silvers and a fifth in the 200 m Free. She now has seven Olympic golds in her career over three Games and 10 total medals (7-3-0), just behind three Americans who have won 12  total swimming medals: Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlan.

(Thanks to Olympic super-statistician Dr. Bill Mallon for noting all three.)

The women’s 200 m Backstroke final pointed to Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, the world leader, but it was Canada’s Kylie Masse who led at the halfway point and showed no interest in backing off.

McKeown turned second at the 150 m mark, down 0.69 to Masse, but then pushed steadily into the lead and won going away in 2:04.68, the no. 7 performance all-time. Masse was a clear second in 2:05.42 and then there was the fight for third.

Americans Phoebe Bacon and Rhyan White were 3-4 for most of the race, but found themselves in a fight with Australian vet Emily Seebohm, who turned fifth at the 150. But Seebohm came hard on the final 50 m and passed both to grab third in 2:06.17 to 2:06.39 for White and 2:06.40 for Bacon.

The win gives McKeown the 100 and 200 m Backstroke titles, last done by American Missy Franklin in 2012. But it’s also the first-ever win for an Australian in this event in Olympic history.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Butterfly
Dressel did it! In the first of three swims on the night, American Caeleb Dressel rocketed out to a strong lead at the turn, already up 0.65 up on Hungary’s 200 m Fly winner Kristof Milak.

But Milak mounted a charge in the last 25 m and close slightly, but Dressel’s huge reach – he’s 6-3 – got him to the wall a full stroke ahead in 49.45, a world record, lowering Dressel’s 2019 World Championships mark of 49.50.

Milak was strong to the finish as well, timing 49.68, the no. 4 performance of all time. Swiss Noe Ponti got third in 50.74.

It’s Dressel’s second individual gold of the Games and his third overall. His domination of this event is this: of the nine times in history under 50 seconds, seven are his.

● Swimming: 4×100 m Mixed Medley
This most-odd event had Great Britain as the favorite, primarily with Breaststroke superstar Adam Peaty and 2017 Worlds Butterfly medalist James Guy in the middle of the team.

However, double Backstroke medal winner Ryan Murphy had the U.S. in the lead for most of the opening leg, but caught by Italy’s Thomas Ceccon at the wall. With Nicolo Martinenghi on Breaststroke, Italy had the lead after the second leg, but Peaty moved the British up to fourth. The U.S., with Lydia Jacoby (who had her goggles slide down to her mouth on the dive) faded to sixth.

Then Guy took over, swimming against mostly women on the Fly leg and flew into the lead with a 50.00 leg and gave Anna Hopkin a solid lead over China’s Juanxuan Yang on the Freestyle leg.

Torri Huske had a rough time as the U.S. leg on the Butterfly, timing 56.27 and dropping to last. The U.S. was so far behind that even Caeleb Dressel’s 46.99 anchor could do no more than move up to fifth.

Hopkin maintained the lead over female anchors Yang, Australia’s Emma McKeon and Italy’s Federica Pellegrini and finished in a world-record time of 3:37.58, ahead of China (3:38.36) and Australia (3:38.95).

● Tennis: Women’s Singles
In a tournament which initially looked like one of the highlights of the Games, Swiss Belinda Bencic ended up defeating Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) in the women’s final by 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Australia’s Ash Barty was the top seed, but lost in the first round. Japan’s Naomi Osaka lost in the third round and third-seed Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) was bounced in the second round.

Bencic, 24, who has reached the semis at the U.S. Open, won Switzerland’s first women’s tennis medal ever and its first Singles medal since Marc Rosset won in Barcelona in 1992.

Fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina (UKR) won the bronze over Elena Rybakina (KAZ), 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.

● Triathlon: Mixed Relay
Although new to the Olympic Games, this event has a long pedigree within the sport, with a world championship held since 2009.

Great Britain was the gold-medal favorite, but women’s bronze winner Katie Zaferes had the U.S. in the lead after the first leg after a strong run, ahead of Germany’s Laura Lindemann and Britain’s Jessica Learmonth.

But two-time Olympic medalist Jonny Brownlee got Britain to the front with the fastest second leg in the field and World Champion Georgia Taylor-Brown did the same in the third leg to create a lead of 21 seconds over the U.S., with Kevin McDowell and Taylor Knibb following Zaferes.

On the anchor, silver medalist Alex Yee was not to be touched and finished in 1:23:41, unchallenged.

Meanwhile, France’s two-time World Champion Vincent Luis charged through the swim and bike phases to erase the 12-second American lead, passing Morgan Pearson and holding a six-second lead heading into the run.

But Pearson had Luis in his sights and pulled even after the first lap and sped away on the final circuit, making up 15 seconds in the final phase and bringing the U.S. home with silver, 1:23:58-1:24:04. It was a run that Pearson will long remember. .

● Weightlifting: Men’s 81 kg and 96 kg
China’s world-record holder and World Champion Xiaojun Lyu won the men’s 81 kg class with an Olympic Record 374 kg, getting Olympic Records along the way in the Snatch (170 kg) and Clean & Jerk (204 kg).

It’s Lu’s third straight Olympic medal after gold in London in 2012 and a silver in Rio.

Behind him, Zacarias Bonnat Michel of the Dominican Republic claimed a surprise silver, placing third in Snatch and then lifting 204 kg in the Clean & Jerk – same as Lu – for a total of 367 kg. It’s the first-ever medal for the Dominicans in weightlifting and second medal of the Games after the Mixed 4×400 m in athletics.

Italy’s 2017 bronze medalist, Antonino Pizzolato grabbed the bronze (365 kg), just ahead of American Harrison Maurus. Maurus completed five of his six lifts, but missed on his last Clean & Jerk – 205 kg – that would have given him the bronze medal. He finished at 361 kg, a new American Record and equaled his own American mark with his 200 kg lift in the Clean & Jerk. It’s the best finish by a U.S. men’s lifter at the Games since 1988.

The 96 kg class featured Qatar’s Fares El Bakh, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist, who set an Olympic Record of 402 kg and an Olympic Clean & Jerk record of 225 kg.

He won easily from Venezuela’s Keydomar Vallenilla (387 kg) and Georgia’s 2021 European Champion, Anton Pliesnol (also 387 kg), both just ahead of Canada’s Boady Santavy (386 kg).

It’s Qatar’s first-ever Olympic gold in any sport and second-ever in weightlifting (also a bronze in 2000).

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: More crazy qualifying in the morning session, especially in the men’s 800 m.

In the first heat, Kenya’s Ferguson Rotich rolled down the home straight and sprinted to a 1:43.75 win, more than a full second faster than the next five. Australian Peter Bol set a national record in second (1:44.13) and Elliot Giles (GBR) was third in 1:44.49 … in a heat! American Isaiah Jewett faded to fifth, but his 1:45.07 qualified him on time.

In the saner heats, Marco Arop (CAN), Clayton Murphy of the U.S., Emmanuel Korir (KEN) and Nijel Amos (BOT) all won; American Bryce Hoppel advanced in third in heat six.

The men’s vault qualifying did include American Matt Ludwig, who rushed to Tokyo to replace Covid-stricken Sam Kendricks, but did not quality, clearing 5.50 m (18-0 1/2). The qualifiers did include the other two Americans, Chris Nilsen and K.C. Lightfoot, as well as heavy favorite Mondo Duplantis (SWE), 2012 Olympic champ Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), Poland’s Piotr Lisek and Rio champ Thiago Braz (BRA).

World leader Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) led the qualifying in the women’s 100 m hurdles in 12.41, ahead of Jamaica’s Megan Tapper (12.53 lifetime best). Americans Keni Harrison, Gabbi Cunningham and Christina Clemons all advanced without incident.

The women’s 400 m hurdles heats were led by Rio champ Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. (53.97) and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin (54.65), Dutch star Femke Bol (54.43) and American Anna Cockrell (55.37) all qualified.

American Valarie Allman, no. 2 on the world list for 2021, led the women’s discus qualifying at 66.42 m (217-11), one of only two automatic qualifiers. Two-time Olympic champ Sandra Perkovic (CRO) qualified third at 63.75 m (209-2) and 2019 World Champion Jaime Perez was seventh (63.18 m/207-3). World leader Jorinde van Klinken (NED) did not qualify (14th); neither did Americans Rachel Dincoff (27th) and Kelsey Card (28th).

In the evening qualifying in the men’s long jump, Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria reminded everyone of what he is capable of, leading at 8.50 m (27-10 3/4), ahead of world leader Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) at 8.22 m (26-11 3/4). JuVaughn Harrison of the U.S. qualified fifth at 8.13 m (26-8 1/4); Americans Steffin McCarter (15th) and Marquis Dendy (19th) did not qualify for the final.

The women’s 800 m showed that American sensation Athing Mu will be hard to beat. She loped to a comfortable 1:58.07 win in heat two and could have gone much faster. Jamaica’s Natoya Goule won heat one over Britain’s Jemma Reekie, 1:59.57-1:59.77, but Ajee Wilson of the U.S. – favored for a medal – faded on the home straight, finished in 2:00.79 and did not advance. Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson won heat three in 1:59.12, with Raevyn Rogers of the U.S. in third (1:59.28) and advancing as a time qualifier.

● Team/Baseball: The U.S. went to 2-0 with a 4-2 win over South Korea. Nick Martinez pitched five innings, giving up one run, for the win. Triston Casas and Nick Allen both hit home runs for the U.S. The American squad advances to round two of the playoffs and will face the other group winner – Japan – on Monday.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. men progressed to the quarterfinals with a second-place finish in Group A via a 119-84 rout of the Czech Republic in Saitama. Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 27 and Kevin Durant had 23, as the U.S. shot 62% from the floor.

The quarterfinals will begin on 3 August; Australia won its group with a 3-0 mark; other groups are continuing.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: Americans Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser did advance to the round-of-16 playoffs by winning their final group game against Argentina’s Julian Azaad and Nic Capogrosso. They will now face the hot Qatari pair of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, who won Pool C with a 3-0 record, on 2 August.

The other American pair, Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne, will play Julius Thole and Clemens Wickler (GER), second in Group F.

Americans Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil finished pool play undefeated with an impressive 17-21, 21-19, 15-11 win over Brazil’s Ana Patricia and Rebecca and won Pool D with a 3-0 mark. The Americans will now play Canada’s Heather Bansley and Brandy Wilkerson in the round-of-16 on Sunday.

● Team/Football: In the men’s tournament quarterfinals, Spain beat the Cote d’Ivoire, 4-2, in extra time; Japan defeated New Zealand on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie; Brazil stopped Egypt, 1-0, and Mexico is into the semifinals with a 6-3 win over Korea.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. women suffered their first loss in Tokyo, getting swept by the Russian Olympic Committee, 25-20, 25-12, 25-19. Worse, hitter Jordan Thompson had to leave during the second set due to an ankle injury, but may be able to return for later games. The U.S. (3-1) will play Italy (3-1) on Sunday in its final group game, but will advance in any case to the quarterfinals.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. men fell to 2-2 with an 11-8 loss to Hungary in pool play and will play Greece (3-0-1) on Monday in its final group game. The U.S. is already assured of making it to the playoff round.

= PREVIEWS: SUNDAY, 1 AUGUST =
(25 events across 11 sports)

● Athletics: Men’s 100 m-High Jump
With 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman out with a whereabouts suspension, American Trayvon Bromell has been the story of 2021. The 2015 Worlds bronze medalist, he made the U.S. Rio team, but suffered from injuries until 2020 and in 2021 is suddenly the world leader at 9.77 and winner of six of seven meets this year.

But the heats showed that Americans Ronnie Baker (10.03) and Fred Kerley (9.97), Canada’s Andre De Grasse (9.91 season best) and South Africa’s Akane Simbine (10.08) are ready to go.

So is Italy’s Lamont Jacobs, who won heat three in a national record of 9.94 and Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke, who won heat two in 9.98.

Not ready was Bromell, fourth in heat two in 10.05 and only made it to the semis as a time qualifier.

If Bromell can get right – his passing gear did not materialize on Saturday – he can win. But Baker, De Grasse, Simbine and Jacobs and perhaps Kerley all looked like potential medal winners, and Bromell did not. Safest best: Baker and De Grasse, both brimming with confidence.

The men’s high jump medalists from the 2019 World Championships are all in: winner Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) and Russians Mikhail Arimenko and Ilya Ivanyuk.

The top three on the 2021 world list are in: Ivanyuk and Maksim Nedasekau (BLR) at 2.37 m (7-9 1/4) and the amazing LSU dual threat in the high jump and long jump, JuVaughn Harrison, at 2.36 m (7-8 3/4). Add in a few more at 2.33 m (7-7 3/4) this year, including Brandon Starc (AUS), Shelby McEwen (USA), Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA), Canadian Django Lovett and Akimenko.

Barshim and Ivanyuk are experienced, proven medal winners, but Harrison’s athleticism and explosiveness at take-off seems irresistible. He’s also undefeated, winning three indoor meets (including the NCAA title) and six outdoor meets, including the SEC, NCAA and then Olympic Trials at 2.33 m (7-7 3/4) while long jumping at the same time. Why not a seventh?

● Athletics: Women’s Triple Jump-Shot Put
The women’s triple jump winner is a foregone conclusion: world indoor record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela.

The 2016 silver medalist from Rio, she won the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, set the world indoor record at 15.43 m (50-7 1/2) in 2020 and is the no. 2 jumper of all time at 15.43 m outdoors this year. Over.

The contenders for the other medals include Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist and no. 2 on the world list at 14.98 m (49-1 3/4); Cuba’s Liadamis Povea is third on the world list (14.93 m/48-11 3/4), and American Keturah Orji is fourth on the world list at 14.91 m (48-11), but was the last qualifier for the final.

Spain’s Ana Peleteiro for a season’s best of 14.62 m (47-11 3/4) as the second qualifier and Thea Lafond from tiny Dominica set a national record of 14.60 m (47-10 3/4) and qualified third.

Catherine Ibarguen (COL), the Rio gold medalist, qualified seventh with a season’s best, but only 14.37 m (47-1 3/4). Perhaps a surprise for the final.

The women’s shot promises to be a showdown between two double Olympic medalists. New Zealand’s Valerie Adams won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012 and China’s Lijiao Gong won bronze and silver the same years. Gong won the world title in 2019, but Adams – now recovered from injuries – is ready to make another try for a third gold.

American Michelle Carter upset both in 2016 in Rio, relegating Adams to silver with Gong fourth. In 2021, Gong is the world leader at 20.39 m (66-10 3/4); only she and American Jessica Ramsey (20.12 m/66-0 1/4) have surpassed 20 m. Raven Saunders of the U.S., fifth in Rio, is third at 19.96 m (65-6). Adams stands equal-fourth with Auriol Dongmo (POR) at 19.75 m (64-9 3/4).

Gong led the qualifying at 19.46 m (63-10 1/4) and is the favorite, with teammate Jiayuan Song the no. 2 qualifier at 19.23 m (63-1 1/4) and Saunders at 19.22 m (63-0 3/4). Can Saunders or Ramsey pull another Carter-esque upset?

● Badminton: Women’s Singles
The luck of the draw is producing an interesting situation as the women’s tournament heads to the finish. Both of the Chinese entries are in the same semifinal, with top-seeded Yufei Chen playing eighth-seed Bing Jiao He.

Opposite are India’s star V. Sindhu Pusarla and Chinese Taipei star Tzu-Ying Tai.

Pusarla is trying to head back to a second Olympic final, after she lost to Carolina Marin (ESP) in the Rio final in 2016. At 26, she’s the reigning World Champion and has won five Worlds medals (1-2-2) since 2013. Tai is a Taipei superstar and has been world-ranked no. 1 multiple times. She beat Sindhu or the 2018 Asian Games, but has never been further than the Worlds quarterfinals or the round of 16 at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. She may be due.

Chen owns two Worlds bronzes, from 2017 and 2019 and owns 10 tournament titles on the BWF World Tour. This is her first Olympic Games, but she is a serious contender for gold; in the seven previous editions of this event in the Games, China has won four times, lastly in 2012.

He also won a Worlds bronze in 2018; she also won a bronze and silver in the 2017 and 2019 Asian Games, so she is worthy, but a definite underdog against Chen.

● Cycling: Men’s & Women’s BMX Freestyle
This is a new event for 2020, aimed at youth interest, with the UCI holding “Urban Cycling World Championships” beginning in 2017.

The men’s field starts with two-time World Champion Logan Martin of Australia, who was also the leading qualifier in the seeding stage, averaging 90.97 on his two trials.

Japanese teen (19) Rim Nakamura was fifth at the 2019 Worlds, but won the 2019 Asian Championships and will be a threat: he qualified second at 87.67. Pan American Games champion Daniel Dehrs (VEN) qualified third (85.10).

American entries include 2018 World Champion Justin Dowell and 2020 Worlds bronze winner Nick Bruce; they ranked eighth and ninth in the seeding runs, so they will lead off the riders in the finals. Costa Rica’s Kenneth Tencio Esquivel, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist, qualified sixth.

The women’s Freestyle Park event has been dominated by Americans Hannah Roberts and Perris Benegas.

Roberts is the 2017-19-21 World Champion and Benegas won in 2018. They ranked 1-2 in the seeding runs at 87.70 and 86.50.

They will be challenged in the finals, especially by Swiss Nikita Ducarroz, third in the seeding at 83.55 and the 2021 Worlds silver medal winner. Britain’s Charlotte Worthington was the no. 4 qualifier and a two-time Worlds bronze winner. German Lara Lessman won the 2017 Worlds silver and qualified sixth.

Chile’s Macarena Perez Grasset is also a contender; although only seventh in the seeding trials, she won a Worlds silver in 2019.

No one doubts that Roberts is the clear favorite, but the race for silver and bronze will be both close and entertaining.

● Diving: Women’s 3m Springboard
If it’s diving, you start with China, with familiar stars Tingmao Shi and Han Wang, with Shi the reigning Olympic Champion from Rio and World Champion in 2015-17-19. She is the clear favorite.

Wang won the Worlds silvers in 2013-17-19 and teamed with Shi for the 3 m Synchro gold. They must be penciled in for gold and silver unless …

The challengers will include Jennifer Abel of Canada, a two-time Worlds bronze winner in 2011 and 2017 and one of the most consistent divers in the world. Her teammate Pamela Ware also won a Worlds bronze, back in 2013, and won the 2019 Pan American Games.

Australia has contenders in Esther Qin – 6th at the 2019 Worlds – and Annabelle Smith, German Tina Punzel (8th), and Britain’s Grace Reid (10th), with Americans Hailey Hernandez and Krysta Palmer looking for a perfect performance to get into the medal hunt. Japan is performing brilliantly, so why not 2019 Worlds fifth-placer Sayaka Mikami.

● Fencing: Men’s Team Foil
A real shot for a medal from the United States, which returns two members of its bronze-medal-winning team from the 2016 Olympic bronze squad and two from the team that won the 2019 World Championship.

Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt were on both of those teams and Nick Itkin is the third for Tokyo and they are one of the favored squads. They will have their hands full with 2016 silver winners France, also the 2019 Worlds silver medal winners, returning Enzo Lefort, Julien Mertine and Maxime Pauty. Italy returns all three of its 2019 Worlds bronze winners: Alessio Foconi, Andrea Cassara and Daniele Garozzo.

Those three teams start as favorites; Japan and Russia will also contend and Hong Kong, led by Ka Long Cheung, could also be a contender.

● Golf: Men
The men’s tournament saw the leaders shoot 63s on the Kasumigaseki Country Club course: Austria’s Sepp Straka in round one and then American Xavier Schauffele in round 2. The latter’s 131 (-11) gave him a one-stroke lead over Carlos Ortiz (MEX: -10) and two over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (-9).

Schauffele maintained his one-stroke advantage through round three with a 68, but  Matsuyama is looking over his shoulder at -13 (67), with Paul Casey (GBR) and Carlos Ortiz (MEX) at -12 (201). With four more at -11 and two at -10, this is a wide-open tournament and a win by Matsuyama would trigger a big celebration in golf-happy Japan.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Apparatus: Floor Exercise-Pommel Horse
The qualifying scores showed Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat with the top score at 15.200, followed by Russian star Nikita Nagornyy (15.066), Sung-Hyun Ryu (KOR: 15.066) and Rayderley Zapata (ESP: 15.041).

Nagornyy has been in the middle of all the action in Tokyo: team gold and All-Around bronze, and was sixth in this event in the 2019 Worlds.

Dolgopyat is an experienced competitor, especially on Floor, with silver medals in the 2017 and 2019 Worlds and the 2020 European title. China’s Ruoteng Xiao also owns a Worlds bronze from 2019. Zapata is also a Worlds medal winner on Floor, from 2015. American Yul Moldauer owns the 2017 Worlds bronze on Floor. So there are plenty of contenders, but Dolgopyat – born in the Ukraine – has a great chance to win Israel’s first-ever medal in Olympic (artistic) gymnastics.

On Pommel Horse, four men scored 15+ in the qualifying: Chih Kai Lee (TPE) led with 15.266, matched by Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan and Japan’s Kohei Kameyama. American Alec Yoder scored 15.200, trailed by Max Whitlock of Britain (14.900) and China’s Wei Sun (14.800).

Whitlock is enormously experienced, and is the defending champion from Rio, after winning a home bronze in 2012 in London. He’s a three-time World Champion, including the 2019 Worlds and enters as one of the favorites, regardless of his qualifying result.

Lee earned the silver at the 2019 Worlds and McClenaghan the bronze, the first-ever Worlds medal won by an Irish athlete! Japan’s Kazuma Kaya qualified only seventh, but was fifth in the 2019 Worlds and has to be considered a threat. Not to be ignored: Russian David Belyavskiy, the final qualifier, but the silver winner in this event in the 2017 Worlds.

American Alec Yoder is in his first Games, but was part of the U.S. team at the 2018 Worlds; he was 30th in the Pommel Horse in qualifying then, but fourth in Tokyo now!

● Gymnastics: Women’s Apparatus: Vault-Uneven Bars
The leading qualifier for the Vault final was Simone Biles, who opted out of the final. She was in good form in the qualifying, leading the vault at 15.183, with American Jade Carey at 15.166 and then Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade at 15.100.

Biles will be replaced by American MyKayla Skinner (4th: 14.866), who was only out of the final because of the two-per-country qualifying rule.

Two members of Russia’s winning team entry are in this field: Liliia Akhaimova and Angelina Melnikova.

Biles and Carey went 1-2 in this event at the 2019 World Championships; the other returning finalists are fourth-placer Shannon Olsen, Mexico’s Alexa Moreno (7th), Akhaimova (7th) and Korea’s Seo-Jeong Yeo (8th).

Could Carey and Skinner both capture medals? Certainly possible, but this is also a chance for Andrade to capture the gold medal that eluded her in the All-Around.

In the Uneven Bars, Belgium’s Nina Derawel – the two-time World Champion in this event – led the qualifying at 15.366 and American Suni Lee was the only other over 15 at 15.200.

The next four qualifiers were Russians – their whole team – so only Anastasiia Iliankova (14.966) and Melnikova (14.933) can compete. Biles was the last qualifier at 14.566; she will likely be replaced by France’s Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA).

Lee won the 2019 Worlds bronze in this event and looks like a solid choice for silver behind Derwael. Melnikova was fourth in 2019 and one of the two Russians certainly looks primed for a medal. Not to be overlooked in German Elisabeth Seitz, the 2018 Worlds bronze winner in this event; she qualified seventh.

● Sailing: Men’s Laser-Women’s Laser Radial
Australians have won the last two Olympic golds in the Men’s Laser class with Tom Slingsby and Tom Burton, and Matt Wearn – the 2018 Worlds silver medalist – is about to make it three.

Heading into the medal race, Wearn – the 2018-19-20 Worlds silver winner – has an almost insurmountable lead of 49 net points to 71 for Norway’s Hermann Tomasgaard. Wearn could lose if he is disqualified or does not finish, but baring disaster, he will win.

The race for second is tight, with Tomasgaard (71) trying to hold off Tonci Stipanovic (CRO: 74) – the Rio silver medalist – and 2018 World Champion Pavlos Kontides (CYP: 76). German Philipp Buhl, the 2018 Worlds bronze winner, is still in contention with 85 net points, as is Brazilian Robert Scheidt, the 1996 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist (now 48).

Wearn’s edge has been his consistency: he’s been first or second in five of the 10 races; of the remaining sailors in the top six, only Kontides (2) and Buhl (2) have more than one top-three finish so far.

The medal race will settle a tight contest between familiar stars in the Laser Radial class: Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom, Dutch star Marit Bouwmeester and Belgian Emma Plasschaert.

Rindom, the 2016 Olympic and 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, has the lead with 64 net points, with one win, one second and two fourths. Bouwmeester, the gold and silver medalist in the last two Games, is second with 71 and three top-three finishes.

Plasschaert, the 2018 World Champion, sits fifth with 83 net points, but is in position to move up with a high placement ahead of Sweden’s Josefin Olsson (79) and Canada’s Sarah Douglas (79). Olsson is a past Laser Radial World Championships silver medalist from 2014; she was sixth in Rio and possibly headed for the podium.

At 30, Rindom is well positioned to win her second Olympic medal and Denmark’s first gold in women’s sailing since 1996.

● Swimming: Men’s 50 m Free-1,500 m Free-4×100 m Medley
Caeleb Dressel barely had time to strip down to swim in the second semi of this race after accepting his gold from the 100 m Butterfly. But he was on the starting block in good time, had the lead off the start and powered to the finish, winning in 21.42, the equal-fourth-fastest performance in the world this year.

He won by 0.18 over Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev and 0.25 ahead of Britain’s Ben Proud and fellow American Michael Andrew (21.67). All four advanced to the final, as the first heat was won in a slower 21.53 by France’s Florent Manaudou, ahead of Bruno Fratus (BRA: 21.60).

Manaudou was the 2012 Olympic Champion (21.34) and second in Rio (21.41) and is a force to be reckoned with; Fratus won three straight Worlds medals in 2015 (3rd), 2017 (2nd) and 2019 (2nd).

Andrew has done 21.48 this year, but that won’t get a medal. Dressel, with more time to rest, is the clear favorite for tomorrow, with Manaudou – who retired after 2016, but returned in 2019 to participate in the International Swimming League – and Fratus are definite threats.

Brazilian Cesar Cielo’s Olympic Record of 21.30 is in danger, but his world mark of 20.91 from 2009 appears safe. Maybe.

The men’s 1,500 m qualifying showed 800 m bronze medalist Mykhallo Romanchuk (UKR) the fastest at 14:45.99 in heat one, followed by 800 m winner Robert Finke of the U.S. (14:47.20), Germany’s 2019 World Champion Florian Wellbrock (14:48.53) and 800 m silver winner – and reigning Olympic gold medalist – Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA: 14:49.17).

Wellbrock is the world leader this year at 14:36.45 at the German Nationals, with Romanchuk at the European Championships at 14:39.89 and then Paltrinieri at 14:40.38 at the Italian Nationals. Finke sits fourth at 14:46.03.

This looks like four men for three medals, but Britain’s Daniel Jarvis will be a factor; he qualified fifth with a seasonal best of 14:50.22.

Finke was superb in winning the 800 m Free; does he have another such performance ready? Paltrinieri has enormous experience as a winner: Olympic champion in Rio and twice World Champion in this event, from 2015 and 2017. He’s the favorite.

The U.S. has won the men’s 4×100 m Medley 14 times in the 15 times it has been contested at the Games; only at the 1980 Games did the American fail to win … as it did not attend.

The U.S. goes in with a Backstroke medal winner in Ryan Murphy, the fourth-place finisher in the Breaststroke in Michael Andrew, the world-record holder in the 100 m Fly in Caeleb Dressel and a proven anchor in Zach Apple from the 4×100 m Freestyle.

That’s a good team, but one that will be challenged by Russia, Great Britain and Australia. The U.S., Great Britain and Australia were 1-2-3 in 2016, but the British beat the U.S. in the 2019 Worlds with Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Duncan Scott and all four are back: 3:28.10-3:28.45 and 3:28.81 for Russia in third. Murphy and Dressel swam the first and third legs for the U.S.

In the heats, Italy led the qualifying at 3:30.02 in winning race one and Britain was the second race winner at 3:31.47. The U.S. qualified only fourth in heat one, with Joseph Armstrong, Andrew Wilson, Tom Shields and Blake Pieroni, none of whom are likely to swim in the final.

Too close to call; it may come down to Apple and Scott on the anchor.

● Swimming: Women’s 50 m Free-4×100 m Medley
Australia’s Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell came in 1-2 on the world list and were 1-3 in the heats in 24.02 – an Olympic Record for McKeon – and 24.15, with Dane Pernilla Blume – the reigning Olympic Champion – second in 24.12.

Blume won heat one in 24.08, ahead of Swede Sarah Sjostrom in 24.13. McKeon and Campbell were both in the second semi, along with Americans Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzeil. McKeon got out best and maintained a small lead to the wall in another Olympic Record of 24.00. Weitzeil got up for second in 24.19, ahead of Pole Katarzyna Wasick (24.26) and Campbell fourth – after a bad start – in 24.27. Manuel was seventh in 24.63 and did not qualify for the final.

McKeon is the favorite, no doubt, but Blume is going to be right there.

The U.S. and Australia have split the last four Olympic races, with the Americans winning the last two in London and Rio, with Australia second both times.

Australia looks the favorite here, with double gold medalist Kaylee McKeown on Backstroke, Emma McKeon on Fly and Cate Campbell on Freestyle. Butterfly is a weakness.

The U.S. has Backstroke bronze medalist Regan Smith, Breaststroke winner Lydia Jacoby (or Lilly King if desired), fourth-placer Torri Huske for Fly and Abbey Weitzeil for Freestyle. Good, but probably not good enough to hold off Campbell.

China and Canada will certainly contend as well; Jacoby and Huske swam poorly in the Mixed 4×100 m and will be aching to do better. They will need to be superb for the U.S. to win and just excellent if the Americans are to win a medal for the 14th time in 15 Games; the U.S. has never failed to medal in this event except for the boycott year of 1980.

Canada led the qualifying at 3:55.17, with the U.S. second in 3:55.18 (Rhyan White, King, Claire Curzan, Erika Brown), both in heat two. Australia won heat one in 3:55.39.

● Tennis:
Three gold-medal matches will be on: Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Russian Karen Khachanov in the men’s Singles; Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (CZE) vs. Swiss gold-medal winner Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic in the women’s Doubles, and in the Mixed Doubles, it’s an all-Russian final with Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev vs. Anastasiia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev.

Important; not sexy. But Bencic could get a second gold!

● Weightlifting: Women’s 76 kg
China does not have an entrant in this class and with North Korea absent from the Games, the returning medal winners from the 2019 Worlds are Neisi Dajomes of Ecuador (bronze) and Clean & Jerk bronze winner Aremi Fuentes of Mexico (fourth overall).

Ukraine’s Iryna Dekha was fifth in 2019 and Swede Patricia Stenius was seventh; they all figure as contenders.

However, the 2019 World Champion at 71 kg, American Katie Nye is in this class. Her winning total of 248 kg in 2019 compares very favorably with the 245 kg lifted by Dajomes for the 76 kg bronze and thus this weight could see a rare multi-medal performance – even a sweep – by lifters from the Americas.

Stepping down in weight, from 81 kg to 76 is Darya Naumava (BLR), who finished fourth at the 2019 Worlds, lifting a combined 244 kg. This is getting too close to call, but Nye feels she can perform at this weight successfully. The U.S. has one Olympic women’s weightlifting gold, by Tara Nott at 48 kg in Sydney in 2000. Will Nye be the second?

= INTEL REPORT =

The Tokyo 2020 organizers announced the third-largest number of positives in the Olympic community on the 31st, with 21 total, bringing the cumulative total to 241.

Fourteen of the 21 positives were contractors, who are 51% of the total (124), and seven were “Games-concerned personnel” (now 72 total or 30%). No athlete infections were reported. That keeps the athlete total at 23, the media total at 12 and the Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteer total at 10.

This should be the time of greatest risk, as the swimmers are just finishing up and 1,900 track & field athletes are arriving to compete.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 29 July:

● Athletes and team officials: 30 positives in 177,092 tests (0.02%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 51 positives in 204,281 tests (0.03%).

The report noted a Japanese government statistic that 40,558 tests were made at airports for Olympic-related personnel coming into the country through 29 July. To have limited “Olympic visitors” to just less than 41,000 people through the first half of the Games is a stunning reduction in foreigners coming to what for many has been one of the world’s biggest parties.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported no positives among 1,174 U.S. personnel in Tokyo on 30 July; There was one positive among 1,174 personnel in Tokyo on 29 July, the first positive since the 24th. Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, and 0 of 1,214 for 28 July.

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TOKYO 2020/Friday Review & Preview: More U.S. swimming medals, France’s Riner gets judo bronze; Mexico softballers trash uniforms

By
Rich Perelman
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Akira Sone (left), Olympic champion at +78 kg, giving Japan nine golds in 14 weight classes at Tokyo 2020 (Photo: International Judo Federation)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

If you think the furor over Russia and doping and sanctions is coming to an end, guess again.

In Tokyo, the Russian Olympic Committee has filed a protest against a Chilean journalist who has – they say – been badgering Russian tennis players about their uniforms and being out of compliance with the sanctions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

On Friday, the Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, told the TASS News Agency:

“We believe that the sports world has grown tired of this politicized Western campaign against global sports, in particular, of the biased and politicized pressure on Russian athletes.

“People around the world are seeing it all the more clearly that the biggest harm from the politicization of sports has been done to the reputation of international organizations, which often come as conductors of this policy. I mean, first of all, the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has dramatically lost its capability, with serious damage done to the authority of this organization.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport shortened Russian “probation” for its state-sponsored doping program from four years to two in December 2020; the sanctions will end in December of 2022. The Russian flag and anthem may not be used and the team’s uniforms must represent the “ROC” or Russian Olympic Committee.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram account on Friday:

“With what incredible dignity our [athletes] are going through their trials in Tokyo, and not only in sports. I also have in mind the endless provocations, including information ones. True generosity of spirit.”

The latest dust-up was a comment by U.S. backstroke star Ryan Murphy, the Rio 2016 triple gold medalist who finished third in the 100 m Back and second in the 200 m Back to Russia’s Evgeny Rylov.

Sports Illustrated reported that after the 200 m Back final, Murphy was asked in the mixed zone about doping in swimming:

“When I’m asked a question like that, I’ve got about like 15 thoughts – and 13 of them would get me into a lot of trouble. It is what it is. I try not to get caught up in that. It is a huge mental drain on me to go throughout the year knowing that I’m in a race that probably isn’t clean.

“The people that know a lot more about the situation made the decision they did. It frustrates me. But I don’t have the bandwidth to train for the Olympics at a really high level and also people that are making decisions about those situations.”

Murphy explained further:

“I do believe there’s doping in swimming. That is what it is. I met the FINA executive director, Mr. [Brent] Nowicki [USA], at Olympic Trials, and he was asking me for my take. I was like, ‘OK, FINA needs to be a little more transparent both on the financial side and the drug side.’

“He said, ‘I think it’s going to take a long time to clear this sport of doping.’ When you hear that from the top, that’s tough to hear. Yeah, that’s what I believe.”

Rylov rejected any implication that he was doping and said he connected with Murphy later, according to the Russian Olympic Committee:

“We have exchanged messages along our Instagram accounts, clarifying everything personally to each other and agreed that it was a misunderstanding and that his words were misinterpreted.

“He was asked what he thought in general about possible doping abuse in the sport of swimming. He replied that in his opinion not all athletes in this sport are clean. He has the right to express his personal opinion and most likely it is a problem somewhere.

“However, he was misinterpreted and his words were used in regards to our swim race, which was the final of the 200-meter backstroke event. He wrote me a personal message and apologized for this misunderstanding at the news conference.

“I have already posted my personal opinion about this incident. Everything is all right now and there are no problems at all.”

Maybe Yogi Berra was only partially right. Maybe, it’s never over.

After seven full days of competition, 133 of 339 events (39%) have been completed in Tokyo. The current medals leaders:

1. 41: United States (14-16-11)
2. 40: China (19-10-11)
3. 34: Russian Olympic Committee (10-14-10)
4. 28: Japan (17-4-7)
5. 24: Great Britain (6-9-9)

So far, 70 countries have won at least one medal, including tiny San Marino – founded in 1291 – with a population of 33,600, thanks to Alessandra Perilli’s bronze in women’s Trap.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 514.5 United States
2. 423.5 China
3. 338.5 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 333.0 Japan
5. 304.0 Great Britain
6. 244.0 Italy
7. 222.5 Australia
8. 206.0 France
9. 189.5 Netherlands
10. 183.0 Germany
11. 173.5 Korea
12. 151.0 Canada

The placements among teams are staying fairly steady now, but this will be changed in the second week by the track & field results. Surprising results from Japan even on the first day of T&F show it might challenge the ROC for third, which would be – even with Russia under sanctions – a surprise.

There was a delay in a women’s Rugby Sevens game due to a lightning strike in the area and beach volleyball matches were completed in a downpour on Thursday, as the weather continued to impact the Games. The current forecast, in part due to Tropical Storm Nepartak, is for more heat and rain:

● 31 July (Sat.): 91 F ~ 75 F with thunderstorms
● 01 Aug. (Sun.): 91 F ~ 77 F and sunny
● 02 Aug. (Mon.): 87 F ~ 78 F and some thunderstorms
● 03 Aug. (Tue.): 88 F ~ 77 F and some thunderstorms
● 04 Aug. (Wed.): 91 F ~ 77 F and cloudy
● 05 Aug. (Thu.): 91 F ~ 78 F and cloudy

The forecast for the final weekend of the Games is for temps around 90 F and more rain.

Wednesday’s NBC Olympic viewership in prime time dipped a little from the early part of the week:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million
● 28 July (Wed): 15.0 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but far behind the Rio 2016 numbers, in a better time zone. The comparable audiences from five years ago were (in millions): 23.5 ~ 31.8 ~ 31.5 ~ 36.1 ~ 28.6 for the first five days of competition.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: FRIDAY, 30 JULY =

● Archery: Women
South Korea’s San An, 20, completed a perfect Olympic Games in Tokyo. She led the Ranking Round and then won gold medals in the Mixed Team, Women’s Team and, on Friday, the individual gold medal.

An’s win was the ninth in the last 10 Games for Korea in this event, and she moved swiftly through the bracket, winning 6-2, 7-1, 6-4, and 6-0 against India’s Deepika Kumari in the quarterfinals. Then it got tougher.

In the semis against American Mackenzie Brown, the two were tied 4-4 and then 5-5 and went to a shoot-off. An shot 10 to Brown’s 9 and she moved on to the final, 6-5, against Russia Elena Osipova.

This was another nail-biter, as Osipova went up 5-3 after four ends, but An won the fifth end to tie at 5-5 and go to another shoot-off. She shot 10 again, to Osipova’s 8 and won the gold.

In the bronze-medal match. Brown faced Italy’s Lucilla Boari, the 2019 European Games silver medalist and lost, 7-1, and finished fourth. Nevertheless, this was a much better Games for Brown, who lost in the round of 16 in Rio and at 26, should just be hitting her prime.

● Athletics: Men’s 10,000 m
With world-record holder Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) leading the field, the question was whether this would be a fast, hard race where no one could keep up with him, or come down to a kicker’s sprint on the final lap. Cheptegei was sure to win the former, but his chances in a sprint were unsure.

So of course it ended up as a sprint on the final lap, with Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega leading a group of eight runners at the bell, with Canada’s Mo Ahmed and teammates Berihu Aregawi and Yomif Kejelcha just behind, then Cheptegei and teammate Jacob Kiplimo, American Grant Fisher and Kenya’s Rodgers Kwemoi.

Barega charged down the backstraight and Kiplimo and Cheptegei moved up to second and third on the final turn and into the straight. But Barega would not be denied and held on to win in 27:43.22, with Cheptegei sprinting in for second at 27:43.68 and Kiplimo third at 27:43.88. Aregawi was fifth (27:46.16) and Fisher was sixth in 27:46.39.

Barega covered the last lap in a speedy 53.94, but why did Cheptegei let the pace lag? That’s a question he will be asking himself for many days to come. For Barega, the silver-medal winner at 5,000 m at the 2019 Worlds, he is Olympic Champion at age 21 and gave Ethiopia its fifth Olympic 10,000 m champion in the last seven Games.

American Sam Kendricks, the reigning World Champion and Rio bronze medalist in the men’s vault, tested positive for the coronavirus in Tokyo and will not be able to compete at the Games, imploding what would have another great match-up with Swede Mondo Duplantis. The replacement could be Matt Ludwig, if he can get to Tokyo in time; vault qualifying is on Sunday.

● Badminton: Mixed Doubles
In a mild upset, second-seeds Yilyu Wang and Dongping Huang defeated Siwei Zheng and Yaqiong Huang in the all-Chinese final on Friday by 21-17, 17-21, 21-19. It’s a reversal of the 2019 Worlds, where Wang and Huang won bronze with Zheng and Huang the winner.

It’s the third-ever Olympic “sweep” for China in this event, which has now won four times out of seven editions in Olympic play.

Japan’s 2019 Worlds bronze medalists Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino swept aside Hong Kong’s Chun Man Tang and Ying Suet Tse, 21-17, 23-21, for the bronze medal.

● Canoe-Kayak: Men’s Slalom K-1
A clean run ensured a gold medal for the favorite, three-time World Champion and Rio 2016 bronze medalist Jiri Prskavec (CZE).

His 91.63 second time, with no penalties, was easily the best, ahead of Jakub Grigar (SVK), who moved up from fifth in Rio in 94.85 (also no penalties) and Hannes Aigner (GER: 97.11, no penalties). Prskavec was so good that he would have won even with one penalty.

In fact, the top five finishers all had penalty-free runs, and Michal Smollen (USA), the 2015 Worlds bronze medalist was a very creditable fifth.

Prskavec moved up from bronze in Rio, while 2018 World Champion Aigner won his second Olympic bronze, also in London in 2012. It was the first win in this event for the Czech Republic.

● Cycling: Men’s and Women’s BMX
Dutch star Niek Kimmann, the 2015 World Champion and 2019 runner-up, proved to be the master of the course at the Ariake Urban Sports Park, winning his quarterfinal, semifinal and the final to win the gold medal.

American Connor Fields, the Rio 2016 champion, qualified for the final through the first two races of his semifinal round, but then crashed hard on the third run and had to be taken to a hospital. He did not return for the final.

With seven riders, Kimmann managed to stay out of trouble and got to the line first in 39.053, followed by Britain’s Kye Whyte (39.167) and then Carlos Ramirez of Colombia (40.572).

These were the first-ever medals in BMX for the Netherlands and Great Britain, while Ramirez repeated his bronze-medal finish from 2016.

Unheralded Beth Shriever of Great Britain finished 17th and 15th in her two BMX World Championships appearances, but she got hot at the right time in Tokyo and won the gold medal.

Shriever won her quarterfinal and her semifinal, but against an outstanding field in the final, she stayed tall and got to the line in 44.358, just 0.09 seconds ahead of three-time World Champion Mariana Pajon (COL) and Dutch rider Merel Smulders, the 2018 Worlds silver winner.

American Felicia Stancil, who won her semifinal, finished fourth, behind Smulders by 44.721-45.131. Smulders joins her sister, Laura, as Olympic bronze medalists; Laura was third in London in 2012.

● Fencing: Men’s Team Epee
Nobody had Japan on the favorites list for medals, much a stunning victory for Masaru Yamada, Koki Kano and Satoru Uyama.

They sailed past the U.S. in the round of 16, 45-39, then shocked favored France, 45-44 in the quarters, upset Korea, 45-38 in the semis and won the gold over Russia, 45-38 in the final. Amazing.

Korea salvaged the bronze by beating China, 45-42, in the third-place match.

How crazy was this? Team Epee has been in the Games since London 1908; this was Japan’s first-ever medal in the event. Moreover, the medals by Japan and Korea were the first ever in this event by Asian entries; all prior medals had been won by European teams, the U.S. or Cuba!

● Gymnastics: Women’s Trampoline
China enjoyed a 1-2 finish with 2018 Worlds silver winner Xueying Zhu winning gold this time and 2014 World Champion Lingling Liu taking silver, 56.635-56.350.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Rosie MacLennan was gunning for three in a row, but ended up fourth, missing the bronze medal, 55.735-55.460 to Britain’s Rio silver medalist Bryony Page.

American Nicole Ahsinger was sixth at 54.350. This was China’s second Olympic win in this event and the second time it has won two medals.

● Judo: Men’s +100 kg
An intense quarterfinal match between two-time defending Olympic Champion and 10-time World Champion Teddy Riner of France and Russian Tamerlan Bashaev, the 2021 Worlds silver medalist, was in extra time. And Bashaev denied Riner history by executing a waza-ari at 4:29 for a golden score that sent Riner on a quest for bronze instead of gold.

This was perhaps the most noteworthy result of the men’s +100 kg tournament, but it wasn’t close to being finished. With all eyes now on Bashaev, he promptly got shellacked in the semifinals, 11-1, by Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili, the 2017 World Champion. In the other bracket, Czech Lukas Krpalek – the Rio 2016 100 kg gold medalist – was in overtime against Japan’s Hisayoshi Harasawa, the Rio runner-up in this class. And after 7:59 of struggle, Krpalek managed a waza-ari and moved on to the final.

The final could have been epic, but was not. Krpalek earned a place among the judo immortals with an impressive win by ippon over Tushishvili in 3:47; he’s now won consecutive Olympic gold medals at 100 kg and +100 kg.

In the bronze finals, Riner defeated Harasawa again, by ippon, in overtime, while Bashaev did come away with a bronze, beating Yakiv Khammo (UKR) by ippon.

● Judo: Women’s +78 kg
Japan finished the day of individual weights with a gold-medal performance from Akira Sone, the 2019 World Champion. She completed a difficult assignment with a golden-score ippon over Cuba’s two-time World Champion – and 2012 Olympic champ – Idalys Ortiz.

That gave Japan nine golds in the 14 weight classes in Tokyo: five wins for the men and four for the women, at the Nippon Budokhan Hall, the historic venue at which the first Olympic tournament was held in 1964.

Sone was outstanding, winning all four of her matches by ippon. Behind the top two, France’s Romane Dicko won a bronze over Turk Kayra Sayit. The other bronze went to Iryna Kindzerska (AZE), over Shiyan Xu (CHN).

● Rowing: Men’s Single Sculls-Eights
Nothing in Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskos’s resume would suggest an Olympic gold medal. He was sixth in the Single Sculls at the 2019 Worlds, fourth in this year’s European Championships and was on the sixth-place Fours team in Rio.

But after a slow start, he charged to the lead in the second 500 m, and won in an Olympic Best time of 6:40.45, shoving 2018 World Champion Kjetil Borch (NOR) to second (6:41.66) and returning Olympic silver medalist Damir Martin (CRO) to third (6:42.58).

Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen was fourth. For Ntouskos, it was a milestone: the first-ever Olympic Single Sculls medal for Greece.

Germany was certainly the favorite, winning three straight world titles, and taking the lead off the start. But New Zealand came on to take over at mid-race and put together the fastest 1,000 m in the middle of the race to claim the gold medal in a surprising 5:24.64, a scant 0.96 seconds ahead of the Germans.

Great Britain, defending Olympic champions, but only third in their semifinal, claimed the bronze at 5:25.73, just 1.09 behind the winners. The U.S., second in its semi, finished fourth in 5:26.75.

It was the New Zealander’s first Olympic medal in this event since 1976 and first win since 1972.

● Rowing: Women’s Single Sculls-Eights
Emma Twigg, 34, was 2014 World Champion and a four-time Worlds medal winner from 2010-14. But she was fourth in London in 2012 and again in Rio in 2016. That sent her into retirement for a couple of years, but she came back for Tokyo. She’s glad she did.

Twigg led the women’s final from start to finish and crossed first in 7:13.97, an Olympic Best time. Russian Hanna Prakatsen, who only emerged into world class earlier this year, moved from sixth to second at the line, but 3.42 seconds behind (7:17.39). Austrian Magdalena Lobnig, a two-time Worlds bronze medalist, won the bronze medal in 7:19.72.

Twigg won New Zealand’s first Olympic medal in the women’s Single Sculls.

The women’s Eight and appeared to be wide open, after New Zealand and the U.S. won the two semifinals. But it was Canada which took the lead right from the start, led every quarter of the race and won convincingly at 5:59.13. It was Canada’s first win in this race since 1992.

New Zealand did its best, moving from third to second in the last half of the race and closing to 91/100ths at the line, second in 6:00.04. It was their first-ever Olympic medal in this event.

The U.S., China and Australia battled for the bronze. The Chinese got into medal position after 1,000 m and had the quickest last 500 m of any team and finished in 6:01.21 for its first medal in this event since Seoul in 1988.

The American women, winners in 2008-12-16, was fifth for most of the race, but ended up fourth in 6:02.78, missing a medal by 1.08 for the first time after four Games. Australia was fifth.

● Shooting: Women’s 25 m Pistol
Russia’s 10 m Air Pistol winner Vitalina Batsarashkina doubled her fun by winning the 25 m Pistol event, winning a shoot-off by 4-1 over Korea’s Min-Jung Kim.

The 2019 Worlds silver medalist in this event, Batsarashkina was a point behind going into the eighth frame, but scored 5 to Kim’s 4 to get to the shoot-off. Her achievement of two pistol golds is remarkable: only the second time it had been done in Olympic history and not since Marina Logvinenko of the “Unified Team” did it in 1992.

China’s Jiaruixuan Xiao finished third at 29; defending champ Anna Korakaki (GRE) finished sixth.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Free-200 m Breast
Australia’s Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell had the seven fastest times of the year between them coming into Tokyo and McKeon took the lead quickly in the final and turned first in 25.08, but with Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey – very tough in the semis – hanging in for second at 25.10 and Campbell third in 25.19.

Campbell challenged Haughey and then Haughey charged toward McKeon, but the places stayed the same at the touch, with McKeon setting an Olympic Record of 51.96, the no. 2 performance of all time.

Haughey set an Asian Record of 52.27 in second and Campbell finished in 52.52 in third. Rio co-champion Penny Oleksiak was fourth in 52.59 and world-record holder Sarah Sjostrom fifth in 52.68. American Abbey Weitzeil was in medal contention on the way home, but faded to eighth in 53.23.

McKeon’s win for Australia was its first in this event at the Games since 2004.

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, the 100 m Breast silver winner, was the overwhelming favorite and won, but she had to work for it.

American star Lilly King, who had never won a medal in this event, pushed hard from the start and was ahead of Schoenmaker and world-record pace at 50 m and 100 m and almost to the 150 m mark, where Schoenmaker finally got to the lead by 0.09.

King continued to push on the final lap, but Schoenmaker was a little better and touched first in a world record of 2:18.95, breaking the 2:19.11 by Rikke Pedersen (DEN) in 2013. King was second in 2:19.92, now the no. 7 performer of all time.

Behind them was a tight battle for bronze, with Russia’s 16-year-old Evgeniia Chikunova and American Annie Lazor. Chikunova was third for most of the race, but Lazor caught her at the 150 m mark and then pushed ahead just in the final meters to earn the bronze, 2:20.84-2:20.88.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Back-200 m Medley
Russian Evgeny Rylov won the 100 m Back and was the strong favorite in the 200 m Back over defending champ Ryan Murphy of the U.S.

Rylov took the lead from the start, but Murphy stayed close, trailing by 0.45 at the half and 0.72 at the 150 m mark. But Murphy kept coming and cut into Rylov’s lead over the final lap, but not enough to deny Rylov the win, finally 1:53.27-1:54.15, an Olympic Record for Rylov. It’s the no. 9 performance all-time for Rylov and the no. 2 performance – only he has gone faster – in 2021.

Britain’s Luke Greenbank was third almost all the way and won the bronze in 1:54.72, holding off American Bryce Mefford, fourth in 1:55.49.

Rylov becomes the seventh man to win the 100/200 m Back double in Olympic history, and moved up from bronze in Rio.

The script for the 200 m Medley final was clear: American Michael Andrew, 22, was going to lead but fade on the Freestyle leg.

And Andrew led after the butterfly leg, but unexpectedly lost the lead on the backstroke to China’s Shun Wang and actually faded to fifth. But Andrew came back on the breast leg, took over once again, but had only a 1.01-second lead on Wang, which was not going to be enough.

The field caught Andrew in 20 m on the free leg and the race for gold was between Britain’s 200 m Free silver winner Duncan Scott and Wang in the middle of the pool. Wang held on for a tight win in 1:55.00 – moving to no. 3 on the all-time list – with Scott at 1:55.28 and Swiss Jeremy Desplanches coming up to third in 1:56.17, ahead of Japan’s Daiya Seto (1:56.22).

Andrew ended up fifth in 1:57.31.

● Table Tennis: Men’s Singles
China’s Long Ma cemented his place as one of the greatest players in history with a 4-2 win over Zhendong Fan in the final: 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7 in 64 minutes.

It gave Ma a fourth Olympic gold, including back-to-back Singles titles in Rio and Tokyo, the first-ever two-time champion. He may yet win a another gold in the men’s Team event (where he has been a two-time winner already).

Germany’s Dmitrj Ovtcharov won a second career Olympic bronze – also in 2012 – with a 4-2 victory over Yun-Ju Lin (TPE).

● Tennis: Men’s Doubles
Top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic won the all-Croatian men’s Doubles final over Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig, 4-6, 6-3 and then 10-6 in the first-to-10 tie-breaker.

Mektic and Pavic only began playing together this year and won the Wimbledon title; they claimed Croatia’s first gold in tennis, and Cilic and Dodig the country’s first silver. Croatia had previously won three bronzes.

Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus of New Zealand took the bronze-medal match against Americans Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren, 7-6, 6-2. It’s the first time since 2004 that a U.S. team has not won a medal.

Elsewhere:

● Athletics: Qualifying in multiple events proceeded on Friday, with unusually fast times on the track, signaling we could be in for a special week.

A staggering 19 men ran under 8:20 in the 3,000 m Steeple in the heats and four of them did not qualify for the final! World leader Lamecha Girma (ETH) won the first heat in 8:09.83 (the no. 6 performance of the year!!), trailed by Japan’s Ryuji Miura with a national record 8:09.92 and Benjamin Kigen (KEN) at 8:10.80! Kenyan Abraham Biwott won heat two in 8:12.25, ahead of Getnet Wale (ETH: 8:12.55) and then favorite Soufiane El Bakkali won a more normal heat three in 8:19.00.

American Bernard Keter was sixth in heat two, but made it to the final on time. Trials winner Hillary Bor was second off the final water jump in heat three, but was out-sprinted and finished sixth in heat three and did not advance. Mason Ferlic ran 8:20.23 – his third-fastest time ever – and was eighth in heat one.

In the men’s 400 m hurdles heats, American Rai Benjamin strolled around the track in 48.60 to win heat five, a little faster than Norway’s Karsten Warholm’s 48.65 to win heat three. The qualifying leader was Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, who won heat one in an impressive 48.38, ahead of Brazil’s medal favorite, Alison dos Santos (48.42). Americans Kenny Selmon (48.61) and David Kendziera (49.23) also advanced to the semis.

In the men’s high jump, 13 qualified to the final at 2.28 m (7-5 3/4), including 2019 World Champion Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT), Americans JuVaughn Harrison and Shelby McEwen, Russians Mikhail Akimenko and co-world leader Ivan Ivanyuk, as well as Maksim Nedasekau (BLR), the other world leader at 2.37 m (7-9 1/4).

The women’s 800 m qualifying was led by Jamaica’s Natoya Goule in 1:59.83. Britain’s Jemma Reekie was the only other to break 2:00 (1:59.97) and Americans Ajee Wilson (2:00.02), Athing Mu (2:01.10) and Raevyn Rogers (2:01.42) also advanced easily.

The women’s 5,000 m heats were led by co-favorite Sifan Hassan (NED) in 14:47.89, ahead of Agnes Tirop (KEN: 14:48.01) in the first race. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, the other favorite and world leader, won heat two in 14:55.74. Americans Karissa Schweizer (7th: 14:51.34 in heat 1) and Elise Cranny (4th: 14:56.14 in heat 2) both qualified for the final.

World Champion Yulimar Rojas (VEN) led the women’s triple jump qualifying at 14.77 m (48-5 1/2) ahead of Ana Peleteiro (ESP: 14.62 m/47-11 3/4), with American Keturah Orji the next-to-last qualifier at 14.26 m (46-9 1/2). Americans Jasmine Moore and Tori Franklin were 23rd and 25th.

The women’s shot put saw China post the top two qualifiers with favored Lijiao Gong leading at 19.46 m (63-10 1/4) and Jiayuan Song at 19.23 m (63-1 1/4). Americans Raven Saunders and Jessica Ramsey both made the final: Saunders was third at 19.22 m (63-0 3/4) and Ramsey qualified 10th at 18.75 m (61-6 1/4).

● Team/Baseball: The U.S. opened with an 8-1 victory over Israel (0-2) in Group B, thanks to six innings of one-run pitching from Joe Ryan and three hits from designated hitter Tyler Austin.

The U.S. plays Korea (1-0) for the Group B title on Saturday.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: The U.S. duo of Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne fell to Qatari stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, 21-18, 21-17 on Friday and finished 2-1 in Pool C. That’s good enough to move on to the round of 16 beginning on Sunday.

The U.S. women’s pair of April Ross and Alix Klineman finished pool play with a 3-0 record with a 2-1 win over Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink of the Netherlands by 20-22, 21-17 and then 15-5 in pouring rain. That moves April/Alix to the round of 16, also starting on Sunday.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. women went to 2-0 by whipping Japan, 86-69 in Saitama, using a 21-10 second quarter to forge a nine-point halftime lead. A’Ja Wilson had 20 for the Americans and Breanna Stewart had 15, as the U.S. extended its Olympic Games win streak to 51 in a row. Next up: France on Monday to complete pool play.

● Team/Football: The U.S. women needed penalty kicks to squeeze by the Netherlands after a 2-2 tie on Thursday and get to the semifinals against Canada on Monday.

Vivianne Miedema scored for the Dutch in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead, but the U.S. rebounded with goals from Sam Mewis (28th) and Lynn Williams (31st) for a 2-1 lead. Miedema tied it in the 54th and after extra time, penalties were on.

Miedema’s first try was saved by U.S. keeper Alyssa Naeher and then the Americans converted four in a row, by Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe. When Naeher saved Aniek Nouwen’s shot, the U.S. was able to move on. Small consolation: Miedema leads the tournament with 10 goals.

Canada eliminated Brazil in the same way, winning on penalties, 4-3, after a scoreless game. Th Brazilians had a 3-2 lead in the shoot-out, but missed on their last two.

On the other side of the bracket, Australia needed two scores in extra time to beat Great Britain, 4-3. Sweden continued its impressive play with a 3-1 win over Japan.

● Team/Rugby Sevens: The U.S. women lost to Great Britain, 21-12, in the quarterfinals and now will play for fifth place. Great Britain will meet France and New Zealand and Fiji will play in the women’s semis. Britain got off to a 14-0 lead in the first half and was never challenged.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. men’s team was handled by Brazil in Pool B, 3-1 (30–32, 25–23, 25–21, 25–20) on Friday, falling to 2-2. The U.S. still have one game to play, against Argentina (2-2) and needs to win to move on to the playoffs. Russia (3-1) and Brazil (3-1) lead the group, with France also at 2-2.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. women rebounded after the tough loss to Hungary with an 18-5 rout of the Russian Olympic Committee to go to 3-1 in pool play. Stephanie Haralabidis and Maggie Steffens each had four goals for the U.S. Steffens now has 49 goals in Olympic play, a new individual scoring record.

The quarterfinals begin on 3 August.

● Tennis: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic lost his chance for a “Golden Slam” in 2021 with a 6-1, 3-6, 1-6 loss to Alexander Zverev (GER) in the men’s Singles semifinal. Zverev will play Karen Khachanov of Russia in the final.

Djokovic will also be playing for bronze in the Mixed Doubles as he and Nina Stojanovic lost to Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev (ROC) in the semis, 7-6, 7-5.

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 31 JULY =
(21 events across 13 sports)

● Archery: Men
Great hopes for the U.S. and a tough draw in the men’s event, with Brady Ellison the reigning World Champion from 2019.

Ellison is a tough competitor and is primed to win here, but stuff happens and he will have his hands full. He’s in the round of 16 now, but has to face fellow American Jacob Wukie in an unlucky draw … for Wukie.

Threats to Ellison start with the 2011 and 2015 World Champion Woo-Jin Kim of Korea, 2019 Worlds silver medalist Khairul Anuar Mohamad (MAS) and 2012 Olympic silver medalist Taraharu Furukawa (JPN), plus multiple World Championships team medalists, such as Mauro Nespoli (ITA), and India’s Atanu Das.

World Archery World Cup stars who have not yet won World Championships medals included Turkey’s Mete Gazoz, Australian Taylor Worth and Brazil’s Marcus D’Almeida. But if Ellison is right, he’ll be hard to beat after a Rio bronze and team silvers in London and Rio.

● Athletics: Men’s Discus
There is no doubt whatsoever about the favorite in this event: it’s Sweden’s 2019 World Champion Daniel Stahl.

The giant Swede, all 6-7 and 342 pounds of him, was the only one to achieve the automatic qualifying standard of 65.00 m (213-3) and as the no. 4 thrower of all time with his 71.40 m (231-0) in July, he’s an overwhelming choice to win. Sweden has only one Olympic medal in this event ever, a 1972 bronze by Ricky Bruch.

His challengers will include no. 2 qualifier Andrius Gudzius (LTU), the 2017 World Champion and 12th in Rio; fellow Swede Simon Pettersson, no. 3 on the world list this season (69.48 m/227-11), Slovenian prodigy Kristjan Ceh, just 22 and no. 2 in the world in 2021 at 70.35 m (230-9) and Austrian Lukas Weisshaidinger, no. 4 on the world list at 69.04 m (226-6).

American Sam Mattis made the final as the no. 8 qualifier at 63.74 m (209-1), a season’s best, but Reggie Jagers was 19th and 2017 Worlds bronze medalist Mason Finley, 23rd. Also out of the final is Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres, finishing 13th; the 2019 Worlds silver winner, he has been troubled by injuries and just not in form.

● Athletics: Women’s 100 m
The heats were insane. American Teahna Daniels won heat one from Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith in 11.04, then reigning Olympic champ Elaine Thompson-Herah unloaded with a brilliant 10.82 (wind: +0.1 m/s) in heat two. Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV) then upped the ante, winning heat three in 10.78 into a 0.3 m/s headwind!

Jamaica’s two-time Olympic winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won heat five in 10.84, ahead of a national record 10.91 from Swiss Aja del Ponte! More normal times came in heat six from Blessing Okagbare (11.05) and heat seven, by Michelle-Lee Ahye (TTO: 11.06), Shericka Jackson (JAM: 11.07) and Jenna Prandini of the U.S. (11.11).

The semis and finals will take place on Saturday, and while the favorites have not changed, this track appears to be so fast that anything could happen. Florence Griffith-Joyner’s Olympic Record of 10.62 from Seoul in 1988 appears not out of reach.

Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah and Ta Lou are the medal favorites, but Asher-Smith will be pressing hard for a medal. The three Americans – Daniels, Javianne Oliver and Prandini – all got through, but are not expected to be in the medal hunt. Could either of the Swiss runners, del Ponte or Mujinga Kambundji (10.95) pull a shocker?

● Athletics: Mixed 4×400 m
The never-ending drama over U.S. relay teams continued in the heats of the Mixed 4×400 m on Friday.

In heat one, the U.S. team of Elija Godwin, Lynna Irby, Taylor Manson and Bryce Deadmon won in 3:11.39, but was disqualified for an out-of-the-zone pass from Godwin to Irby, something that should never happen on a 4×4. NEVER! That left Belgium as the winner of the heat in a national record of 3:12.75, with Jonathan Borlee on anchor.

Poland won the second heat in 3:10.44, ahead of the Netherlands (3:10.69).

However, the U.S. appealed the disqualification and about five hours later, the decision was reversed and the U.S. will be in the final.

The U.S. will be favored, but with potentially stiff competition from Jamaica and Great Britain. It is possible that Allyson Felix could run for the U.S. She has nine Olympic medals and if she were to win medals in three events – Mixed 4×400 m, 400 m and women’s 4×400 m – she would tie Paavo Nurmi (FIN) for the most medals won by one person in track & field with 12. Keep an eye on that U.S. line-up!

● Badminton: Men’s Doubles
This event has been held seven times in Olympic history, with Indonesia having won three times and two each for Korea and China (in 2012 and 2016).

The semifinals have Indonesia’s second-seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in action with Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang (TPE) and China’s third-seed JunHui Li and YuChen Liu vs. Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh.

Certainly Indonesia and China will be expected to advance to the final, where they are old opponents and well known to each other. In fact, they were 1-3 in the 2019 World Championships with Ahsan and Setiawan the winners and Li and Liu the bronze medalists (but they did not meet in the semifinals).

Ahsan and Setiawan have won three world titles, in 2013-15-19, and Li and Liu have one, from 2018. Favor Indonesia for a fourth Olympic gold, but the Chinese are more than capable of what would be a mild upset.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Sabre
Having gone 1-2 in the individual event with Sofia Pozdniakova and Sofia Velikaya, the Russian Olympic Committee is a big favorite in the team competition. This is only the third time that the event has been held in the Games, and the Russians – including Velikaya – are defending champions from Rio.

The two Russian medalists will be joined by Olga Nikitina and the three of them were part of the reigning World Championships gold-medal team from 2019. OK, they are the favorites.

Chasing them will be the 2016 Rio bronze winners, the U.S., with Eliza Stone, Mariel Zagunis and Dagmara Wozniak. France and Korea were 2-3 at the 2019 Worlds; France has individual bronze winner Manon Brunet and an experienced team, that with Cecilia Berder and Charlotte Lembach that defeated Russia for the 2018 world title.

Korea, with Ji-Yeon Kim, is a definite medal threat, as is Italy, led by Irene Vecchi. A Russia-France final is the most likely outcome, but certainly not guaranteed.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Trampoline
The sixth edition of men’s Trampoline at the Games poses the question of who can beat Lei Gao?

He’s won four straight world titles, but won “only” bronze in 2016 in Rio. His teammate, Dong Dong, already has a full set of medals: the 2012 gold medalist, he won bronze in 2008 and the silver in 2016 and also owns three world titles.

The defending gold medalist, Uladzislau Hancharou of Belarus, has not won a world title: he’s been second in 2015 and bronze in 2014.

There are other contenders: Russian Andrey Yudin, a Worlds bronze winner in 2015 and 2018, and teammate Dmitry Ushakov, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist and 2017 Worlds silver medalist.

Beyond these medal winners, look for Allan Morante (FRA) and perhaps even American Aliaksei Shostak.

● Judo: Mixed Team
This is a new event, conjured up by the International Judo Federation to satisfy the International Olympic Committee’s thirst for mixed-gender events. It has three bouts for women and specific weight classes and three for men.

Twelve teams are shown on the entry list, with France, Russia, Brazil and Japan seeded directly into the quarterfinals. Japan won this event at the 2021 World Championships, beating France in the final, with Brazil and Uzbekistan (also entered) the bronze winners.

In fact, Japan has won this event all four times it has been contested at the Worlds: 2018-18-19-21. France has been the silver winner in 2018-19-21 and won bronze in 2017. Russia was a bronze winner in 2018-19, Brazil in 2019 and 2021 and Korea in 2018-19.

Another Japanese win seems certain given their domination of the tournament, but perhaps we’ll see Teddy Riner for France one more time?

● Rugby 7s: Women
The first Rugby Sevens Olympic tournament for women saw Australia defeat New Zealand, 24-17, in Rio with Canada third. The same is possible in 2021.

New Zealand, France and the U.S. all went 3-0 and won their groups, with the last game delayed due to lightning strikes in the area! However, once the quarterfinals got underway, there were more shocks, the first coming from Fiji, which defeated Australia, 14-12. New Zealand defeated Russia, 36-0 and will meet Fiji in the semis.

The U.S. then lost to Great Britain, falling behind 14-0 and losing, 21-12. The British will meet France, a 24-10 winner over China.

New Zealand – the Black Ferns – is the reigning World Champion from 2018 and the winner of the last World Rugby Sevens Series in 2019-20, finishing ahead of South Africa, Fiji and Australia. They remain favorites, although Fiji will provide a stiff test in the semifinals.

● Sailing: Men’s and Women’s RS:X
The medal races will be held on Saturday, but the men’s competition was settled long ago in favor of three-time World Champion Kiran Badloe (NED). Second in the 2018 World Sailing Championships, he won the class title in 2019-20-21 and dominated the racing in Tokyo. He will win short of a false start or disqualification.

Badloe won five of the first 12 races and was second in another, so he enters the Medal Race with an unbeatable total of 33 net points, ahead of Thomas Goyard (FRA: 52), Italy’s Mattia Camboni (54) and Pole Piotr Myszka (57). Those three should battle for the silver and bronze medals.

The women’s RS:X is led by China’s Yunxiu Lu, with two wins and six seconds and a net total of 30 points. But just four points back is Britain’s two-time European Championships medalist Emma Wilson with Rio gold medalist (and six-time Worlds medal winner) Charlene Picon (FRA) at 36.

Italy’s Marta Maggetti is fourth, but at 58 points, would have to inherit a catastrophe from those ahead of her to get into the medals.

● Shooting: Team Mixed Trap
A total of 16 teams are entered in an event with quite a bit of Olympic history. Although not held as a mixed-gender event, Team Trap was held in 1908-12-20-24 and brought back into the program for Tokyo. The U.S. won the last three events.

Slovakia, including Trap winner Zuzana Stefecekova and Erik Varga, won the 2018 World Shooting Championships gold, followed by Russia (Ekaterina Rabaya and Alexsey Alipov) and Great Britain (Kirsty Barr and Aaron Heading).

On the ISSF World Cup circuit in 2021, Russian, Indian and British teams managed wins; the teams from Russia (Alipov and Daria Semianova) and Great Britain (Kirsty Hegarty and Matthew Coward-Holley) are the same. Also a major threat: Italy’s Jessica Rossi and Mauro de Filippis.

Spain and the U.S. also have talented teams and could be medal contenders.

● Shooting: Women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions
A test of standing, kneeling and prone shooting, with Cuba’s Eglis Yaima Cruz the only returning Olympic medalist, a bronze in 2008 in Beijing.

From the more recent 2018 World Championships, Russia’s Yulia Karimona took the gold medal and Croatia’s Snjezana Pejcic won the bronze, to go with her silver in 2014.

But the stars of the show may come from the ISSF World Cups held earlier this year. Slovenia’s Ziva Dvorsak won in New Delhi in March, followed by Nina Christen (SUI), who also won a bronze medal in the second event in Croatia in June. Poland’s Aneta Stankiewicz took bronze in New Delhi, while Russians Karimova and Yulia Zykova went 1-2 in June.

Look for at least one Russian on the podium this time.

● Swimming: W 800 m Free-200 m Backstroke
The women’s 800 m will be the third match-up between American Katie Ledecky and Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, with Ledecky the two-time Olympic champion in this event. She’s already won the 1,500 m Free while Titmus took the 400 m Free; Titmus was second in the 200 m Free while Ledecky was fifth.

Ledecky led the qualifying at 8:15.67; she already had the top three times of the year, including the world leader at 8:13.64 in March and now six of the top seven. Katie Grimes of the U.S. had the no. 2 qualifier at 8:17.05, a lifetime best (and no. 15 all-time), followed by Italy’s Simona Quadarella (8:17.32), Sarah Kohler (GER: 8:17.33), with Titmus sixth (8:18.99).

There is enormous talent in this race, but Ledecky has to be the favorite. She not only won the 1,500 m, but her sensational 1:53.82 anchor on the American 4×200 m Free – passing Australia’s Leah Neale for second – has to give her more confidence in her speed. The U.S. went 1-2 with Erica Sullivan in the 1,500 m, with Kohler third, Quadarella fourth and Russian Anastasiya Kirpichnikova fifth.

Titmus has done 8:15.57 this season and did not look dominant during her 200 m Free leg on the relay. Ledecky knows, however, that she has to put this event away well before the final 50 m, or risk another Titmus late rush.

The 200 m Backstroke semifinals saw a tight battle between Australian vet Emily Seebohm and the two American swimmers, Phoebe Bacon and Rhyan White. White got out fastest and was second to Bacon at the 100 m mark. But Seebohm picked it up on the third lap and moved into second at the final turn and dueled with Bacon to the final, getting the touch in 2:07.09 to 2:07.10. White was third in 2:07.28.

Semi two had Olympic favorite – and world leader – Kaylee McKeown, who trailed Canada’s 2019 Worlds bronze winner Kylie Masse until the 150 m mark, and then took over. But Masse came back and won in 2:07.82, with McKeown 0.11 back. China’s Yaxin Liu (CHN) was third in 2:08.65.

McKeown has the four fastest times in the world this year, but White, Bacon, Masse and Seebohm are all in the hunt for the medals, separated by less than a second on the 2021 world list.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Butterfly
Caeleb Dressel came in as the World Champion, owning seven of the top 10 marks of all time. He led the prelims in 50.39, equaling the Olympic Record, which didn’t last long.

In semifinal two, he took off as usual and challenged the world record before touching in 49.71, the third-fastest swim of all time and an Olympic Record. Noe Ponti (SUI) was second in 50.76.

Hungary’s Kristof Milak, winner of the 200 m Fly, won the first semi in 50.31, just 0.13 off his seasonal best. But neither he nor anyone else in field are a serious threat to Dressel. And his world record of 49.50 from 2019 could be in jeopardy.

● Swimming: 4×100 m Mixed Medley
This is a new event at the Games, but has been contested three times in the FINA World Championships, with Great Britain beating the U.S. in 2015, the U.S. beating Australia in 2017 and Australia beating the U.S., 3:39.08-3:39.10 in 2019.

Those are likely to be the contenders in Tokyo, but with other finals continuing, the question is who will swim? In the qualifying, Great Britain – with Adam Peaty and James Guy aboard – won heat one over the U.S. in an Olympic Record 3:38.75 to 3:41.02. China won the second semi over Australia, 3:42.29-3:42.35.

The U.S. strategy will be key? Where will Caeleb Dressel go: leading off in the Fly, or on anchor in the Free? Maybe Zach Apple, so great in the 4×100 m Free, on anchor? Which legs for the women: maybe Lydia Jacoby in the Backstroke?

Britain, Australia and the U.S. look like medalists, but who knows in which order.

● Tennis: Women
The women’s Singles title will be on the line with Elina Svitolina (UKR) and Elena Rybakina (KAZ) competing, and either will make history for their country as the first Olympic medal winners in this event.

Svitolina stands sixth in the WTA world rankings and Rybakina is 20th. Born in Russia, Rybakina switched to Kazakhstan in 2018 and has reached as far as quarterfinals of the French Open in 2021. Svitolina has been a Wimbledon and U.S. Open semifinalist, both in 2019, and won the WTA Finals in 2018.

The women’s bronze-medal match pits Belinda Bencic (SUI) and Marketa Vondrousova (CZE).

Bronze-medal matches will also be held on Saturday for the men’s Singles (Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. Pablo Carreno/ESP), the women’s Doubles and the Mixed Doubles.

● Triathlon: Mixed Relay
This is another new event for Tokyo and part of the IOC’s mixed-gender program, with 19 teams listed to start. This is a four-person event, in a true relay format on a shorter course.

This event has a long pedigree within the sport, with the International Triathlon Union has held a world championship since 2009. And in recent years, France has dominated.

Anchored by two-time World Champion Vincent Luis, the French squad won in 2018 ahead of Australia, in 2019 ahead of Germany and Australia and in 2020, beating the U.S. and Great Britain.

France has Luis on anchor, Australia has Jacob Birtwhistle, the U.S. has excellent women’s legs in Summer Rappoport and Katie Zaferes, and Kevin McDowell on anchor.

But the favorite – on paper – has to be Great Britain, with Worlds medal winner Jessica Learmonth and Olympic medalists Jonathan Brownlee and Alex Yee and World Champion Georgia Taylor-Brown. Wow!

Belgium and the Netherlands are medal possibilities, as is Spain with World Champions Mario Mola and Fernando Alarza on the men’s legs, but questions on the women’s side.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 81 kg and 96 kg
As in prior classes, China enters with the world-record holder and World Champion Xiaojun Lyu, who set the world 81 kg mark of 378 kg in 2019.

He’s the clear favorite, with five world titles: two at 77 kg – plus the London 2012 Olympic gold medal – and 2018 and 2019 at 81 kg.

Chile’s Arley Mendez won the 2017 world title at 85 kg and that year’s bronze medalist, Antonino Pizzolato is in the field. The 2019 bronze winner, Brayan Rodallegas (COL) is also in, as is the fourth placer, Rejepbay Rejepov (TKM)

American Harrison Maurus, 21, is the U.S. hope. He won the bronze medal in the 2017 Worlds as a teenager in the 77 kg class. He’s moved up in weight, but wants to be in the medal hunt.

In the 96 kg class, China does not have an entry and the favorite may well be Qatar’s Fares El Bakh, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist and the bronze medalist from 2017.

Also back is Georgia’s 2021 European Champion, Anton Pliesnol, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, and sixth-placer Boady Santavy (CAN), also fifth in the 2017 Worlds.

This is a thin field and opens the door for folks like Poland’s Bartlomiej Adamus, fourth in the 2021 European Championships, and Venezuela’s Keydomar Vallenilla, sixth in the 2018 Worlds and eighth in 2019.

= INTEL REPORT =

Some of Mexico’s teams have been having wardrobe issues.

The women’s softball team lost the bronze medal match to Canada, 3-2, and left Tokyo afterwards as required under the Olympic coronavirus regulations.

On Thursday, a Mexican boxer found the team’s uniforms in the trash in the Olympic Village. Brianda Tamara Cruz tweeted (in Spanish):

“This uniform represents years of effort, sacrifice, and tears. All Mexican athletes yearn to wear it with dignity, and today the Mexican softball team sadly left it all in the garbage of the Olympic villages.”

Why? Rolando Guerrero, head of the Mexican federation for softball, told TV Azteca:

“They had to make room in their luggage because for a softball team it’s not the same packing 33 bats, catchers’ equipment, game gear, three uniforms, and workout clothes … We won’t be going after anyone or responding or rebutting anything on social media. It was simply a matter of too much cargo.”

The Mexican Olympic Committee was upset, and while acknowledging that travel costs should not have been an issue, is considering disciplinary measures. Apparently the softballers did take some linens with them instead.

The men’s soccer team, which is in contention for medals, showed up for its opener against France with midfielder Erik Aguirre wearing a jersey on which the Mexico flag was embroidered upside down.

He got a corrected jersey for the second half, but the mix-up drew a lot of attention and may result in sanctions against the Mexican Olympic Committee or Chinese manufacturer Li-Ning. An ESPN report noted “Mexico has had issues with Chinese uniform brand Li-Ning, who is outfitting the team for the Tokyo Games, because the kit is not available for public purchase.”

Covid infections are up in Tokyo, with more than 3,000 cases identified in each of the last couple of days. The Olympic Village is at its peak, with both swimming and track & field now ongoing, so the numbers on Covid positives will be closely watched now.

The Tokyo 2020 report on Olympic-related infections showed the largest single-day total on 30 July at 27. Once again, the leading source was contractors – 15 – with four among “Games-concerned personnel,” three athletes, one journalist and four Tokyo 2020 volunteers. This brings the Games total go 220 through 30 July. Of these 110 are contractors (50.0%), 65 “Games-concerned personnel,” 23 athletes, 12 media and 10 Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 28 July:

● Athletes and team officials: 25 positives in 159,726 tests (0.02%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 47 positives in 186,648 tests (0.03%).

The infection rate at the Games continues to be small, but with 1,900 track & athletes in or on the way to Tokyo, these numbers will be closely watched.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reported one positive among 1,174 personnel in Tokyo on 29 July, the first positive since the 24th. Prior results: 1 in 1,038 athletes and officials on 24 July; 0 of 1,144 on 25 July, 0 of 1,172 delegates on 26 July, 0 of 1,175 on 27 July, and 0 of 1,214 for 28 July.

At the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals in Texas, the U.S. and Mexico won tight games to advance to yet another final against each other on Sunday.

The U.S. played Qatar scoreless through the half and all the way to the 86th minute, when Gyasi Zardes booted a Nick Gioacchini cross into the net for a 1-0 lead that stood up as the winner through five minutes of stoppage time.

Although the U.S. men had most of the possession in the game – 58-42% – the Qataris were the aggressors and tried 17 shots on goal to six. American keeper Matt Turner turned away two shots in the first 16 minutes that had real possibilities for Qatar and kept the U.S. in the game.

Mexico squeezed by Canada, 2-1, after taking a 1-0 lead at the half on a penalty kick – awarded after video review – by Orbelin Pineda in stoppage time at the end of the half, only to see the game tied by Tajon Buchanan at the 57-minute mark. The game looked like it was headed for extra time, but after 35 fouls in the game and a stoppage because of an anti-gay chant from Mexican fans created 15 minutes of stoppage time, Hector Herrera found the net at 90+9.

Mexico had 60% of the possession and a 14-9 edge in shots, but it took a late play to get to the Gold Cup final once again.

Mexico (8) and the U.S. (6) have won all but one of the 15 Gold Cup tournaments; the two have met in six finals, with Mexico winning five of the six, including 2019 by 1-0.

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TOKYO 2020/Thursday Review & Preview: Dressel supreme in 100 m Free, Finke stuns in 800 m Free; Lee takes women’s All-Around!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Five-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel (USA)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

NBC’s Tokyo primetime audience is far lower than in 2016 and you can read headlines like “The Tokyo Olympics are turning into NBC’s worst nightmare” but a more in-depth analysis shows that U.S. Olympic viewing is not as bad as all that.

So far, NBC’s total primetime audience has been steadily rebounding from very modest Opening Ceremony viewing last Friday:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million
● 27 July (Tue): 16.2 million

These numbers are for the “total audience” for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but way behind the 27.5 million average primetime audience for Rio in 2016, when events were live in U.S. time zones.

However, NBC notes that the Tokyo “Total Audience Delivery” primetime average of 17.5 million viewers through Tuesday night is on pace “to rank with NBC’s Sunday Night Football as the two most-watched primetime shows in 2020-21.”

The trade magazine Adweek reported that while NBC is preparing to offer bonus advertising – known as “makegoods” – to deliver the total audience promised to advertisers, the overall viewership decline is not as severe as the primetime ratings might indicate.

NBC’s advertiser audience guarantees are based on the total amount of viewership of the Games and this includes a mammoth amount of online streaming, which is way up from prior Games. Per the report:

“While the company will be on the hook for makegoods to advertisers, and those conversations are already underway, the gap isn’t as major as the one-third primetime ratings drops, and is within the same 15-20% range as other sports events, said a source for NBCUniversal.”

Adweek’s reporting is that the Olympic ratings – at least so far – are unlikely to impact the profitability of the Games for NBC. The network is reported to have sold $1.2 billion in ads for the postponed Games, after selling $1.25 billion for the event in 2020.

(This is crucial for NBC, the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, whose finances are strongly tied to NBC’s commitment to the Games through 2032. In 2011, NBC agreed to a $4.38 billion contract for the 2014-20 games, then extended for 2022-32 via a $7.75 billion contract in 2014.)

It is worth remembering that the 2021 Academy Awards audience was down to 9.2 million in 2021 – an all-time low – and the 2020 World Series had a record-low average of 9.6 million viewers on Fox. Even the NFL’s Super Bowl had a 14-year low, but still drew 96.4 million viewers in February.

The Tokyo Games has reached the one-third post, with 112 of 339 events (33%) completed. The current medals leaders:

1. 38: United States (14-14-10) /corrected/
2. 31: China (15-7-9)
3. 28: Russian Olympic Committee (8-11-9)
4. 25: Japan (15-4-6)
5. 20: Australia (8-2-10)

So far, 66 countries have won at least one medal.

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. 439.5 United States
2. 333.0 China
3. 291.0 Russian Olympic Committee
4. 287.0 Japan
5. 238.0 Great Britain
6. 235.0 Italy
7. 200.5 Australia
8. 175.5 France
9. 164.5 Netherlands
10. 155.5 Germany
11. 141.0 Korea
12. 126.0 Canada

Another interesting measure of this tally is the number of top-8 finishers produced by each country. Thus far, the U.S. has 79 placements across 112 events (wow!), compared with 53 for China, 52 for the Russian Olympic Committee and 47 for Japan.

The weather continues hot and winds as a factor due to Tropical Storm Nepartak. Tennis players have complained about the heat, which reached a “feels-like’ level of 99 F on Thursday and matches have been moved to 3 p.m. and later to avoid the mid-day roasting.

Asked by the umpire if he could continue during his Thursday match against Spain’s Pablo Carreno, Russian Daniil Medvedev said he could, but that might die! He ended up losing, 6-2, 7-6.

The forecast is for heat and some rain:

● 30 July (Fri.): 85 F high, 75 F low and thunderstorms
● 31 July (Sat.): 90 F ~ 74 F and sunny
● 01 Aug. (Sun.): 89 F ~ 77 F and some thunderstorms
● 02 Aug. (Mon.): 89 F ~ 78 F and some thunderstorms
● 03 Aug. (Tue.): 90 F ~ 77 F and some thunderstorms
● 04 Aug. (Wed.): 91 F ~ 77 F and some thunderstorms

Additional heat precautions are being taken, but it’s an issue for athletes and the public alike.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: THURSDAY, 29 JULY =

● Canoeing: Women’s Slalom C-1
No mistakes for Australia’s Jessica Fox, which means she was the runaway winner of the first-ever women’s C-1, timing 105.04 seconds, more than three-and-a-half seconds clear of the field.

Fox’s hopes for gold in the K-1 were dashed by two penalties, but she maneuvered through the course without being penalized for her first Olympic gold after three other medals in the K-1.

Behind her came 2017 World Champion Mallory Franklin (GBR: 106.68 with 2 penalties) and German Andrea Herzog, the reigning World Champion (109.13, also 2 penalties). Franklin was faster on the clock, but the penalties moved her to silver.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Foil
After American Lee Keifer upset Russia’s Inna Deriglazova in the women’s Foil final, naturally the two teams had to meet up in the Team Foil event, in the semifinals.

Deriglazova defeated Nicole Ross, 5-1 and Jackie Dubrovich, 8-4, while Kiefer stomped Adelina Zagidullina, 9-4 and Larisa Korobeynikova, 6-4 before the two stars met in the final match. Russia was in control by 39-36 at that point and Deriglaziva and Kiefer dueled to a 6-6 tie and Russia won the match by 45-42.

That put Russia into the final against France, a much easier task as the Russians took the gold with a 45-34 win. It’s Russia’s second gold in the last three times the event has taken place.

The U.S. advanced to the bronze-medal final, but was waxed by 2019 Worlds silver medalists Italy, 45-23. The Italians won all but one match and collected the third-place medal.

● Gymnastics: Women’s All-Around
With Simone Biles out, the qualifying scores said the medals should come down to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, Suni Lee of the U.S. and Angelina Melnikova of Russia. That’s exactly what happened.

● Andrade took the lead on Vault, scoring 15.300 to 15.200 for American Jade Carey, with Lee fourth at 14.600.

● On Bars, Belgian star Nina Derwael was expected to win and posted an excellent 15.266 score. But Lee was better and won the event at 15.300 to move closer to Andrade, who posted a 14.666 total, only fifth best in the rotation. After two: Andrade, 29.966; Lee, 29.900; Melnikova, 29.533.

● On Beam, Russia’s Vladislava Urazova had the best score at 14.200, trailed by Lee at 13.833, who took the lead from Andrade, fourth at 13.666, just behind Melnikova (13.700). Scores: Lee, 43.733; Andrade, 43.632; Melnikova, 43.233.

● On Floor, Melnikova went third, Andrade fourth, Lee fifth and Carey sixth. Melnikova scored 13.966 and was followed by Lee with a good score of 13.666. That brought up Andrade, who needed 13.768 or more to win. But she stepped out twice on an otherwise strong routine and scored 13.666 to finish at 57.298 to Lee’s 57.433 and a fifth straight All-Around win for U.S. women, going back to 2004.

Carey finished at 13.966 to tie Melnikova for the best score.

Melnikova won the bronze at 57.199 and Urazova wad fourth at 56.966. Carey was eighth at 54.199. It climaxed a remarkable rise for Lee, 18, who emerged only in 2019 and placed eighth in the All-Around at the World Championships, but won individual medals on Floor (silver) and Bars (bronze). The delay from 2020 to 2021 was clearly a help for her development, not only on skills, but also for poise. She was solid.

Andrade zoomed from 11th in the Rio All-Around to the silver medal and Brazil’s first-ever medal in Olympic women’s gymnastics.

● Judo: Women’s 78 kg and Men’s 100 kg
Japan continued its march through the 2020 Olympic tournament with Shori Hamada and Aaron Wolf both winning their classes in spectacular fashion.

Hamada, the 2019 Worlds runner-up, crushed her first three opponents by ippon in 2:32. 2:38 and 1:23 before facing 2019 World Champion Madeleine Malonga (FRA) in the final.

No problem, and Hamada overpowered Malonga and won her fourth straight match by ippon in just 1:09. Her total mat time on the way to the gold medal was just 7:42. Wow!

In the bronze-medal matches, Wagner – the 2021 World Champion – defeated Kaliema Antomarchi (CUB) by waza-ari and Brazil’s Mayra Aguiar ipponed Hyunji Yoon (KOR).

In the men’s 100 kg class, it wasn’t clear that 2017 World Champion Wolf – American dad, Japanese mom – was Japan’s best selection for this weight, but he left no doubt.

Wolf won his first two matches in 1:23 (ippon) and 4:00 (waza-ari) before meeting Georgia’s Varlam Liparteliani, a three-time Worlds medalist. Wolf had defeated him in the 2017 Worlds final and did so again, by waza-ari, in 4:00. That sent him to the final against Korea’s 2018 World Champion, Gu-Ham Cho.

This was a classic and went into overtime. It took 9:35 all together Wolf to find the winning attack and won by ippon to take the gold medal, Japan’s fifth in six men’s classes at these Games. It was Japan’s first win in the 100 kg class since 2000.

Portugal’s Jorge Fonseca defeated Shady Elnahas (CAN) for one bronze medal and Russian Niiaz Iliasov beat Liparteliani for the other.

● Rowing: Women’s Pair-Lightweight Double Sculls
In the women’s Pair, it ended as expected with Grace Pendergast and Kerri Gowler (NZL) crossing first in 6:50.19, slower than their world-best performance in the semis, but still an impressive win by 1.26 seconds over a surprising Russia.

Vasilisa Stepanova and Elena Oriabinskaia started in the middle of the pack, but worked their way up to third by the 1,500 m mark and then to the silver medal at the finish, passing Canada’s Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens, the early leaders.

In the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls, Marieke Keijser and Ilse Paulis had the lead by halfway and looked like possible winners at the 1,500 m mark. But they were passed by Italy’s Valentina Rodini and Federica Cesarini, who ended up winning in 6:47.54, just 14/100ths ahead of the fastest closers of all, France’s Laura Tarantola and Claire Bove.

Keijser and Rodini were not on the form charts as favorites beforehand, but had the a world’s best time in the semis and had more in the tank than anyone else over the back half of the race.

It was Italy’s first-ever Olympic medal in this event.

● Rowing: Men’s Pair-Lightweight Double Sculls
Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic are now among the rowing immortals, winning the men’s Pair in Tokyo after taking the men’s Double Sculls in Rio!

It wasn’t that close, as they grabbed the lead from the start and went wire-to-wire, claiming a 1.29 second win over the 2018 Worlds silver medalists, Marius Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosa (ROM), who started slowly, then took second just after the 1,000 m.

Denmark and Canada were third and fourth, 4.59 and 5.14 seconds behind the winners.

The men’s Lightweight Double Sculls figured to be the property of Ireland’s World Champion Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy and it was, barely. They grabbed the lead from Germany’s Jonathan Rommelmann and Jason Osborne – the 2019 Worlds bronze medalists – only in the second half of the race and held on for an 0.86-second win.

That was a move up from silver to gold for O’Donovan, who had been the silver medalist with his brother Gary in Rio.

Rommelmann and Osborne won Germany’s first-ever Olympic medal in the event. Italy’s Stefano Oppo and Pietro Ruta were third, 7.87 seconds behind the winners.

● Shooting: Men’s Trap-Women’s Trap
Considered carefully, the concentration, precision and marksmanship in this sport is almost unthinkable. So even after 60 shots in the men’s Trap final between Czechs Jiri Liptak and David Kostelecky, more were needed.

Both shot 43/50, with Liptak hitting 20 of his last 21 targets to pull even. The tie required a shoot-off and Liptak won that one close, 7-6, to clinch the gold medal. At 39, Liptak had been 18th in London in 2012 but did have two Worlds bronze medals to his credit before Tokyo.

Kostelecky, 46 won his second Olympic medal after winning in 2008 and finishing fourth in Rio.

Britain’s Matthew Coward Holley finished third at 33.

The women’s Trap was similarly dramatic, with American Kayle Browning – who had a best World Championships finish of 11th coming in – getting off to a rough start, missing three of her first four targets. But then she hit 19 in a row to begin eliminating others. After 17 hits in her first 20, she had 24 out of 30, but barely in it. Then she hit 10 straight targets and was in the gold-medal final.

There, she faced Olympic 2008-12 silver medalist Zuzana Stefecekova (SVK) and both had 34 hits. Browning hit three of her first five targets, but Stefecekova hit four. In the final set, both hit all five and Stefecekova had an Olympic Record for hits and a 43-42 win for her third Olympic medal.

Browning won the first silver by the U.S. in this event after bronzes by Corey Cogdell in 2008 and 2016.

● Swimming: Women’s 200 m Butterfly-4×200 m Freestyle
China’s world leader Yufei Zhang took it out immediately, leading Americans Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger at the first turn. Zhang was ahead of world-record pace at the 100 m, but Flickinger started gaining on the third lap and was 1.34 seconds behind at the last flip.

Zhang did not tire enough to lose the lead and won in an Olympic Record 2:03.86, the no. 3 performance in history; the top two were both set in the plastic-suit era in 2009.

Smith came on hard in the final 15 m to just edge Flickinger, 2:05.30 to 2:05.65, with Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas fourth in 2:06.53. Two more medals for the U.S. and Smith and Flickinger are now nos. 2-3 in U.S. history.

Australia entered as a huge favorite in the 4×200 m Free and expected to shatter the world record; after all, they led the qualifying at 7:44.61, with the U.S. second at 7:47.57.

Titmus led off, but Junxuan Yang (CHN) touched first in 1:54.37-1:54.51 – what? – then Emma McKeon took over on the second leg and had the lead briefly, but Muhan Tang (1:55.00) regained command at the change. Something was definitely going on here, with Titmus and McKeon unable to claim the lead. Paige Madden kept the U.S. in contact in third.

Aussie Madison Wilson got the lead again on the third leg over China, with Katie McLaughlin keeping the U.S. in medal contention, just ahead of Canada. But Yufei Zhang – who had just finished the 200 m Medley medal ceremony – touched first.

Now China was leading, Australia had its weakest leg in Leah Neale and Katie Ledecky was in the water as the U.S. anchor and smelling blood. She couldn’t catch Bingje Li (1:55.30), but she charged after Neale. Ledecky was second by the end of her third lap and moved in Li, only to fall short, but with the fastest split of the race in a sensational 1:53.76.

China was the one to smash Australia’s world record from the 2019 World Championships, finishing in 7:40.33 (vs. 7:41.50), with the U.S. setting an American Record of 7:40.73 and Australia third in 7:41.29, also ahead of the old world mark and setting a national record.

This was an important race for China to confirm that they can compete with anyone in the pool and they will be coming in future years. For the U.S., it was their 21st swimming medal of the meet to 12 for Australia and four each for four others, including China. And the meet isn’t done yet.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Free-800 m Free-200 m Breast
The sensational 47.11 semifinal win by Russian Kliment Kolesnikov scared everyone in the field except American Caeleb Dressel. The 2017 and 2019 World Champion and no. 3 all-time at 46.96, Dressel exploded off the blocks, had the second-fastest reaction time and got up and swimming before everyone else, leading by a meter halfway through the first lap.

Dressel never let up, turning first in 22.39 and maintaining his lead over Kolesnikov (22.49) right through the second lap. Australia’s Rio winner Kyle Chalmers made a charge over the last 25 m, but Dressel found a little extra in the final 10 m to win by daylight in 47.02, fastest in the world this year and the no. 4 performance of all time.

Chalmers powered home second in 47.08, equaling his lifetime best, the no. 7 performance ever. Kolesnikov faded to third in 47.44, with Maxime Grousset (FRA) fourth in 47.72.

Dressel was hooked up to his family’s watch party back home by NBC and was overcome with emotion. This was his first individual Olympic gold after three in relays, including one in Tokyo. He still has the 50 m Free, the 100 m Fly and a couple more relays ahead of him and more chances to see his family afterwards.

The first-ever men’s 800 m in Olympic history started with a familiar sight for distance fans, with the Rio 1,500 m gold medalist, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, in the lead. Swimming in lane eight, he had more than a second on American Record-setter Bobby Finke at the halfway mark.

Then the race changed, with German open-water star Florian Wellbrock and Ukraine’s two-time Worlds 1,500 m medalist Mykhailo Romanchuk moving to 2-3, and Finke dropping to fifth. With four laps to go, Paltrinieri and Romanchuk were only 0.45 apart, and then Paltrinieri, Wellbrock and Romanchuk were all close, with Wellbrock taking the lead on the last turn.

Coming home, it looked like Wellbrock, Romanchuk and Paltrinieri were the medalists, but then Finke came on from fifth and cut in another gear to pass everyone in the final 15 m and touched the wall first in 7:41.87, smashing the American Record again!

Paltrinieri finished second in 7:42.11 and Romanchuk claimed the bronze in 7:42.33, with Wellbrock fourth in 7:42.68. For Finke, 21, he’s not done, as the 1,500 m Free is still to come!

In the men’s 200 m Breaststroke final, Dutch star Arno Kamminga took it out from the start, was ahead of world-record pace after 100 m (60.09), and led Finn Matti Mattison at the final turn.

But as Kamminga decelerated on the final lap, Australian Zac Stubblety-Cook – the 2021 world leader – came hard in the final 25 m and got to the lead in the final 12 m to win in an Olympic Record of 2:06.38, just 0.10 slower than his world-leading mark from the Australian Trials.

Even slowing badly in the final 25 m, Kamminga held on for second (2:07.01) and Mattson held on for third (2:07.13), shunting world-record holder Anton Chupkov (ROC) to fourth (2:07.24).

American Nic Fink finished fifth (2:07.93).

● Table Tennis : Women’s Singles
Top-seed Meng Chen of China came through with her first individual world title by defeating teammate (and second seed) Yingsha Sun, 4-2 in the final. Chen had won three World Championships gold, all in team events and won silvers in the 2018 Asian Games and 2019 Worlds singles finals.

But her win extended China’s streak of winning this event to all nine Olympics in which it has been contested.

Japan picked up another medal as Mima Ito took the bronze with a 4-1 win over Singapore’s Mengyu Yu.

Elsewhere:

● Team/Beach Volleyball: The U.S. team of Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser won their third match in pool play, defeating Julian Azaad and Nicholas Capogrosso (ARG) by 21-19, 18-21, 15-6 to finish 2-1. Brazil, Netherlands and the U.S. all finished at 2-1 (Argentina at 0-3), but the U.S. ranked third on the sets won-sets lost tiebreaker. As a third-place team, the Lucena and Dalhausser could qualify for the playoffs, but this will depend on the results of the other pools.

The U.S. women’s duo of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil went to 2-0 by beating Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Khadambi of Kenya, 21-8 and 21-6. The group title will be decided on the 31st as the Americans face Brazilian stars Ana Patricia and Rebecca, also 2-0.

● Team/Rugby Sevens: The U.S. women zoomed into the quarterfinals in Tokyo with pool-play wins over China (28-14) and Japan (17-7). Australia is also 2-0 and will meet the U.S. for the pool title on the 30th.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. rebounded from their loss to ROC (Russia) with a 25-14, 23-25, 25-14, 25-23 win over Tunisia in Pool B to go to 2-1. Next up is Brazil, also 2-1, on the 30th.

On Thursday, the U.S. women moved to 3-0 with a tough win over Turkey in five sets: 25-19, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 15-12. Jordan Thompson led the U.S. with 15 points and the win propels the U.S. into the quarterfinals, regardless of its other matches against Russia (2-1) or Italy (3-0).

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. lost to Italy, 12-11, in a Group A game that leaves the American men at 2-1 and in fourth place – the last qualifying spot for the playoffs – with two games left against Hungary (2-1) and Greece (2-0-1).

= PREVIEWS: FRIDAY, 30 JULY =
(21 events across 13 sports)

● Archery: Women
Korea dominated the Ranking Round, going 1-2-3 with San An, Min-Hee Jang and Chae-Young Kang and winning the Women’s Team title easily. Korean archers have won this event twice in a row and eight of the last nine times in the Games.

However, stuff happens. A Korean archer has won the World Championship title only once in the last five editions. Dane Maya Jager won in 2013, Russian Ksenia Perova in 2017 and Taipei’s Chien-Ying Lei won in 2019.

Kang was already eliminated in the round of 32 by Japan’s Miki Nakamura, 6-2. Beyond the former World Champions, look for India’s Deepika Kumari, American Mackenzie Brown, China’s Jiaxin Wu and Russian Elena Osipova as possible medal candidates.

● Athletics: Men’s 10,000 m
Track & Field finally get underway on Friday with a full schedule, but only one final: the men’s 10,000 m at 8:40 p.m., with 25 starters.

The two-time winner Mo Farah (GBR) is not in Tokyo, but the world-record holder, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei (26:11.00 in 2020) is. But that mark was set in a staged race and although he was the 2019 Commonwealth Games and World Champion, he may not have the best finishing speed if the race descends into a kicker’s sprint.

Cheptegei’s teammate, Jacob Kiplimo is also highly capable and is the world leader at 26:33.93 in Ostrava in May. Will the two work together?

They will be opposed by an East African phalanx including Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, Yomif Kejelcha and Berihu Aregawi who went 1-2-3 in the national Trials (held in the Netherlands this year!) in 26:49.51, 26:49.73 and 26:50.37. Kenya lost Geoffrey Kamworer (27:01.06 at altitude!) to injury, but is still dangerous with Rhonex Kipruto (26:50.16 in 2019), Rodgers Kwemoi and Weldon Langat.

If the race is slow enough to favor the kickers, Canada’s Mo Ahmed (26:59.35 in 2019), Marc Scott (GBR:27:10.41), Americans Woody Kincaid (27:12.78) and Grant Fisher (27:11.29) and maybe even Eritrea’s Aron Kifle (27:09.92 in 2017) could all be factors for medals.

Even with the great new shoes, someone still has to run in them.

American Sam Kendricks, the reigning World Champion and Rio bronze medalist in the men’s vault, tested positive for the coronavirus in Tokyo and will not be able to compete at the Games, imploding what would have another great match-up with Swede Mondo Duplantis. The replacement could be Matt Ludwig, if he can get to Tokyo in time; vault qualifying is on Sunday.

● Badminton: Mixed Doubles
China has dominated badminton almost everywhere, but has “only won” three of the six golds in this event since it was introduced in 1996. But it will win in 2021 as two Chinese pairs will face off in the finals, the third such occurrence at the Games.

Siwei Zheng and Yaqiong Huang will face off against Yilyu Wang and Dongping Huang in the final, with Zheng and Huang the reigning World Champions from 2018 and 2019, with Wang and Huang the 2019 bronze medalists.

Japan’s 2019 Worlds bronze medalists Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino will favorites in their bronze-medal match against Hong Kong’s Chun Man Tang and Ying Suet Tse.

● Canoe-Kayak: Men’s Slalom K-1
Three-time World Champion and Rio 2016 bronze medalist Jiri Prskavec (CZE) is the favorite, with enormous experience and savvy, including a big win at the ICF World Cup in Prague last June.

Chasing him will be 2019 Worlds runner-up David Llorente of Spain, 2018 World Champion Hannes Aigner (GER), Russian bronze winner Pavel Eigel, and two-time World Champion Peter Kauzer (SLO).

Surprises? How about from Jakub Grigar (SVK), fifth in Rio, or 2014 World Champion Boris Neveu (FRA) or even American Michal Smollen, the 2015 Worlds bronze medalist.

● Cycling: Men’s and Women’s BMX
The men’s quarterfinal winners were Sylvain Andre (FRA), Niek Kimmann (NED), Joris Daudet (FRA) and American Connor Fields, all capable of winning the whole thing. Andre was the 2018 World Champion, Daudet was World Champion in 2011 and 2016; Kimmann won in 2015 and was runner-up in 2019 and Fields is the reigning Olympic Champion.

That’s four riders for three medals, but there are other challengers, including 2015 World Champion Corben Sharrah of the U.S., 2019 Worlds gold medalist Twan van Gendt (NED), Colombia’s Carlos Ramirez and Britain’s Kye Whyte.

The women’s BMX quarters had familiar names like Mariana Pajon (COL), Laura Smulders (NED) and American Alise Willoughby, and also third-race winner Bethany Scriever (GBR).

Pajon is a three-time World Champion and the Rio 2016 gold medalist, Smulders won the world title in 2018 and was second in 2019; Willoughby is the reigning World Champion from 2019 and runner-up in Rio in 2016.

They will be challenged Dutch Worlds bronze medalist Judy Baauw, Russian Natalie Afremova and Aussie Saya Sakakibara. American Felicia Stancil and Dane Simone Christiansen have both been steady riders on the World Cup circuit, but not international championship medal winners … yet.

● Fencing: Men’s Team Epee
France and Switzerland have dominated this event at the World Championships level, going 1-2 in 2017, the Swiss winning in 2018 and 1-3 in 2019. With Romain Cannone as Olympic Champion in the individual event in Tokyo, surely the French – defending golds medalists from Rio – start as favorites.

The Swiss, led by Max Heinzer, are prime contenders, as are Italy with Enrico Garozzo from the Rio Team silver medalists, Korea, Russia and Ukraine. The U.S., with Jacob Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez, are considered long-shots.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Trampoline
This will be the sixth time for this event in the Games and Rosie MacLennan of Canada will be going for her third straight win.

She beat out Britain’s Bryony Page in Rio and she is also back, along with China’s 2014 World Champion Lingling Liu (CHN), 2019 World Champion Hikaru Mori (JPN) and 2018 Worlds runner-up Xueying Zhu (CHN).

MacLennan was the bronze medalist in 2019 and appears to be ready to go. American Nicole Ahsinger is considered a long-shot for a medal.

● Judo: Men’s +100 kg
Teddy Riner.

France’s 32-year-old, 6-8 superstar is the two-time defending Olympic Champion and a 10-time World Champion. After winning in Rio, he won both the +100 kg world title and the Open Weight world title and then laid low. He won 154 straight from 2010-20. He decided to come back for Tokyo and more history and qualified easily to get into the field. Is he rusty, or the well-known icon?

He will have plenty of challengers, however, such as 2019 World Champion Lukas Krpalek (CZE), who moved up from 100 kg, where he was Rio gold medalist and the 2014 World Champion. Japan’s Hisayoshi Harasawa was the Rio silver medalist to Riner and the 2019 Worlds runner-up to Krpalek. Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili won the 2017 World title, with Ushangi Kokauri (AZE) second and Mongolia’s Duurenbayar Ulziibayar third.

Also in the field is 2021 Worlds silver medalist Tamerlan Bashaev of Russia and back from the Rio medal stand are bronze medalists Brazil’s Rafael Silva and Israel’s Or Sasson.

This is about Riner, and history.

● Judo: Women’s +78 kg
The women’s +78 class starts with Japan’s Akira Sone, the 2019 World Champion, who defeated Cuba’s 2012 Olympic champ and two-time World Champion Idalys Ortiz in the final; bronze medalists Larisa Ceric (BIH) and Turkey’s Kayra Sayit are also in. The 2021 Worlds bronze winner Maria Seulen Altheman (BRA) is the only current-year medalist in the field.

These medal winners will face third-ranked Iryna Kindzerska (AZE) and France’s sixth-ranked Romane Dicko, among others. Japan has only won this class in the Games once, in 2004, and is primed for a victory to finish a brilliant tournament.

● Rowing: Men’s Single Sculls-Eights
New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale was one of the stars of the 2012 and 2016 Games, winning this race twice; over three-time medalist Ondrej Synek (CZE) in London and Damir Martin (CRO) and Synek in Rio.

Drysdale has retired and Jordan Perry has replaced him; Synek is home, but Martin is back and looking to move up on the podum.

But the favorite’s role might be with World Champions like Oliver Zeidler (GER: 2019) or Norway’s Kjetil Borch (2018); Borch was also the bronze medalist in 2019.

Obvious challengers include 2018 bronze winner Mindaugas Girskonis (LTU) and 2019 runner-up Sverri Nielsen (DEN). Borch, Nielsen, Martin and Zeidler won the quarterfinals and looked impressive.

The men’s Eights has Great Britain as defending champion, holding off Germany in Rio, after the Germans won in London. Going into Tokyo, the Germans are riding a streak of three straight World Championship golds, beating the U.S. and Italy in 2017, Australia and the British in 2018 and the Netherlands and the British in 2019.

In the heats, Germany and the U.S. were 1-2 in the first race and the Netherlands beat New Zealand in the second heat with Great Britain third. All five are in the final, but the race appears to be for second.

● Rowing: Women’s Single Sculls-Eights
You know the women’s Single Sculls is a tough event with reigning World Champion Sanita Purpure (IRL) can’t make the medal final.

She finished fifth in the first semifinal, held Thursday morning, and won by Russia’s 2021 European Champion Hanna Prakatsen, ahead of Swiss Jeannine Gmelin, the 2017 World Champion.

New Zealand’s Emma Twigg won the second semi, almost five seconds ahead of Britain’s 2016 Olympic Double Sculls silver medalist Victoria Thornley and Worlds two-time bronze medalist Magdalena Lobnig (AUT).

Twigg, now 34, has vast experience, was the 2014 World Champion and won Worlds medals each available year from 2010-14. She left the sport for a couple of years after Rio, but won the 2019 Worlds silver and looks to be the favorite for a gold to crown her career.

The women’s Eight has been owned by the United States, winning of this showcase event in 2008-12-16. But Romania won at the 2017 World Championships as the U.S. re-tooled, with Canada and New Zealand taking the other medals.

The American re-fit got done quickly and the U.S. won the world title in 2018 over Canada with Australia third. In 2019, it was New Zealand winning the Worlds, over Australia and the U.S.

New Zealand won its heat in a very tight finish with Canada, 6:05.65-6:05.97 and the U.S. won heat two in 6:08.69, ahead of Romania (6:09.95). Then in the repechage, Romania pulled a stunner, not only winning, but riding good winds to a 5:52.99 timing, a world best!

The conditions will be the same for everyone in the final and the top four in the heats: New Zealand, Canada, the U.S. and Romania, will fight for three medals? Four in a row for the Stars & Stripes?

● Shooting: Women’s 25 m Pistol
This is a two-part competition, including a precision segment and a rapid-fire segment. Greece’s Anna Korakaki returns as the Rio gold medalist, but Ukraine’s Olena Kostevych and Russia’s Vitalina Batsarashkina won gold and silver at the 2018 World Championships.

Through the precision section, Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic – the 2010 World Championships silver medalist – was the leader (296/300), followed by Korakaki (294) and Bulgaria’s Antoaneta Kostadinova, the eighth-place finisher in Rio (293).

Batsarashkina (292), 2021 ISSF World Cup medal winner Mahu Bhaker (IND) and Kostevych were all at 292. Only the top eight from 44 starters qualify for the final. Americans Lexi Lagan and Sandra Uptagrafft were 21st and 24th (both 288) after the first round.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Free-200 m Breast
The women’s 100 m Free was expected to be a showcase for Australia, but Siobhan Haughey – the 200 m Free silver medalist – won the first semifinal over Aussie star Cate Campbell, 52.40-52.71, the no. 4 performance of the year. Rio co-champion Penny Oleksiak (CAN) was third in 52.86.

World leader and Olympic favorite Emma McKeon headlined the second semi and had the lead at the turn, with Britain’s Anna Hopkin second. McKeon was smooth coming home and won the heat in 52.32, the no. 3 performance of 2021. A close finish behind her saw Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom finish second (52.82), American Abbey Weitzeil got a lifetime best of 52.99 for third and Hopkin was fourth (53.11). American Erika Brown was seventh in 53.58.

McKeon is the clear favorite, but does Haughey have a surprise in store? Can Oleksiak duplicate her Rio magic? And what about Campbell: 1st-3rd-2nd in the 2013-15-19 World Championships but only sixth as the favorite in Rio in 2016.

Australia has not won this event at the Games since 2004.

South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, the 100 m Breast silver winner, set an Olympic Record of 2:19.16 in the women’s 200 m Breaststroke heats, the fastest time in the world in 2021.

American Lilly King and Britain’s Molly Renshaw had the lead for most of the first semifinal, but they were both passed in the last 10 m by South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett in a lifetime best of 2:22.08. King was second in 2:22.27 and Renshaw third in 2:22.70.

Schoenmaker grabbed the lead right away in the second semi, with 16-year-old Evgeniia Chikunova (ROC) second at the half. Schoenmaker pushed right to the end and finished in 2:19.33, the second-fastest performance in history!

Chikunova came in second in 2:20.57, second on the 2021 world list behind Schoenmaker and American Annie Lazor charged to third on the final lap, finishing in 2:21.94, third-best of the prelims.

Schoenmaker looks unbeatable and the world record – 2:19.11 – is in danger. Chikunova, Lazor, Corbett and King qualified 2-3-4-5 and will fight for the other medals.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Back-200 m Medley
Defending Olympic champ Ryan Murphy was in the second semifinal, but Britain’s Luke Greenbank took the early lead, followed by Murphy at the 100 m mark and Murphy and American Bryce Mefford at 150 m.

Greenbank, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist in this event, maintained a small lead over what appeared to be a relaxed Murphy to the wall, 1:54.98-1:55.38. Nicolas Garcia (ESP) was third in 1:56.35 with Mefford fourth in 1:56.37 and easily into the final.

Russia’s Evgeny Rylov, already the 100 m Back gold medalist, won semi one comfortably in the no. 5 performance of 2021 in 1:54.45, easily ahead of Adam Telegdy (1:56.19) and Radoslaw Kawecki (POL: 1:56.68).

The U.S. has won this race in six straight Games, including Murphy in 2016, but Rylov is the favorite to add the 200 m to his 100 m triumph. Murphy and Greenbank look like the other medal winners.

Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, the two-time Olympic medalist in the 200 m Medley, led for most of the race, but Japan’s Daiya Seto – the 2019 World Champion – came on after the final turn to lead heading home in the first semifinal. He faded slightly and was passed by Britain’s Duncan Scott – silver medalist in the 200 m Free – for the win in 1:56.69-1:56.86.

Swiss Jeremy Desplanches was third (1:57.38), with Cseh fourth (1:57.64). The shocker was American Chase Kalisz – the 400 m Medley winner – finished sixth (1:58.03) and did not qualify for the final.

World leader Michael Andrew got off like a shot in semi two, leading big on the first three legs, and then faded again on the Freestyle, leaving the win to China’s Shun Wang, 1:56.22-1:57.08. Japan’s Kosuke Hagino was third (1:57.47).

Andrew has three of the four fastest times in the world in 2021 and will be leading at the final turn. If he can hang on during the Freestyle leg, he will win. But Scott, Wang and Seto will all be gunning for him.

● Table Tennis: Men’s Singles
Very little doubt that China would dominate this event, as it has won the last three titles and five of the last six. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Long Ma – Rio in Singles, London and Rio in Team – is back for another shot at the gold medal, making it to the final against countryman Zhendong Fan.

Ma, 32, has been at the top for a while and is the 2015-17-19 World Champion. Fan, 24, has been coming on, winning the 2017 Worlds silver and a 2015 Worlds bronze.

Top-seeded Fan has charged through the bracket with 4-0, 4-1 and 4-0 wins until he got to the semis against Taipei’s Yun-Ju Lin, and then had to work for a 4-3 victory to advance to the final. Ma, the second seed, won his matches by 4-1, 4-1 and 4-1 and then faced 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Dmitrij Ovtcharov (GER) and had to fight for a 4-3 win as well.

Ovtcharov and Lin will meet for the bronze medal.

● Tennis: Men’s Doubles
Tokyo’s first tennis final will be an all-Croatian affair, with top-seeded Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic facing Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig.

Mektic and Pavic are fresh from their Wimbledon title; Pavic has won Doubles titles with other partners at the 2018 Australian open and 2020 U.S. Open. Dodig also has two wins in majors, with other partners, at the 2015 French and 2021 Australian; Cilic is better known as a Singles player, having won the 2014 U.S. Open and reached the finals of Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018, losing both times to Roger Federer.

Regardless of who wins, this will be Croatia’s first gold and silver in tennis; it has previously won three bronzes.

The bronze-medal match will feature Americans Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren against Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus of New Zealand.

= INTEL REPORT =

Doping has been a major issue in Olympic sport for decades and the Athletics Integrity Unit slammed the door hard on seven countries on Wednesday by disqualifying 20 athletes from seven countries for “not meeting the minimum testing requirements.”

This included 10 athletes from Nigeria, three from Belarus and Ukraine, two from Kenya and one each from Ethiopia and Morocco, countries which were identified as “high-risk” for doping. Under this classification, “an athlete from a ‘Category A’ country must undergo at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests (urine and blood) conducted no less than 3 weeks apart in the 10 months leading up to a major event. Only then do they become eligible to represent their national team at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games.”

The names of the impacted athletes to be removed were not provided.

Mishaps in the management of the Olympic cycling competitions have come under scrutiny after BMX star Niek Kimmann (NED) hit an official trying to cross the track area during a warm-up run and both went to the ground. Kimmann wrote on Twitter that his knee hurt but that he was going to compete.

On Wednesday, a security official at the Fuji International Speedway pulled World Champion Anna van der Breggen (NED) from the track while a security sweep was underway prior to the time trial events. The guard did not know that van der Breggen was a competitor and she went down, but was unhurt.

Greek journalist Dimosthenis Karmiris, working as a guest television commentator for ERT has been fired for racist comments during the match between Korea’s Jeoung Young-Sik and Panagiotis Gionis of Greece in men’s table tennis.

The Associated Press reported that Karmiris said of the Korean players, “their eyes are narrow so I can’t understand how they can see the ball moving back and forth.” He was fired shortly afterwards.

The Tokyo organizers announced the largest positives day so far for Covid-19 among Olympic-related personnel. A total of 24 positives were noted, with 15 among contractors, always the largest group and one which is not completely sequestered as the athletes and other officials are.

The total through 29 July is 193: 95 contractors (47.7%), 61 “Games-concerned personnel,” 20 athletes, 11 media and six Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group through 27 July:

● Athletes and team officials: 23 positives in 142,012 tests (0.02%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 41 positives in 168,101 tests (0.02%).

In addition, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is now publishing positives, with one positive reported among the 1,038 athletes and officials in Tokyo as of 24 July, none among 1,144 on 25 July, none among 1,172 delegates on 26 July, none among 1,175 on 27 July, and none among 1,214 for 28 July.

Outside of the Games (there’s an outside?), the CONCACAF Gold Cup has reached the semifinal stage, with the U.S. first up against Qatar – host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup – playing as a guest. The U.S. edged Jamaica, 1-0, in the quarterfinal on an 83rd-minute goal from Matt Hoppe while Qatar went up 3-0 on a surprised El Salvador squad and then held on for a 3-2 victory. This game will be played tonight at the new Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The second semi – on the 30th – will have Mexico vs. Canada at NRG Stadium in Houston. Mexico scored three first-half goals to club Honduras, 3-0 and Canada shut down Costa Rica, 2-0 in its quarterfinal.

Canada has won the Gold Cup once, in 2000, but Mexico (8) and the U.S. (6) have otherwise won all the rest.

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TOKYO 2020/Wednesday Review & Preview: Ledecky wins gold and silver; U.S. women take 3×3 gold; U.S. water polo loses to Hungary

By
Rich Perelman
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The no. 3 800 m Free performance ever for Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky (USA).

(★ Friends: Beautiful! Now 44 donors, who have covered 56% of our current server & support bill. If you like this coverage, please donate here. Your help is so very much appreciated. Thank you. ★)

= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

The Tokyo Games are continuing despite the doom-and-gloom reporting in Japan over the coronavirus, with tremendous Japanese television ratings and excitement in places like Bermuda, the Philippines and Fiji over rare gold medals on the international stage.

And in Russia, the official media has been over the moon about the solid performances of the Russian Olympic Committee team.

But this has not been a joyous Games for the U.S. so far, as icons like Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles and the men’s basketball team having less success than hoped for. And Biles, who was very public in saying the postponement of the Tokyo Games by a year was not something she was happy about, sent shock waves across the country by withdrawing during the Team final.

USA Gymnastics tweeted a statement early this morning that included:

“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition in order to focus on her mental health. Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals. Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around.”

“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”

When Biles pulled out of the team competition after the Vault, Jordan Chiles was rushed in as a replacement on Bars. She told NBC’s Maria Taylor afterwards:

“I was shocked, I was overwhelmed. After [Biles] did her vault, [coach] Cecile [Canqueteau-Landi] had came up to me and was like, ‘Jordan, put your grips on.’ I was in so much shock that I didn’t know if she was being serious or not, so I was putting my grips on and I was just like, ‘What am I doing?’”

She knew exactly what to do and scored an impressive 14.166.

Biles’s mental-health issues and what should be done about similar issues for every American will echo for decades, having come on such a huge stage. Coincidentally, the International Olympic Committee had scheduled a news conference with IOC Member and former Olympic swimming champ Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) to speak about the mental-health tools that the IOC has developed and made available in Tokyo, both in-person and online.

But there is also a question which is not being talked about as much, with Biles receiving so much support. That’s what her withdrawal and its timing meant to her teammates, who were still on the floor and trying to compete.

Their fortitude, poise and competitiveness was outstanding. What responsibility does an athlete have to teammates?

Consider this: if Biles had withdrawn before the competition, and the U.S. had been able to petition to allow Carey or MyKayla Skinner to compete in her stead due to her medical situation:

(1) Russia won the women’s gold with 169.528 points, to 166.096 for the U.S., a different of 3.432 points.

(2) Biles scored 13.766 on her vault, well below her usual standards, but still remarkable under the conditions we know now. Chiles, filling in, was excellent on Bars (14.166) and Beam (13.433), but scored only 11.700 on Floor.

(3) If Carey – now in the All-Around to replace Biles – had been substituted for Biles prior to the competition, consider her qualifying scores of 15.166 on the Vault and 14.100 on Floor, her specialties. That would have upped the U.S. score by 3.800, enough to give the American women the gold medal.

(4) If Skinner – 11th in the qualifying – had replaced Biles, she scored 14.933 on Vault and 13.566 on Floor in qualifying. That would have added 3.033 and brought the U.S. to 169.129, close enough to put a lot more pressure on the Russians.

It is true that Carey’s ability to be substituted is clouded by her qualification as an individual gymnast rather than through the team, but an emergency petition on medical grounds could have let her in. Skinner could certainly have been substituted for Biles.

If Biles was not ready to go and she knew it before the competition started, what is her responsibility to her teammates? This question will also be debated, because Chiles, Suni Lee and Grace McCallum are also involved in this situation and they must be remembered as well.

And if winning gold instead of silver doesn’t matter, then why is the U.S. competing at all? Or sending a team based on citizenship and social justice?

Along with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the Commission on the Study of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics, set to meet beginning in the fall, will no doubt have to consider this question and its ramifications for the Paris team in 2024.

We’re moving along now, with the Tokyo Games having completed 95 events out of 339 (28%); the medal leaders:

1. United States, 31 (11-11-9)
2. China, 27 (12-6-9)
3. Russian Olympic Committee, 23 (7-10-6)
4. Japan, 22 (13-4-5)
5. Australia, 16 (6-1-9) and Great Britain, 16 (5-6-5)

Our exclusive TSX team scoring uses the familiar collegiate system of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 per event to give a much better view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. United States, 361.5
2. China, 279
3. Japan, 248.5
4. Russian Olympic Committee, 244
5. Great Britain, 207
6. Italy, 197
7. Australia, 149.5
8. Netherlands, 147
9. France, 139.5
10. Germany, 124
11. Korea, 123
12. Canada, 101.5

Japan is having a fabulous Games and so is the Russian Olympic Committee, although its relative standing will be challenged by having only 10 athletes in track & field as per the sanctions laid down by World Athletics.

NBC’s total primetime audience continues steady, and way up over its Opening Ceremony audience from last week:

● 23 July (Fri): 8.2 million for the Opening Ceremony
● 24 July (Sat): 15.3 million
● 25 July (Sun): 19.2 million
● 26 July (Mon): 16.8 million

These numbers are for primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network, but are still far behind Rio in 2016 (when events were live in U.S. time zones).
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY =

● 3×3 Basketball: Men and Women
The U.S. women won the inaugural Olympic women’s 3×3 tournament with tight victories over France in the semifinals by 18-16 and then 18-15 over the Russian Olympic Committee in the final.

Against France, the U.S. had a 10-6 lead, but the game tightened to 12-11 and a few free throws sent the U.S. to the final. Kelsey Plum and Alisha Gray both had six points. Russia stomped China, 21-14 in the other semi.

In the final, the U.S. ran off to a 6-1 lead and was up, 12-5 with 3:53 to go. Russia closed to 12-9 and 17-14 with 44 seconds left, but it was not enough and the U.S. had an 18-15 win and the gold medal. Stefanie Dolson led the U.S. with seven points on 3-5 from the field and 4-6 on free throws. Plum had five points, on 5-8 from the field. Russia’s top scorer was Anastasiia Logunova with six.

China defeated France, 16-14, in the bronze-medal game.

In the men’s semis, the Russian Olympic Committee sailed past Serbia, 21-10 and Latvia cruised over Belgium, 21-8. The final was tied, 13-13, with 3:44 to play, then at 14, at 15,at 16 and 18-18 with 1:22 to go. A shot by Nauris Miezis gave Latvia a one-point lead, followed by two Russian turnovers and finally a two-pointer from Karlis Lasmanis with 28 seconds to play sealed it for Latvia, 21-18.

Lasmanis led all scorers with 10 and Miezis had seven for Latvia; Ilia Karpenkov led Russia with seven. The game was played at a high level: Russia shot 67% from the field and the Latvians shot 65%.

● Cycling: Road Time Trials
It’s not the Tour de France, that’s for sure, but Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic – denied his shot at the Tour due to injuries from the crash-filled opening days – has an Olympic gold medal instead.

Starting 33rd out of 39, Roglic handled the two-lap, 44.2 km course – with two major climbs – flawlessly and took the lead from former Giro d’Italia winner Tom Dumoulin (NED) at 55:04.19. Then he had to wait.

But no one could better his time, or Dumoulin’s for that matter. Australia’s Rohan Dennis, starting 35th, came closest at 56:08.09 and settled for bronze. Italy’s World Champion, Filippo Ganna, was the last man on the list, but he managed a fifth-place 56:09.93.

Roglic’s winning margin was an impressive 1:39 and underscores his status as one of the world’s top riders … again.

There was an ugly incident alongside the race, as television cameras picked up German Cycling Union sports director Patrick Moster shouting at Niklas Arndt to – in German – “Get the camel riders! Get the camel riders! Come on!” as Arndt closed in on an Algerian and an Eritrean rider.

The German commentator apologized for the comments, Moster apologized afterwards and the German Olympic Committee commended the apology and said it would be speaking with Moster about the situation. Arndt finished 19th.

The women’s time trial was a one-lap, 22.1 km test with one major climb, and no contest.

Dutch star and two-time World Time Trial Champion Annemiek van Vleuten was so far behind Austria’s Anna Kisenhofer in the women’s Road Race that she raised her arms in victory when she crossed the line, only to be informed that she was second.

This time, she left no doubt, taking the lead as the 20th rider out of 25 and then watching as no one came close to her time of 30:13.49. Swiss Marlen Reusser was the closest, but still 56.47 seconds behind at 31:09.96.

Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen – the 2020 World Champion in this event – was the final rider, but crossed in 31:15.12, winning the bronze medal. Amber Neben, now 46 and a two-time World Champion, was the top American in fifth.

● Diving: Men’s 3 m Synchro
No slip-ups this time, as China’s Zongyuan Wang and Siyi Xie had the top scores on five of the six dines – and second on the other – and won with 467.82 points. China has now won four of the six editions of this event in the Games.

For the second straight Games, the U.S. claimed the silver medal, again with Michael Hixon. Teaming with Andrew Capobianco this time, they started poorly, ranking fifth and sixth on their first two dives. But they zoomed up after finishing with dives ranked 2-2-1-3 and claimed the silver medal at 444.36, way ahead of the rest of the field.

Germany’s Patrick Hausding and Lars Rudiger won the bronze (404.73) while defending champs Great Britain finished seventh.

● Equestrian: Dressage
The standings were absolutely clear: Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Wrendl ranked first on both technical and artistic merit and won the gold medal aboard TSF Dalera at 91.732.

German star Isabell Werth was second in technical and artistic and won her fifth Olympic medal (1-4-0) aboard Bella Rose, scoring 89.657.

Two-time defending champion Charlotte Dujardin (GBR), ranked only 109th after sparse activity, scored third on technical and artistic (88.543) and won the bronze aboard Gio. Only Dane Cathrine Dufour was close to the stars (87.507) and Sabine Schut-Kerry was fifth for the U.S. (84.300).

Von Bredow-Wendl is 35 and noting that Werth is still at the top of her game at 52, she could be a gold-medal contender for many Games to come.

● Fencing: Men’s Team Sabre
Korea won in 2012, the last time this event was on the Olympic program. And with the Koreans also the 2019 World Champions, it was not a surprise to see them in the final once again.

Even against an excellent Italian squad, Bon-Gil Gu, Jung-Hwan Kim and Seng-Uk Oh had no trouble at all, winning seven of the nine matches, with one tie, and a 45-26 final score.

Gu repeats as a gold medalist, nine years apart. Kim added a gold to go with his individual bronze. Hungary, with Tokyo individual winner Aron Szilagyi, defeated Germany, 45-40, for the bronze medal.

● Gymnastics: Men’s All-Around
Japan had the highest score in the team qualifying, but Russia won the team gold. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto led the qualifying and was determined not to suffer the same fate and took care of business to claim Japan’s third straight individual gold medal in this event at 88.465.

Hashimoto was excellent throughout, winning on Floor (14.833), Pommel Horse (15.166) and High Bar (14.933), was equal-second on Vault (14.700), and third on Parallel Bars (15.300).

He was chased throughout by China’s 2017 World champ Ruoteng Xiao (88.065) and Russian Nikita Nagornyy (88.031), the star of the team final. Nagornyy posted the best scores on Rings (14.666), Vault (14.900, tied with China’s Wei Sun) and Parallel Bars (15.400).

Brody Malone was the top American in 10th (84.465) and Sam Mikulak, in his third Olympics, finished 12th (83.164).

● Judo: Women’s 70 kg and Men’s 90 kg
Japan won its second women’s gold of the Games and its second straight gold at 70 kg with an impressive performance by 2017 and 2018 World Champion Chizuru Arai. She won three straight matches by ippon and then finished off Austrian finalist Michaela Polleres by waza-ari in four minutes for the gold medal.

Polleres, a 2021 World Championships bronze winner, won four straight matches by waza-ari herself to get to the gold-medal match, including wins over 2021 World Champion Barbara Matic (CRO) and bronze medalist Sanne van Dijke (NED)!

Van Dijke won one of the bronze medals by defeating Giovanna Scoccimarro (GER) and the other bronze went to Madina Taimazova, who defeated Matic.

However, Japan will not sweep the men’s division, as Lasha Bekauri (GEO) claimed the gold medal at 90 kg, defeating Eduard Trippel (GER) by waza-ari in 4:00.

Bekauri, 21, was only noticed earlier this year when he won the European Championship in this class, having no prior placements at the World Championships. But he is Olympic Champion now.

Hungary’s Krisztian Toth defeated Russian Mikhail Igolnikov for one bronze and Davlat Bobonov won the other bronze over Mihael Zgank (TUR).

● Rowing: Men’s Double Sculls-Quadruple Sculls-Fours
In the men’s Double Sculls, France’s Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias won semifinal one with the second-fastest time of the day, but that was only a warm-up. In the final, they dueled with the fastest semfinalists – Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink (NED) – stroke for stroke and finally won by 6:00.33-6:00.53 after 2,000 m, an Olympic best for time.

China, with 2019 World Champions Zhiyu Liu and Liang Zhang on board, were a clear third in 6:03.63.

The men’s Quadruple Sculls, the Netherlands, the reigning World Champions, set a world best in winning gold in 5:32.03, ahead of Great Britain (5:33.75) and Australia (5:33.97). It’s the first Olympic win for the Netherlands in this event and only its second medal.

The men’s Fours saw Australia move up to the top of the podium after winning silver medals in 2008-12-16. Alexander Hill was the only one of those three silver-medal teams to row this time and he has an Olympic gold medal now.

The Aussies set an Olympic-best time of 5:42.76 and needed it to stay ahead of Romania (5:43.13) and Italy (5:43.60). The U.S. finished fifth.

● Rowing: Women’s Double Sculls-Quadruple Sculls-Fours
In the Double Sculls, Romania’s Nicoleta Ancuta-Bodnar and Simona Radis reversed the results of the 2019 World Championships, setting an Olympic Best of 6:41.03 to edge New Zealand, this time with Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne (6:44.82). The Netherlands grabbed third (6:45.73) and the U.S. duo of Kristina Wagner and Gevvie Stone finished fifth (6:52.98).

China, the 2019 World Champions, won the Quadruple Sculls with a world-best time of 6:05.13, easily defeating Poland (6:11.36) and Australia (6:12.08). The Chinese fielded the same line-up for both – Yunxia Chen, Ling Zhang, Yang Lyu and Xiaotong Cui – and confirmed their place as the fastest ever.

The women’s Four was held for the second time in Olympic history – also in 1992 – and 2019 World Champions Australia were the class of the field again, winning with an Olympic Best of 6:15.37. That was only 0.34 better than the Netherlands, the 2019 Worlds silver winners, but the medals were the same. Ireland, fourth at the 2019 Worlds, improved to stand on the podium in third at 6:20.46.

● Rugby Sevens: Men
Fiji won the inaugural tournament in Rio by 43-7 over Great Britain in the final, and made it two in a row in Tokyo, defeating New Zealand by 27-12.

New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa all finished group play with 3-0 records and advanced to the quarterfinals. There, New Zealand sped by Canada, 21-10 and the U.S. lost to Great Britain, 26-21, after having a 21-0 lead! Argentina ousted South Africa, 19-14 and Fiji shut down Australia, 19-0.

In the semis, New Zealand sailed past Britain, 29-7 and Fiji out-scored Argentina by 26-14.

The final saw Fiji get off to a 12-0 lead and 19-12 at half, then score the only points of the second half for a 27-12 final score. The wild celebration in tiny Fiji after the gold-medal win is something the International Olympic Committee will point to as a reason for having Rugby Sevens in the Games.

Argentina won the bronze medal with a tight, 17-12 win over Great Britain.

● Swimming: Women’s 200 m Free-1,500 m Free-200 m Medley
In a near replay of her race in the 400 m Free, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus tracked down Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey in the final 30 meters to win the 200 m Free by 0.42 in an Olympic Record of 1:53.50, the no. 3 performance in history. She’s the first Australian to win this event since 2000.

Haughey led at the final turn by 0.47 over China’s Junxuan Yang, but Titmus moved quickly from third to right beside Haughey and moved fastest to the finish. Behind them, Canada’s Penny Oleksiak – the 2016 co-winner of the 100 m Free – was charging in the final 25 m and got the bronze medal in 1:54.70, ahead of Yang (1:55.01).

Defending champion Katie Ledecky of the U.S. was never a factor, seventh after the first lap and then locked into fifth, where she finished in 1:55.21.

The first Olympic appearance of the women’s 1,500 m was the showcase everyone expected from Ledecky, who took command of the race immediately and was up by almost two seconds by the 400 m mark.

She was up by almost three seconds at the half, but it appeared that Sarah Kohler (GER), Simone Quadarella (ITA) and Jianjiahe Wang (CHN) might have a shot at regaining contact. But Ledecky was up by four seconds at the 1,100 m mark and Ledecky was on her way to a sixth Olympic gold.

American Erica Sullivan moved up to fourth by 1,150 m and dueled with Kohler was third by the 1,250 m split and she and Kohler were dueling on opposite sides of the pool. Sullivan took over from Kohler by 1,350 m and actually started gaining on Ledecky with two laps remaining.

Ledecky finished in 15:37.34 – an Olympic Record and the no. 12 performance in history – and was both emotional at the finish of a very long day and thrilled for Sullivan’s brilliant silver-medal performance in 15:41.41, now no. 5 all-time.

Kohler was third in 15:42.91, now no. 8 all-time, finishing ahead of Wang (15:46.37) and Quadarella (15:53.97).

Japan’s Yui Ohashi already had the gold in hand from the 400 m Medley, but was in a fight with Americans Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass – both from the University of Virginia – and came away with her second Olympic title of the Games.

China’s Yiting Yu had the early lead, but Ohashi moved up to second as Walsh took the lead on the Breaststroke leg and turned for home first. The two were close for almost the entire final length, with Ohashi edging ahead in the final 10 m to touch in 2:08.52 to 2:08.65 for Walsh.

Douglass was fourth at the turn and passed Abbie Wood (GBR) to grab the bronze at 2:09.04. Defending Olympic champ Katinka Hosszu finished seventh (2:12.38).

The U.S. has won a medal in this event in six straight Games now and it’s the first time for two medals in a single Games since 1984 in Los Angeles.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Butterfly-4×200 m Free
South Africa’s London 2012 gold medalist Chad le Clos took off as usual, leading at the 100 m mark, but then the world-record holder, Hungary’s Kristof Milak took over.

He had the race in hand for the last 80 m, finishing in an Olympic Record of 1:51.25, the no. 3 time in history – he now owns the top four. The record he erased belonged to Michael Phelps from 2008.

Behind him was a mad scramble for the wall, with Federico Burdisso (ITA) moving into second at the final turn, but fading in lane six while Japan’s Tornoru Honda came on in the final strokes to get silver in 1:53.73, making him no. 11 all-time. Burdisso got the bronze in 1:54.45.

Le Clos finished fifth (1:54.93) and American Gunnar Bentz was seventh (1:55.46).

Great Britain was the heavy favorite in the men’s 4×200 m relay and delivered with a brilliant 6:58.58 victory, the no. 3 performance in history.

American Kieran Smith actually had the lead after the first leg, timing a lifetime best of 1:44.74, no. 5 in the world this year, just ahead of 200 m Free winner Tom Dean. But veteran James Guy gave the Brits the lead and they never relinquished it. Guy split 1:44.40, but Drew Kibler of the U.S. (1:45.51) was right with him into the third leg.

Then the race changed, with Matthew Richards swimming an unexpected 1:45.01 and American Zach Apple – so good on the 4×100 m Free anchor – fading to fifth on his final lap. (1:47.31).

At that point, the race was decided for Great Britain, with Duncan Scott finishing in 1:43.45 – fastest of the race – and while Townley Haas was game (1:44.87), he brought the U.S. up fourth in 7:02.43. Russia was second in 7:01.81 (equal-11th all-time) with Australia third in 7:01.84 (Thomas Neill, 1:44.74 on anchor).

It was Britain’s first win in this race since 1908. For the U.S., it is the first time it has failed to win a medal in this event in a Games which it competed: it had not won a medal only in the boycotted Games of 1980.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 73 kg
China’s Zhiyong Shi entered as the two-time defending World Champion and the world-record holder. He left as Olympic champ, with another record.

Shi set an Olympic Record of 166 kg in the Snatch, then made his final Clean & Jerk lift of 198 kg – another Olympic Record – for a total of 364 kg, setting his own world record higher and giving China all three men’s Olympic golds handed out so far.

Behind him, Venezuela’s Julio Mayora made five of his six lifts and totaled 346 kg for the silver medal. Competing in Group A for lower-ranked lifters, Indonesia’s Rahmat Andullah won the bronze, lifting 342 kg, one ahead of Albania’s Briken Calja.

American Clarence Cummings Jr., 21, was only able to complete one of his Snatch lifts (145 kg), cleared his opening Clean & Jerk of 180 kg and then went for the bronze medal, trying 198 kg n his final lift, only to miss and end up ninth at 325 kg. His attitude shows his future is bright.

Elsewhere:

● Team/Basketball: In Group A, the U.S. men crushed Iran, 120-66, taking a 28-12 first-quarter lead and never looking back. Damian Lillard led the U.S. with 21 points. The U.S., with a 1-1 record, needs to beat the Czech Republic on the 31st to be sure of advancing to the quarterfinals. The Czechs have thus far beated Iran by 84-78 and lost to France (2-0) by 97-77.

In Group B, Australia is 2-0 after beating Italy (1-1) by 86-83. Germany defeated Nigeria by 99-92 and is 1-1, while Nigeria fell to 0-2 and must beat Italy to have a chance to advance.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: The patched-up team of Jake Gibb and replacement player Tri Bourne moved to 2-0 in Pool C after defeating the Swiss pair of Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson, 21-19, 23-21. They will play the mighty Qatari pair of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan for the group title on the 30th; both are assured of moving on to the round of 16.

● Team/Football: In the men’s tournament, Japan finished Group A at 3-0, slamming France by 4-0 on Tuesday and finishing with a 7-1 goals-against total, Mexico was 2-1 in the group and also advances.

South Korea (2-1) won Group B, Spain (1-0-2) and Egypt (1-1-1) advanced out of Group C and Brazil (2-0-1) won Group D after a 3-1 win over Saudi Arabia. Richarlison scored twice and is the tournament leader with five goals.

● Team/Volleyball: the U.S. men moved to 2-1 in Pool B with a 3-1 win over Tunisia on Wednesday. Russia is still undefeated in the six-team pool at 3-0; the U.S. will have a major test against Brazil (also 2-1) on the 30th.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. women suffered a stunning loss to Hungary in Group B play, 10-9, losing an 8-6 lead at the end of the third quarter. Maddie Musselman scored three times for the U.S., but it broke a 21-game win streak for the American women.

In the five-team group, the U.S. is still well positioned to advance at 2-1 with a game remaining against the 1-1 Russian Olympic Committee on the 30th. Hungary has games remaining against Japan and China, with the top four teams in the group advancing to the playoffs.

= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY =
(17 events across 8 sports)

● Canoeing: Women’s Slalom C-1
This is the debut for this event in the Olympic Games, after the K-1 was introduced in 1972 and then for good in 1992. Once again the favorite is Australia’s Jessica Fox, the two-time bronze medal winner in the K-1 and the C-1 World Champion in 2013-14-15-18, but silver medalist in 2019 and bronze medalist in 2020. She’s not invincible, but the clear favorite.

Top challengers include 2019 World Champion Andrea Herzog (GER) and bronze medalist Nadine Weratschnig (AUT), the 2017 World Champion Mallory Franklin (GBR), silver medalist Tereza Fiserova (CZE) and bronze medalist Ana Satila (BRA), all capable of winning.

American hopes are on 17-year-old Evy Leibfarth, fourth in the World Championships in this event in 2019 and a two-time World Cup medal winner.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Foil
The fencing world is still buzzing about American Lee Kiefer’s upset of Rio winner and three-time World Champion Inna Deriglazova in the Foil final, but both will be back in search of medals in the team event.

Deriglazova also has three World Team titles in 2011-16-19 and won an Olympic silver in 2012 as a member of the Russian team. She will have Adelina Zagidullina and Larisa Korobeynikova with her, both members of the 2019 World Champion team. They start as favorites.

Russia defeated Italy in that final and Arianna Errigo and Alice Volpi are back from that team, adding in Martina Batini; clear contenders for gold. The U.S. was third, and Keifer, Nicole Ross and Jacqueline Dubrovich are all returning. Keifer, Ross and two others won the 2018 World Championships Team title, over Italy (with Errigo and Volpi). This should be great.

Also in the mix: France, led by Ysoara Thibus.

● Gymnastics: Women’s All-Around
With Simone Biles out, it’s also worth noting that she was not at her best in the team qualifying, but still led at 57.731, followed by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (57.399), American Suni Lee (57.166) and three Russians: Angelina Melnikova (57.132), Vladislava Urazova (57.099) and Viktoriia Listunova (56.932; can’t compete due to the limit of two per country).

Belgium’s Nina Derwael is better known as the two-time Uneven Bars World Champion, but she impressed in the A-A at 56.598 in seventh. American Jade Carey replaces Biles; she was ninth (56.265) and the third American after Biles and Lee.

Andrade, 22, is the mystery, 11th in the All-Around in Rio in 2016, but also this year’s Pan American Champion. Could she win? In this crazy Games, why not?

The U.S. has won this event four times in a row.

● Judo: Women’s 78 kg and Men’s 100 kg
The women’s half-heavyweight class had been dominated by American Kayla Harrison, who won in both 2012 and 2016. France’s Madeleine Malonga won the 2019 World Championship and was the 2021 runner-up and starts as the favorite. The 2021 World Champion, German Anna-Maria Wagner is also a prime contender and Japan fields the 2018 World Champion and 2019 runner-up Shori Hamada.

Behind them are Worlds medalists such as 2018 silver and 2021 bronze winner Gusje Steenhuis (NED), 2019 bronze winner Loriana Kuka (KOS), 2017 World Champion and 2021 bronze medalist Mayra Aguiar (BRA) and 2017 bronze winner Natalie Powell of Great Britain.

Georgia’s Varlam Liparteliani was the 2017 Worlds 100 kg silver medalist, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist and the 2021 bronze medalist … and is thus no. 1 in the International Judo Federation rankings. But is he the favorite?

Portugal’s Jorge Fonseca has won the world titles in both 2019 and 2021 and is ranked second and leads a parade of possible medalists, starting with Japan’s 2017 World Champion, Aaron Wolf. Serbia’s Aleksandar Kukolj was runner-up to Fonseca in 2021, but is only ranked 28th?

Korea answers with 2018 World Champion Gu-Ham Cho, Russia has 2018 Worlds bronze medalist Niyaz Ilyasov and Mongolia has the other bronze winner, Otgonbaatar Lkhhagvasuren. Dutch star Michael Korrel is ranked third and won bronze at the 2019 Worlds.

Japan has been sensational in the men’s division; can Wolf bring Olympic gold back for the first time since 2000 in this class?

● Rowing: Women’s Pair-Lightweight Double Sculls
Great Britain’s Helen Glover and Heather Stanning have won the last two Olympic titles, but Glover is in Tokyo with Polly Swann now and they finished second to Greece’s Maria Kyridou and Christina Bourmpou, 6:48.70 to 6:49.39, with Canada a close third at 6:39.46.

But the action was in the second semi, with 2017 and 2019 World Champions Grace Pendergast and Kerri Gowler (NZL) finishing in 6:47.41, the fastest time ever! Russia was well back at 6:50.24 and Spain was third (6:50.53), but the Kiwis are obvious favorites to get the country’s first Olympic title in this event.

Greece, Britain and even Canada – with 2019 Worlds bronze winners Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens – are all rowing for silver and bronze.

In the Lightweight women’s Double Sculls, Britain’s Emily Craig and Imogen Grant, who won bronze medals at the 2019 Worlds – won the first semifinal impressively over France, 6:41.99-6:42.92 and the Netherlands, the 2019 Worlds silver medalists (Marieke Keijser and Ilse Paulis: 6:43.85). Paulis teamed with Maaike Head to win in Rio in 2016.

However, the form chart took a beating in semi two, as Valentina Rodini and Federica Cesarini (ITA) won in a world’s best time of 6:41.36, dogged to the finish by Americans Mark Reckford and Michelle Sechser (6:41.54) and Romania (6:42.08).

Can Italy do this twice in a row? This could be one of the tightest races of the regatta.

● Rowing: Men’s Pair-Lightweight Double Sculls
The men’s Pair is expected to be the property of Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic, the reigning World Champions, who won their semifinal in 6:15.63. The brothers won Olympic golds in 2016 in the Double Sculls, then changed to Pairs and won world titles in 2018 and 2019.

However, Marius Cozmiuc and Ciprian Tudosa (ROM) – the 2018 Worlds silver medalists – won the first semifinal in a faster 6:13.51, ahead of Denmark (6:14.88) and Spain (6:16.25). Serbia was second in the second semi (6:17.47) with Canada (6:19.15) third.

Looks like another Croat-Romanian showdown for the gold. New Zealand and Australian entries have won the last four Olympic titles.

The men’s Lightweight Double Sculls is an event which World Rowing insists upon in order to give “all rowers” a chance to compete at the Olympic and which the International Olympic Committee would rather do without. But here it is, for a seventh straight Games.

Germany’s Jonathan Rommelmann and Jason Osborne – the 2019 Worlds bronze medalists – won the first semifinal in 6:07.33 and looked like capable challengers, finishing well up on Uruguay (6:11.48) and the Czech Republic (6:11.88) Then came the second semi.

Ireland’s World Champion Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy overpowered the course and finished in 6:05.33, the world’s best time for this event. They needed to be fast, since 2019 Worlds silver winners Stefano Oppo and Pietro Ruta timed 6:07.70!

That makes the final look a lot like the 2019 Worlds, with Ireland the favorite and Italy and Germany chasing.

● Shooting: Men’s Trap-Women’s Trap
Croatia has dominated men’s Trap with Giovanni Cernogoraz and Josip Glasnovic winning in London and Rio and Glasnovic is back to defend his title.

But the 2004 Olympic Champion is back as well, in Russian Alexey Alipov and 2008 winner David Kostelecky (CZE). Throw in 2018 World Champion Alberto Fernandez (ESP), silver medalist Erik Varga of Slovakia and bronze winner Abdulrahman Al-Faihan of Kuwait and it’s impossible to pick a favorite,

One clue might be from the 2021 ISSF World Cups, with four different winners: Glasnovic in February, Daniele Reca (ITA – not entered) in March, Tatal Alrashidi (KUW) in May and Mauro de Filippis (ITA) in June.

In women’s Trap, Beijing 2008 champion Satu Makela-Nummela (FIN) is back, as is London 2012 winner Jessica Rossi (ITA) and 2008-12 silver medalist Zuzana Stefecekova. It also happens that Stefecekova won the 2018 World Championships.

Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Natalie Rooney (NZL) is also back, as is 2018 Worlds runner-up Xiaojing Wang (CHN) and bronzer Silvana Stanco (ITA).

What about trends from the ISSF World Cups? It only muddies the situation, with Fatima Galvez (ESP) winning in February in a shoot-off with Russia’s Daria Semianova; Stefecekova won in March and San Marino’s Alessandra Perilli won a shoot-off with American Madelynn Ann Bernau in May. It’s going to be close.

● Swimming: Women’s 200 m Butterfly-4×200 m Freestyle
Americans Hali Flickinger and Regan Smith went 1-2 in the first semi in 2:06.23 and 2:06.64, ahead of Russian Svetlana Chrimrova (2:08.62). Smith moves to no. 3 on the world list for 2021, Flickinger has already been faster.

China’s favor Yufei Zhang, who came in with the top three times in the world this year, was in semi two and took off from the start and had a body-length lead at halfway. She finished in 2:04.89, the fastest time in the world in 2021 and now no. 10 on the all-time list. Wow!

Behind Zhang came 2019 World Champion Boglarka Kapas (HUN: 2:06.59) and Liyan Yu (CHN: 2:07.04). Zhang is the big favorite, but Flickinger and Smith both have excellent shots at medals.

The women’s 200 m Free results suggest that Australia, Canada and the U.S. should be the medal favorites, with Germany also a possibility. With Ariarne Titmus available, Australia has to be a big favorite with the U.S. a solid silver contender.

The U.S. won this race in the last two Games, with Australia second, but in the 2019 Worlds, Australia beat the U.S. in a world-record 7:41.50, with Canada third and China fourth.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Free-800 m Free-200 m Breast
The 2017 and 2019 World Champion, American Caeleb Dressel took his world-leading mark down to 47.23 in the first semifinal, ahead of Alessandro Miressi (47.52) and Soo-Woo Hwang of Korea (47.56).

In the second semi, Russian Kliment Kolesnikov – the 100 m Back silver medalist – turned first and was the clear winner in 47.11, also a new world leader. Defending champion Kyle Chalmers (AUS) was second in 47.80, followed by Nandor Nemeth (HUN: 47.81). American Zach Apple, so great on the 4×100 m Free anchor, was sixth and did not advance.

Kolesnikov’s mark is a Russian record and moved him to no. 8 all-time and has to scare Dressel and everyone else heading into the final.

The 800 m Free for men was added to the program for the first time in Tokyo, with Ukraine’s two-time Worlds 1,500 m medalist Mykhailo Romanchuk leading the qualifying in an Olympic Record of 7:41.28, the fastest time in the world this year and equal-8th all-time. He’s a favorite, not the favorite.

The other contenders are in: German open-water star Florian Wellbrock (qualified 2nd: 7:41.77, no. 2 in 2021 and 11th all-time), Austria’s Felix Auboeck (7:45.73), Australia’s Jack McLoughlin and Italian veteran Gregorio Paltrinieri, the Rio 1,500 m gold medalist and 2019 World Champion in this event.

The no. 3 qualifier was American Robert Finke at 7:42.72, a huge lifetime best and an American Record, moving him into the top 15 of all time. At 21, is there more in the tank to take on these veterans?

In the men’s 200 m Breast, the world-record holder, Russia’s Anton Chupkov, and all-time no. 2, Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook were in the second semifinal, but Britain’s James Wilby – a silver medalist in the 2019 Worlds 100 m Breast, led for most of the race. Stubblety-Cook worked his way from fifth at the halfway mark to second at the final turn and won in 2:07.35, equal-seventh on the year.

Finn Matti Mattison was a surprising third at 2:08.22 and Chupkov only fourth at 2:08.54.

That gives hope to Arno Kamminga (NED) and American Nic Fink, who went 1-2 in the first semi, at 2:07.99 and 2:08.00, with Ryuya Mura (JPN) third in 2:08.27.

The year list says Stubblety-Cook, then Chupkov and Kammings, but Fink has a real shot at a medal.

● Table Tennis : Women’s Singles
China has won this event in all eight Games in which it has been contested. It has also won 13 straight World Championships titles … and finalists!

So China’s Meng Chen and Yingsha Sin are favored to get to the final in Tokyo; Singapore’s Mengyu Yu has reached the semifinals against Chen. Sun will play the highly-capable Mima Ito (JPN).

= INTEL REPORT =

It’s not all fun amid the Games in Tokyo, as the International Judo Federation posted this notice after German women’s 63 kg judoka Martyna Trajdos – a 2019 World Championships bronze medalist – was physically shaken and slapped by coach Claudiu Pusa as some sort of an odd pre-match ritual:

“The IJF addressed a serious official warning towards the German coach, concerning the bad behaviour he showed during the competition. Judo is an educational sport and as such cannot tolerate such behaviour, which goes against the judo moral code.”

Trajdos lost the round-of-32 match to Szofi Ozbas (HUN), but said later that the shaking and slapping was only a ritual and not punishment.

The Covid-19 total among Olympic-related personnel increased by 16 on 28 July, but with no athletes involved. Nine contractors, four “Games-concerned personnel” such as coaches and officials, two media and one volunteer were found positive.

That brings the total to 169, with 80 of these contractors, 55 “Games-concerned personnel,” 17 athletes, 11 media and six Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group:

● Athletes and team officials: 22 positives out of 124.358 tests through 28 July (0.02%).
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 35 positives out of 150,577 tests through 28 July (0.02%).

In addition, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is now publishing positives, with one positive reported among the 1,038 athletes and officials in Tokyo as of 24 July, none among 1,144 on 25 July, none among 1,172 delegates on 26 July, none among 1,175 on 27 July.

The Russian Olympic Committee is filing a protest against Chilean journalist Sebastian Nahmias, according to ROC spokesman Konstantin Vybornov:

“On the whole, we enjoy a very respectful treatment of our national team, but at the same time, we encounter occasional persons who unashamedly provoke us and try to knock our athletes off balance.”

“In the case of [tennis star] Daniil Medvedev, we are talking about Chilean journalist Sebastian Nahmias. He has been trying for the second day in a row to incite a scandal in regard to our team asking over and over again the same questions and in the same manner.

“It has nothing to do with translation problems, everyone understood him quite clearly, and the organizers issued a warning to this strange colleague yesterday and had to walk him away from the mixed zone for the media today. By the way, Medvedev acted in a very dignified manner under unpleasant circumstances.”

Nahmias has claimed that the ROC has “cheated” on its uniforms under the sanctions handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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TOKYO 2020/Tuesday Review & Preview: Biles withdraws, U.S. takes gymnastics silver; Japan shut down U.S. in softball, 2-0; two more Ledecky swims tonight

By
Rich Perelman
-
Drama: the U.S. women's gymnastics silver medalists: Lee, McCallum, Biles and Chiles (Photo: USA Gymnastics Twitter feed)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

/Updated/The Olympic Games is about competitions, not coronations.

We have already seen big favorites, such as American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, Chinese divers Yuan Cao and Aisen Chen in the men’s 10 m Synchro, tennis stars Ash Barty of Australia and Japan’s Naomi Osaka all go down. And now Simone Biles, the greatest women’s gymnast of all time.

Biles showed that something was not right during warm-ups on Tuesday, as she appeared to get lost in the air on her last warm-up vault, and then did the same in competition, completing 1 1/2 twists instead of 2 1/2 and then withdrawing.

She left with a trainer and minutes later, USA Gymnastics tweeted:

“Simone Biles has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue. She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”

The rest of the U.S. team – Suni Lee, Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles – soldiered on and won the silver medal behind the Russian Olympic Committee. Then came the questions. At the post-event news conference, CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman asked Biles about what happened and the pressure of the moment. She explained – with charm, confidence and a clear sense of disappointment – that:

“No injury, thankfully and that’s why I took a step back because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured so that’s why I thought it best for these girls to take over and do the rest of the job, which they absolutely did: they’re Olympic silver medalists now and they should be really proud of themselves for how well they did, last minute, having to go in.

“And it’s been really stressful, this Olympic Games, just as a whole, not having an audience. There are a lot of different variables going in it, it’s been a long week, it’s been a long Olympic process and a long year. So just a lot of different variables and I think we’re just a little bit too stressed out, that we should be out here having fun and sometimes that’s not the case.”

She added later:

“Today has been really stressful. We had a workout this morning and it went OK. And then just that 5 1/2 hour wait or something, I was just like shaking, could barely nap. I’ve just never felt like this going into a competition before. And I tried to go out and have fun, and warm-up in the back went a little bit better, but then once I came out here, I was like, no, mental is not there. So I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself.”

Biles told reporters in the mixed zone that “There’s more to life than just gymnastics” and as for the All-Around and the Apparatus finals, it will be “one day at a time, we’re going to see how the rest goes.”

The pressure of the Olympic Games is immense, and of this Games in Tokyo – under all of the extra conditions, public dissatisfaction with the Japanese government’s response to the coronavirus – as well as the unprecedented delay of a year, has been enormous. Biles has said so over and over again.

But credit to the Russians, who made the most of their opportunity and to Lee, McCallum and Chiles, who expected to have Biles at their side all night.

There will be those who trumpet this sequence as a turning point for mental health. It would also help if it underscored that the Olympic Games and its sports should be taken more seriously year-round. The drama is just as thick as in any domestic team league.

(Errata: Steve Futterman is a CBS News correspondent, not from the Associated Press as originally listed.)

The Tokyo Games have completed 72 events out of 339; the medal leaders:

1. United States, 25 (9-8-8)
2. China, 21 (9-5-7)
3. Japan, 18 (10-3-5) and Russian Olympic Committee, 18 (7-7-4)
5. Great Britain, 13 (4-5-4)

Of course, TSX prefers our 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring by event, giving a much more “diverse, equitable and inclusive” view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. United States, 278.5
2. China, 215
3. Russian Olympic Committee, 200
4. Japan, 194.5
5. Great Britain, 151
6. Italy, 146.5
7. France, 124.5
8. Korea, 113
9. Canada, 88.5
10. Australia, 83.5
11. Netherlands, 71
12. Germany, 68.5

NBC’s audience is growing, as the network announced a total primetime audience of 15.3 million for Saturday’s primetime programming across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network and 19.2 million on Sunday. That’s much higher than the 8.2 million for Friday’s Opening Ceremonies, but far behind Rio in 2016 (when events were live in U.S. time zones).
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: TUESDAY, 27 JULY =

● Canoe-Kayak: Women’s K-1 Slalom
Mistakes usually decide these races and although favored Jessica Fox (AUS) whipped through the course almost three seconds faster than anyone else, her two penalties – totaling four seconds – placed her third after German Ricarda Funk and defending champion Maialen Chourraut of Spain.

Poland’s Klaudia Zowlinska took the early lead at 1:08.98 – with four penalties – but was passed on error-free rides by Chourraut in fourth position (1:06.63) and then by Funk (1:0550), starting eighth. Both Chourraut and Funk rode clean and Fox, starting last, was under pressure to ride fast and clean. But she incurred a penalty at the fourth gate and then again just nearing the finish at gate 24. Those four seconds turned her 1:02.73 winner into a 1:06.73 bronze medal. This was the third straight Games with a medal for Fox: silver-bronze-bronze.

Funk scored Germany’s first win in this event since 1992.

● Cycling: Women’s Mountain Bike/Cross Country
Leading almost from the start, Switzerland’s 2017 World Champion Jolanda Neff ran away with the 20.55 km Cross Country gold medal, but the shock came after her.

While Neff won by 1:11, she was trailed by three-time World Champion Pauline Ferand Prevot (FRA) and Swiss teammates Sina Frei and Linda Indergand. At midway, Ferrand Prevot dropped back and Frei and Indergand charged ahead and had a 12-second lead on the rest of the field.

They held it to the finish, giving the Swiss a sweep with Frei 1:11 behind, then Indergand +1:19 and Hungary’s Kata Blanka Vas coming up for fourth, 2:09 behind Neff. Ferrand Prevot faded to 10th and France’s Loana Lecomte, undefeated this season in the UCI World Cup, finished sixth.

Haley Batten was the top American, in ninth and defending champ Jenny Rissveds (SWE) was 14th. It’s the first-ever medals sweep by one country in the event’s Olympic history.

● Diving: Women’s 10 m Synchro
China’s Jiaqi Zhang and Yuxi Chen were expected to win and they did with ease, winning all five dives and scoring 363.78, winning by more than 50 points. In the six times this event has been held at the Games, China has won all six.

The fight behind them was not as close as expected. American Olympic rookie Delaney Schnell and Rio veteran Jessica Parratto teamed up and after a shaky start, moved from sixth to fourth on their third dive, then all the way to second after their fourth dive and nailed their final try – a back 2 1/2 somersaults with 1 1/2 twists – to score second and clinch the silver medal with an impressive 310.80 score. That was 11.1 points up on Mexico’s Gabriela Agundez and Alejandra Orozco. Favored Canadians Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay ended up fourth after botching their fourth dive – they were last – and moving from second to fifth.

Parratto had been seventh in this event in Rio with Amy Cozad, but made to the podium this time.

● Equestrian: Team Dressage
Germany came in the favorite and dominated the event, with Isabell Werth, Dorothee Schneider and Jessica van Bredow-Wendl scoring 8,178.0 to easily top the U.S. (7,747.0) and Great Britain (7,723.0).

Von Bredow-Wendl had the highest score of the day at 2,785.5, followed by Werth (2,740.5) with Schneider fourth (2,652.0). Sabine Schut-Kery of the U.S. had the no. 3 score at 2,684.5 and Steffen Peters (2,558.5) and Adrienne Lyle (2,504.0) were solid enough to hold off Britain.

Peters gets a second straight Olympic medal for the U.S. – third in Rio – and American teams have now won medals in six of the last eight Games.

For Werth, the gold is another jewel in her crown: she now has seven Olympic golds dating back to 1992, with one individual win and six Team dressage victories. Schneider won her second Team Dressage gold to go along with a silver from 2012. Germany has now won this event 14 times and in nine of the last 10 Games.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Epee
Seventh-seed Estonia ousted second-seed Poland in the quarterfinals, sixth-seeded Italy in the semis and then beat fourth-seed Korea in the final, 36-32, for its first-ever women’s fencing medal in the Olympic Games.

The team of Katrina Lehis, Julia Beljajeva, Erika Kirpu and Inna Embrich were steady in the final, and it came down to Lehis against In-Jeong Choi, a 10-6 win for Lehis that clinched the victory after almost 55 minutes.

Italy squeezed by China in the bronze-medal match, 23-21. The U.S. was eliminated by Korea in the quarterfinals, 38-33.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Team
The most dramatic program of the day saw superstar Simone Biles get lost in the air on a practice vault – an event in which she was the Rio winner and two-time World Champion – and then do the same in competition, scoring only 13.766 to 14.666 for teammate Jordan Chiles and 14.300 for Grace McCallum. This never happens.

She left the floor with a trainer and then withdrew, with USA Gymnastics issuing a statement that this was due to a “medical issue.” In fact, Biles withdrew from stress, but that left Chiles, McCallum and Suni Lee to complete the event and chase Russia.

They gave it a try, but without the top-end firepower from Biles, the Russians outscored the U.S. on Vault, Bars and Floor and ran away with a 169.528-166.096 victory and the first-ever win for Russia in the women’s Team event. The “Unified Team” – essentially the by-then dismantled USSR – won in 1992 after the Soviets won in Seoul in 1988.

Lilia Akhaimova had the top score of the day on Vault (14.733); Lee won the Uneven Bars at 15.400; Viktoriia Listunova scored 14.333 for the best on Beam and also led on Floor at 14.166. The U.S. had some trouble on the Floor finale, scoring only 38.866 – worst of the eight teams – but still had enough balance to win silver, the eighth straight Games with a medal in this event.

Great Britain performed solidly, notably second on Vault and third on Floor and won bronze at 164.096, with Italy fourth (163.368) and Japan fifth (163.280). China, third in qualifying, had a rough time and was seventh (161.196). It’s not easy.

Comparison: the U.S. – with Biles in form – scored 172.330 at the 2019 Worlds to defeat Russia (166.529). Without Biles – and despite a game effort from Jordan Chiles replacing her – the U.S. scored 166.096 in Tokyo.

● Judo: Women’s 63 kg
Yet another spine-tingling final between France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou and Slovenia’s Tina Trstenjak could not be settled in regulation time. But Agbegnenou reversed the Rio 2016 results with a waza-ari in 4:37 of gold time to win her first Olympic gold to go with five World Championship wins.

Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard won one bronze with a victory over Anriquelis Barrios (VEN) and Italy’s Maria Centracchio surprised Juul Franssen (NED) for the other bronze.

● Judo: Men’s 81 kg
Not quite the fairy-tale ending some had hoped for, but close. Japan’s Takanori Nagase, the 2015 World Champion, defeated Mongolia’s Saeid Mollei in the gold-medal final in extra time by waza-ari after 5:43.

That Nagase made the final was not a surprise, but Mollaei’s story – the 2018 World Champion who left Iran under pressure after being in the 2019 Worlds to throw a match to avoid facing Israeli Sagi Muki – was one of the storylines of the Games. He almost met Muki, but the Israeli was defeated by Austria’s Shamil Borchashvili in the round of 16; Mollaei won by ippon over the Austrian in the semifinals.

Borchashvili won a bronze medal by defeating Dominic Ressel (GER) by ippon and 2021 World Champion Mattias Casse (BEL) won the other bronze, also by ippon, against Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili in a re-match of the 2021 Worlds final.

Japan is now four-for-four in men’s Judo, with three classes to go.

● Shooting: Air Pistol Mixed Team
In its first Olympic edition, China defeated Russia in a reversal of the 2018 World Championships in the gold-medal match by 16-14 with Ranxin Jiang (10.7) and Wei Pang (10.1) out-shooting Vitalina Batsarashkina (10.5) and Artem Chernousov (9.8) in the final frame: 20.8 to 20.3 to earn the final two points.

Ukraine had a slightly easier time in the bronze final, defeating Serbia., 16-12.

● Shooting: Air Rifle Mixed Team
Another new event and like the Air Pistol team final, was tightly contested, with China completing a sweep of the day.

Qian Yang and Haoran Yang trailed Americans Mary Tucker and Lucas Kozeniesky, 9-5, after seven frames, but then won five of the next six frames to take a 15-11 lead. The U.S. won the next frame, but China took the final frame and won gold by 17-13.

Russia had little trouble with Korea in the bronze match, winning 17-9.

● Softball
Softball returned to the Olympic Games after a 13-year wait, but it was Beijing 2008 all over again when the U.S. and Japan met in the gold-medal match.

Just as it was in 2008, Cat Osterman was on the mound for the U.S. and Yukiko Ueno was pitching for Japan. The game was scoreless through three innings, with Ally Carda brought on for the U.S. in the third after pitching so effectively the day before.

But Japan scored runs in the fourth and fifth, first on a Mana Atsumi single and in the fifth on a Yamato Fujita single following a wild pitch. That turned to be enough.

Ueno was masterful, giving up only two hits in six innings and with Miu Goto finishing the seventh, Japan had a 2-0 victory and a second straight Olympic gold medal. Ueno got the win in a 3-1 victory in the gold-medal game in 2008 and at 39, is unlikely to be available when the sport re-emerges at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The U.S. and Japan both finished 5-1 for the tournament; Canada defeated Mexico, 3-2, for the bronze medal. Canada’s Jenn Salling won the batting title at .571 (8-14) and Fujita had three home runs and seven RBIs to lead all players. Five pitchers had 0.00 ERAs, led by Americans Monica Abbott (20.1 innings) and Osterman (14.2), but Japan got to Carda when it counted.

● Surfing: Men and Women
The first appearance of surfing in the Games was a memorable one, with two dramatic finishes.

The weather required condensing the schedule, but it made for lively waves and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira, the 2019 World Surfing Games winner, dominated Japan’s 2021 silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi, 7.77-3.83 on the first ride and 7.37-2.77 on the second for a 15.14-6.60 final score.

Australia’s Owen Wright won the bronze with a tight, 11.97-11.77 win over Gabriel Medina (BRA).

The women’s tournament saw two Americans – Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks – get to the semifinals. Moore, the winner of four medals (two gold) in six World Surf League events in 2021, won over Amuro Tsuzuki of Japan, 8.33-7.43 in the second semi; South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag defeated Marks, 11.00-3.67.

In the final, Moore was outstanding, winning both match-ups by 7.60-5.23 and 7.33-3.23 for a 14.93-8.46 and setting off a wild celebration with teammates and fellow competitors on the beach. Tsuzuki grabbed the bronze medal over Marks, 6.80-4.26.

This was a popular event in its first edition; the 2024 competition is slated for Tahiti, still technically a part of France!

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Backstroke
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown came in as the world-record holder and was the favorite, but Canada’s Kylie Masse led after 50 m over American Rhyan White. But McKeown’s superior underwater technique brought her to the front on the final lap and she and Masse dueled to the wall, with McKeown nursing a small lead. She finished in 57.47, an Olympic Record and the second-fastest swim all-time to her own world record (57.45) from June.

Masse’s 57.72 is the no. 6 performance of all-time in second and 0.02 behind her own national record of 57.70 from the Canadian trials.

American Regan Smith, who had the Olympic Record after the semifinals at 57.86, was also strong in the second half and was third in 58.05 – at age 19 – and White was fourth in 58.43.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Breaststroke
This was crazy. All the attention was on defending Olympic champ Lilly King in lane 5 and Olympic Record-setter Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa in 4. And they took off from the start, took to the lead and Schoenmaker got to the turn first, 0.30 ahead of King.

Off the turn, it was clear that King was going to have a hard time catching Schoenmaker, but 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby was gaining stroke by stroke in lane 3. And gaining and gaining and drawing even with Schoenmaker with 20 m left, she got to the wall first with a perfect final stroke in 1:04.95, making her the no. 6 performer in history. At 17.

King was game, but did not have the finish to do more than claim the bronze in 1:05.54, well off her Trials win in 1:04.79. It’s the second straight time that the U.S. won two Olympic medals in this event and extends the streak of medals in this event to four straight.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Freestyle
Korea’s Sunwoo Hwang, just 18, took it out hard, steaming through the first 100 m in 49.78 and continuing in front at the final turn, but then the field came back.

Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer was closest to Hwang at 100 m and 150 m, but then the world leaders – Brits Duncan Scott and Tom Dean – moved hard to get into contention as Hwang faded. Scheffer tried to keep pace, but Scott was in front with 25 m left and he and Dean swam almost together, stroke for stroke, in lanes 4 and 6, to the wall … and Dean got there first.

Dean finished in 1:44.22, fastest in the world this year, with Scott at 1:44.26 and Scheffer with the bronze in 1:44.66. Hwang faded to seventh (1:45.26) and American Kieran Smith didn’t have enough closing speed to contend for a medal and was sixth (1:45.12).

Dean’s time is only 14th-best in history, but is the fastest since 2013 and the no. 4 performance ever in a textile suit. He and Scott made history as the first British Olympic medalists ever in this event.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Backstroke
Russians Kliment Kolesnikov and Evgeny Rylov came in with eight of the top 10 times in the world in 2021 and Kolesnikov got out best and he and Rylov were 1-2 at the turn.

Defending champion Ryan Murphy of the U.S. was a close third at the turn, but was never able to gain significantly on either. Rylov, in lane 2, was out of sight of Kolesnikov in lane 5 and powered to the wall in 51.98 with Kolesnikov in 52.00 – the two fastest times of 2021 – with Murphy third in 52.19, a seasonal best.

Rylov’s win was the seventh-fastest in history and Kolesinkov was no. 8. It broke a streak of six straight wins in this event for the U.S. and was the first ever in the event for Russia. In fact, no “Russian” has ever won a medal in this event; Igor Polyansky of the USSR won a bronze in 1988 for the last of three Soviet medals in this event in Olympic history.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 80+ kg
Let there be no doubt that the Russia’s Vladislav Larin is the best in the world. The 2019 World 87 kg champ won his bouts by 24-3 (over Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua), 16-3, 30-3 and then 15-9 in the final against North Macedonia’s surprise finalist, Dejan Georgievski. That a combined score of 85-18.

Behind him, Cuba Rafael Alba – the 2019 World 87+ kg winner – won a bronze over Hongyi Sun (CHN), 5-4; Korea’s Kyo-Don In took the other bronze, also by 5-4, against Ivan Trajkovic (SLO).

● Taekwondo: Women’s 67+ kg
It’s hard to sustain greatness over long periods of time, so let’s salute Serbia’s Milica Mandic – the London 2012 gold medalist – who won her second Olympic title with a 10-7 win over Korea’s 2019 World Champion Da-Bin Lee.

Now 29, Mandic reached the Rio quarterfinals, but was back for more and won her bouts by 13-0, 11-4, 7-5 and then 10-7 in the final.

Britain’s Bianca Walkden, one of the favorites, had to settle for bronze, beating Aleksandra Kowalczuk (POL: 7-3) while France’s Althea Lauren was a surprise bronze winner, overcoming Aminata Traore (CIV) by 17-8.

● Triathlon: Women
With so little racing in the World Triathlon Series during the pandemic, the question was who was the most fit?

A sign that the field was in shape came right away as Britain’s Jessica Learmonth led – as she often does – out of the water in 18:24, hotly pursued by Vittoria Lopes (BRA) and 2018 World Champion Katie Zaferes of the U.S.

Then Zaferes took over on the bike phase, a little unusual for her, and she was one of the leaders heading into the 10 km run, with German Laura Lindemann, two-time World Champion Flora Duffy (BER) – in her fourth Games – and Learmonth. A former Syracuse track star, Zaferes was well positioned, but Duffy would not be denied.

She stormed to a 33:00 on the run, easily the fastest in the field and won going away in 1:55:36, winning Bermuda’s first-ever Olympic gold. Britain’s 2019 World Champion Georgia Taylor-Brown ran 33:52 – second-fastest in the field – and came from 22 seconds behind the leaders to grab second, 1:14 behind, in 1:56:50. Zaferes ran 34:27, sixth-fastest on the day, and held on for third in 1:57:03. Rachel Klamer (NED) came from ninth to fourth in 1:57:48, well behind Zaferes.

The other Americans were Summer Rappoport in 14th and Taylor Knibb in 16th.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 59 kg
No doubts for 2019 World Champion and current world-record holder is Hsing-Chun Kuo of Chinese Taipei, lifting an Olympic Record of 236 kg, including records for the Snatch (103 kg) and Clean & Jerk (133 kg).

Behind her, it was Turkmenistan’s Polina Guryeva who surprised in second at 217 kg, followed by Japan’s Mikiko Andoh (214 kg).

● Weightlifting: Women’s 64 kg
Canada’s Maude Charron made four of her six lifts and scored a modest upset by winning this class at 236 kg, ahead of Giorgia Bordignon of Italy (232 kg) and Wen-Huei Chen of Chinese Taipei (230 kg).

Colombia’s Mercedes Perez completed only one of her Snatch attempts and one Clean & Jerk attempt and finished fourth at 227 kg.

Charron, a silver medalist at the 2017 Worlds, moved up from sixth at the 2019 Worlds. .

Elsewhere:

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. women got underway with an 81-72 win over Nigeria in Group, winning its 50th straight game in Olympic competition. A’ja Wilson had 19 for the U.S. and a game-high 13 rebounds. Brittney Griner added 13 and 10 rebounds and Diana Taurasi had 10. The U.S. shot 44% from the floor to only 27% for Nigeria, but the latter put up 84 shots to 66 for the Americans.

Next up is Japan on the 30th.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: Top-seeded April Ross and Alix Klineman won their second straight Pool B match in Tokyo by 21-13, 21-16 over Spain’s Liliana Fernandez and Elsa Baquerizo in 38 minutes on Tuesday. Their last pool match is on the 30th.

In the men’s division, Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser scored an important win in Pool D with a 2-1 win (24-22, 19-21, 15-13) win over Brazilian stars Alvaro Filho and Alison Cerutti to even their record at 1-1. Each has one more match in the group, on the 29th.

● Team/Football: The U.S. women finished Group G play with a 0-0 draw against Australia and moved on to the quarterfinals as second in their group with a 1-1-1 record. Th Aussies had 61% possession in the game and led in shots, 8-7. An Alex Morgan goal in the 33rd minute, but a video review showed she was barely offside.

Both teams moved on to the quarters, with Great Britain facing Australia, Sweden vs. Japan, the U.S. vs. the Netherlands and Canada vs. Brazil, all on the 30th.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. women were in action again, beating up on China – 29-27, 25-22, 25-21 – to go to 2-0 in the tournament. Jordan Thompson led the U.S. with 34 points, on 28-50 kill attempts, four blocks and two service aces. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley had 15. The American women play Turkey next on the 29th.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. men went to 2-0 in Group A by crushing South Africa, 20-3, thanks to four goals by Ben Hallock.

The U.S. women, also 2-0, will play Hungary today (28th) in Group B play.

● Tennis: Another shocker, as Japan’s second-seed Naomi Osaka was defeated in the third round, 6-1, 6-4 by Czech Marketa Vondrousova, 22, currently ranked no. 118. With the departure of top-seed Ash Barty (AUS) in the first round, the highest-remaining seed is Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

= PREVIEWS: WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY =
(23 events across 11 sports)

● 3×3 Basketball: Men and Women
The U.S. women are into the semifinals, losing only to Japan, 20-18, after clinching their playoff berth. Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky), Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces) and Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces) finished 6-1, with Russia, China and Japan all at 5-2.

In the quarterfinals, China defeated Italy, 19-13 and France defeated Japan, 16-14. That pits the U.S. in a rematch with France, with the Americans winning the first game impressively by 17-10. China and Russia will play in the second semi, with the medals matches later the same day.

The men’s tournament has Serbia as the clear favorite, after finishing 7-0 in pool play; Belgium, Latvia and the Netherlands were all 4-3.

In the quarterfinals, 3-4 Russia beat the Netherlands, 21-19, and Latvia edged Japan, 21-18. That will pit Serbia against Russia in one semi and Belgium and Latvia in the other. In the round-robin play, Serbia clubbed Russia, 21-10 and Belgium barely beat Latvia, 21-20.

● Cycling: Road Time Trials
The men’s Time Trial is a two-lap, 44.2 km race at the Fuji International Speedway, with 2020 World Champion Filippo Ganna as the favorite, just ahead of Belgian star Wout van Aert (second), Swiss Stefan Kung (third), Geraint Thomas (GBR: fourth), Rohan Dennis (AUS: fifth), Kasper Asgreen (DEN: sixth) and Remi Cavagna (FRA: seventh).

There are many more stars, including Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, a talented time trialer, Australian Richie Porte and American Brandon McNulty. At the 2021 Tour de France, the two time trials were won by Tadej Pogacar (SLO ~ not entered), with Kung second, van Aert fourth and Asgreen sixth. Stage 20 was a win for van Aert, ahead of Asgreen, with Kung fourth.

The women’s time trial, at the same location, is one lap at 22.1 km, with 2020 World Champion and 2016 Rio bronze medalist Anna van der Breggen (NED) as the top seed. Those who followed her across the line at the Worlds last year have the high seeds: Marlen Reusser (SUI: second), Lisa Brennauer (GER: fourth), Grace Brown (AUS: fifth), followed by road stars Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), Emma Jorgensen (DEN), Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) and Ashleigh Moolman (RSA). Van Vleuten won the women’s road race on the 25th with Longo Borghini taking the bronze.

Americans Amber Neben (seeded 7) and Chloe Dygert (seeded 2) are both potential medalists. Neben, 46, was World Champion in 2008 and 2016 and always has a surprise ready in races where she is counted out. Dygert, 24, who will also compete on the track, won the world title in 2019. Both will be trying to follow in the steps of Kristin Armstrong, who won this race in 2008-12-16.

● Diving: Men’s 3 m Synchro
After Great Britain’s upset of China in the 10 m Synchro event, anything is possible. And, in fact, Britain is the defending Olympic champ in this event, with Jack Laugher and Chris Mears springing the upset in Rio as China’s Yuan Cao and Kai Qin were third.

In 2021, Laugher is back with Daniel Goodfellow, and this pair won the 2019 Worlds silver medal behind Cao and Siyi Xie. For Tokyo, Xie is back, but paired with Zongyuan Wang.

These two teams appear to be the class of the field. The U.S. won silver in Rio with Sam Doman and Michael Hixon and Hixon is back, but with Andrew Capobianco this time. Mexico’s 2019 Worlds bronze winners Yahel Castillo and Manuel Celaya are back and Germany’s Patrick Hausding and Lars Rudiger (fourth) and Russians Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nikita Shleiker (fifth) will be contenders.

Expect China’s focus to be extraordinary; they know well that they lost the 10 m Synchro because of one bad dive. They want to avoid that happening again.

● Equestrian: Dressage
Two-time defending champion Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) is back, but is currently ranked only no. 109 in the world, despite a bronze at the 2018 World Equestrian Games. Four-time World Equestrian Games Champion Isabell Werth (GER) is in, winner of this event in the 1996 Games in Atlanta and silver medalist in 2000-08-16. She is the top seed.

In between is Dutch star Edward Gal, winner of two golds at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and American Steffen Peters, who won two bronzes in the same event.

Also expected to contend as Werth’s teammates Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dorothee Schneider and Denmark’s Catherine Dufour. Or will there be a horse that has its own ideas and takes its rider to the podium?

● Fencing: Men’s Team Sabre
This event returns to the program for the first time since 2012, when Korea defeated Romania in the final. More recently, Korea won again – with Bon-Gil Gu still on the squad – at the 2019 World Championships over Hungary, with Italy third and Germany fourth.

Gu, Tokyo bronze medalist Jung-Hwan Kim and Seng-Uk Oh are all back from Korea’s 2019 team and will be a formidable presence, as will Hungary with Tokyo Olympic winner Aron Szilagyi – his third straight Olympic gold – along with Andras Szatmari and Tamas Decsi.

Italy is in the mix with Luca Curatoli, Tokyo silver medalist Luigi Samele and Enrico Berre and the U.S. will try to improve on a disappointing showing in the individual event, with Eli Dershwitz, Daryl Homer and Andrew Mackiewicz on the piste.

● Gymnastics: Men’s All-Around
There will be a new champion, as Japan’s two-time winner, Kohei Uchimura did not contest this event. However, the stars of the 2019 World Championships are in, as Russians gold and silver medalists Nikita Nagornyy and Artur Dalaloyan (the 2018 World Champion) were 2-6 in the Team qualifying.

Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto led the qualifying at 88.531, followed by Nagornyy (87.897), 2017 World champ Ruoteng Xiao (87.732) and Wei Sun (87.298) from China and Great Britain’s Joe Fraser (86.298). Add in Dalaloyan (85.947) and Takeru Kitazono (JPN: 85.948) and you have the likely medal contenders.

The top American in the qualifying was U.S. champion Brody Malone (11th: 85.298), with Sam Mikulak at 84.664 in 14th. Neither figures as a medal contender this time; Mikulak was seventh in Rio.

● Judo: Women’s 70 kg and Men’s 90 kg
Japan is counting on 2017 and 2018 World Champion Chizuru Arai in this weight class, but she will have her hands full with 2021 World Champion Barbara Matic of Croatia as well as bronze winners Sanne van Dijke (NED) and Michaela Polleres (AUT).

More Worlds medalists from 2019 are in: Barbara Timo (POR: silver) and Margaux Pinot (FRA: bronze), plus two-time Worlds bronze winner Maria Bernabeu (ESP), Puerto Rico’s Maria Perez (2017 silver) and Brazil’s 2020 Pan American champ Maria Portela.

Japan has won four of the six weight classes so far, but only one of three in the women’s division. Arai will be primed for another.

● Rowing: Men’s Double Sculls-Quadruple Sculls-Fours
This sport is being tossed about by the changing weather conditions in Tokyo and may be re-arranged again. The pandemic has caused significant problems in participation at World Rowing World Cup events, so it’s hard to know where the favorites are.

In the Double Sculls, Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink (NED) were the fastest semifinal qualifiers at 6:20.17, trailed by China’s 2019 World Champions, Zhiyu Liu and Liang Zhang (6:23.11). France’s Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias won semi one, with the second-fastest time of the day at 6:20.45, with Great Britain at 6:22.95.

In the Quadruple Sculls, Germany is the two-time defending Olympic champion, but didn’t make it to the A-Final. Instead, Poland – the 2019 Worlds silver medalists – won semifinal two with the quickest time of the day (5:29.25), pressed by Worlds bronze medal winners Italy (5:29.38).

Reigning World Champion Netherlands won semi one at 5:39.80, well clear of Australia (5:41.54). These four teams appear to be the medal winners.

In Fours, Poland, Romania and Great Britain took the 2019 Worlds medals, but the British have won this event in five straight Olympic Games, with Australia winning silver in the last three.

So, it’s no surprise that Australia (heat one: 5:54.27) and Britain (heat two: 5:55.36) had the fastest times in the semifinals, trailed by the U.S. (heat one: 5:57.27) and Italy (heat two: 5:57.67.

Romania also made the final, but Poland lost out in the repechage and will be in the B-final. Six straight for the Brits?

● Rowing: Women’s Double Sculls-Quadruple Sculls-Fours
The women’s Double Sculls appears to be ready for a re-match of the 2019 Worlds, won by New Zealand’s Brooke Donoghue and Olivia Loe over Romania (Nicoleta Ancuta-Bodnar and Simona Radis) and the Netherlands (Roos de Jong and Lisa Scheenaard).

In the semis, the Romanians dominated New Zealand (Donoghue and Hannah Osborne now), 7:04.31-7:09.05. The Dutch had the second fastest time in winning semi two in 7:08.09, ahead of Canada (7:09.44) and the U.S. (7:11.14). Don’t count the New Zealanders out yet.

The women’s Quadruple Sculls belonged to Germany at the 1992-96-2000-04 Games and then again in Rio in 2016 after a bronze in Beijing and a silver in London. And the Germans crossed first in semi one at 6:18.22, followed by the Netherlands (6:19.36)

But China had the fastest time of the day in winning semi two (6:14.32), with Poland at 6:18.62, backing up their 2019 World Championships gold over Poland and the Dutch. The Chinese have the same line-up as in 2019 – Yunxia Chen, Ling Zhang, Yang Lyu and Xiaotong Cui – and are clear favorites for gold. But look for the Germans to make it closer than expected.

The women’s Fours has only been once – in 1992 – but returns to the program in Tokyo. Australia ran away with the world title in 2019, winning by 2.1 seconds over the Netherlands and more than four seconds over Denmark.

No surprise that in the heats, the Aussies had the best time of the day at 6:28.76, but the surprise was Ireland – fourth in 2019 – which pressed the champs all the way to the line, just 0.23 behind at 6:28.99. Another effort like that will win them a medal.

The Dutch won the first heat in 6:33.47, more than five seconds up on China (6:38.54). Australia is the clear favorite, but can Ireland produce another effort like the heats?

● Rugby Sevens: Men
New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa all finished group play with 3-0 records and advanced to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, New Zealand sped by Canada, 21-10 and the U.S. lost to Great Britain, 26-21, after having a 21-0 lead!

Argentina ousted South Africa, 19-14 and Fiji shut down Australia, 19-0.

Fiji defeated Great Britain, 43-7 in the Rio final and they appear to be on a collision course again.

● Swimming: Women’s 200 m Free-1,500 m Free-200 m Medley
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, the world leader at 1:53.09, used her now-familiar tactic of going out easy and then coming back like a rocket on the final lap to win the first semi in 1:54.82. Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey was second in 1:55.16, but London 2012 champ Allison Schmitt of the U.S. was fifth in 1:56.87 and did not qualify for the final.

Katie Ledecky of the U.S. led all the qualifiers at 1:55.28, then took control of the second semi by 75 m and won easily in 1:55.34. Czech Barbora Seemanova was an impressive second in 1:56.14 and then Italian star Federica Pellegrini – the London 2008 champion, in her fifth Olympic Games and still the world-record holder – was third in 1:56.44.

Ledecky qualified third for the final and will have to take it out hard to match Titmus’s faster finish. Pellegrini’s world mark of 1:52.98 is in danger.

The women’s 1,500 m should be a showcase for Ledecky, finishing an impossible schedule of the 400 m Free, 200 m Free and 1,500 m Free over three days. She’s the world-record holder (15:20.48), owns the top 11 times in history and led the qualifying (15:35.35) over China’s Jianjiahe Wang – who swam 15:41.49, as Asian Record! – by more than six seconds. American Erica Sullivan was third in the heats at 15:46.67 – a lifetime best and no. 4 in the world this season – and is a contender for a medal. (No, Australia’s Titmus is not in this event.)

Wang, Maddy Gough of Australia and Italy’s Simone Quadarella are all capable of winning medals and with Sullivan, will try to follow Ledecky to the finish.

The women’s 200 m Medley looks like a six-way fight for medals, with Americans Kate Douglass (2:09.21) and Alex Walsh (2:09.57) – both 19 – winning the semifinals with Abbie Wood (GBR), Yiting Yu (CHN), Japan’s Yui Ohashi and Sydney Pickrem (CAN) all swimming in the 2:09s as well.

Defending champion Katinka Hosszu of Hungary was seventh in the semis and does not appear to be in the medal fight (emphasize “appear”).

The U.S. has won a medal in this event in five straight Games, but hasn’t won since Tracy Caulkins did it way back in 1984 in Los Angeles.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Butterfly-4×200 m Free
There is very little doubt about the favorite in the men’s 200 m Fly, with world-record holder Kristof Milak (HUN) cruising to a 1:52.22 win in the second semi, the no. 3 time in the world for 2021 (Milak has the top five marks).

Milak was more than 2 1/2 seconds up on Brazil’s Leonardo de Deus (1:54.97) and almost three seconds better than semi one winner Chad le Clos of South Africa, the London 2012 champion and fourth in Rio.

For the U.S., Gunnar Bentz was sixth overall and made the final. But this race is all about Milak and whether he will smash his 2019 world record of 1:50.73. The current Olympic Record of 1:52.03 by Michael Phelps of the U.S. in 2008 is a goner.

In the men’s 4×200 m Freestyle, the open 200 m Free results show Britain with the two best legs in Tom Dean and Duncan Scott, but Russia, Australia and the U.S. are clear medal contenders.

The year list shows these teams will fight for the medals, perhaps with Hungary and Italy having an outside shot. But who can deal with the British stars on the anchor?

● Weightlifting: Men’s 73 kg
The script is familiar: China enters with the world-record holder and the 2018-19 World Champion Zhiyong Shi. He is an overpowering favorite and expected to win easily.

The fight for silver and bronze should be contested by 2019 bronze winner Bozhidar Andreev of Bulgaria, fifth-place Briken Calja (ALB), Venezuela’s Julio Mayora and perhaps American Clarence Cummings, Jr.

A great age-group and junior star, Cummings was ninth in the 2017 Worlds at 69 kg, then 12th in 2018 at 73 kg and ninth last year. He shoots for high weights and a superb performance could put him in reach of a medal. But well behind Shi, of course.

= INTEL REPORT =

Not widely noticed, but still amazing, was seeing 46-year-old Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) competing in her eighth Olympic Games in gymnastics. She was 14th in the Vault during the qualifying and did not qualify for the final. But she owns an Olympic silver medal from Beijing in 2008in the Vault and has competed for her birth country of the USSR, the 1992-only “Unified Team,” Germany and Uzbekistan.

A mom, she is directly supported by the International Olympic Committee through its Olympic Scholarship program, which reaches 1,836 athletes from 186 counties in 27 sports. In Tokyo, there are 836 scholarship athletes from 178 National Olympic Committees competing in 26 sports. Chusovitina is pretty special.

Just seven more Covid-19 positives reported by Tokyo 2020 for 27 July. That brings the total to 155, with 71 of these contractors, 51 “Games-concerned personnel,” 18 athletes, nine media and six Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

The testing report by stakeholder group:

● Athletes and team officials: 19 positives out of 106,798 tests through 245 July (0.02%)
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 33 positives out of 132,620 tests through 25 July (0.02%).

In addition, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is now publishing positives, with one positive reported among the 1,038 athletes and officials in Tokyo as of 24 July, none among 1,144 on 25 July and none among 1,172 delegates on 26 July.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport has classified for marathon star and controversial coach Alberto Salazar as permanently ineligible based on “Sexual Misconduct; Emotional Misconduct.”

The posting, on 26 July on the Center’s Centralized Disciplinary Database notes that the finding is “Subject to appeal / not yet final.”

This is a different finding than that made by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in September 2019, leading to a four-year ban. Salazar has appealed that decision and a hearing was held earlier this year, but without any announced decision as yet.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Monday Review & Preview: English and Hancock score Skeet golds for U.S.; 13-year-olds go 1-2 in women’s Skate; Titmus beats Ledecky in 400 Free

By
Rich Perelman
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American gold for Amber English and three-time Olympic champ Vincent Hancock in a Skeet sweep for the U.S. in Tokyo! (Photo: ISSF)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

The International Olympic Committee is making a major push on gender equity, with Sports Director Kit McConnell (NZL) telling Monday’s daily press conference:

“I wanted to highlight also why gender equality for us is not just about numbers and percentages.

“We know for every opportunity we give to a female event in the Olympic program, this often leads to the same event being added to other multi-sport Games, to being further promoted in World Championships, World Cup events in the IF’s own programs, so it really has a ripple effect beyond the Olympic Games as well.

“And equally, for every additional female quota place we bring into the Olympic Games we often see that being reflected also in increased quotas outside the Games. But that leads to a lot of investment, a lot of development around the world in different countries, through National Olympic Committees, through sport ministries, through others who invest in female athletes to go for that qualification place, to go into a qualification process to qualify to the Games.

“So there is really a positive ripple effect that amplifies the impact for every single one of those additional quota places that we create for women athletes and that’s why it’s so important to reach the numbers we have here in Tokyo and reach that absolute equality in terms of numbers of athletes in Paris as well. So it has a wider impact than just the Olympic Games, and why it’s so important that we lead on that change as well.”

The Games are in full swing now with 50 events completed through Monday; the medal leaders:

1. China, 18 (6-5-7)
2. United States, 14 (7-3-4)
3. Japan 13 (8-2-3)
4. Russia, 12 (4-5-3)
5. Italy, 9 (1-4-4)

Of course, TSX prefers our 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring by event, giving a much more “diverse, equitable and inclusive” view of the relative achievements of the teams:

1. United States, 172
2. China, 167.5
3. Japan, 145
4. Russian Olympic Committee, 118.5
5. Italy, 105
6. Great Britain, 95.5
7. France, 91.5
8. Korea, 84.5
9. Canada, 54
10. Hungary, 52
11. Netherlands, 50.5
12. Australia, 48

This is after just 50 of 339 total events in the Games.

The weather continues to be a major issue at the Games, with a tropical storm – or a “typhoon” – depending on who you talk to, heading toward Japan and expected to make landfall sometime Tuesday.

The Tokyo area is not expected to be heavily impacted, but winds have already required re-scheduling of archery and rowing events. The current forecast:

● 27th/Tuesday: 84 F high, 76 F low with rain and thunderstorms
● 28th/Wednesday: 88 F ~ 78 F with some thunderstorms
● 29th/Thursday: 89 F ~ 77 F and cloudy
● 30th/Friday: 90 F ~ 77 F with some thunderstorms
● 31st/Saturday: 90 F ~ 77 F with rain

More schedule changes are possible, but no major changes are contemplated at present.

The Opening Ceremony was a big hit in Japan, with a blockbuster 56.4 ratings and more than 70 million watching. Reports indicate that more than 80% of the Japanese public ha already watched some part of the Games.

NBC reported a total audience of 8.2 on Saturday across NBC-NBCSN-CNBC-USA Network. That’s behind Rio, but the audience for daytime and late-night shows were above Rio totals from 2016.
~ Rich Perelman

= RESULTS: MONDAY, 26 JULY =

● Archery: Men’s Team
Never a doubt, as Korea – Je-Deok Kim, Jin-Hyek Oh and Woo-Jin Kim – won its fifth gold in the last six Games, shutting out Chinese Taipei in the final (6–0) after winning a tight semi against Japan, 5-4, in a three-arrow shoot-out.

The Japanese squad did not walk away empty-handed, however, winning the bronze in another shoot-out, over the Netherlands, 5-4.

The U.S. won in the round of 16, but was eliminated by Japan in the quarterfinals, 5-1.

● Canoe-Kayak: Men’s Canoe Slalom
Experience counts and 34-year-old Benjamin Savsek – the 2017 World Champion – knew exactly what he had to do to win his first Olympic medal in three tries: stay away from penalties.

He navigated the course in 98.25 seconds with no penalties and after an eight in London and sixth in Rio, he was a convincing winner over Lukas Rohan (CZE: 101.96 with 2 penalties) and London silver medalist Sideris Tasiadis (GER: 103.70 with 0 penalties).

American Zachary Lokken, in his first Games, was seventh, an impressive finish since his best prior placement in a World Championships was 27th!

● Cycling: Men’s Mountain Bike Cross Country
Swiss stars Nino Schurter – the Rio 2016 winner – and Mathias Flueckiger had to be the favorites, and they were the leaders along with Britain’s Tom Pidcock by the end of the first of seven laps of the 3.85 km circuit.

New Zealand’s Anton Cooper came to join the party a couple of laps later, but by the halfway point of the 28.25 km course, Pidcock took the lead and made a break. He was six seconds up on Flueckiger by lap 4, 14 seconds up by lap 6 and kept extending until he won the gold medal by 20 seconds on Flueckiger and 34 seconds on David Valero Serrano of Spain. Schurter, 35, was fourth in 1:25:56, 42 seconds behind the winner. Cooper finished sixth; Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel did not finish.

● Diving: Men’s 10 m Synchro
Shocker. Stunner. Unbelievable. That’s how dominant China has been, that a victory by Britain’s Tom Daley and Matty Lee comes as a complete surprise.

Not that they aren’t great. Daley was the 2009 and 2017 World Champion at 10 m and he and Daniel Goodfellow won the 2012 10 m Synchro bronze. But reigning World Champions Yuan Cao and Aisen Chen were heavy favorites and had the lead after three dives, with the best score on each.

Then came their fourth dive, a back 3 1/2 somersault that was much less than perfect and scored only a tie for sixth out of eight teams. That opened the door for Daley and Lee, who had been second, second and third, and who then tried the same dive, but won it with 93.96 points to 73.44 for Cao and Chen and that was the difference.

The Chinese won each of the last two dives, but Daley and Lee were second on each and the final scores showed 471.81 for the Brits and 470.58 for China. Russia’s Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev were a clear third, but well behind at 439.92. Wow.

● Fencing: Men’s Foil
Italy was supposed to score well here and defending Olympic champion Daniele Garozzo was in the final against Hong Kong’s Ka Long Cheung … and lost, by 15-11. Cheung moved up from 14th in Rio and scored a sensational win, especially since he had never won an FIE World Cup or Grand Prix event! In fact, he had only been a finalist once, winning silver in Turin two seasons ago.

The big names were also absent in the bronze-medal match, as Alexander Choupenitch (CZE) defeated Japan’s Takahiro Shikine, 15-8. Who?

The U.S. had high hopes in this event, but Rio silver winner Alexander Massialas was eliminated in the round of 32, as was Gerek Meinhardt. Nick Itkin made it to the round of 16 before losing.

● Fencing: Women’s Sabre
The final was all-Russian affair between 2018 World Champion Sofia Pozdniakova and London 2012 silver medalist Sofiya Velikaya, with Pozdniakova winning, 15-11 for Russia’s second straight 1-2 Olympic finish in this event.

For Velikaya, she won the silver medal for the third straight Games.

France’s Manon Brunet won the bronze over Hungary’s Anna Marton, 15-6. The U.S. had high hopes, but Dagmara Wozniak and Eliza Stone were eliminated in the round of 32 and Mariel Zagunis – the 2008 and 2012 gold medalist – made it to the quarterfinals, but lost to Velikaya, 15-8 and finished fifth.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Team
It came down to the final rotation, but the “Russian Olympic Committee” team of Nikita Nagornyy, Artur Dalaloyan, David Belyavskiy and Denis Ablyazin eked out a 262.500-262.397 win over a disappointed Japan for the gold medal.

China was a not-too-distant third at 261.894, well ahead of Great Britain (255.760) and the U.S. (254.594).

Japan out-scored the Russians on Floor, Pommel Horse and High Bar, but fell short on Rings, , Vault and Parallel Bars. While Nagornyy had to score 14.666 on Floor – best of the day – to win at the end, the nearly two-point difference on Rings (44.399-42.433) was decisive. The Russians moved up from 261.945 in the qualifying to 262.500 in the final: not a big jump, but just enough to win. It was Russia’s first win in this event since 1996.

The U.S. was fourth in qualifying and fell to fifth in the final; Sam Mikulak scored an impressive 15.000 on the Parallel Bars, the best score of the day for the American men.

● Judo: Women’s 57 kg
Kosovo is making a name for itself on the tatami, as Nora Gjakova won its second gold of this Games and third in its history by beating France’s surprise finalist Sarah-Leonie Cysique by ippon in just 2:45 of the final.

Gjakova, a 2021 Worlds bronze winner, had to defeat Japan’s 2018 World Champion, Tsukasa Yoshida in the semis to get to the final. But Yoshida did win a bronze, defeating Elena Liparteliani by ippon. The other bronze went to 2021 World Champion Jessica Klimkait (CAN) over Kaja Kajzer (SLO), by waza-ari.

● Judo: Men’s 73 kg
Japan’s Shohei Ono repeated as Olympic champion with a win over Rio bronze medal winner Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO) by waza-ari in overtime. It took until 9:25 to produce a point in this match and it was finally Ono who found the magic.

It was the second straight cliff-hanger for Ono, who got to the final with a waza-ari in 4:53 of extra time in the semis against two-time 2021 Grand Slam winner Tsogbaatar Tsend-Ochir (MGL). Tsend-Ochir won a bronze by beating Canada’s Arthur Margelidon; Rio silver medalist Rustam Orujov (AZE) won a bronze this time by defeating 2018 World Champion Chang-Rim An (KOR).

● Shooting: Men’s Skeet
Beijing and London gold medalist Vince Hancock of the U.S. was determined to avenge his 15th-place finish in Rio and did, shooting an Olympic Record 59/60 in the final to defeat Denmark’s Jesper Hansen (55). Hancock ran off 21 shots without a miss, then missed one and hit his final 34 shots to claim a third Olympic gold.

Hancock is the first three-time winner in men’s Olympic Skeet, in fact, in any men’s Shotgun event at the Games.

Abdullah Al-Rashidi, who shot for the Refugee Olympic Team and won a bronze in Rio, shot for Kuwait this time and won another bronze (46).

At just 32, Hancock could continue for a while … perhaps even to Los Angeles in 2028!

● Shooting: Women’s Skeet
Defending champion Diana Bacosi (ITA) had a 29-28 edge over 2018 Worlds bronze medalist Amber English of the U.S. halfway through the final, but after 50 shots, both had 47. That was enough to eliminate bronze winner Meng Wei of China (46) and the duel was on for gold.

Bacosi hit two, then missed, while English ran off nine straight hits and when Bacosi missed again on her sixth shot, the American had a two-shot lead and even with a final miss, scored an Olympic Record to win, 56-55.

Shooting icon Kim Rhode of the U.S. had gone silver-gold-bronze in the last three Games, and now English joins her as a second U.S. winner in Skeet and an American medalist for the fourth straight Games.

● Skateboarding: Women’s Street
If the International Olympic Committee wants to go young, it is succeeding. The medal winners were 13, 13 and 16 and fourth-place American Alexis Sablone is 34.

New Zealand’s Roos Zwetsloot had the best runs at 3.34 and 3.80, but executed only one trick and ended up fifth. The 2021 Worlds silver medalist, Japan’s Momiji Nishiya had good runs of 3.02 and 2.91, then got hit with trick scores of 4.15, 4.66 and 3.43 on her final three tries to score 15.26, good enough to win.

Brazil’s Rayssa Leal, a two-time Worlds medalist, had a 3.13 run score and solid tricks scores of 3.91, 4.21 and 3.39 on her three good tries and that was good enough for second at 14.64. Japan’s Funa Nakayama was third (14.49) and Sablone was fourth at 13.57.

The course difficulty was high, with 26 of the 40 trick attempts resulting in 0.00 scores.

Having children win Olympic medals is fine on its own, but homeowners around the world are cringing at the thought of millions more youngsters taking up the sport in their neighborhoods.

● Swimming: Women’s 400 m Freestyle
Katie Ledecky (USA) led the prelims at 4:00.45 with Bingjie Li (CHN) at 4:01.57 and Australian Ariarne Titmus at 4:01.66.

In the final, Ledecky had the lead at 100 m, 150 m, 200 m, 250 m, and 300 m, but Titmus got closer and took the lead by 350 m and held on, stroke for stroke, during the final 50 m and moved away in the final 20 m to win in 3:56.69, the no. 2 time in history to Ledecky’s world record of 3:56.46. Ledecky swam 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever and the fastest non-winning time ever by more than three seconds.

China’s Li was third in 4:01.08, as Asian Record and American Paige Madden was seventh in 4:06.81.

Ledecky is just getting started and will swim the prelims in the 200 m and 1,500 m frees about seven hours later.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Butterfly
World leader Torri Huske was second at the turn and looked like a possible winner with 15 m to go, but the field rushed up on her at the touch and Canada’s Maggie McNeil backed  up her 2019 World Championships gold with a world-leading 55.59 – the third-fastest swim in history behind only two Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) marks – to win … barely.

China’s Yufei Zhang, the qualifying leader, finished strong for second in 55.64 (equal-fifth performance all-time), followed by Australia’s Emma McKeon (55.72: national record) and Huske, who swam 55.73 and missed a medal by 0.01.

Defending Olympic champ Sjostrom finished seventh in 56.91.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Breaststroke
Britain’s defending Olympic champ Adam Peaty came in with the top 18 times in the history of the event, including the Olympic Record of 57.13.

And he won in style, taking the lead by the 25 m mark, turning first and then swimming away from the field, winning in 57.37, the no. 4 mark in history. He’s the second two-time Olympic Champion in this event, joining Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) in 2004-08.

Dutch star Arno Kamminga was game, and a solid second for most of the race, winning the silver in 58.00, just short of his lifetime best of 57.90. Ilya Shymanovich of Belarus was third for much of the race, but was overtaken in the final meters by Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) for third in 58.33. American Michael Andrew seemed to be out of the medals, but rushed at the end to challenge for fourth at 58.84; Andrew Wilson of the U.S. tied for sixth in 58.99.

● Swimming: Men’s 4×100 m Freestyle
The U.S. was the favorite and superstar Caeleb Dressel took over immediately on the first leg with a 47.26 opening leg, the fastest 100 m Free swim in the world in 2021. But that created only a 0.26 lead for Blake Pieroni and France’s Florent Manaudou took the lead during the second leg but Pieroni came back to touch first (47.58) as Bowen Becker took over.

Becker swam a brilliant 47.44 and gave Zach Apple the lead up 0.20 … and then the race was over. Apple took off and raced away from the field with a sensational final leg of 46.69 to bring the U.S. home in 3:08.97, the no. 3 time in history.

Italy followed in 3:10.11 and Australia was third in 3:10.22.

This event has been held 13 times since first appearing at the 1964 Tokyo Games, and the U.S. has now won it in back-to-back Games and 10 times overall.

● Table Tennis: Mixed Doubles
Fans hoped that this event would see China’s Shiwen Liu and Xin Xu against Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito in this first-ever edition of this event. Wish granted.

The final lived up to expectations, with Liu and Xu running off sets of 11-5 and 11-7 before Mizutani and Ito came back to win three straight sets by 11-8, 11-9 and 11-9. Naturally, the Chinese evened it at 11-6, but Mizutani and Ito triumphed with an 11-6 win in the final set and the gold medal in an hour and 17 minutes.

France’s Emmanuel Lebesson and Jia Nan Yuan won the bronze, sweeping Chinese Taipei’s I-Ching Cheng and Yun Ju Lin, 4-0.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 67 kg
Among all the returning Olympic and Worlds medal winners, no one much noticed Croatia’s Matea Jelic, 23, who had never made it past a quarterfinal in the World Championships. But after winning the 2021 European title in this class, she had all the confidence she needed and crushed three opponents by 22-2, 30-9 and London 2012 bronze medalist Paige McPherson of the U.S. by 15-4 to reach the final.

There, she met the equally-determined, three-time European Champion Lauren Williams (GBR). The score was 10-10 after two periods and led to an all-out brawl in the final period, where Jelic managed a 15-12 edge for a 25-22 final and the gold medal.

In the bronze-medal matches, McPherson lost to Egypt’s Hedaya Malik, 17-6; former 62 kg World Champion Ruth Gbagbi (CIV) defeated Brazil’s 2019 Worlds bronze winner Milena Titoneli for the other bronze, 12-8.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 80 kg
Russia’s 2017 World 74 kg Champion and 2021 European 80 kg Champion Maksim Khramtcov was the top seed in this weight in the World Taekwondo rankings. And he won.

Khramtcov, 23, won his bouts by 13-6, 22-0, 13-1 and 20-9 in the final over surprise finalist Saleh Elsharabaty to win Russia’s first Olympic Taekwondo gold.

The bronze matches saw Seif Eissa (EGY) decision Richard Ordemann (NOR) by 12-4 and Toni Kanaet (CRO) beat Nikita Rafalovich (UZB), 24-18.

● Triathlon: Men
As always, it came down to the run. It was France’s two-time World Champion Vincent Luis who was out of the water first and then Swiss Andrea Salvisberg first at the end of the 40 km bike phase.

But then it was Alex Yee (GBR) who took charge on the run, leading a pack of almost 20 and with visions of a third straight gold medal for Great Britain. One of those in the pack was Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, 27, a second-time Olympian who was 13th in Rio, and a two-time winner on the World Triathlon Series.

Yee maintained his lead to 2.5 km remaining to the finish, but then Blummenfelt – who had moved from sixth up to second in the pack, unleashed a powerful final drive and blew past Yee to finish in 1:45:04, 11 seconds ahead of Yee and 20 seconds up on unheralded Hayden Wilde from New Zealand, who claimed the bronze.

It’s the first Olympic medal in triathlon for Norway and with Yee, Britain has won a men’s medal in this sport for three Games in a row. Wilde’s bronze is the first medal for New Zealand in this sports since 2008.

Britain’s 2016 silver winner, Jonathan Brownlee, finished fifth and American Kevin McDowell was sixth (1:45:54).

● Weightlifting: Women’s 55 kg
China’s Qiuyun Liao won the 2019 World Championship and came in as the world-record holder. She left as the Olympic silver medalist as 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz (PHI) went for broke and made her final lift at 127 kg in the Clean & Jerk to win by one kilo, 224-223 and claim the Olympic Record.

Both lifted 97 kg in the Snatch, but Liao’s program called for a final C&J lift of 126 and Diaz programmed 127. Both made the lifts; with Liao’s world record at 227, maybe she could have been more aggressive.

It was history for Diaz, who won the first-ever Olympic gold for the Philippines.

Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ), fourth at the 2019 Worlds, lifted a combined 213 kg for the bronze.

Elsewhere:

● Swimming: Just about seven hours after taking the silver medal in the women’s 400 m Freestyle, Katie Ledecky was back in the pool on her longest day of the Games. She won her heat in the 200 m Free in 1:55.28, the no. 9 time of the year, then set an Olympic Record in the first appearance of the women’s 1,500 m in 15:35.35, fastest in the world this year, the eighth-fastest swim in history!

She will be in the 200 m Free semifinals tonight.

● Team/3×3 Basketball: The U.S. won continued their winning ways, beating Italy by 17-13 and China by 21-19 to move to 6-0 and clinch a place in the semifinals with one pool game left against Japan. Russia, Japan and China are all 4-2.

In the men’s tournament, Serbia is 6-0 with one game to play, ahead of the Netherlands (4-2) with Belgium, Russia and Latvia at 3-3.

● Team/Basketball: The U.S. will play its second game in Group A on the 28th against Iran after losing to France, 83-76. The maddening part of that loss was that the U.S. had battled back from a 62-56 deficit at the end of the third quarter and went on an 18-5 run to lead 74-67 in the fourth. But a 14-0 run for the French in 3:07 flipped the score to 81-74 for France and the game ended with the French on a 16-2 run in the last 3:17.

In Group C, Slovenia used 48 points from NBA star Luka Doncic to ease past Argentina, 118-100. Only Brazil’s scoring machine Oscar Schmidt has ever scored more in the Games: 55 in the 1988 Games in Seoul.

● Team/Beach Volleyball: Only one match today among the American teams, with Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes winning their opening match by 2-1 over Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina (LAT).

● Team/Football: Japan scored an impressive 2-1 win over Mexico in Group A of the men’s tournament to lead the group at 2-0. France will be next on the 28th, with Mexico (1-1) playing South Africa. In Group D, defending champion Brazil won its opening match vs. Germany by 4-2, then drew – 0-0 – with the Ivory Coast! The Brazilians should advance, however, playing Saudi Arabia next on the 28th.

The U.S. women (1-1) need to win their final group match tomorrow against Australia (1-1) to be assured of moving on. Sweden (2-0) will play New Zealand (0-2). The playoffs begin on the 30th.

● Team/Rugby Sevens: The U.S. men have won their first two matches in pool play, 19-14 over Kenya and 19-17 over Ireland. The last group game is vs. South Africa (also 2-0) tomorrow.

The U.S. women will start on the 29th.

● Team/Volleyball: The U.S. men’s team (1-1) lost to Russia (2-0) in six-team Group B, in four tightly contested sets by 25-23, 27-25, 21–25, 25–23. Next up is Tunisia, on the 28th. The U.S. women (1-0 in Group B) play China next, on the 27th.

● Team/Water Polo: The U.S. men are at 1-0 and will play South Africa (0-1) today in its second of five group games. The U.S. edged Japan, 15-13, in its opener yesterday.

The American women, the gold-medal favorites, are 2-0 in the five-team Group B after a 12-7 win over China earlier today. The game was 6-6 at half, but the U.S. tightened the defense and out-scored China by 6-1 in the final half. Makenzie Fischer led the Americans with three goals.

= PREVIEWS: TUESDAY, 27 JULY =
(22 events across 14 sports)

● Canoe-Kayak: Women’s K-1 Slalom
Winners of five of the six medals awarded in London and Rio are back: Rio winner (and Rio bronze) Maialen Chourraut (ESP), silver medalist Luuka Jones (NZL) and London silver and Rio bronze winner Jessica Fox (AUS).

Fox starts as the favorite, having won the 2014-17-18 world titles and a silver in 2019 to Slovenia’s Eva Tercelj (who is also in the field). Two-time Worlds medalist Ricarda Funk will challenge, as will Klaudia Zwolinska (POL), who a Slalom World Cup earlier this year.

Medal hopes from the Americas include 17-year-old American Evy Leibfarth, a World Cup sensation in 2019 and 2020, winning four medals, and the 2019 Pan American Games gold. Brazil’s Ana Satila is also dangerous, with two World Cup medals in K-1 and six in C-1.

● Cycling: Women’s Mountain Bike/Cross Country
The entire Rio podium of Jenny Rissveds (SWE: gold), Maya Wloszczowska (POL: silver) and Catharine Prendel (CAN: bronze) is back, but none are favored.

Neither is France’s Pauline Ferrand Prevot, the 2015-19-20 World Champion or Swiss star Jolanda Neff, the 2017 World Champion, or Australia’s Rebecca McConnell the Worlds bronze winner in 2019-20. Not even American Kate Courtney, the 2018 World Champion.

It’s all about French sensation Loana Lecomte, 21, winner of all five World Cup competitions this season. Rissveds has been second twice, Ferrand Prevot second once and American Haley Batten has won a silver and bronze. But can anyone beat Lecomte?

● Diving: Women’s 10 m Synchro
China offers Jiaqi Zhang, the 2019 World 10 m Synchro champion with Wei Lu, and Yuxi Chen, the 2019 World 10 m gold medalist. To say they are the favorites is an understatement; China has won this event all five times it has been contested at the Games.

The chase for the other medals will come from 2019 Worlds silver medalists Pandelela Pamg and Mun Yee Leong (INA) and Canadians Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay; Benfeito is looking for a third straight Olympic medal, as she won bronze in 2012 and 2016 with Rose Filion.

Britain’s Eden Chang and Lois Toulson were sixth at the 2019 Worlds and figure in the medal hunt, as do Americans Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell and perhaps Gemany’s Christina Wassen and Tina Punzel.

● Equestrian: Team Dressage
This event dates back to the 1928 Games and has been won by a German team 13 times and in eight of the last nine Games. For 2021, the brilliant Isabell Werth is back again to lead the German entry, gold medalist in the 1992-96-2000-08-16 Games and five World Championships, including the last in 2018. Rio teammate Dorothee Schneider is also back, along with Jessica van Bredow-Wendl.

Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin are back from the Rio silver winners from Great Britain and Steffen Peters is the returning member of the bronze medalists from the U.S. Adrienne Lyle is also aboard for the U.S.; she and Peters were part of the American silver winners at the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

Prime challengers start with Sweden, with Therese Nilshagen, Antonia Ramel and Juliette Ramel up, as well as the Denmark, Netherlands and Portugal.

● Fencing: Women’s Team Epee
Four different nations have won this event in the five times on the Olympic program, and China is the reigning World Champion from 2019, having defeated Russia in the final, with Italy besting Ukraine for the bronze.

China’s Yiwen Sun took the gold in the individual event and teammates Sheng Lin and Mingye Zhu were in the top 11. That makes them favorites, but threatened by Italy, which claimed places 6-8-10 with Federica Isola, Rossella Fiamingo and former World Champion Mara Navarria.

Russia, led by Aizanat Murtazaeva (4th) and teammates placed 23 and 29 is a medal contender, as is Korea and Poland.

The U.S. won the Worlds in 2018 in this event, with Kelley and Courtney Hurley and Kat Holmes: they placed 12-26-24 in the individual event, but must be considered dangerous.

● Gymnastics: Women’s Team
Can the U.S. pull it off? Led by the great Simone Biles, the American women have long been expected to romp to the women’s Team gold for a third straight time. True, Biles and Sunisa Lee went 1-3 in the All-Around qualifying, but Jade Carey was ninth, MyKayla Skinner was 11th and Grace McCallum was 13th.

In the meantime, Russia was 4-5-6 with Angelina Melnikova, Vladislava Urazova and Viktoriia Listunova and Liliia Akhaimova was 28th. The qualifying results were Russia 171.629 to 170.562 for the U.S. China was third at 166.863, with France fourth in 164.561.

China looks like the bronze medalist, absent a breakdown, but what will the U.S. do? Russia appeared to max out in the qualifying, but the Americans were not in top form. Nerves?

What appeared to be a coronation now looks like a fight, but with the U.S. with a much higher ceiling – so to speak – than its opponents. The U.S., Russia and Italy were 1-2-3 at the 2019 Worlds, with the U.S. scoring 172.330 to Russia’s 166.529. It may take a similar score for a third straight American gold.

● Judo: Women’s 63 kg
Rio gold medalist Tina Trstenjak is back for another try and perhaps for another showdown with French star Clarisse Agbegnenou.

Trstenjak also won the 2015 World Championship and the 2017 silver and 2018 bronze at this weight, but Agbegnenou holds Worlds golds from 2014-17-18-19-21, making her the favorite … but not by much.

Of late, Agbegnenou has been fighting off Japan’s Miku Tashiro, Worlds finalist in both 2018 and 2019 and Slovenia’s Andreja Leski in 2021. There are lots more bronze winners ready for a shot at a higher step, including two-time Worlds medalist Juul Franssen (NED), Anja Obradovic (SRB: 2021), and Martyna Trajdos (GER: 2019). Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, ranked seventh in the world, is another contender.

● Judo: Men’s 81 kg
Belgium’s Mattias Casse stormed to the 2021 World title in June and is ranked no. 1 worldwide, moving up from a silver in 2019. His principal challengers are expected to be Georgian Tato Grigalashvili (2021 silver) and bronze medalists Frank de Wit (NED) and Anri Egutidze (POR).

But the drama in this class is with 2019 World Champion Sagi Muki of Israel and the former Iranian star Saeid Mollaei, the 2018 World Champion, who was ordered to lose matches at the 2019 Worlds so that he would not face an Israeli fighter (Muki). Mollaei left in fear of his life, went to Germany and eventually was adopted by Mongolia, the country he now represents. Will they meet in Tokyo?

There are other worthy contenders in the field, such as Japan’s 2015 World Champion and Rio bronze medalists Takanori Nagase, Antoine Valois-Fortier (CAN), a three-time Worlds medalist and the London 2012 bronze medalist, the 2018 Worlds silver medalist Vedat Albayrak (TUR) and eighth-ranked Alan Khubetsov (RUS).

● Shooting: Air Pistol Mixed Team
This is a new, mixed-gender event at the Games, with Russia, China and Ukraine winning the medals at the 2018 World Championships. During the 2021 World Cup season, India, Iran and Russia were the top performers. Those five countries should split the medals.

The U.S. has Lexi Lagan, Sandra Uptagrafft, James Hall and Nick Mowrer ready to go; making the final is likely the goal, and a medal would put them in dreamland.

● Shooting: Air Rifle Mixed Team
Another new event in Tokyo, with China going gold-silver at the 2018 Worlds and Russia winning the bronze. The 2021 World Cup season – a good predictor at the Games so far – saw India, Hungary, the U.S. and two different Russian teams win medals.

The American entries, with Mary Tucker, Alison Weisz, Lucas Kozeniesky and gold medalist Will Shaner should be formidable.

● Softball:
The U.S. and Japan entered the final round-robin game undefeated and their match-up was as tight as expected.

Japan got a run in the first inning, as Saki Yamazaki reached on error, a sacrifice bunt, a single and a passed ball. But Ally Carda then shut down the home team into the sixth and then teamed with Cat Osterman to retire Japan in the sixth.

The Americans scratched out a run in the bottom of the sixth on a Valerie Arioto single that scored Haylie McCleney to tie 1-1, and then Kelsey Stewart opened the bottom of the seventh with a home run to right field for a walk-off win. Monica Abbott got the win for a scoreless seventh.

That was Monday. The two meet again in the gold-medal game, with the U.S. having won all five of its games, scoring just nine runs (vs. 2) in the process. Japan was 4-1 and outscored its opponents by a combined 18-5.

Canada will play Mexico for the bronze.

● Surfing: Men and Women
The unstable weather conditions forced the condensation of the competition by a day, with finals moved to the 27th. So, it will be a wild ride for the first edition of Olympic surfing in Tokyo, with both competitions now down to the quarterfinals.

Many of the biggest names are still afloat in the men’s division, including 2019 World Surfing Games champ Italo Ferreira (BRA), silver medalist Kolohe Andino (USA) and bronze winner Gabriel Medina (BRA), and 2021 silver medalist Kanoa Igahashi (JPN).

Medina won twice and had three runner-up finished in the 2021 World Surf League and appears as the favorite. Ferreira also won once.

The women’s quarterfinals features reigning World Surfing Games champ Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 2019 silver medalist Silvana Lima (BRA) and bronze winner Bianca Buitendag (RSA). But Buitendag has a tough assignment in her quarter against 2018 silver winner Yolanda Hopkins (POR).

However, Americans Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks are both contenders. Moore has a win and two seconds from six World Surf League events this season and Marks won at the Rip Curl Narrabean Classic in Australia. Fitzgibbons also has a win this season and is a medal favorite.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Backstroke
Australia’s world-record holder Kaylee McKeown set the Olympic Record in 57.88, the no. 4 time of the year, in the heats, but American teen Regan Smith (19) – the 2019 World 200 m Back Champion – won the first semi in another Olympic Record of 57.86. Fellow American Rhyan White was second in 58.46 and Kathleen Dawson (GBR) third in 58.56.

McKeown was in semi two, but 2021 world no. 2 – and two-time World Champion – Kylie Masse of Canada won in 58.09 to 58.11 for McKeown and 58.59 for Emily Seebohm (AUS).

Clearly, McKeown as the world-record setter, is the favorite, but Masse and Smith appear just as capable of getting on the top step of the podium. If any of these aren’t in form, White, Seebohm and especially Dawson could get a medal.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Breaststroke
The first statement was made in the heats with South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker setting an Olympic Record of 1:04.82 and moving to no. 2 in the world for 2021 and equal-fifth all-time.

The U.S. came in to Tokyo with the three fastest performers in the world (now 3 of 4) and American teenager Lydia Jacoby – just 17 and no. 2 on the world list – impressed as the winner of the first semi in 1:05.72, her third-fastest time of the year, ahead of Sophie Hansson (SWE: 1:05.81) and Russia’s Yuliya Efimova (1:06.34).

World leader, reigning Olympic champ, World Champion and world-record holder Lilly King was expected to win the second semi, but it was Schoenmaker who won with a steady pace in the second half, 1:05.07-1:05.40. Martina Carraro (ITA) was third in 1:06.50 and qualified seventh.

The U.S. is looking good for two medals here, but King is going to have to be in her Olympic Trials form (1:04.72 semis/1:04.79 final) to win. Hansson is the best other challenger.

● Swimming: Men’s 200 m Freestyle
Korea’s Sunwoo Hwang had the fastest time in the heats at 1:44.62, but world leader Duncan Scott (GBR) won semi two in 1:44.60 and 400 m Free bronze medalist Kieran Smith (USA) was second in 1:45.07, leading the field into the final. Lithuanian star Danas Rapsys, the 2018 Worlds Short-Course silver medalist, was third (1:45.32) and Tom Dean, with the second-fastest time in the world in 2021, was fourth (1:45.34) with Hwang fifth (1:45.53).

Russia’s Martin Malyutin and Romania’s 16-year-old sensation David Popovici went 1-2 in the first semi in 1:45.45 and 1:45.68, with American Townley Haas, the 2017 Worlds silver winner, in fifth at 1:46.07 and did not qualify for the final.

Scott, Smith, Rapsys, Dean, Malyutin and Popovici are the medal contenders; that’s a lot of names for an event which really is wide open. This event has not seen a time under 1:44.00 since 2012.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Backstroke
Defending Olympic champ and world-record holder Ryan Murphy won the first semi in 52.24 – just 0.02 off his seasonal best – ahead of Australia’s Mitch Larkin in 52.76 and Thomas Ceccon (ITA: 52.78).

Russian Kliment Kolesnikov, the 2021 world leader at 52.09, won the second semi neatly at 52.29, with teammate Evgeny Rylov second at 52.91 and China’s Jiayu Xu third (52.94). American Joseph Armstrong tied for fifth at 53.21.

The six under 53 will contend for the medals, but Murphy looks primed for a big performance in the final, which would mean a second Olympic gold.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 80+ kg
Two Olympic silver medalists return, both from Africa in Anthony Obame from Gabon (2012) and Niger’s Abdoul Issofou (2016).

However, they can hardly be considered favorites against 2019 World 87 kg champ Vladislav Larin of Russia or World 87+ kg gold medalist Rafael Alba of Cuba. These two Worlds winners must compete in this class since the Olympics allows only four classes per gender instead of the eight used by World Taekwondo in its Worlds.

Other 2019 Worlds medalists in the field are Ivan Sapina (CRO), bronze winner at 87 kg and Mexico’s Carlos Sansores, silver medalist at 98+ kg. From the 2017 Worlds at 87 kg, champion Alexander Bachmann(GER) and Ivan Trajkovic (SLO: bronze) are in the field, as is 87+ kg runner-up Mahama Cho (GBR).

Larin and Alba are favored, but the talent is deep in this class. Also lined up is Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua – the bare-chested Opening Ceremonies star – who also competed in this class in 2016 and lost his first-round match by 16-1.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 67+ kg
Defending champion Shuyin Zheng (CHN) headlines this field, with bronze medalist Bianca Walkden (GBR) also back, but they will have to deal with the London 2012 gold medalist, Milica Mandoc (SRB, also a 2017 World Champion at 73 kg).

Walkden owns the 2019 World title at +73 kg, where she beat Zheng straight up, with Mexico’s Briseida Acosta third. And Walkden also won in 2019, with Zheng third. At 73 kg, Korean Da-Bin Lee won the 2019 title and Turk Nafia Kus won bronze.

But doesn’t it seem like another Walkden-Zheng showdown is inevitable?

● Triathlon: Women
London gold medalist and Rio silver medalist Nicola Spirig (SUI) and bronze winner Vicky Holland (GBR) are back, but are only some of the contenders in what should be a wide-open race.

The British trio includes reigning World Champion Georgia Taylor-Brown, 2019 World Series runner-up Jessica Learmonth and Holland, who was also the 2018 World Champion.

The U.S. has Katie Zaferes, the 2019 World Champion who has been off of her best and had to survive a selection process to make the team, plus Taylor Knibb, who won the World Triathlon Series stop in Yokohama this year, and Summer Rappaport, second in that Yokohama race.

Then there is two-time World Champion Flora Duffy (BER), second in the 2020 World Championships and if fit, may be the one to beat. German Laura Lindemann was the Worlds bronze winner in 2020 and Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, a two-time World Series winner, should not be counted out.

Zaferes, a former Syracuse trackster, will be dangerous if she is within striking distance in the run.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 59 kg
The 2019 World Champion and current world-record holder is Hsing-Chun Kuo of Chinese Taipei and she is the favorite to win. With North Korea not competing and China skipping this weight class, it’s hard to see her losing.

Japan’s Mikiko Andoh, fifth at the 2019 Worlds, Britain Zoe Smith (6th), Yusleidy Figueroa (VEN: 7th) and Vietnam’s Hoang Thi Duyen (9th) are the most likely candidates for the other medals.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 64 kg
Injury has prevented China’s reigning Olympic champ Wei Deng from winning another gold here, opening the door for others like Mercedes Perez (COL), Maude Charron (CAN), Britain’s Sarah Davies and Giorgia Bordignon.

Perez has a bronze from the 2017 World Championships and three golds from 2011,15-19 Pan American Games and should be considered the favorite, but this class has been devastated by injuries, withdrawals and national doping bans.

= INTEL REPORT =

Asked who was the first person to congratulate him on his gold-medal performance in the men’s 10 m Air Rifle final, Will Shaner of the U.S. replied:

“My drug testing guy.”

Veterans of Olympic organizing committees can empathize with Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya, who was asked about delays in athlete transport to training sites, even athletes taking taxis there. His response is one that has been heard in almost every Games:

“I am aware that transport is experiencing some issues, including delays. So they always have buses on standby … so we are trying to do everything that we can so that we can move the transport services smoothly and my understanding is that the situation is improving.”

Transport is one of the most unmanageable of all elements, no matter how well planned or how much money is spent. Let’s hope he’s right.

Through 26 July, the Tokyo 2020 report on Covid positives is at 148 (+16). Of these, 79 are residents of Japan and 69 are not; the leading group continues to be contractors (70), followed by “Games-concerned personnel” including coaches and officials (48), then athletes (136), news media (9) and Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers (5).

The testing report by stakeholder group:

● Athletes and team officials: 17 positives out of 790,136 tests through 24 July (0.02%)
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 25 positives out of 114,080 tests through 24 July (0.02%).

There are another 67 positives from outside groups not being tested by Tokyo 2020 and 28 caught at the airport for a total of 137 through 24 July.

In addition, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is now publishing positives, with one positive reported among the 1,038 athletes and officials in Tokyo as of 24 July, and none among 1,144 on 25 July.

It’s not Olympic news, but elsewhere, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is rolling on, with the semifinals set for the 29th between the U.S. and Qatar and Mexico and Canada. In the quarters, played Saturday, Qatar edged El Salvador, 3-2 while the U.S. got a goal from Matt Hoppe in the 83rd minute to edge Jamaica, 1-0. Mexico clubbed Honduras, 3-0, and Canada shut down Costa Rica, 2-0. The final will be played on 1 August.

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For our 649-event International Sports Calendar for 2021 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TOKYO 2020/Sunday Review & Preview: 6 medals for U.S. swimmers; Ledecky vs. Titmus in 400 Free tonight; U.S. men’s basketball loses to France!

By
Rich Perelman
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Joy from the men's 400 m Medley medalists (l-r): Jay Litherland and Chase Kalisz (USA) and Australia's Brendon Smith

(★ Friends: So grateful for the 39 donors who have covered 53% of our current bill for tech support. If you would like to join in, please donate here. Your help is so very much appreciated. Thank you. ★)

= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One

The Olympic Games is not supposed to be a contest between nations, but everyone checks out the medal standings anyway. After two days of medal events:

1. China, 11 (6-1-4)
2. United States, 10 (4-2-4)
3. Russian Olympic Committee, 7 (1-4-2)
4. Japan, 6 (5-1-0)
5. Italy (1-1-3) and Korea (2-0-3), 5

However, this is hardly a real comparison of team strength, so we have a fairer TSX scoring system that uses the top eight places – the number in the finals of many events – using the time-honored U.S. scoring of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. So after two days and 29 of 339 events:

1. China, 102
2. United States, 96
3. Japan, 82.5
4. Russian Olympic Committee, 66.5
5. Korea, 62.5
6. Italy, 62
7. France, 49.5
8. Hungary, 41
9. Netherlands, 33.5
10. Great Britain, 27.5

We’ll keep this updated as we go along.

Hot weather is a factor in Tokyo as expected. This week is expected to have more of the same:

● 26th/Monday: high of 92 F, low of 73 F: cloudy
● 27th/Tuesday: 81 F ~ 76 F: rainy
● 28th/Wednesday: 88 F ~ 77 F: cloudy
● 29th/Thursday: 89 F ~ 77 F: cloudy
● 30th/Friday: 90 F ~ 77 F: thunderstorms!

The weather will cool slightly for the second week, but thunderstorms are projected through the rest of the Games, with continuing worry over the impact of typhoon conditions in the Pacific. It might be just as well that spectators were not allowed for these Games!

NBC’s ratings for the Opening Ceremony were way down from prior years, not a surprise given that the event took place about 12 hours earlier than its primetime window.

Reports indicated that the total NBC audience for the show – across all platforms – was about 17.0 million, down from 26.5 million for Rio in 2016 or 40.7 million for London in 2012.

No reports yet on during-the-day cable audiences, which make up a lot of the NBC coverage on NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network and others. Stay tuned.
~ Rich Perelman

● Archery: Women’s Team
The trio of San An, Min-Hee Jang and Chae-Young Kang had no trouble keeping Korea’s record perfect in this event: it has been held nine times and Korea has won nine golds. They stomped Italy, 6-0, then Germany in the semifinals by 5-1 and then Russia – Ksenia Perova, Elena Osipova and Svetlana Gomboeva (remember her, the one who feinted from the heat on Friday?) – in the final by 6-0. That’s 17 ends to one.

Germany took the bronze, defeating Belarus, 5-1. The U.S. was eliminated, 6-0, by Russia in the quarterfinals.

● Cycling: Women’s Road Race
Complete shocker, as Austria’s unheralded Anna Kiesenhofer took advantage of an early breakaway and won by 1:15 over a stunned peloton.

Kiesenhofer, 30, had never won anything bigger than her national championships, but was part of an early attack that the major contenders simply ignored. But over the 137 km loop course to the Fuji International Raceway, she not only maintained a healthy lead, she broke free of Omer Shapira (ISR) and Anna Plitcha (POL) with 41 km remaining and rode alone to the finish!

The peloton finally got going and Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten got up for second, closing hard in the last 4 km, but still only for silver. Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) took the bronze (+1:29) with Lotte Kopecky (BEL: +1:39) fourth. American Coryn Rivera was seventh and defending champ Anna van der Breggen (NED) was 15th. Shapira and Plitcha ended up 24th and 27th.

This is why races take place in person and not on paper; Kisenhofer’s win literally came out of nowhere.

● Diving: Women’s 3 m Synchro
Yawn. As expected. China began its run at diving gold with a dominating 326.40 to 300.78 win by Tingmao Shi and Han Wang over Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu, repeating the 1-2 finish from the 2019 World Championships.

There’s no doubting the brilliance of the Chinese; their divers have now won this event five times in a row. Germans Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel were third, but well back at 284.97. Americans Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson finished eighth (263.49).

● Fencing: Men’s Epee
Crazy things happen in the Olympics, so why shouldn’t France’s 24-year-old Romain Cannone, who finished 30th at the 2019 World Championships, beat 2019 World Champion Gergely Siklosi in the final, 15-10?

This was no fluke. Cannone opened with a 15-12 win over 2012 Olympic Champion Ruben Limardo (VEN), then won 15-11 in his second-round match, 15-12 over 2019 Worlds silver medalist Sergey Bida (RUS) and then 15-10 over Ukraine’s Igor Reizlin, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist … before he got to Siklosi. Sacre bleu!

Reizlin won the bronze-medal match vs. Andrea Santarelli (ITA), 15-12.

● Fencing: Women’s Foil
Russian Inna Deriglazova, the Rio gold medalist and World Champion in 2015-17-19, was cruising. She won her first four bouts by 15-8, 15-10, 15-7 and then 15-10 vs. 2018 World Champion Alice Volpi of Italy. On to the final.

On the other side of the bracket, American Lee Keifer – a Notre Dame star at a school famous for fencing – was moving toward another showdown with Deriglazova. She moved through the rounds, winning 15-4, then 15-13 against Canada’s Eleanor Harvey, 15-11 in the quarters and then 15-6 against Russian Larisa Korobeynikova to get the Deriglazova.

No chance, right? Deriglazova had won 10 of their 14 meetings, dating back to 2008 and the last four in a row.

But Kiefer ended the first period up, 8-7, then went up 9-7 and 12-9 and had an upset in sight. But Deriglazova won three straight points to even the match, but then Kiefer won two straight points, gave up one and got one more for a sensational, 15-13 upset.

It was the U.S.’s first-ever medal in women’s foil and Keifer is only the second American woman to win an Olympic fencing gold; teammate Mariel Zagunis did it twice in Sabre. Yowsah!

Korobeynikova out-dueled Volpi, 15-14, for the bronze.

● Judo: Women’s 52 kg
This was going to be a big day for the Abe family as Uta and older brother Hifumi were both fighting. And Uta held up her end.

The 2019 World Champion, Uta stormed to the gold medal, winning her first two bouts in 2:03 (ippon) and 4:00 (waza-ari), before a tough match vs. Rio silver winner Odette Giuffrida (ITA, by waza-ari) that took 7:11.

The final against France’s Amandine Buchard, the 2018 Worlds bronze medalist, went to overtime and 27 seconds into the extra period, Abe managed a full throw (ippon) to win the Olympic title.

Giuffrida and Britain’s Chelsie Giles won the bronze medals.

● Judo: Men’s 66 kg
A great day for the Abe family!

Japan’s Hifumi Abe was the 2017-18 World Champion and the clear favorite and he was undeterred from winning the gold with a waza-ari after four minutes against Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili in the final.

Abe never let the matches go too long: he won by ippon (5:27), waza-ari (4:00) and ippon in 2:25 in the semifinals before winning the final. His total mat time on the way to winning was only 15:52, less than four minutes per bout.

Brazil’s Daniel Cargnin and Korea’s Baul An – the Rio silver medalist – won the bronzes.

● Shooting: Women’s 10 m Air Pistol
This battle came down to the final round, as Rio silver medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina (RUS) moved up to the top of the podium, shooting 10.5 and 10.4 on her last two shots to edge Antoaneta Kostadinova (BUL), winner of last June’s ISSF World Cup.

The Bulgarian had a 230.4-229.9 lead going into the final shot, but scored only 9.0 vs. 10.4 for Batsarashkina and that was the difference. The Russian’s total of 240.3 was an Olympic Record; Kostidinova finished at 239.4. China’s Ranxin Jiang was third at 218.0.

● Shooting: Men’s 10 m Air Rifle
American gold for Bill Shaner, who showed he was a contender by winning the ISSF World Cup in Croatia in June. He led throughout the final and had a 231.3-229.8 edge over China’s Lihao Sheng going into the last round. Sheng scored 10.3 and 10.8, but Shaner’s 10.1 and 10.2 were enough for a 251.6-250.9 victory. It’s an Olympic Record for Shaner and the first-ever medal for the U.S. in this event, introduced in Los Angeles in 1984.

China’s Hoaran Yang won the bronze (229.4); American Lucas Kozeniesky finished sixth.

● Skateboarding: Men’s Street
The sport made its debut in Tokyo with a historic win for Japan’s Yuto Horigome, the 2021 World Champion. He produced desultory first and second runs, but executed four brilliant in five tries to score 9.03, 9.35, 9.50 and 9.30 for a 37.18 total to win by more than a point.

Brazil’s 2015 World Champion Kelvin Hoefler had the second and third-best runs of the day at 8.98 and 8.84, so his tricks score of 8.99 and 9.34 gave him 36.15 for second.

This was a difficult competition, in which only American Jagger Eaton managed to score about 9.00 (9.05) on a run and 21 of 40 trick attempts ended with scores of 0.00. Eaton scored 8.20 and 9.05 on his runs and had trick scores of 8.70 and 9.40 – second best of the day – to clinch third at 35.35. American star Nyjah Huston, the six-time World Champion, had a rough first run of 7.90 but rebounded to score 9.11 on his second. But after a 9.09 on his first trick, the remainder scored 0.00 and he finished seventh at 26.10.

● Swimming: Men’s 400 m Freestyle
Australia’s Jake McLoughlin, no. 2 on the world list, led the race from the start in lane two and he and Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – in lane 8 – separated from the field by the 150 m mark and the question was whether anyone could catch them.

McLoughlin turned first at 350 m by 0.31 and had the lead almost to the end, but Hafnaoui – who was the final qualifier, making it in by 0.14 – came on with a stout kick and a perfect stretch to touch first in 3:43.36, moving him to third on the world list for 2021. He said afterwards, “I just put my head in the water. I just can’t believe it.”

Behind those two was a free-for-all over the last two laps, with Felix Auboeck (AUT) third, American Keiran Smith fourth and Germany’s qualifying leader Henning Muhlleitner fifth, all within a half-second. But Smith had the best finish and grabbed the bronze in a lifetime best of 3:43.94, ahead of Auboeck and Muhlleitner, tied for fourth in 3:44.07. American Jake Mitchell was eighth in 3:45.39.

● Swimming: Men’s 400 m Medley
American Chase Kalisz, the 2017 World Champion in this event, was supposed to take over on the third stroke – the Breaststroke – but he charged to the lead during the second (backstroke) leg, and finally turned second to Lewis Clareburt (NZL) by just 0.34. Then he did take over on the Breast leg, pushing out to a huge lead of 2.47 seconds over Clareburt heading into the Freestyle finish.

Kalisz’s lead was 1.82 seconds flipping onto the final lap and he won in 4:09.42, actually slower than Brendon Smith (AUS) in the qualifying heats (4:09.27). Smith looked like he was going to be second, but American Jay Litherland sprinted home best and moved from fourth to second in the final 25 m and claimed the silver medal in 4:10.28, beating Smith by 0.10. Clareburt faded to seventh (4:11.22).

Kalisz was the Rio silver medalist, and is moving up to the top of the podium. He said afterwards that this victory was the goal he had pointed for for his entire career. He was brilliant; the U.S. has now won a medal in this event in nine straight Games.

● Swimming: Women’s 400 m Medley
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu was the defending champion and American teen Emma Weyant had the fastest time in the world in 2021, but Japan’s Yui Ohashi, sixth on the world list, took charge in mid-race and was never headed.

Hosszu and American Hali Flickinger traded leads on the Butterfly leg, but Ohashi zoomed to the lead on the Backstroke leg and expanded her edge on the Breaststroke to almost two body lengths. She gave back a little to Weyant, who moved to second on the Breast leg and then pushed hard to finish second, 4:32.08 (world leader for Ohashi) to 4:32.76 (lifetime best for Weyant).

Behind them was a duel between Hosszu and Flickinger in lanes one and two. Hosszu’s slight edge on the Freestyle leg dissipated in the final 50 m, as Flickinger grabbed third in 4:34.90. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte for fourth (4:35.13) with Hosszu fading to fifth (4:35.98).

It was the fifth Games in a row in which the U.S. has won at least one medal in this event.

● Swimming: Women’s 4×100 m Freestyle
Australia came here to break the world record and a brilliant leg by Emma McKeon on the third stage led to a strong anchor by Cate Campbell and, indeed, a world record of 3:29.69, the first women’s team to ever break 3:30. It’s their third straight gold in this event and Cate Campbell has been on all three.

Behind them was a taught race for second, with Sweden, the U.S. and Canada all in the mix. Third leg Natalie Hinds got the U.S. into the mix – possibly for second – when anchors Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak (CAN) – the co-100 m Free champs n Rio – took over. Manuel and Oleksiak went back and fourth, but the Canadian swam 52.26 to 52.96 for Manuel and grabbed the silver at the touch.

The U.S. has won a medal in all nine Games held from 1984 on, but has finished 2-2-3-2-3 in the last five. But with the bronze, the American swim team won six medals in its first finals session.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 57 kg
Where did this come from? American 18-year-old Anastasija Zolotic rolled through four matches and won the Olympic title from Russian Tatiana Minina in a battle of two relative unknowns in this weight class.

Zolotic won her bouts by 11-4, 17-9, then 28-5 in her semi against Chia-Ling Lo (TPE) and then 25-17 in the final. Zolotic had a 12-10 lead after the first period, but was up only 14-13 going into the final period. But she scored four quick points for an 18-13 lead and cruised to the gold medal.

Lo won her bronze medal match; Turkey’s Hatice Ilgun was the other bronze medalist.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 68 kg
Britain’s 2019 World Champion Bradly Sinden was moving smartly towards the gold medal, winning high-scoring bouts by 53-8, 39-19 and 33-25 in the semi against China’s Shuai Zhao.

But he ran into a problem in the final and was upset by Uzbek Ulugbek Rashitov, 34-29. The challenger essentially won the fight in the first round with a 13-8 lead and then held on for the final two; Rashitov won the wild third round by 16-15.

Zhao won a bronze medal over 2017 World Champion Dae-Hoon Lee, and Hakan Recber (TUR) won the second bronze.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 61 kg
China’s Fabin Li set an Olympic Record of 313 kg on the way to a dominant win, adding an Olympic gold to his 2019 World Championship. Along the way, he set an Olympic Record of 172 kg – making the lift while standing on one leg! – in the Clean & Jerk.

Indonesia’s Eko Yuli Irawan won the Rio silver medal and repeated in Tokyo (302 kg), with Igor Son (KAZ) emerging to take the bronze at 294 kg, just ahead of Japan’s Yoichi Itokazu (292 kg).

● Weightlifting: Men’s 67 kg
Five straight wins for China in this weight class as Lijun Chen, the 2019 World Champion and the world-record holder, lifted a combined 332 kg to win a tight battle with Colombia’s Luis Javier Mosqueda.

Chen managed only his opening Snatch weight of 145 kg and Mosqueda lifted 151 kg. But Chen made his first two Clean & Jerk lifts of 175 kg and then an Olympic Record 187 kg and that was enough. Mosqueda made his final lift of 180 kg, but fell a kilo short.

Mirko Zanni (ITA) was a surprise third, lifting 322 kg to 321 for Myeongmok Han of Korea.

Elsewhere:

● Gymnastics: The women’s team qualifying saw Russia top the U.S., 171.629 to 170.562, with China third at 166.863. This is not good news for the Americans, although Simone Biles had the top All-Around score at 57.731, followed by Rebeca Andrade (BRA: 57.399) and Sunisa Lee of the U.S. (57.166). Jade Carey was ninth, MyKayla Skinner was 11th and Grace McCallum, 13th.

Biles and Lee went 1-2 in the Vault qualifications; two-time World Champion Nina Derwael (BEL) led the Uneven Bars with Lee second and Biles ninth (both qualified for the finals); China’s Chenchen Guan led the Beam, with Lee third and Biles seventh (both qualified), and Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) had the top score on Floor, just ahead of Biles and Carey.

Everybody got to the next round who was supposed to, but this was hardly an encouraging start for a squad which has big expectations.

● Team: Basketball
Any aura of invincibility for the U.S. men’s team was shattered on Sunday as France defeated the Americans in their opener, 83-76. The U.S. had a 22-15 lead at the quarter and a 45-37 lead at half, but it disappeared when France ran off a 25-11 third quarter and outscored the U.S. by 21-20 in the fourth.

The U.S. shot just 36% from the field to France’s 47%, and was out-rebounded, 42-36. Evan Fournier (Boston Celtics) led France with 28 points and Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) had 14 and nine rebounds.

Jrue Holiday, fresh from the NBA Finals for Milwaukee, had 18 points, Bam Adebayo had 12 (and 10 rebounds), Damian Lillard had 11 and Kevin Durant, 10, for the U.S., which was 10-32 from the three-point line.

The loss ended a 25-game Olympic win streak, which dates back to the bronze-medal game of the 2004 Games in Athens. The U.S. plays Iran on the 28th and the Czech Republic on the 31st; wins in those two games will move the U.S. to the quarterfinals. But nothing is sure now.

In the other Group A game, the Czechs beat Iran, 84-78; Australia paddled Nigeria, 84-65, and Italy beat Germany, 92-82 in Group B.

● Team: Beach Volleyball
We’re in pool play and the top-seeded American duo of April Ross and Alix Klineman won their opener against Chen Xue and Xinxin Wang (CHN) by 21-17, 21-19 in 44 minutes. April and Alix play on Monday against Liliana and Elsa from Spain.

In the men’s division, Jake Gibb and replacement Tri Bourne won their opener in straight sets, 21-18, 21-19 over Italy’s Enrico Rossi and Adrian Carambula. They play next in Tuesday against the Swiss team of Adrian Heidrich and Mirco Gerson.

(Errata: There was an error in yesterday’s post about the loss by Americans Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser. This did not eliminate them; they continue in Pool D on the 27th.)

● Team: Softball
More great pitching, as Monica Abbott shut down Australia for seven innings and Tarni Stepto did the same to the U.S. The game went to the eighth and the U.S. gave up its first run of the tournament, as Belinda White scored on a walk to Jade Wall.

Down 1-0, the U.S. got an Aubree Mundo double to open the inning, then a single by Haylie McCleney and after a sacrifice bunt, Amanda Chidester singled to left, driving in two and giving the Americans a 2-1 walk-off win. The red-clad U.S. team streamed onto the field to mob Chidester. And next is undefeated Japan on Monday.

● Team: Volleyball
The U.S. men opened with a powerful 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 sweep of France, expected to be one of the better teams in the tournament. Wow! Taylor Sander led the U.S. with 15 points, converting 12-19 kill shots; Matt Anderson had 13 points on 13-20 kill attempts.

The U.S. women, a solid medal favorite, ran past Argentina, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 in its opener in Pool B. Jordan Thompson had 20 points for the U.S., including 18-23 kills.

● Tennis: A shocker for Wimbledon champ Ash Barty (AUS), who lost in her first-round match to 48th-ranked Sara Sorribes, 6-4, 6-3 is was eliminated. No. 2-ranked Naomi Osaka won her opener easily, 6-1, 6-4 over Saisai Zheng (CHN).

= PREVIEWS: MONDAY, 26 JULY =
(21 events across 14 sports)

● Archery: Men’s Team
Koreans have been dominant in this event, winning four of the last five golds, including in Rio in 2016. With Je-Deok Kim, 2012 Olympic champ Jin-Hyek Oh and two-time World Champion Woo-Jin Kim ranking 1-3-4 in the Ranking Round last Friday, they are the favorites, no doubt.

But China won the 2019 world title in this event and had the nos. 7-11-13 scorers in the Ranking Round with India second and the Koreans third. The Netherlands also looks powerful from nos. 6-8-14 in the Ranking Round. The U.S. is certainly capable, with World Champion Brady Ellison ranking second on Friday, but Jack Williams (29th) and Jacob Wukie (47th) are going to have to be better.

● Canoe-Kayak: Men’s Canoe Slalom
The nature of this event makes it hard to predict and the big names often catch a bad wave. But going in, Rio silver winner Matej Benus (SVK) and Japan’s bronze medalist Takuya Haneda both return, as does Ander Elosegi, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist.

But decorated veterans like Germany’s Sideris Tasiadis (London 2012 silver) and 2017 World Champion Benjamin Savsek (SLO) are not to be discounted. Benus (33) and Tasiadis (31) went 2-3 at the 2021 European Championships and could be ready to hear their anthem.

● Cycling: Men’s Mountain Bike Cross Country
If the Games were held in 2020, surely the favorite would be the Rio 2016 winner and eight-time World Champion Nino Schurter (SUI). But this is 2021, and teammate Mathias Flueckiger, now 32, the 2019 silver medalist and the winner of two World Cup stops this season.

Both will have stiff challenges from the French entry of Jordan Sarrou – the 2020 World Champion – and Victor Koretzky, 10th in Rio, but also a winner on the World Cup circuit this season. Also in the mix: Czech Ondrej Cink, a two-time 2021 World Cup silver medalist, Britain’s Tom Pidcock, the 2020 Worlds silver medalist and the much-feared Mathieu van der Poel (NED), who is a brilliant rider on the roads (Tour de France stage winner in 2021) and in the mountains.

● Diving: Men’s 10 m Synchro
Let’s see, who are the Chinese entries? Yuan Cao and Aisen Chen, the reigning World Champions. Cao won the London 2012 Olympic gold with a different partner in this event and Chen won in Rio, also with a different partner. They are the overwhelming favorites.

Britain’s Tom Daley and Matty Lee were Worlds bronze medalists in 2019 and will challenge for medals again, along with Russian silver winners Aleksandr Bondar and Viktor Minibaev. Ukraine’s Oleh Serbin and Oleksii Sereda, fourth at the 2019 Worlds, are the best contenders for breaking up that top three.

● Fencing: Men’s Foil
Italy has the defending Olympic champ in Daniele Garozzo, 2018 World Champion Alessio Foconi and as its third entry, 37-year-old Andrea Cassara, in his fifth Olympics, having finished 3-6-5-16 in 2004-08-12-16. One of them surely will be on the podium.

There are challengers, especially 2019 World Champion Enzo Lefort (FRA) and silver medalist Marcus Mapstead (GBR) and 2018 Worlds bronze medalist Carlos Llavador (ESP). This is the U.S.’s strong event, with 2016 silver medalist Alexander Massialas back, as well as two-time Worlds bronze medalist Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin, a 2019-20 World Cup stop winner. All three are medal capable.

● Fencing: Women’s Sabre
The popular 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, Mariel Zagunis of the U.S., is back for her fourth Games and could figure in the medals if everything breaks right for her. She won a World Cup event in the 2019-20 season, but has not been a steady presence on the podium.

The London and Rio silver and bronze-medal winners Sofiya Velikaya (RUS) and Olga Kharlan (UKR) are back; Kharlan has won the 2013-14-17-19 world titles and is a medal favorite; Velikaya won in 2011 and 2015. Velikaya’s teammate Sofia Pozdniakova won the 2018 world title and is also a major contender.

The 2019 Worlds bronze winner Theodora Goudoura (GRE) and American Eliza Stone – a 2018 Worlds bronze medalist – are in the picture along with Italy’s Irene Vecchi, Hungary’s Anna Marton and the entire French team of Cecilia Berder, Manon Brunet and Charlotte Lembach.

● Gymnastics: Men’s Team
Make no mistake, the Japanese team – winners in Rio four years ago – expects to win this. They led the qualifying at 262.251, led by All-Around leader Daiki Hashimoto (88.531) followed by Takeru Kitazono, Kazuma Kaya and Wataru Tanigawa.

But they will get an argument from China – second at the 2019 Worlds – which was 3-4-12 and had one performer do only two of the apparatus. And reigning World Champion Russia had nos. 2-6-10-29 in the prelims, led by veteran stars Nikita Nagornyy, Artur Dalaloyan and David Belyavskiy.

The U.S. was 11-14-19-21 with Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskus and is a medal contender. But it will have to bridge Friday’s gap, after scoring 256.761 to Japan’s 262.251, China’s 262.061 and Russia’s 261.945. Britain, Germany and Brazil all figure to be long-shot contenders for a medal as well.

● Judo: Women’s 57 kg
Perhaps a battle of world champions? Canada’s Jessica Klimkait won the 2021 world title and could face the 2018 winner, Japan’s Tsukasa Yoshida, also the 2019 silver medalist. They start as favorites, but 2021 bronze winners Nora Gjakova (KOS) and Theresa Stoll (GER) are contenders, along with 2019 Worlds silver medalist Julia Kowalczyk (POL) and 2018 bronze winner Sumiya Dorjsuren (MGL).

Also worth watching: Georgia’s Eteri Liparteliani, a World Cup medalist in two of the last three seasons.

● Judo: Men’s 73 kg
Three of the four Rio medal winners are back: winner Shohei Ono (JPN), finalist Rustam Orujov (AZE) and bronze medalist Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO).

Shavdatuashvili figures as the favorite, having won the 2021 world title in June, downing Swede Tommy Macias in the final, with Turk Bilal Ciloglu winning a bronze.

Ono won the 2019 world title over Orujov, who also won silver in the 2017 Worlds. Throw in 2018 World Champion Chang-Rim An (KOR) and two-time 2021 Grand Slam winner Tsogbaatar Tsend-Ochir (MGL) and the tournament will be a barn-burner from the quarterfinals on.

● Shooting: Men’s Skeet
Beijing and London gold medalist Vince Hancock of the U.S. is back again and is a favorite after winning the 2018 World Championship as well. He is motivated by his 15th-place finish in Rio in 2016.

But he’s no shoo-in, with 2016 winner Gabriele Rossetti (ITA) back, as is bronze medalist Abdullah Al-Rashidi, who shot for the Refugee Olympic Team them, but for Kuwait now. The 2018 Worlds silver winner Erik Watndal (NOR) is also

More: the ISSF held four World Cups in Skeet this year, with winners Jesper Hansen (DEN), Azmy Mehelba (EGY) and Tammaro Cassandro (ITA) in Tokyo; Hancock was second to Mehelba in the event in Italy in May.

In the first-day qualifying, France’s Eric Delaunay and Hancock both shot 75/75, with Cassandro and Czech Jacob Tomecek at 74.

● Shooting: Women’s Skeet
Defending champion Diana Bacosi (ITA) is back, with silver winner and teammate Chiara Cainero (the 2008 Olympic champ) and 2012 silver medalist Danka Bartekova (SVK).

World Championships 2018 bronze winner Amber English leads the U.S. hopes, along with Austen Smith, who won the May ISSF World Cup in Italy. Bartekova won one World Cup and was third in another. Kazakhstan’s Zoya Kravchenko and Russia’s Natalia Vinogradova also figure as medal contenders.

American Kim Rhode, who had won medals in six consecutive Olympic Games in shooting – including three in Skeet – was edged off the team by English and Smith.

In Sunday’s qualifying, Bacosi and China’s Meng Wei both shot 75/75, followed by Smith (73); English was seventh at 72.

● Skateboarding: Women’s Street
The men’s event showed the course as challenging, especially for favorites, but Japan’s Aori Nishimura – the 2018 and 2021 World Champion – will try to give the host country a gold-medal sweep. Perhaps more, too, with 2021 Worlds silver medalist Momiji Nishiya also in the field.

Their primary competitors will come from Brazil, from four-time Worlds medalist (and 2015 champion) Leticia Bufoni, 2019 World Champion Pamela Rosa and two-time Worlds medal winner Rayssa Leal.

The U.S. has contenders, too, with 2017 Worlds bronze winner Mariah Duran, 2016 Worlds bronze winner Alexis Sablone and 2015 Worlds bronze medalist Alana Smith.

● Swimming: Women’s 400 m Freestyle
One of the highlights of the Games could be the showdown between 2016 Olympic champ Katie Ledecky and Australia’s 2019 World Champion Ariarne Titmus.

Titmus’s 2019 win was over an ill Ledecky, but the Australian, now 20, is a different level. She is the 2021 world leader at 3:56.90 at the Australian Trials in June, with Ledecky at 3:59.25. No one else has broken 4:00 this year (and only three all-time), with China’s Bingjie Li (CHN) at 4:02.96, and Russia’s Anna Egorova and Australia Tamsin Cook sixth on the world list at 4:04.10.

In the qualifying, Ledecky led at 4:00.45, followed by Li (4:01.57) and Titmus (4:01.66). American Paige Madden qualified seventh with a lifetime best of 4:03.98.

Ledecky is the world-record holder at 3:56.46 and has 14 of the 17 performances of all time. But Titmus is second all-time at 3:56.90 and comes in as the favorite. Ledecky, 24, owns Rio golds in the 200-400-800 m and the 800 m from 2012 and has a stunning program of swims in the 200-400-800-1,500 m Freestyles as well as at least one relay. But this race is the most eagerly-awaited of all.

● Swimming: Women’s 100 m Butterfly
Semifinals were held on Monday morning, with China’s Yufei Zhang winning semi two at 55.89, ahead of 2016 Olympic champ Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) in 56.40 and Canadian Maggie MacNeil (56.56). France’s Marie Wattel won the first semi in 56.16, ahead of Aussie Emma McKeon (56.33) and American teen Torri Huske (56.51).

Huske is still the world leader (55.66), with Zhang second (55.73) on the 2021 list, but Sjostrom appears ready to be heard from in the final.

● Swimming: Men’s 100 m Breaststroke
The only question should be by how much Adam Peaty (GBR), the world-record holder (56.88) and defending Olympic champion, will win by.

The one serious challenger appears to be Arno Kamminga (NED), who won the first semifinal in 58.19, with Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) second in 58.28. But Peaty won his heat in 57.56 and then the semi in 57.63, with Zibei Yan (CHN) second in 58.72 and American Michael Andrew finding some way to touch third in the final stroke in 58.99. American Andrew Wilson was fifth in 59.18 and made it into the final as the final qualifier.

Does Peaty have a world record in him? Can Andrew approach his Trials best of 58.14? If he does, he could get a medal. The U.S. has taken a medal in this event in six of the last seven Games.

● Swimming: Men’s 4×100 m Freestyle
This event has been held 12 times since first appearing at the 1964 Tokyo Games. The U.S. won the first seven editions, but only two of the last five, in 2008 and 2016. France was second in the iconic 2008 final, featuring Jason Lezak’s stunning anchor leg for the U.S., then won in 2012 and was second in 2016. Australia won bronzes in 2008 and 2016.

In the qualifying racing, Italy won heat one in 3:10.29 over France (3:12.85) and the U.S. – Brooks Curry, Blake Pieroni, Bowen Becker and Zach Apple – won heat two, 3:11.33-3:11.39 over Australia.

● Table Tennis: Mixed Doubles
Very little doubt that this event would see the Chinese pair of Shiwen Liu and Xin Xu in the final, possibly against Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito in this first-ever edition of this event.

That’s the way has played out, in this event with an early start. Liu and Xu are the defending World Champions in this event from 2019. Taipei’s I-Ching Chen and Yun Ju Lin will play France’s Emmanuel Lebesson and Jia Nan Yuan for the bronze medal.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 67 kg
The medal winners from the 2019 World Championships are all here: China’s Mengyu Zhang, silver winner Nur Tatar (TUR) and bronze medalists Milena Titoneli (BRA) and Farida Azizova (AZE). Tatar won a silver in London and a bronze in Rio and the other Rio bronze medalist (and 2017 World Champion at 62 kg) Ruth Gbagbi (CIV) is also here.

But they will get a stiff test from American Paige McPherson, a London 2012 bronze medalist and a two-time World Championships medalist. Another contender: Britain’s three-time European Champion Lauren Williams.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 80 kg
The list of contenders starts with the defending Olympic Champion in Cheick Salla Cisse (CIV) and Azerbaijan’s Milad Beigi, a Rio bronze medalist but also the World Champion in 2017 and 2019.

They will be challenged by 2019 Worlds bronze winner Moises Hernandez (DOM) and 2017 World 74 kg Champion Maksim Khramtcov, also the 2021 European Champion at this weight and actually the top seed in the World Taekwondo rankings.

● Triathlon: Men
Two-time gold medalist Alistair Brownlee (GBR) is absent, but his brother, two-time medalist Jonathan Brownlee is in the field, along with 2012 silver winner Javier Gomez Noya (ESP).

But almost every one of the World Triathlon Series annual medalists since 2009 is in the field: 2012 champion Brownlee, five-time winner Gomez Noya, three-time winner Mario Moya (ESP) and the winner of the last two world titles, France’s Vincent Luis.

Other Worlds medal winners who figure to contend for any medal in Tokyo include Australian Jacob Birtwhistle (third in 2018), Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt (third in 2017), Spain’s Fernando Alarza (third in 2016) and France’s Leo Bergere, the bronze medalist in 2020.

Somewhat under the radar, but highly capable, is the newest British star, Alex Yee.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 55 kg
China’s Qiuyun Liao won the 2019 World Championship, with 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz (PHI) third and both are back in Tokyo. Liao, the world-record holder at 227 kg, is a big favorite and should win without much trouble.

But the fight for the other medals will likely involve Zulfiya Chinshanlo (KAZ), fourth in 2019, Uzbek Muattar Nabieva (fifth) and Mexico’s Ana Gabriela Lopez (sixth). Another contender might be Korea’s Eunji Ham.

Also, the U.S. and Japan will face off in Softball, with a rematch likely in the gold-medal game regardless of the outcome. Thus far, both are 4-0, but where the U.S. has won its games by a combined score of 7-1, Japan has outscored its opponents by 17-3!

= INTEL REPORT =

Through 25 July, the Tokyo 2020 report on Covid positives is up to 132, with the number of reported infections down from 19 to 16 to 10 over the three days of the Games. Of these, 73 are residents of Japan and 59 are not; the leading group continues to be contractors (66), followed by “Games-concerned personnel” including coaches and officials (40), then athletes (13), news media (9) and Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers (4).

The Tokyo 2020 folks are getting more clever as time goes on and released a new report by stakeholder group that shows the testing and incidence totals by group:

● Athletes and team officials: 14 positives out of 73,729 tests through 23 July (0.02%)
● Media/Tokyo 2020 staff: 23 positives out of 95,366 tests through 23 July (0.02%).

There are another 66 positives from outside groups not being tested by Tokyo 2020 and 24 caught at the airport for a total of 127 through 23 July.

In addition, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is now publishing positives, with one positive reported among the 1,038 athletes and officials in Tokyo as of 24 July. That’s pretty good.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 1,763 new infections on Sunday; for comparison, Los Angeles County – with about a third the population of the Tokyo metro area – reported 2,600 new cases on Sunday (24th).

The virus has struck the golf competition with stars Jon Rahm (ESP) and Bryson DeChambeau both withdrawing from the tournament due to Covid-19.

Veteran observers of the Games always note that restrictions loosen as the event goes on. So too for the mask requirement on the podium. The International Olympic Committee said Sunday that athletes on the medal stand can doff the masks for 30 seconds in order to be photographed.

More on the virus, as Kyodo News reported that Emperor Naruhito opened the Games on Friday with the traditional wording:

“I declare open the games of Tokyo celebrating the 32nd Olympiad of the modern era.”

That was according to the official translation from Japanese provided by the Imperial Household Agency. But the agency noted that his Japanese wording did not contain “iwai.” which is usually used for “celebrating.” This was the wording used by Emperor Hirohito at the 1964 Games.

Naruhito instead said “kinensuru,” considered to be more as in “commemorating.”

Since the IOC owns the Olympic Games, you might think that it could invite or not invite whomever it wants.

But after denying accreditation to Russian Maxim Agapitov, a member of the International Weightlifting Federation board – due to a past doping violation – Agapitov took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The decision:

“The Panel found that the evidence submitted by the parties was sufficient to demonstrate that Mr Agapitov did meet the criteria established by the IOC to receive an accreditation (in the sport of weightlifting) in relation to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, despite an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) committed in 1994, at the time of his athlete’s career. The Panel considered that the criteria in case of any ADRV committed at any time in an athlete’s life was clearly disproportionate.”

Badge him.

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TOKYO 2020/Saturday Review & Preview: China wins first gold in Tokyo; U.S. women’s water polo wins, 25-4; anti-Semitism rears its ugly head again

By
Rich Perelman
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The Tokyo 2020 medals (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

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= TOKYO 2020 =
From Lane One:

● The ancient plague of anti-Semitism is once again in the news, and again in Judo, as the International Judo Federation stated in a Saturday post:

“Following the draw of the judo competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, [Algerian] Fethi Nourine (-73kg) and his coach Amar Benikhlef gave individual statements to media announcing their withdrawal from the competition to avoid meeting an Israeli athlete during the event.

“The immediate response of the IJF Executive Committee was to form an investigative commission which confirmed all the facts, leading to a temporary suspension of the athlete and the coach and assigning the case to the Disciplinary Commission of the IJF for further investigation, judgement and final sanctioning beyond the Olympic Games.”

The IJF has been tough on this issue, especially against Iran, but now:

“Fethi Nourine and Amar Benikhlef are now suspended and will face a decision by the IJF Disciplinary Commission, as well as disciplinary sanctions by the National Olympic Committee of Algeria back in their country.”

● The youngest Olympian in Tokyo, 12-year-old Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza, is on her way home after losing her first-round match, 4-0, to 39-year-old Jia Liu (AUT).

Who’s the youngest one left? It might be 13-year-old Sky Brown, the British skateboarder who was the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist and is a definite threat in the women’s Park event.

● The International Paralympic Committee pursued a harder line against Russia in 2016 after its state-sponsored doping escapade from 2011-15 and the IPC announced last Thursday that no demonstrations or protests will be allowed, that is, “the rule should remain in place and that the field of play, medal presentations and opening and closing ceremonies should be protected.”

The IPC Governing Board accepted the recommendation of the IOC’s Athletes’ Council, which did its own consultation over nine months:

“To gather opinions and engage in consultation, all Paralympians and Para athletes globally within the Paralympic Movement were invited to nine focus groups to discuss the current rules and what changes could be made in the future. The athlete community was also invited to complete an online survey, which 489 athletes across 27 summer and winter sports – 267 Paralympians and 222 Para athletes – completed. The recommendations made are a direct reflection of the consultation.”

The Paralympic Games will run from 24 August to 5 September.
~ Rich Perelman

● Archery: Mixed Team
No doubt about Korea as the favorite and San An and Je-Deok Kim won as expected, defeating Bangladesh, 6-0 in the first round, then India by 6-2, Mexico in the semis by 5-1 and then the Netherlands – Gabriela Schlosser and Steve Wiljer – in the final by 5-3. Mexico’s Luis Alvarez and Alejandra Valencia won the bronze medal over Turkey, 6-2.

The U.S. pair of Brady Ellison and Makenzie Brown came from 0-4 down to tie in the fourth end, but lost a shoot-out in the fifth end to Indonesia in the first round and were eliminated.

● Cycling: Men’s Road Race
Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, third in the recent Tour de France, attacked with 26 km remaining in the 234 km route, then shook off American Brandon McNulty in the final 6 km to win easily on Saturday.

He finished 1:07 ahead of the much-feared Wout van Aert (BEL), who was tracked closely by the other riders. Carapaz escaped over the crest of the last climb and was never headed, despite van Aert’s hard chase. Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) was third, close behind van Aert, with Bauke Mollema (NED) fourth. McNulty faded to sixth. Carapaz, 28, added the Olympic gold to his resume, which also includes a win at the 2019 Giro d’Italia.

● Fencing: Women’s Epee
China’s Yiwen Sun is one of those performers for whom the Olympics is special. The bronze-medal winner in London and Rio, she hadn’t done much since, placing 10th-17th-10th in the 2017-18-19 World Championships. But in Tokyo, she was golden

Sun had a close call in the quarterfinals, edging Federica Isola (ITA), only 11-10, but then cruised to the final against 2018 Worlds runner-up Ana Maria Popescu.

Popescu led 7-6 going into the third period, but ended up tied, 10-10 with Sun scoring to break the tie and win, 11-10. It’s China first individual win in women’s fencing since 1984 and first ever in women’s Epee. Estonia’s Katrina Lehis won the bronze over Aizanat Murtazaeva (RUS) by 15-8.

None of the U.S. entries – Courtney Hurley, Kelley Hurley and Kat Holmes – made it past the round of 16.

● Fencing: Men’s Sabre
Hungary’s Aron Szilagyi won his second straight Olympic title in Rio in 2016, then seemed to disappear. Now 31, he finished just 9-7-17 in the three Worlds between Rio and Tokyo, and yet he is on top of the podium again.

Szilagyi was barely challenged on his way to another gold, winning his matches by 15-7, 15-7, 15-6, 15-13 against Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze in the semis and then 15-7 again, over Italy’s Luigi Samele in the final. Szilagyi is the first to win the Olympic Sabre title three times and the first-ever triple champion in Olympic men’s fencing (it has been done once in women’s fencing).

In the bronze final, Korea’s 2018 World Champion Jung-Hwan Kim defeated Bazadze, 15-11. Kim eliminated American star Eli Dershwitz in the round of 16 and Rio silver winner Daryl Homer lost in the round of 32.

● Judo: Women’s 48 kg
Kosovo is new to the Olympic Games, but is already a power in Judo. After Majlinda Kelmendi won in Rio at 52 kg for the country’s first Olympic medal, 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Distria Krasniqi followed up with an upset win over 2017 World Champion Funa Tonaki at the famed Nippon Budokhan.

Krasniqi got by fellow 2019 Worlds bronze winner Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) in the semifinals and then faced Tonaki, who had defeated 2016 Rio champ Paula Pareto (ARG) by ippon and then two-time World Champion Daria Bilodid (UKR), also by ippon. But Krasniqi needed only 3:41 to win by waza-ari and stun the Japanese favorite.

The bronze medals went to Bilodid (over Israel’s Shira Rishony) and Munkhbat, over Catarina Costa (POR).

● Judo: Men’s 60 kg
Joy for Japan, as Naohisa Takato moved up from bronze in Rio to gold in Tokyo, defeating surprise finalists Yung Wei Yang (TPE) by ippon – golden score – in overtime after 7:40. It’s Japan’s fifth title in the 11 times this class has been contested at the Games.

France’s Luka Mkheidze won a bronze over Won-Jin Kim (KOR) by ippon; the other bronze went to Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) by waza-ari over Tirnike Tsjakadoea (NED).

● Shooting: Men’s 10 m Air Pistol
When you’re hot, you’re hot and Iran’s Javad Foroughi won both World Cup events held this year and was clearly the best in Tokyo, shooting an Olympic Record 244.8 in the final to out-last Serbia’s Damir Mikec (237.9). Rio bronze medalist Wei Pang (CHN) collected another, finishing third at 217.5. However, Mikec did pretty well for being the last qualifier (eighth)!

Foroughi shot 10.5-10.1 on his final two shots where Mikec managed 9-1-8.8 to widen the final margin. American James Hall was 10th in qualifying and just missed the final.

● Shooting: Women’s 10 m Air Rifle
This was once again the first medal awarded at the Games and was a nail-biter down to the final shot.

After six rounds of the final, Russia’s Anastasiia Galashina had a 231.4-231.3 lead over China’s Qian Yang. Galashina then shot a 10.8 on her first shot of the seventh round to 10.7 for Yang, adding 0.1 to her lead. But in the final round, Galashina managed only an 8.9 and Yang scored 9.8 to win with an Olympic Record of 251.8-251.1. Wow.

It’s the fourth straight win for China in this event and five of the last six.

Swiss Nina Christen was third at 230.6; American Mary Tucker made the final and finished sixth.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 49 kg
There is joy in Thailand as 2019 49 kg World Champion Panipak Wongpattanakit navigated through the field and scored a two-point body kick with seven seconds left to defeat 15th-seed Adriana Cerezo Iglesias of Spain for the gold medal.

It’s Thailand’s first-ever Taekwondo gold and Wongpattakit moves up from bronze in Rio to the top of the podium. Serbia’s Rio 2016 silver medalist Tijana Bogdanovic won a bronze by defeating Miyu Yamada, 20-6, in one medal match and Israeli Abishag Semberg won the other bronze by 27-22 against Ruyike Yildirim of Turkey.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 58 kg
Italy’s Vito Dell’Aquilla won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, but then only got to the third round in 2019. In 2021, he’s the Olympic Champion, defeating four opponents by a combined score of 108-52, including Mohamed Jendoubi (TUN) by 16-12 in the final.

Jendoubi, 19, eliminated favored Jun Jang (KOR) in the semifinals by 25-19 and won Tunisia’s first-ever medal in Taekwondo. Jang won the bronze with a 46-16 thrashing of Omar Salim (HUN), and Mikhail Artamonov (RUS) won the other bronze over Lucas Guzman (ARG), 15-10.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 48 kg
China’s Zhihui Hou holds the world record and set an Olympic Record of 210 kg to easily win the class. She also set Olympic marks for the Snatch (94 kg) and Clean & Jerk (116 kg) along the way.

No surprise for India’s Chanu Saikhom Mirabai to take the silver (202 kg), but American Jourdan Delacruz was in position for a medal after a 86 kg Snatch, placing her third. But she failed on all three of her Clean & Jerk tries, leaving her unplaced. Instead, Indonesia’s Windy Cantika Aisah won the bronze at 194 kg.

Elsewhere:

● Gymnastics ● The U.S. men finished fourth in the team qualifying and move on to the final. Japan led at 262.251, followed by China (262.061), Russia (261.945) with the U.S. at 256.761, meaning they have work to do to get close to a medal. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto led the All-Around at 88.531, and Americans Brody Malone (11th: 85.298) and Sam Mikulak (14th: 84.664) qualified for the All-Around final.

Yul Moldauer qualified for the Floor final, Alec Yoder made the Pommel Horse final; Mikulak made the Parallel Bars final and Malone made the High Bar final. The shocker was Japan’s Kohei Uchimura, the 2012-16 All-Around champion, finishing 20th and missing the High Bar final.

● Team: 3×3 Basketball ● The U.S. women’s 3×3 team won its first two games by 17-10 over France and 21-9 over Mongolia and is one of three unbeatens as round-robin play continues.

● Team: Beach Volleyball ● The U.S. men’s pair of Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser were swept in their first-round match by Dutch stars Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, 21-17, 21-18, in 42 minutes. Next up in Pool B is Brazil’s Alison and Alvaro Filho on the 27th.

● Team: Football ● The U.S. women’s team rebounded with a 6-1 win over New Zealand, which might be enough to get it into the playoff round regardless of what happens against Australia in its final group game. The U.S. got first-half goals from Rose Lavelle in the ninth minute and Lindsay Horan in the 45th for a 2-0 halftime lead. Relentless U.S. pressure results in two New Zealand own-goals, plus scores for Christen Press and Alex Morgan for the 6-1 final. The final group game with Australia is on the 27th; Sweden beat the Aussies, 4-2, on Saturday.

● Team: Softball ● Cat Osterman pitched six shutout innings and Monica Abbott pitched a scoreless seventh for the U.S. to beat Mexico, 2-0, their third straight shutout. Both the U.S. and Japan are 3-0 in the six-team field and will play each other on the 26th. In three games, the U.S. has out-scored its opponents, 5-0 while Japan has scored 16 runs against three.

● Team: Volleyball ● The U.S. men opened with a 3-0 shutout of France: 25-18, 25-18, 25-22. The U.S. women will start pool play with Argentina tomorrow.

● Team: Water Polo ● The powerhouse American women’s team with a massive 25-4 win in Group A over Japan. The American women had an 8-3 lead at the quarter and 14-3 at the half. Stephanie Haralabidis and Maggie Steffens had five goals each and Maddie Musselman and Aria Fischer had four each.

Spain piled up 29 goals in its first game, vs. South Africa (29-4) in Group B.

= PREVIEWS: SUNDAY, 25 JULY =
(18 events across 10 sports)

● Archery: Women’s Team
This event has been held eight times and South Korea has won eight times. It’s been a little more competitive in the World Championships, with Chinese Taipei winning in 2019, Russia in 2015 and Italy in 2011, with South Korea in 2013 and 2017. But Korea’s San An, Min-hee Jang and Chae-young Kang went 1-2-3 in the Ranking Round and seem almost unbeatable.

Who’s chasing silver and bronze? Mexico, Italy, China, Japan and the U.S. trio of Mackenzie Brown, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez are contenders.

● Cycling: Women’s Road Race
This is a 137 km loop course from Musashinonomori Park to the Fuji International Speedway that could be all about the Dutch. Of the 10 UCI Women’s World Tour races held in 2021, Dutch riders have won eight, including defending Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen (2), Marianne Vos (2) and Annemiek van Vleuten (1). All four are in the race.

Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini – the bronze winner in 2016 – has won four medals this season (one win); Grace Brown (AUS) has won two medals (also one win), as have Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (DEN) and Lisa Brennauer (GER). Do not count out Arlenis Sierra (CUB), Britain’s Lizzie Deignan, Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma, South Africa’s Ashleigh Moolman and Americans Coryn Rivera and Chloe Dygert. Moolman and Rivera both won stages during the recent Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile.

● Diving: Women’s 3 m Synchro
China owns this event, having won four Olympic titles in a row and Tingmao Shi and Han Wang are the reigning World Champions from 2019. No one is considered a serious threat, but the race for silver and bronze could fall to Canadians Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu, runners-up in 2019 and Britain’s Grace Reid and Katherine Torrance, fifth at the 2017 and 2019 Worlds. Italy and Mexico are traditionally strong in this event, but recent retirements make their chances unclear.

Americans Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson are talented, and competed in the 2019 Worlds, finishing 10th. They’re a long-shot for a medal.

● Fencing: Men’s Epee
Rio champion Sang-Young Park (KOR), 2019 World Champion Gergely Siklosi (HUN), 2019 silver medalist Sergey Bida (RUS) and bronze medalists Igor Reizlin (UKR) and Andrea Santarelli (ITA), and 2018 World Champion Yannick Borel (FRA), silver medalist (and 2012 Olympic winner) Ruben Limardo (VEN), and 2018 bronze medalists Bogdan Nikishin (UKR) and Roman Svichkar (UKR) are all in the field.

The winner may not be any of them; look out for Italy’s Marco Fichera and Enrico Garozzo, home favorite Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN) and Swiss Max Heinzer.

● Fencing: Women’s Foil
This class should belong to Russian Inna Deriglazova, the Rio gold medalist and World Champion in 2015-17-19. If she is in form, she will be the winner.

There are challengers, including Americans Lee Keifer and Nicole Ross, and recent Worlds medalists from 2019 – Pauline Ranvier (FRA/gold), Ariana Errigo (ITA/silver and 2012 Olympic silver) – and 2018 champ Alice Volpi (ITA), runner-up Ysoara Thibus (FRA), and bronze winner Ines Boubakri (TUN).

● Judo: Women’s 52 kg
This class produced a memorable moment in 2016 with Kosovo’s Majlinda Kelmendi won the country’s first-ever Olympic medal. She’s back, as well as silver winner Odette Giuffrida. Japan’s Uta Abe won the 2019 World title, also held at Budokhan, beating Russian Natalia Kuziutina, with Kelmendi taking a bronze.

Those four start as favorites, with Abe on home turf. At the 2021 World Judo Championships held in June, Spain’s Ana Perez Box won silver and Fabienne Kocher (SUI) and have to be accounted for. Belgium’s Charline van Snick, now 30, won bronze in London in 2012 at 48 kg and France’s Amandine Buchard took bronze in this class in the 2018 Worlds. They’re both serious contenders.

● Judo: Men’s 66 kg
Japan’s Hifumi Abe, brother of Uta Abe, is a two-time World Champion in this class from 2017 and 2018, but won “only” bronze in 2019. He is going to get an argument from Korean Baul An, the Rio 2016 silver winner and 2015 World Champion and Dennis Vieru (MLD), bronze medalist at the 2019 Worlds.

Italy’s Manuel Lombardo (silver), Yakub Shmailov (RUS: bronze) and Baskhuu Yondonperenlei (MGL: bronze) performed well at the 2021 Worlds, but do they have enough to handle Abe or An?

● Shooting: Women’s 10 m Air Pistol
A huge field of 57 shooters is lined up to try to stop China from a fourth straight win in this event. Chinese entrants Ranxin Jiang (fifth at the 2018 Worlds) and Yuemei Lin are going to be competitive, but aren’t scary.

So perhaps Greek co-flag bearer Anna Korakaki, the bronze winner from Rio (and gold in the 25 m Pistol) might be a favorite, along with Rio silver medalist Vitalina Batsarashkina (RUS). Korakaki won the 2018 world title in this event, ahead of Zorana Arunovic (SRB) and Bo-Mi Kim (KOR) and both are entered. But India expects to do well here, especially after the 1-2 World Cup finish by Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Manu Bhaker in March. The June World Cup had Antoaneta Kostadinova (BUL) winning ahead of Germany’s Carina Wimmer.

● Shooting: Men’s 10 m Air Rifle
Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish and Russian Vladimir Maslennikov were 2-3 in Rio and return for more, but Sergey Kamenskiy (RUS) is the 2018 World Champion and the Croatian silver and bronze medalists, Peter Gorsa and Miran Maricic, are both back.

There’s an opening for Lucas Kozeniesky, who performed strongly at the U.S. Trials and won the ISSF World Cup in this event March, ahead of Hungarian veteran Istvan Peni. In Croatia in June, U.S. teammate Bill Shaner won the competition, beating Maslennikov and Gorsa in the final. The U.S. has never won an Olympic medal in this event, which debuted in Los Angeles in 1984.

● Skateboarding: Men’s Street
The debut of Skateboarding in the Olympic Games should be a showcase for the best ever in the event: American Nyjah Huston. Eleven editions of the World Street Championships have been held and he’s won it six times and been second five times!

However, he was second in 2021, with Yuto Horigome (JPN) winning and Sora Shirai (JPN) third; Horigome moved up from second in 2020. Brazil’s Kelvin Hoefler is not to be ignored: he was 2015 World Champion, second to Huston in 2018 and third in 2017. Australia’s Shane O’Neill was 2016 World Champion and second in 2017 and Portugal’s Gustavo Ribeiro won bronze at the 2019 Worlds. Huston is the clear favorite, but he has the target on his back from performers who have beaten him in the past.

● Swimming: Men’s 400 m Freestyle
This event looks a lot different now than a few months ago. Rio 2016 champ Mack Horton (AUS) didn’t make the team and 2012 Olympic winner and 2019 World Champion Yang Sun (CHN) has been suspended for doping.

That leaves Italy’s Gabriele Detti, 26, sitting as the Rio bronze medalist and the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist and a prime contender to be on top of the podium. But he was third in the qualifying to Henning Muhlleitner (GER: 3:43.67) and Austria’s Felix Auboeck (3:43.91)

World leader Elijah Winnington (AUS) and teammate Jack McLoughlin (AUS) tied for fourth in 3:45.20, and American Trials winner Kieran Smith was sixth in 3:45.25, with Jake Mitchell seventh at 3:45.38.

● Swimming: Men’s 400 m Medley
Japanese swimming fans were aching to cheer for three-time World Champion Daiya Seto, the world leader at 4:09.02, but he failed to qualify in Saturday’s heats, finishing with the ninth-best time.

The leaders were Australians Brendon Smith (4:09.27) and Lewis Clareburt (4:09.49), with American Chase Kalisz, the 2017 World Champion, third (4:09.65). Hungary’s David Verraszto was fourth (4:09.80) and American Jay Litherland – the 2019 Worlds silver medalist – tied for fifth (4:09.91) in what should be a very tight final. Kalisz, the Rio silver medalist, has a chance to move up to the top of the podium.

● Swimming: Women’s 400 m Medley
This race has been the exclusive property of Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu – The Iron Lady – who won in Rio in 2016 and owns world titles in this swim from 2009-13-15-17-19. She’s the favorite until some beats her. But then again, she was only seventh in qualifying on Saturday.

The qualifying leader is also the world leader: American Emma Weyant, who swam her fastest yet in 2021 with a world-leading 4:33.55, followed by Britain’s Aimee Willmott, well back at 4:35.28. Japan’s Yui Ohashi, the 2019 Worlds bronze medalist, was third (4:35.71) and American Hali Flickinger (4:35.98) was fifth.

Rio bronze medalist Mireia Belmonte (ESP) had not impressed on the clock all year, but qualified fourth in 4:35.88.

● Swimming: Women’s 4×100 m Freestyle
This is unquestionably Australia’s race to lose. Between Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, Madison Wilson and Meg Harris, they own 13 of the fastest 15 times this year. McKeon, Campbell and Wilson were on the winning Rio team and the Aussies also won in 2012.

They led the qualifying at 3:31.73, followed by the Netherlands (3:33.51), Canada (3:33.72), Britain (3:34.03) and the U.S. team of Olivia Smoliga, Cate de Loof, Allison Schmitt and Natalie Hinds. Much faster swimmers coming for the U.S. in the final.

But no one should touch Australia and their world record of 3:30.05 from 2018 is definitely in danger.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 57 kg
Let’s start with British star Jade Jones, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champ and 2019 World Champion. Korea’s Ah-Reum Lee was the 2019 Worlds runner-up and Skylar Park (CAN) Lijun Zhou (CHN) won the bronzes and all are in the field.

A wild card is Kimia Alizadeh, who won the 2016 Olympic bronze for Iran, but left the country under duress and will compete on the Refugee Olympic Team. Unbelievably, her first-round opponent is scheduled to be Iran’s Nahid Kiyani Chandeh, a quarterfinalist at the 2017 Worlds! You can’t make this up …

● Taekwondo: Men’s 68 kg
The 2019 World Champion Bradly Sinden heads this field, with silver medalist Javier Perez (ESP) ready to go, as well as 2017 Worlds winner Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR), a 2019 bronze medalist, but also a bronze medalist from Rio 2016.

Another contender will come out of the first-round showdown between Iran’s Mirhashem Hossieni won the 2017 Worlds silver at 63 kg and will face Yu-Jen Huang (TPE), the 2017 Worlds 68 kg silver medalist. A very tough match to start an Olympics!

● Weightlifting: Men’s 61 kg
China’s Fabin Li is the 2019 World Champion and owns the world record in this event with a combined lift of 318 kg. So much for the gold medal.

Indonesia’s Eko Yuli Irawan won the Rio silver medal and the 2019 Worlds silver and appears the safe choice to do so again. Vietnam’s Thach Kim Tuan, Japan’s Yoichi Itokazu and Georgian Shota Mishvelidze were 4-6-7 at the 2019 Worlds and appear to have the best shots at bronze.

● Weightlifting: Men’s 67 kg
China has won this weight class in for successive Olympic Games and Lijun Chen is the 2019 World Champion and the world-record holder. He’s the prohibitive favorite.

Upcoming is Adkhamjon Ergashev, 22, from Uzbekistan, the 2019 World Junior Champion and fourth at the 2019 World Championships. Colombian Luis Javier Mosquera and Japan’s Mitsunori Konnai were 5-6 at the 2019 Worlds and should contend for the bronze.

= INTEL REPORT =

Tokyo 2020 ceremonies executive producer Takayuki Hioki was asked after the Opening Ceremony about the selection of tennis icon Naomi Osaka as the final torchbearer:

“The most important thing was to deliver a message of diversity and inclusion.

“In the end we decided on her because she is a great athlete and she has been delivering a variety of messages so we thought she was the best person to be the final torchbearer. It was a decision that the whole organizing committee came to.

“It’s more about the absolute values that Naomi Osaka offers. That’s what we focus on. Of course, for the Games as a whole and also for Japan, she is a jewel, she is a treasure for us, so that is why we selected her.”

Osaka’s first match will be on Sunday.

Through 24 July, the Tokyo 2020 report on Covid positives is up to 123, with 71 from residents of Japan and 56 from outside. Contractors continue to lead the tally with 65 (52.8%), followed by “Games-concerned personnel” including coaches and officials (34), then athletes (12), news media (8) and Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers (4).

At a Saturday news conference, Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said there had been 34,000 tests made at airport and as many as 29,000 screenings at the various sites. As of Thursday, a total of 137,000 tests had been made with 33 positives for a positivity rate of 0.02%. Other positives have come from other sources, such as teams.

The Tokyo Games may not be politically popular, but they are popular in Japan on television. Through just the first two days of competitions before the Opening Ceremony, ratings showed that 69.5 million Japanese had watched some part, or 55.0% of the 126.3 million national population.

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TOKYO 2020/Day 2 Preview: The best U.S. team in Tokyo has won 88 of its last 89; a look ahead to Saturday’s finals; USC tops all NCAA schools with 63 in Tokyo

By
Rich Perelman
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The best American team in Tokyo: the two-time defending Olympic Champion women's water polo squad (Photo: USA Water Polo/Jonathan Moore)

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Dear readers:

Just a word about TSX Tokyo reports. You can find endless coverage almost everywhere on the Games, and all the television you can stand on one or more NBC channels. No reason to compete with that. So, with the idea that news you can use is best, the aim is to offer – with the benefit of being 16 hours behind Tokyo – reviews of what happened so you’ll be up to date during the day (in the U.S.) and offer capsule previews of what’s coming tomorrow … in case you want to stay up. Happy to have your comments (which might get published!) and thanks for your support. Tell your friends to sign up here.

Rich Perelman
Editor

= TOKYO 2020 =

The U.S. expects to win multiple medals in the many team sports at the Games, but which is the best American team in Tokyo?

● The men’s basketball team, winners of the last three golds and riding a 25-game Olympic win streak? Maybe, but it had a rough time in its exhibitions, losing to Nigeria and Australia before beating Argentina and Spain. Zach LaVine was in the health protocol, but is in Tokyo and Gregg Popovich’s groups gets reinforcements from the NBA finals from Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. Let’s wait and see.

● The women’s softball squad? Winner of the Olympic tournaments in 1996, 2000 and 2004, this group is 2-0 with shutouts of Italy (2-0) and Canada (1-0) by Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott and then Abbott alone against Canada. The U.S. plays Mexico and Australia next, but we’ll know a lot more when the U.S. and Japan face off on the 26th in Yokohama. Japan won the last Olympic gold in 2008 and has won its first two games.

● How about the women’s basketball team, winners of six straight Olympic golds and with a 49-game Olympic winning streak and 95-1 in Olympic and World Cup games from 1996-2018? But what about the exhibition losses to the WNBA All-stars (93-85) and to Australia (70-67) before a 93-62 win over Nigeria. Diana Taurasi, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, is apparently now ready to play after injuries and she will help. But there are questions.

● Here’s the best American team in Tokyo: the women’s water polo squad. Not only two-time defending Olympic champions, but winners of 88 of their last 89 matches. That includes three straight FINA World Championship titles and all the FINA World Cups and World League Super Finals in between. The U.S. women won 69 matches in a row, lost to Australia – by 10-9 – in an exhibition match in January 2020 and has now reeled off another 19 wins in a row.

The stars of this squad are the two-time gold medalists – attacker Maggie Steffens, perhaps the best player in the world, and defender Melissa Seidemann – plus Rio returnees Ashleigh Johnson in goal, attackers Rachel Fattal and Maddie Musselman, center Aria Fischer and defender Makenzie Fischer (Aria’s older sister). Coach Adam Krikorian took over in 2009 and his teams have won 19 golds in 22 major international tournaments. What’s not to like? They’re the best and will start defense of their title on Sunday against Japan in Group A. (Oh yes, in case you were wondering, Australia is in Group B).

= PREVIEWS: SATURDAY, 23 JULY =
(11 events across 7 sports)

● Archery: Mixed Team
South Korea was mostly absent from the international World Cup circuit during the pandemic, but they are in Tokyo in force. During the 72-arrow Ranking Round held on Friday, 17-year-old Je Deok Kim (688), 2012 Olympic Champion Jin-Hyek Oh (681) and two-time World Champion Woojin Kim (680) went 1-3-4 with American Brady Ellison second at 682.

In the women’s Ranking Round, San An (20) set an Olympic Record of 680, followed by teammates Min-Hee Jang (677) and Chae-Young Kang (675). The top American was Mackenzie Brown, fifth with 668.

Korea’s Woo-Seok Lee and Kang won the Mixed Team world title in 2019 and An and Kim start as favorites. The U.S., with Ellison and Brown, are in the hunt for a medal with Italy, the Netherlands. Wild-card contenders Russia and Turkey will face off in the first round and then shoot against the winner of Italy-Netherlands.

Russia’s Svetlana Gomboeva, who fainted in the 93-degree heat during Friday’s round, was reported fine, telling Russia’s TASS news agency, “I’ve got a terrible headache but I am fine in general. I am ready to continue competing, everything’s fine.”

● Cycling: Men’s Road Race
The 234 km loop course from Musashinonomori Park to the Tokyo International Speedway features three significant climbs with a mostly downhill finish in the final 22 km. The favorites are Slovenians Tadej Pogacar, fresh off his second straight Tour de France win, and Primoz Roglic, the two-time Vuelta a Espana winner who desperately wants this race after crashing out of the Tour. The most feared rider is easily Belgium’s Wout van Aert, who won three Tour stages and who descends powerfully. There are many more stars: former Tour winner Geraint Thomas (GBR), former Vuelta a Espana winner Simon Yates (GBR), former Vuelta winner Alejandro Valverde (ESP), former Giro d’Italia and Vuelta winner Nairo Quintana (COL), former Giro d’Italia winner Tom Dumoulin (NED) and even Rio gold medalist Greg Avermaet (BEL).

● Fencing: Women’s Epee
Lots of possibilities here: 2018 World Champion Maria Navarria of Italy, 2019 World Champion Natalie Moellhausen of Brazil and finalists Sheng Lin (CHN), two-time bronze medalist Olena Kryvytska of Ukraine and 2008 Olympic silver winner and 2018 Worlds runner-up Ana Maria Popescu (ROM).

Almost impossible to pick one with no FIE World Cup events for almost two years. Who’s in shape? The U.S. has three very capable entries, including 2018 Worlds bronze winner Courtney Hurley, her sister Kelley Hurley and Katherine Holmes. All three were on the U.S.’s gold-medal-winning Team Epee squad at the 2018 Worlds.

● Fencing: Men’s Sabre
Hungary’s Aron Szilagyi won his second straight Olympic title in Rio in 2016, defeating American Daryl Homer in the final, and both are back for Tokyo. In the interim, fellow Hungarian Andras Szatmari won the 2017 Worlds over Bong-Il Gu (KOR), Korea’s Jung-Hwan Kim defeated American Eli Dershwitz in the 2018 Worlds and in 2019, it was Korea’s Sang-Uk Oh and Szatmari going gold-silver.

So look for Korea to be in the mix with the Hungarians, but with Dershwitz a clear medal contender along with all three Italians: Luca Curatoli, Luigi Samele and Enrico Berre.

● Judo: Women’s 48 kg
The 2018 and 2019 World Championships final pitted Daria Bilodid (UKR) and Japan’s Funa Tonaki, with Bilodid winning both times, after Funaki took the 2017 world title. Both have already been seeded into the round of 16 and are medal favorites from the start. Defending Olympic champ Paula Pareto (ARG) is back, along with bronze winner Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh (KAZ). Besides Bilodid and Funaki, both the 2019 Worlds bronze winners are back as well: Distria Krasniqi (KOS) and Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL).

Judo is being held at the famed Nippon Budokhan, spiritual home of the sport, first contested in the Tokyo 1964 Games. Hard to pick against Tonaki at least making it to the final, perhaps against Bilodid again?

● Judo: Men’s 60 kg
Georgia’s Lukhumi Chkhvimiani is the 2019 World Champion, defeating Sharafuddin Lutfillaev in the final and both are going to contend again. Bronze medalist Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) is also back, the Rio 2016 silver medalist.

Japan’s Naohisa Takato was a bronze medalist in Rio and expects to do better: he was World Champion in 2013-17-18. So does Russian Robert Mshvidobadze, who lost to Takato in the 2018 Worlds final. But can anyone stop Takato on home turf?

● Shooting: Men’s 10 m Air Pistol
All three Rio medal winners are bach: gold medalist Xuan Vinh Hoang (VIE), runner-up Felipe Almeida Wu (BRA) and bronze medalist Wei Pang (CHN). But Jong-Oh Jin (KOR) might be the favorite, having won the 2012 Olympic title and the 2018 World Championship, the latter over Artem Chernousov (RUS).

However, in the 2021 World Cup events, which had good participation, Iran’s Javad Foroughi won this event twice and India’s Saurabah Chaudhary won a silver and a bronze and appear to be hot at just the right time.

● Shooting: Women’s 10 m Air Rifle
American Ginny Thrasher upset a lot of better-known shooters in this event in Rio in 2016, and this event figures to be open again. Thrasher didn’t make the U.S. team, but Mary Tucker and Alison Weisz went 1-2 for the U.S. in the ISSF World Cup in March.

Hungary’s Eszter Meszaros won the World Cup in Croatia last month, followed by Ziva Dvorsak (SLO) and Sofia Ceccarello (ITA). Do not count out Korea’s Eunji Kwon, Russian Anastasiia Galashina or the Chinese entries Luyao Wang and Qian Yang: all capable even without many results during the pandemic.

● Taekwondo: Women’s 49 kg
It’s a clash of weights, as the Olympic program has only half as many as the World Taekwondo Championships. So, two-time 46 kg World Champion Jae-Young Sim is here, but so is 2016 Rio bronze medalist (at 49 kg) and 2019 49 kg World Champion Panipak Wongpattanakit. Add in Rio 2016 silver medalist Tijana Bogdanovic, Vietnam’s 2017 46 kg Worlds silver winner Thi Kim Tuyen Truong (VIE) and 2019 Worlds 49 kg runner-up Jingyu Wu (CHN) and you have a mess.

● Taekwondo: Men’s 58 kg
The reigning World Champion at this weight is Korea’s Jun Jang, with 2019 bronze medalists Rui Braganca (POR) and Lucas Guzman (ARG) ready to try again. Iran’s Armin Hadipaour is moving up from 54 kg, where he won a Worlds bronze in 2019, and Russian Mikhail Artamonov was runner-up at 58 kg in the 2017 Worlds. But Jun won three times on the Grand Prix circuit in 2019, and on paper, is the man to beat.

● Weightlifting: Women’s 48 kg
This is pretty simple. China’s Zhihui Hou holds the world record for the combined Snatch and Clean & Jerk and was second to a teammate at the 2019 World Championships. It’s hers to lose.

Behind her, Japan’s Hiromi Miyake returns as the Rio bronze medalist and India’s Chanu Saikhom Mirabai was fourth at the 2019 Worlds in this event. American Jourdan Delacruz has a shot at a medal here as well.

= INTEL REPORT =

Tokyo 2020 reported 19 new Covid cases on Friday (23rd), which included three athletes, bringing the total to 11. The largest group continued to be Games contractors (51), followed by “Games-concerned personnel” such as coaches and officials (32), eight media members and four from Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers. Of the 106 total, 56 are residents of Japan and 50 are not.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 1,359 new Covid cases on Friday; for comparison, the much-smaller Los Angeles County report for Thursday was 2,767, the second straight day with 2,000-plus newly confirmed infections.

In beach volleyball, the Czech pair of Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova were declared non-starters for the tournament and will not compete due to Slukova’s Covid infection. Their last medal in an FIVB World Tour event came in a 2-star tournament in mid-2019.

Startling statistics on the impact of the American collegiate system showed that more than 1,000 Olympians in Tokyo came through the NCAA system, and more than 100 coaches are participating with multiple nations.

The Pac-12 alone claims 321 Olympic athletes across 29 sports; by itself, it would be the 12th-largest delegation at the Games. Within the conference, USC has the largest number of Olympians across all NCAA schools (63) with Stanford (53) apparently second. California (47), UCLA (39), Washington (31), Arizona State (23), Arizona and Oregon (21) all have more than 20 athletes in Tokyo.

As the NCAA structure is under extreme pressure from developments in college football, the concern within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the U.S. National Governing Bodies about the future of sports beyond football and basketball is high.

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TOKYO 2020/Day 1: Opening Ceremony combines dignity, culture and a dazzling display of technology to a worldwide audience, but in an empty stadium

By
Rich Perelman
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Let the Games begin: Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic Flame (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

Once again, the Olympic Games has started, and in the elegant, precise and dramatic style hoped for in Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium.

But the stadium was empty, save for about 950 dignitaries – including Emperor Naruhito – and perhaps 6,000 news media. But the show went on, impressively, crowned by a powerful, six-part arrival of the Olympic Torch, ending with tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the cauldron.

The ceremony started right on time at 8 p.m. Tokyo time, in warm (82 degrees F) and humid (76%) conditions, with a stark focus on a single runner, opening to a fireworks display and a spectacular show of technology as the entire floor of the stadium was lit with a brilliant set of geometric projections.

An elegant stage set was brought on the field, with a stepped representation of Mt. Fuji in the middle, topped by the (closed for now) cauldron for the Olympic Flame. A dance program of great dignity and solemnity followed, but even the carefully-choreographed television coverage showed the rows of empty seats in a glittering, almost-new stadium.

This was followed by a moment of silence “to remember loved ones who are no longer with us,” an indirect reference to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to those who have passed since the Games were postponed from 2020. This was followed by a first-ever segment in an Opening Ceremony commemorating the massacre of Israeli athletes and officials at the Munich Games in 1972; the field was blackened except for the Mt. Fuji stage, bathed in blue, with a white spotlight on the middle of the field; a moment of silence was observed.

A 14-minute cultural presentation followed, which included a “construction” project that “built” the Olympic Rings on the field and an energetic tap routine from Kazunori Kumagai, followed by a massive fireworks display.

The colorful parade of nations started 37 minutes into the ceremony and passed by much more quickly than in past Games, as all of the larger delegations were compressed by the restrictions on when athletes could come to Tokyo. Most of the delegations had two flagbearers – one man, one woman – as now allowed, and almost everyone had their phones out for selfies and videos, even in an empty stadium.

Some 5,700 were expected to march, so even with the program moving along smartly, it took an hour for 95 National Olympic Committees to come in.

As future hosts of the Games, the U.S. and France were at the end of the parade, followed by host Japan. The U.S. entered at 10:30 p.m., with flagbearers Sue Bird (basketball) and Eddy Alvarez (baseball) and a huge delegation, but which moved swiftly to their place on the field.

Japan entered at 10:33 p.m., closing the parade right on schedule, an impressive achievement on its own.

The newly-rewritten Olympic Oath was taken by Japanese athletes Ryota Yamagata (track & field) and Kasumi Ishikawa (table tennis), judges Asumi Tsuzaki (water polo) and Masato Kato (surfing) and coaches Kosei Inoue (judo) and Reika Utsugi (softball).

This was followed by a “Unity in Diversity” program that began with the movement of 45 colored boxes on the field that eventually formed the Tokyo 2020 logo. That symbol was picked up by an amazing formation of 1,824 drones which moved in a sequence that morphed into a blue-and-white representation of the earth. That was awesome.

Brief speeches were given by Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER). Bach praised the efforts of the Japanese people, the volunteers and many others who made the Games possible, and the difficult path of the athletes during the pandemic:

“You did not even know whether this competition would take place at all. You struggled. You persevered. You never gave up. And today, you are making your Olympic dream come true.”

And he returned to his constant theme of the Olympic Movement at the service of the world through sport, a philosophy which has radically changed the way the Olympic world works:

“Our Olympic community learned that we can address the many big challenges of our times only if we stand together. The lesson we learned is: We need more solidarity. More solidarity within societies and more solidarity among societies.

“Solidarity means much more than just respect or non-discrimination. Solidarity means helping. Sharing. Caring. This is what we are do in our Olympic community. We are standing in solidarity to make the Olympic Games happen and to enable all of you, dear athletes, from all National Olympic Committees – whether big or small, whether rich or poor, and from all Olympic sports – to take part of the Olympic Games.”

Emperor Naruhito then opened the Games in Japanese, followed by the entrance and raising of the Olympic flag in three stages: first by a cadre of six athletes – one from each continent and the Refugee Olympic Team – then a group of eight “essential workers” from Japan saluting their role in working against the pandemic and finally a seven-member group from the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

A release of paper doves – live doves are no longer used – was followed by an inventive reflection on the Tokyo Games of 1964. The now-familiar sports pictograms were invented for that Games and the 50 pictograms for today’s Games was saluted in a clever sketch, primarily with three mimes working together to create human versions of each one.

A three-minute video showcasing the Olympic venues and Tokyo the city, leading to a live Kabuki performance on the stage was the prelude to one of the most complex torch-lighting ceremonies ever staged.

The Olympic Torch appeared in the stadium at 11:38 p.m. Tokyo time and proceeded through six stages:

● 1: Dr. Tadahiro Nomura (a judoka) and three-time wrestling gold medalist Saori Yoshida, bringing the torch into the stadium;

● 2: Three Japanese baseball legends: Shigeo Nagashima, a slow but steady Sadaharu Oh, now 81, Japan’s baseball icon, and former Yomiuri Giants and Yankees star Hideki Matsui;

● 3: Dr. Hiuroki Ohashi and Junko Kitagawa, a nurse, representing the medical corps at the center of treating the pandemic;

● 4: Paralympian Wakako Tsuchida, who moved the torch on her wheelchair;

● 5: A group of six elementary school and junior high students representing regions of Japan which had been devastated by earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, who handed off to

● 6: Tennis star Osaka, who ascended “Mt. Fuji,” with the top opening to reveal a dazzling interior crystalline cauldron, and lit the Olympic Flame.

This was a moving ceremony, beautifully produced, but sadly without the emotion that a live audience brings. But it opened what will be a memorable Games, one that many thought would never happen. But here it is; the party has started.

For those who didn’t get up early, NBC will re-air the ceremony this evening (check your listings for air time), so you can check out the amazing technical effects and the very-well-performed cultural and ceremonial elements, especially since you now know what to look for! That drone sequence is worth seeing again and again. Wow.

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THE 5-RING CIRCUS: Tokyo fires an OpCer director one day prior; IOC’s Coates “orders” Brisbane officials to stay; a few more Covid positives

By
Rich Perelman
-
An empty Olympic Stadium in Tokyo (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

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Updates from, in and around the Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020:

In calmer times, the day before the Opening Ceremony of an Olympic Games is one of anticipation and excitement. That is not exactly what is happening in Tokyo:

● The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee dismissed Kentaro Kobayashi, a “show director” of the Opening Ceremony on Thursday. Kyodo News reported:

“Kobayashi, 48, was ousted from the post of ‘show director’ in charge of overseeing different segments of the ceremonies after a video clip resurfaced online of him in a comedy act that included the phrase, ‘Let’s play the genocide of the Jews.’”

The clip was from 1998, and Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto “told a press conference that she feels responsible for the organization’s failure to conduct sufficient background checks on the director and apologized for the latest scandal.”

This follows Monday’s resignation of composer Keigo Oyamada, who admitted to bullying children with disabilities in the past. His four-minute original piece for the ceremony has been removed from the show.

Reports indicate that Friday’s ceremony may be held with as few as 950 invited guests in the Olympic Stadium.

This includes elected leaders of about 15 countries, including Emmanuel Macron of France, which will host the 2024 Games in Paris.

Apparently, that will also include Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Brisbane Mayor Andrew Schrinner and Minister of Sport Richard Colbeck. During a news conference following Brisbane’s election for 2032, Australian Olympic Committee chair and IOC member John Coates – the driving force behind the Brisbane bid – told the officials:

“You are going to the opening ceremony. I am still the deputy chair of the [2032] candidature leadership group. So far as I understand, there will be an opening and a closing ceremony in 2032, and all of you have got to get along there and understand the tradition parts of that, what’s involved in an opening ceremony. None of you are staying behind hiding in your rooms, all right?”

Replied Palaszczuk, “I am not going to offend anyone now that we’ve just been awarded the Games.”

Coates, 71, is no stranger to political infighting, but has promised to step down as Australian Olympic Committee chief in 2022 and will soon be age-limited as an IOC member. His antics drew widespread scorn in Australia and have gotten Brisbane off on a sour note with its own population.

The Russian Olympic Committee announced that from 66-80 athletes would march in the Opening Ceremony, along with six officials. There are expected to be 335 Russian athletes at Tokyo, but many will not be present until later and many athletes who will be competing on Saturday will stay in the Village and rest.

Comment: The usually endless parade of nations may actually be watchable this time.

The Associated Press reported that Rosie Gallegos-Main, a volunteer chiropractor with the USA Wrestling women’s team at its pre-Games training camp posted a notice on her Facebook and Instagram pages on Wednesday that included:

“We went from ‘Flattening the curve in 14 days’ to ‘Going door-to-door to see your papers’ … Gotta admit, I did N-A-Z-I that one coming.”

She apologized, deleted the posts , which were “flagged by both social media platforms for spreading misinformation” according to the AP. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s statement to the news service included:

“The USOPC will work with USA Wrestling to see that she gets that educational resource and understands our organization’s shared global purpose of building a better, more inclusive world through sport.”

A five-page letter signed by more than 150 activists, was posted Thursday, asking the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee to:

“refrain from imposing sanctions on athletes protesting and demonstrating in accordance with internationally-recognized human rights frameworks, as outlined above, in any Olympic/ Paralympic sites, venues or other areas – including the podium. These frameworks protect protests in support of racial and social justice (e.g., kneeling, raising one’s fist). They do not protect hate speech or protests/demonstrations discriminatory in nature.”

It also calls for another review of Olympic Charter Rule 50 (2) after the Beijing Winter Games in 2022 to align more closely with the standards the signatories prefer. Amazingly, the letter undercuts its own argument by including:

“We recognize that the right to freedom of expression, as most human rights, is not absolute. … [and] may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.”

Don’t look for any action on this from the IOC for a while.

● On the Covid-19 front, the tracking chart from the Tokyo organizers showed 87 total positives from Games personnel, plus another four tracked by municipal governments at which training camps are taking place.

Of the 87 Tokyo 2020 cases, 52 are Japanese residents and 35 are from outside Japan. The leading group continues to be contractors (48 or 55.2%), followed by “Games-concerned personnel” such as coaches and officials (22), then athletes (8), media (5) and Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers (4).

Agence France Presse reported Wednesday that Guinea has withdrawn its delegation – five athletes – from Tokyo, allegedly due to the coronavirus. The national sports minister, Sanoussy Bantama Sow, wrote “Due to the resurgence of Covid-19 variants, the government, concerned with preserving the health of Guinean athletes, has decided with regret to cancel Guinea’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics.”

AFP noted reports, however, that the real reason for the withdrawal is that the country could not pay for the team to attend.

Hours later, the country announced that the team will go to Tokyo as planned, “after obtaining guarantees from the health authorities.” Right, sure.

Five members of the Czech Olympic squad, including beach volleyball players Ondrej Perusic and Marketa Slukova and table tennis player Pavel Sirucek have tested positive, along with two officials (one of whom is Slukova’s husband and coach, Simon Nausch).

An investigation is now underway into the spread of the virus during a charter flight from Prague to Tokyo during which all five were on board.

Russia reported that European 400 m Medley champ Ilya Borodin (18) has tested positive for Covid and will miss the Games. He is reported as asymptomatic, but will not compete.

Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov told a news conference that Russia has 193 athletes in Tokyo at present and “There are no cases of COVID-19 infections among Russian athletes in the Olympic Village.”

USA Volleyball confirmed that Tri Bourne will replace Taylor Crabb on the U.S. beach volleyball pair with Jake Gibb and compete beginning on Sunday in Tokyo. Crabb and Gibb were ranked fourth in the FIVB’s Olympic rankings, while Bourne and Trevor Crabb – Taylor’s brother – were ranked 14th.

Taylor Crabb wrote on his Instagram page, “After taking every precaution, getting vaccinated and following protocols, I have tested positive for COVID-19. I’m symptom-free, thankfully, but deeply disappointed to not be able to join Jake on the sand and compete as a member of Team USA.”

According to the Beach Volleyball Database, Bourne and Gibb have never been paired together in tournament play before.

● In weightlifting, the head of the Russian Weightlifting Federation, Maxim Agapitov – the
1997 World Champion at 91 kg – has been denied accreditation to the Tokyo Games by the IOC and has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In November 2020, the IOC noted its concern over the election of Agapitov to a second term as head of the Russian federation and his intention to run for the presidency of the European Weightlifting Federation in 2021. Why? As the IOC noted:

“When Agapitov was an athlete, he tested positive in 1994 and was banned for two years.”

Agapitov says he is entitled to be accredited as part of the IWF delegation as a member of its Executive Board; he is also the interim President of the European Weightlifting Federation as Turk Hassan Akkus stepped down over allegations of doping violations in the latest International Testing Agency report.

A hearing was scheduled to be have been held on Thursday (22nd).

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● WADA will be getting some U.S. government money after all.

Richard Baum, a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told a Congressional committee that $1.60 million of the $2.93 million in dues expected from the U.S. will be paid.

“We believe half the payment is appropriate. There have been some good conversations in WADA about reform, but we still believe that in order to be comfortable with making the full payment, we’d like to see additional steps forward.”

The Trump Administration had withheld payment and filed a report with Congress that essentially demanded that U.S. representation on WADA’s Executive Committee take into account its financial support of the organization. WADA has been in the process of enacting several governance reforms, especially in athlete representation.

● Games of the XXXVI Olympiad: 2036 ● If you think that all of the above has soured countries on future hosting of the Games, forget it.

Indonesian Olympic Committee chief Raja Sapta Oktohari said, “We will not back down and will continue to fight for the 2036 Olympics.” The country can point to the staging of the mammoth Asian Games in 2018 as proof of its abilities.

India, Qatar, Korea and Hungary were also in discussions with the IOC at the time when the very advanced Brisbane was singled out by the IOC’s Future Hosts Commission. Germany has also shown interest, but dropped out of the 2032 effort and would likely next target 2040. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also promoted a fourth Games in the British capital, during his re-election campaign in the spring.

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INTEL REPORT: Brisbane to “future-proof” the Olympic Games; Bach striving for stability; first protests in Tokyo; Sweden clubs U.S. women, 3-0

By
Rich Perelman
-
It's official: Brisbane signs the Host City Contract for the 2032 Olympic Games (Photo: IOC/Greg Martin)

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Updates from, in and around the Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020:

● International Olympic Committee ● Tuesday’s IOC Session vote for Brisbane as the host of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad in 2032 was historic for several reasons, but perhaps most importantly as a template for future hosts. Said IOC member and Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates at the end of Brisbane’s presentation:

“[Brisbane] sets out to demonstrate hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is truly within the capacity – and budgets – of other like places and mid-size cities all over the world. And in so doing, helping the IOC to future-proof the Olympic Games. What an important outcome this would be.”

It’s not important, it’s a paradigm shift; in 2032, Brisbane will be the smallest metropolitan area to host the Games in 80 years, since Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Comparing the 2021 population figures of the host cities (in millions):

● 1950s: Helsinki ‘52: 1.5; Melbourne ‘56: 5.0.
● 1960s: Rome ‘60: 4.3; Tokyo ‘64: 37.4; Mexico City ‘68: 21.9.
● 1970s: Munich ‘72: 6.0; Montreal ‘76: 4.2.
● 1980s: Moscow ‘80: 12.5; Los Angeles ‘84: 13.1; Seoul ‘88: 25.0.
● 1990s: Barcelona ‘92: 5.5; Atlanta ‘96: 6.0.
● 2000s: Sydney ‘00: 4.9; Athens ‘04: 3.7; Beijing ‘08: 20.9.
● 2010s: London ‘12: 14.3; Rio ‘16: 13.5.
● 2020s: Tokyo ‘20: 37.4; Paris ‘24: 12.6; Los Angeles ‘28: 13.1.
● 2030s: Brisbane ‘32: 2.6.

That is fairly astonishing; the last host even close to Brisbane’s size was Athens in 2004 and that was a difficult, budget-challenged Games to say the least. The vote was 77-5 with three abstentions in Brisbane’s favor and at the post-Session news conference, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke to the achievement of such a relatively small region landing the Games:

“It’s something our city and our state has always aspired to, bur we never thought it was possible. But under the Olympics’ ‘New Norm,’ we have over 80% of our venues, we have cooperation with all three levels of government and we’ve got agreements to do the infrastructure that is already needed for our city, which will complement the Games.

“We’ve very excited. We’re over the moon and we’re absolutely honored.”

Coates noted that while Brisbane was the only city presented to the IOC Session for approval, as many as five other cities or regions were in discussions with the IOC’s Future Hosts Commission, but with projects not as well developed as Queensland’s.

IOC President Thomas Bach was asked about what appear to be happy times ahead for the IOC, with host cities out to 2032 and a strong financial situation even though the pandemic. Bach wasn’t sure:

“I hope you’re right. I was also thinking that, at least starting with Tokyo, we will have a tranquil period. Even before Pyeongchang, I was thinking until a certain moment that it will be tranquil after Rio and you know what happened. Then in Korea, you know what happened , then with the pandemic, so I keep my fingers crossed , then for the rest of my mandate, but even more for my successor that it will be indeed a more tranquil period.

But the Olympic Movement is living in the middle of society and we are not living in a tranquil world. We are living in a very fragile world at this moment and therefore we have to react to this and to find the right way for the Olympic Movement. …

“Once the health crisis is over, we will see the social, the political, the economic, the financial consequences of the pandemic, so the policy we have applied in the IOC in the last couple of years was to create stability.

This is why from the beginning of my term, we have concluded long-term contracts with rights-holding partners and sponsors. We have been looking to make our procedures more flexible, always in order to create stability as far as we could in this very turbulent and fragile world.”

It was noted that Bach inherited the selection of Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games, Rio in 2016, PyeongChang in 2018 and Tokyo for 2020 when he was elected in September of 2013. Under his watch, however, Beijing was selected for the 2022 Winter Games and that event promises to be anything but placid given the political stance of China today. But for Paris, Milan Cortina, Los Angeles and now Brisbane, the future is bright.

The IOC published its 2020 Annual Report online during the Session, detailing a difficult year during the pandemic, but underscoring its excellent resources.

In 2020, the IOC took in $623.8 million, down slightly from 2019 ($694.5 million), and spent $798.7 million for a loss of $174.9 million before investment gains, which reduced the actual loss to $55.0 million.

No matter; the IOC ended 2020 with assets of $5.71 billion, up 7% from 2019 and reserves of $2.47 billion. The report noted that contracts worth $4.1 billion are already in place for the quadrennial of 2029-32.

The IOC spent $127.2 million on its Olympic Solidarity programs in 2020, including direct-to-athlete payments to 1,600 Olympic Scholarship holders.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee received $88.7 million in TOP sponsorship payments in 2020 (separate from television rights fees).

● Tokyo 2020 ● Competitions have finally started in Tokyo and there was a shocker right away in football; of note:

● Football: In Group G of the women’s tournament, Sweden pummeled the U.S., 3-0, ending a 44-match unbeaten streak for the American women that dates back to January 2019. It was also the first loss by the U.S. with Vlatko Andonovski as coach; he took over at the end of 2019 following the U.S. win at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The usually active U.S. defense was lax and Sweden’s Sofia Jakobsson sent a cross in front of the U.S. goal in the 25th that found the head of Stina Blackstenius for a 1-0 lead. The Swedes pressed the U.S. in the midfield and slowed its usually potent attack. Blackstenius scored again in the 54th minute and Lina Hurtig scored on a header in the 72nd minute for the final goal.

Sweden had a 52-48% edge on the U.S. in possession – rare – and a 16-13 edge on shots, a good measure of the dominance in the game.

In the other Group G match, Australia defeated New Zealand, 1-0, and the U.S. will play New Zealand on the 24th and Australia on the 27th.

● Protests: The expected protests of going to one knee prior to their match – allowed under the IOC’s new guidelines – came in the football matches with Great Britain and Chile and with the U.S. and Sweden.

● Withdrawals: Covid positives leading to withdrawals from the Games were reported for Fernanda Aguirre of Chile (taekwondo) and Candy Jacobs (NED: skateboarding).

American beach volleyballer Taylor Crabb tested positive over the weekend after he arrived in Japan and is in the Covid protocol. He and Jake Gibb are scheduled to play their first match on Sunday; Crabb may be replaced by Tri Bourne.

Australian equestrian showjumper Jamie Kermond was reported to have tested positive for cocaine and has been provisionally suspended and will not compete in Tokyo.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC announced that about 230 members of the U.S. delegation are expected to march in the Opening Ceremony on Friday, with Sue Bird (basketball) and Eddy Alvarez (baseball) elected as flag bearers.

The IOC changed the protocol for the ceremony to allow two flag bearers as long as both a man and women are included. Bird is a four-time basketball gold medalist and Alvarez plays in the Miami Marlins minor-league system, but won a silver medal in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games as a member of the 5,000 m four-man short track speedskating team.

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THE BIG PICTURE: Brisbane approved for 2032 Games; WHO chief rejects “zero cases” standard; LA28 to “create an amazing Games experience”

By
Rich Perelman
-
Winner: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk holding the placard announcing Brisbane as the host for the 2032 Olympic Games (Photo: IOC live-stream screenshot)

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For the second consecutive time, the International Olympic Committee selected a host city for the Olympic Games 11 years beforehand, with Brisbane, Australia confirmed as the host of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad in 2032.

The IOC Session, meeting in Tokyo, was asked for a yes-or-no vote on Brisbane, which had prepared an aggressive bid in earnest at the urging of Australian IOC member John Coates, who also led the IOC’s working group on the reformation of the Games bidding process.

But it was officials from Queensland, led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who did the actual work on the bid, developing a plan, lobbying the IOC in Lausanne and pressing their case with the newly-formed IOC Future Hosts Commission. All of that led to a recommendation to the IOC Executive Board that “Brisbane” should be designated as the targeted host for 2032 subject to providing the IOC’s required guarantees and specifics on venues, accommodations and so on.

In Tokyo, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined the presentation by satellite from Canberra, and Palaszczuk, Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Coates were present in the room.

Norwegian IOC member Kristin Kloster Aasen, head of the Future Hosts Commission for the summer Games, told the IOC members that “We have the best possible project on the table before us,” that includes 84% existing and temporary venues and political solidarity, even from the leading opposition party in Australia. The bottom line:

“As the world continues to experience challenging times, we believe that we have before us the chance to seize a unique opportunity to secure the future of the Olympic Movement and provide the athletes of the world with an excellent welcome in 2032.”

The Brisbane presentation was introduced by Coates, who promised “diligent, grateful and enthusiastic hands” to produce the event. Morrison emphasized that “we know what it takes to deliver a successful Games in Australia” and praised the efforts of the Japanese organizers to make the Tokyo Games a reality. He stressed the country’s diversity – “We’re like a giant-sized Olympic Village, all together” – and the detailed financial and sustainability commitments of all levels of Australian government.

Palaszczuk pointedly noted, “The Games will accelerate our future by providing the infrastructure much sooner than otherwise would be the case, by focusing and fast-tracking investment of all governments.” Long-term community needs are built into the Games plan. And:

“We want to show the world that mid-sized cities and regions can host the Games without financial distress or missed deadlines. The keys are long-term planning, bi-partisan support and making the most of a city’s natural and built resources.”

Along with comments from Schrinner, the Brisbane presentation ran about 50 minutes and was impressively produced and delivered by its elected officials, augmented with multiple information slides and video clips.

A grand total of seven questions or comments were offered, all of which were handled satisfactorily. The vote was taken and the completely anticlimactic announcement was made that Brisbane will be the host city for 2032.

There was loud applause, followed by a video link to an outdoor viewing site in Brisbane (where it was about 6:30 p.m.) – complete with fireworks – and the signing of the Host City Contract. Australia has its third Games, after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

The second day of the IOC Session in Tokyo began with a keynote by World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom (ETH), who declared, “The pandemic is a test and the world is failing.”

Over a 35-minute address, he urged wealthier nations to share Covid vaccines with less-developed nations, saying “The most vulnerable remain unprotected.” He asked for governmental, commercial and charitable help in manufacturing 11 billion vaccines to reach 70% of the world’s population by the mid-2022. His comment on Covid and the Olympic Games in Tokyo:

“The mark of success in the coming fortnight is not zero cases. And I know that some cases have already been detected. The mark of success is making sure that any cases are identified, isolated, traced and cared for as quickly possible. And normal transmission is interrupted. That is the mark of success for every country.”

This was followed by a lengthy series of reports on future Games:

● Beijing 2022: The Winter Games organizers provided a detailed report, with venue development well in hand. Beijing 2022 noted that it now has 45 marketing partners at all levels and that a remarkable 1.12 million applied to be volunteers for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Games are being promoted with events in China during the Tokyo 2020 Games period. Oh yes, the dreaded “playbooks” are being prepared at this time, but it is hoped (and expected) that spectators will be present.

● Paris 2024: The Paris organizing committee, led by canoeing Olympic Champion Tony Estanguet, underlined its continuing progress: “We are ready to take the baton on the 8th of August; we are on budget: more than half of our targeted revenue is signed and secured … we are on time on our three main pillars: celebration, legacy and engagement.”

The details included construction on the agreed timeline (one venue already completed!), agreements for 47,000 hotel rooms available at the same pricing promised in the bid documents, and with no minimum-stay requirements. The Paris 2024 licensing program is underway, with 15 companies involved and an online store opening later this summer.

About 50 members of the 2024 staff are and will be in Tokyo as observers.

● Milan Cortina 2026: The presentation was led by Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malago, who noted that the 2026 effort is already benefitting from having held world championships at the expected venues in Biathlon in 2020 in Anterselva and the Alpine Skiing Worlds in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2021.

A new approach to “exponential organization” is being developed, in which the organizing committee itself will hire only 600 people and partner with four “local organizing committees” situated in the four Games venue clusters. This concept is designed to reduce human resource costs and to emphasize high performance, along with maintaining and further developing the “local delivery partners” who already know their areas so well. There are 90 staff members at present and up to another 131 could be hired this year.

Malago also noted the development of the logo, with 870,000 votes cast from Italy and elsewhere to select the first popularly-voted emblem for the Winter Games.

The Veneto regional government has confirmed that the 1956 Cortina sliding center will be renovated, but not for the Games in specific, but for a larger entertainment park for the area. It will be used in 2026 by the organizing committee as a temporary tenant only.

● Los Angeles 2028: This was the first in-person report by LA28 to an IOC Session, with Chair Casey Wasserman, Chief Revenue Officer Kathy Carter and Chief Operating Officer John Harper participating. Wasserman underlined the unique situation of Los Angeles, host to the Games already in 1932 and 1984:

“L.A. is a Games-ready city … We have an incredible culture of innovation, creativity and story-telling and we’re excited to tell the stories of the Olympic Games to the world. And we intend to host a fiscally-responsible and sustainable Games using the best that L.A. has to offer, and as you all know, we are privately funded. …

“We’re going to take advantage of these extra four years to put ourselves in a position to create a truly Games-changing experience.”

He noted the emphasis has been on the graphical brand launch and sponsorship marketing as foundational elements, and he tied the business programming to the LA28 philosophies:

“We think it’s important for the organization to be guided by our ‘truths’. We use these to guide us every day … we’re optimistic and believe in making great things possible; we believe that diversity makes us stronger, and we should celebrate our differences; we know that co-creating and innovating with others will shape a more progressive future. At our core, we will represent Los Angeles and welcome the world. We recognize that people are what matter most and are proud of our opportunity to leave a legacy, and finally, we are squarely rooted in sport. We believe in the power of sport and the spirit of competition and achievement. …

“Our mission is clear and our vision is bold. The mission, very simply, is to create an amazing Games experience for everyone. And our vision is ambitious, to create what’s next by harnessing sport, community and the power of our differences.”

On the unique branding program, utilizing an ever-changing “A” in the LA28 emblem, he explained:

“As we thought about how to bring our story to life, we thought about how Los Angeles is a place of constant re-invention and re-imagining what’s possible. At our core, L.A. is an infinite canvas to pursue your wildest dreams. And we knew that everyone had to be a part of the L.A. story. L.A. defies singular definition, so there would be no singular way to represent our Games.

“And finally, the Games are not about one sport, one team, one idea or one theme, so we would need a collection of voices to tell the LA28 story … The best way to capture our community’s essence is through a collection of voices.”

Carter explained the venue plan, with five major “sports parks” containing most of the venues, with no permanent construction required. On the commercial side, she noted the unique collaboration that has LA28, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and domestic broadcaster NBCUniversal working together as a single sales entity, opening a new vista for engagement and attracting new fans to the Olympic Movement. The on-site slide showed logos of already-committed partners Delta Airlines, Comcast, Salesforce and Deloitte and licensees Nike, Ralph Lauren, Getty Images and hospitality provider On Location.

Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU), the head of the IOC’s Coordination Commission, gave a positive review for the organizing committee’s work, especially the contribution to youth programs operated by the City of Los Angeles. She noted that LA28 currently has 90 employees.

The elections portion of the Session included the re-election of five IOC members who had served for eight years (approved by 78-0), and a change of status from Athletes’ Commission member to an individual member for Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), approved by 78-2. Coventry, also the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in her country, is seen as a possible future leader of the Olympic Movement.

Aruba’s Hoevertsz, already a member of the Executive Board, was elected as a Vice President of the IOC by a 72-7 margin, to replace the term-limited Anita DeFrantz (USA). For the IOC Executive Board, Robin Mitchell (FIJ) was re-elected by 75-4; Denis Oswald (SUI) was re-elected by 71-7 after the withdrawal of Norway’s Kristin Kloster Aasen, then Kloster Aasen was herself elected by 71-6.

(DeFrantz served for two terms as a Vice President, and is eligible to run again in two years.)

The Session also elected Craig Reedie (GBR) – the former head of the International Badminton Federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency – as an honorary member beginning in 2022; he was age-limited at the end of this year. Crown Prince Frederik (DEN), who resigned earlier this year, was elected as an honorary member as well.

The Games competition actually started, with softball matches in Fukushima and host Japan defeating Australia, 8-1, ending the game by the mercy rule after five innings. Minori Naito and Yamato Fujita homered for the winners.

The U.S. was in action in the second game, with Cat Osterman, 38, a gold medalist from 2004 and 2008, shutting out Italy on a six-inning one-hitter, 2-0, with Monica Abbott, 35, earning the save for a scoreless seventh.

During the second part of Monday’s Session, a series of reports were heard, including a short, hopeful greeting from the Tokyo 2020 organizers. The IOC noted that “Coordination Commission Chair John Coates told the IOC Members that the work done, both on permanent and temporary facilities, is of the highest quality, and that the conditions in the Village, training venues and competition fields of play are perfect.”

Other highlights:

● The IOC approved a request from President Thomas Bach (GER) to change the Olympic motto, of “Citius, Altius, Fortius” – better known as “Swifter, Higher, Stronger” and adopted in 1894 – by adding “Communiter” or, in English: “Swifter, Higher, Stronger – Together.” The vote was unanimous.

● The International Testing Agency noted that it will collect approximately 5,000 urine and blood samples both in and out of competition, in collaboration with Tokyo 2020 and the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA), at the Games The collections will be obtained via an anti-doping workforce of 250 Doping Control Officers and 700 chaperones.

● The Milan Cortina organizers for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games asked for and received approval to add Ski Mountaineering to its program. Five events would be held – a sprint and an individual event for men and women and a mixed event – with a total of 48 athletes. Those athletes will be included in the overall quota of 2,900.

● Also looking to the future, six International Federations received full recognition from the IOC, including the International Cheerleading Union (ICU), International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA), International Sambo Federation (FIAS), International Federation Icestocksport (IFI), World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO) and World Lacrosse (WL). This does not mean these federations are any closer to being part of the Olympic program, but are now part of a large group of “recognized” federations which receive some modest IOC support.

Some modest revisions were made to the Olympic Charter, including a requirement that National Olympic Committees must have functional Athletes’ Commissions – with voting rights – by the end of 2022, and the responsibility for organizing committees to hold test events was modified to include programs short of “full competitions” – such as school events – in agreement with the relevant International Federation as a potential money-saving measure.

Tokyo 2020’s Wednesday update on Covid-19 cases showed the total up to 79, with eight new cases. Japanese residents account for 46 (58%), while the other 33 are non-residents (and four of these are in training camps).

By group, 42 are contractors, 20 are “Games-related personnel” (coaches, officials), eight are athletes, five media and four Tokyo 2020 staff and volunteers.

At Monday’s post-Session news conference, IOC member and Athletes’ Commission chair Coventry was asked about the recent change to the Olympic Charter’s Rule 50 guidelines, allowing “expression” prior to competition, but continuing the ban at ceremonies and in the Olympic Village. She explained:

“What athletes were asking were for more opportunities to be able to talk about things that were important to them. And with the results of the last month, and allowing for there to be athletes expressing themselves before the start of competition, my hope is that athletes will still respect each other and will live by our Olympic values, which are their Olympic values because now they are now Olympians.”

There were lots of headlines on Tuesday about Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto “not ruling out” the last-moment cancellation of the Games at a Monday news conference, but what he actually said was:

“We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases. So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.

“We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises.”

The SwimSwam.com site added a really cheeky follow-up about the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, including:

“Bookmakers have rated the chances of Tokyo ending early as short as 4/1 which, according to Power, puts an implied 17% probability on the Games ending early” and even odds on which sports might be canceled given their close-contact nature! Wrestling (36%), Karate (33%) and Judo (33%) had the best odds.

● Athletics: Before the pandemic, the biggest concern about the Tokyo Games was heat, and the marathons and race walks were moved to Sapporo, where the weather was expected to be cooler.

On Sunday, however, high temperatures hit 91 F in Sapporo and rose to 93 F on Monday. Temps were expected to cool to the mid-80s during the Games, with lows from 70-72 F, still warm for the long-distance events.

Regardless of Covid, the heat is apparently going to be an issue in Sapporo.

● Beach Volleyball: Ondrej Perusic of the Czech Republic has been identified as a Covid-positive case and with his first match with partner David Schweiner against Latvia on the 26th, is in danger of missing the Games. The pair are medal contenders, having won three medals (1-1-1) on this season’s FIVB World Tour in five starts, including a win on Doha (QAT) in March. Perusic and Schweiner sport a shiny 19-6 won-loss record on the season.

● Swimming: A terrible administrative mix-up resulted in six Polish swimmers getting on the plane for Tokyo and then being told that they could not compete at the Games and had to return home.

Poland qualified two individual women and nine men for the Games and five relay teams. Under FINA regulations, it was allowed to enter 17 total athletes, but the Polish federation instead sent 23 athletes to Tokyo. Six were told upon arrival that they would have to return.

In a lengthy letter explaining the situation and the arithmetic, Polish Swimming Federation chief Pawel Slominski began by noting (per Google Translate):

“I express great regret, sadness and bitterness about the situation related to the qualification of our players for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Such a situation should not take place, and the reaction of the players, their emotions, the attack on the Polish Swimming Federation (PZP) is understandable to me and justified.”

A letter from the Polish team asked for resignations of Slominski and the entire federation board, but that won’t get them into the pool in Tokyo.

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: IOC’s Bach: “I can admit that we did not know how complex this would be”; expert says Covid positives “are actually extremely low”

By
Rich Perelman
-
IOC President Thomas Bach during his remarks to the 138th IOC Session (Photo: IOC)

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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● The International Olympic Committee’s 138th Session began in Tokyo on Tuesday, with President Thomas Bach (GER) thanking the Japanese government and the organizing committee for their “determination and dedication in these challenging times.”

In his report to the Session, Bach recounted the emotional roller-coaster of the last year:

“We faced a choice: cancellation or postponement. There was nothing in between. … Cancellation would have been the easy way forward. We could have drawn on the insurance that we had at the time and moved on to Paris 2024. But in fact, cancellation was never an option for us. The IOC never abandons the athletes.

“Therefore, we took the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympic Games. Today, I can admit that we did not know how complex this would be. The only certainty we had was rather than cashing in on the insurance, we would have to invest much more, to make these Olympic Games possible.

“There was no blueprint. Nobody had ever done this before. We could only take this decision because of the full, mutual trust between our Japanese partners and us. In fact, we came to an agreement with then-prime minister Abe Shinzo in a phone call which lasted only about half an hour. This agreement still stands today. … We did it together. We did it for the athletes.”

Bach also explained why he never wavered or expressed any doubt about making the Games a reality in 2021:

“How could we have convinced all the other stakeholders to remain committed to the Olympic Games if if we would have even deepened their already-serious doubts. Our doubts would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Olympic Games could have fallen to pieces. This is why we had to keep these doubts to ourselves. And this, today I can admit and say it, these also weighed on us. It weighed on me.

“And in order to arrive at this day today, we had to give confidence . We had to show a way out of this crisis. We had to provide stability. We had to build trust. We had to give hope. … And today I would like to thank all our stakeholders for having indeed trusting in us.”

Bach recounted the IOC’s $800 million in additional spending on the postponed Games and its $1.7 billion contribution of cash and services to the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.

The Session has a long, two-day agenda, but IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper (BEL) outlined the progress being made already on the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 program approved earlier in the year.

Specially noted was the creation of a IOC-controlled, centralized ticketing and hospitality program through On Location beginning with Paris 2024, and a promise that IOC programs to provide centralized planning in technology, transportation, venue planning and management and perhaps other areas are under development.

Reports from the future organizing committees and IOC elections will take place tomorrow.

Covid-19 is very much the pre-Opening story of the Tokyo Games, and the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 organizers staged a one-hour news conference on Sunday at the Main Press Center in Tokyo concerning the Covid-19 and heat countermeasures amid reports of additional infections among Olympic-related personnel.

Hide Nakamura, head of the Main Operations Center for the Tokyo organizers explained:

“No matter how well we are prepared, every once in a while we will find some people being tested positive. We don’t think we will be able to avoid that. But what’s important is that when we face that situation systematically, we introduce isolation so that spreading will not occur.”

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) followed up on the procedures:

“This is rigorous. This is thorough. This is very strict. … Testing is the way to avoid any spread. Testing is the way to ensure safety for all of us. There is no such thing as zero risk; on that, we all agree. At the same time, the mingling and crossing of populations is incredibly limited. And we can ensure that transmission between the various groups is almost impossible. We keep the risk to an absolute minimum level. That is the core of our message. …

“Once a case is identified, there is a whole procedure to ring-fence that individual and the potential other individuals, so that when the new athletes are coming in or those that are already in the Village, know that the situation is under control. This is how we build trust and confidence is by action, extensive actions, demonstrating that there is no stone uncovered. It’s a Covid-safe environment.”

Pierre Ducrey (SUI), the IOC’s Olympic Games Operations Director, noted that more than 30,000 screening tests have been completed since 1 July and that “This is probably the most controlled population at this point in time anywhere in the world.”

As of Tuesday (20th), a total of 71 Games-related coronavirus positives had been reported since 1 July, with 15 reported on Saturday (17th) and 10 on Sunday (18th). Of these, half (36) are Games contractors, 19 are “Games-related personnel” such as coaches, team officials and sports officials, five are media, four are Tokyo 2020 staff and seven are athletes. Several of these positive results were from testing upon arrival in Japan; only 31 of the 71 total are from outside of Japan.

South African football players James Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi as well as a team video analyst were identified as Village Covid-positive cases and were being isolated according to plan; their “close contacts” are being tested and will only be able to compete if they test negative just prior to their events. IOC member Seung-min Ryu of South Korea was also identified as Covid-positive from his arrival test and is being isolated.

The IOC held another Covid information session on Monday featuring Dr. Brian McCloskey (GBR), chair of an independent panel advising the IOC on Covid-19 mitigation measures for Tokyo, who had a message for those expecting no cases in Tokyo:

“What we’re seeing is what we expected to see, essentially. If I thought all the tests we did were going to do were going to be negative, then I wouldn’t bother doing the tests in the first place. We do the tests because they are a way of filtering out people who might be developing infections, who might become a risk later, to identify them early. We take them apart from other people, we monitor and look after them and we look after the contacts.

“So it is expected as we go through the different layers of filtering, we see cases coming out. … Each layer of filtering is a reduction in risk for everybody else, and that’s what we expect to see. And the numbers we’re seeing are actually extremely low. They’re probably lower than we expected them to be, if anything.”

As for an athlete missing the Games due to a positive test in Tokyo: “It’s something that could happen. We try very hard to make sure it doesn’t happen; we manage it as well as we can. … There are no absolute certainties in this world.”

Is the Olympic Village safe? “Yes.”

The U.S. team has also been hit with Covid positives for athletes not yet in Tokyo, including:

● Men’s basketball guard Zach LaVine was placed into USA Basketball’s protocol on Monday and will not travel with the rest of the team to Tokyo, but could join in a few days.

● 3×3 Basketball player Katie Lou Samuelson was placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocol on Saturday and will not go to Tokyo. She will be replaced by Jackie Young of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, who was part of the U.S. 3×3 team at the 2019 World Beach Games.

● Women’s artistic gymnastics alternate Kara Eaker (18) tested positive at the team’s pre-Games training camp, despite reportedly being vaccinated two months ago. Fellow alternate Leanne Wong has also been isolated as a precaution.

● Tennis player Coco Gauff (17) announced on Twitter that she has tested positive and withdrawn from the Games.

● Track & field’s Katie Nageotte, the U.S. Trials winner in the women’s pole vault, has contracted food poisoning and had an allergic reaction to antibiotics, but will apparently be OK for the Games.

Elsewhere around the Games:

● Per Kyodo News: “Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada resigned on Monday from the creative team for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics after admitting that he bullied children with disabilities many years ago.” A four-minute piece composed by Oyamanda that was slated to be included in the early part of the ceremony will not be used.

● Toyota Motor Corp., an International Olympic Committee TOP Partner, announced it would not be airing commercials related to the Games in Japan during the Olympic period for “various reasons.” A spokesman noted that “We will fully support the athletes and contribute to the games by providing vehicles and through other means”; Toyota is supplying 3,340 vehicles for the organizing committee.

● Basketball: The Court of Arbitration for Sport has declined the appeal of U.S. players Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams to play for Nigeria in Tokyo. The international federation for basketball, FIBA, “declined under the applicable rules” and added, “In any event, the players would have to wait for a three-year period since their last game with the USA to be eligible to play at the Olympics, as per Bye-law to Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter.”

● Football: The German men’s football team walked off the field during a Saturday practice match, with a team tweet stating “The game has ended 5 minutes early with the score at 1-1. The Germany players left the pitch after [defender] Jordan Torunarigha was racially abused.”

The Honduran twitter response: “Game ended in the 87th [minute] due to abandonment because of a German player alleging a racist insult from a Honduras team member. Regarding this matter, the Honduras Football Federation states that the situation was a misunderstanding on the pitch.”

German coach Stefan Kuntz said that the Honduran team came over the German bench and apologized, saying that the matter was closed.

● Swimming: The Court of Arbitration for Sport reinstated Russian swimmers Veronika Andrusenko and Aleksandr Kudashev, saying the FINA suspension for doping based on evidence from the Moscow Laboratory data recovered by WADA covering the period of 2011-15. This will allow Andrusenko to compete in the women’s 200 m Free and Kudashev in the 200 m Butterfly.

Tunisian open-water star Ous Mellouli, slated to swim in the 10 km in Tokyo, announced on his Instagram account (translated from the original French):

“After a month of ordeal, I lose all hope of reconciliation or of winning my case. So I decided to retire from international competitions and boycott the Tokyo Games.”

He had been in a dispute with the Tunisian swimming federation with allegations of forgery and theft, and a formal hearing. Mellouli was the 2008 gold medalist in the men’s 1,500 m Free, then won the 2012 10 km open-water event and a bronze in the 1,500 m Free in the pool. Tokyo would have been his sixth Olympic Games!

● XXIV Olympic Winter Games: Beijing 2022 ● Former Vice President Mike Pence challenged the Biden Administration to demand that the Beijing Winter Games be relocated.

Speaking at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday, Pence said:

“President Biden should make a clear and unequivocal demand that the 2022 Winter Olympics be moved from Beijing unless China comes clean on the origins of COVID-19 and immediately ends persecution of the Uyghur people.

“The Olympics should only take place in countries that respect fundamental human rights and the well-being of mankind.”

● Athletics ● The all-time U.S. men’s and women’s javelin lists were shaken by sensational American throwing on Saturday at the American JavFest in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Michael Shuey, second at the Trials, came from behind on his final toss to reach a lifetime best of 85.67 m (281-1), moving him to no. 9 on the 2021 year list and no. 4 on the all-time U.S. list. Trials winner Curtis Thompson was second at 81.04 m (265-10).

American Record holder Maggie Malone, already no. 3 on the 2021 world list, extended her own record to 67.10 m (221-1) on her first throw, adding almost two feet to her 66.82 m/219-3 from earlier this year. That keeps her third on the year list, but underscores her as a serious medal contender.

How about something fun for a change?

If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, you can check out U.S. Olympic steepler Mason Ferlic “unboxing” his Tokyo gear … and it’s quite a haul!

The coronavirus claimed another event as a victim, as the Kenyan government announced that the World U-20 Championships in Nairobi (KEN) next month will not allow spectators to attend.

This is an especially devastating situation for Kenya and Nairobi, which has been speculated as a possible site for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, with the 2021 U-20 meet as a measure of the possibilities.

● Football ● The concept of holding the FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup every two years instead of every four got a vote of confidence from the Confederation of African Football. Although the concept is only to be studied by FIFA, the CAF is already an enthusiastic backer.

● Rowing ● The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has commission a high-profile law firm to conduct an investigation into the U.S. Rowing men’s national team program and in particular, complaints about the style of coaching by longtime head coach Mike Teti.

The Associated Press reported considerable conflict among the men’s rowers about Teti, whose approach has been called both “intense” and “intimidating.” US Rowing chief executive Amanda Kraus said that the review “is not an investigation of any particular coach at US Rowing. It is a high-level assessment of the culture of our men’s and women’s training centers in an effort to ensure that our athletes’ concerns are being addressed and that fairness and transparency are always at the core of how we operate.”

Teti, now 64, is a member of the National Rowing Hall of Fame as both a rower and a coach.

● At the BuZZer ● Another major auction of Olympic and other sports memorabilia is getting set for 22 July (Thursday) in France.

The 581-lot Sportlympic VII offer includes 10 official torches, from Berlin 1936, London 1948, Rome 1960, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972, Moscow 1980, and Athens 2004, with expected pricing from €2,000-8,000.

Of special interest is a winner’s medal from the 1920 Antwerp Games, with a projected sale price of €16,000-20,000.

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LANE ONE: What if athletes could sell their name-image-likeness and no one cared? USOPC and LA28 are trying to solve this Olympian-sized problem

By
Rich Perelman
-

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As the Games of the XXXII Olympiad get ready to open this Friday in Tokyo, about 11,091 athletes will be in competition, or a few days away from starting their journey as Olympians.

Of these, some 613 athletes – 5.5% of the total – are members of “Team USA,” under the supervision of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, who will look after them carefully during their limited stay in Tokyo. The USOPC will then do the same for the U.S. team for the Paralympic Games that will start on 24 August.

If the predictions are right, more than 100 American team members will win medals at the Games, but most will not. But almost all of them will have been challenged to find enough funding and support to have made it to Tokyo.

Amid the recent news of NCAA athletes being able to cash in on their name, image and likeness, Olympic-sport athletes who are not competing for universities have had this opportunity for years – since the Olympic amateurism rules disappeared in the early 1980s – and have still found funding a major challenge.

The stories of Olympic hopefuls surviving on unemployment payments, food stamps and, more recently, GoFundMe campaigns are legion. But rather quietly, an experimental program is underway to try and help.

It’s called the Athlete Marketing Platform (AMP), introduced by the USOPC in November of 2020. It’s a pilot program, essentially a “digital marketplace” that is designed to connect “Team USA sponsors and licensees directly with athletes, providing incremental revenue opportunities and marketing exposure for Team USA athletes.”

The program was announced as created in cooperation with the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council and the National Governing Bodies Council, but the implementation is actually in the hands of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties (USOPP) joint venture between the USOPC and the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee.

That makes a lot of sense, since LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman’s own worldwide agency – not the organizing committee – is one of the leading athlete-management, artist-promotion and brand-support firms in the world.

That expertise and the opportunity to do more than athletes can do on their own has attracted attention from almost as many athletes as are on the U.S. Olympic Team for Tokyo: 527 in all:

Olympic sports and disciplines (33/372 athletes ~ 70.6%):
● 47 Track & Field
● 36 Rowing
● 34 Volleyball
● 22 Cycling
● 22 Fencing
● 18 Swimming
● 18 Gymnastics
● 16 Rugby
● 15 Triathlon
● 12 Hockey and Sailing
● 10 Softball and Water Polo
● 9 Shooting and Weightlifting
● 8 Canoe-Kayak and Wrestling
● 7 Diving and Karate
● 6 Archery, Judo and Table Tennis
● 5 Taekwondo
● 4 Basketball, Modern Pentathlon and Skateboarding
● 3 Artistic Swimming, Badminton and Football
● 2 Boxing, Climbing, Equestrian and Tennis

Olympic Winter sports and disciplines (6/58 athletes ~ 10.1%):
● 14 Skiing
● 11 Figure Skating
● 9 Bobsled
● 7 Curling
● 6 Biathlon and Luge
● 5 Speedskating

Paralympic sports (8/97 athletes ~ 18.4%):
● 29 Para Track & Field
● 17 Para Cycling
● 15 Wheelchair Basketball
● 11 Wheelchair Rugby
● 9 Goalball
● 7 Para Swimming
● 5 Para Alpine Skiing
● 4 Para Powerlifting

The first-stage trial is for March 2021 to March 2022, and it works in three parts:

(1) A guaranteed base payment for group marketing rights.

(2) New revenue streams such as royalty fees for consumer products through licensed merchandise.

(3) Potential for incremental revenue via individual marketing deals.

The group marketing rights piece provides a payment of $1,250 – in two installments – for USOPC commercial partners to use an athlete’s name-image-likeness as part of a group to “to show their support for Team USA.” Nothing more than the use of a photo is needed and the fee will be paid even if no sponsor uses the athlete’s image. Easy.

If an athlete who is part of the program has their name, image and likeness on any Team USA merchandise, then the athlete will earn a royalty on all sales. It’s not going to be a lot, but it’s a start.

The great potential in this program is with the “individual marketing” opportunity, where athletes can get involved directly with sponsors or other USOPC affiliates. The program outline states “AMP makes the connection, and the athlete negotiates the payment and terms.”

This direct exposure to sponsors, suppliers and affiliates of not only the USOPC, but potentially also of the National Governing Bodies and the thousands of companies who are not now involved at all in the U.S. Olympic Movement is the break that Olympic athletes, most of whom know a lot about their sport but not as much about branding, media relations and endorsements, are hoping for.

Is this the solution to the financial challenges of U.S. athletes? No, not yet. But it’s an unprecedented move in the right direction and has the possibility to show the way to better match athletes without the wide exposure of an Allyson Felix, Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles to companies that couldn’t afford to sign them anyway.

In many ways, the Athlete Marketing Platform and the new name, image and likeness opportunities for NCAA athletes who aren’t the dominant football or basketball stars are concepts in parallel. Athletes in both groups badly need exposure and the creation of a true marketplace for their services.

Watch for these two “markets” to become more closely intertwined over time, as a merger could benefit both the collegiate and Olympic-focused performers and the local, regional and smaller national brands and companies that could actually find effective promotional options that they can actually afford.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HIGHLIGHTS: Pogacar sails to second straight Tour de France win; U.S. women Olympians crush Nigeria, U.S. men edge Spain in exhibitions

By
Rich Perelman
-
A happy Tadej Pogacar (yellow jersey) on his way to a second Tour de France title (Photo: ASO/Charly Lopez)

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Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world/updated/:

● Athletics ● /Updated/ Some notable names popped up at the American Track League stop at Trabuco Hills High School in California in 90+ degree temps on Sunday, with some hot running in the sprints.

American Candace Hill collected a wind-aided double, winning the women’s 100 m in 10.99 (+2.5 m/s) and the 200 m in 22.30 (+2.2). A big Jamaican squad was led by star  sprinter Yohan Blake, who barely beat countryman Rasheed Dwyer to the line as both were timed in 20.22 (+1.8), with Jevaughn Minzie third in 20.29. Minzie won the 100 m earlier in a windy 10.09 (+2.3) with Chris Royster (USA) also in the same time.

Jamaica’s Megan Tapper won the women’s 100 m hurdles in 12.48w (+3.6) ahead of Evonne Britton of the U.S. (12.72). In the women’s 400 m, Tovea Jenkins (JAM) won over Jaide Stepter (USA), 51.63-51.87 and Jamaican Ronda Whyte took the women’s 400 m hurdles in 55.57.

American Khallifah Rosser won the men’s 400 over Jamaican Nathon Allen, 45.74-45.89.

Brannon Kidder of the U.S. won the men’s 800 m in 1:45.26 with Craig Engels third in 1:47.15, then Engels helped pace the “Moustache Mile,” won by steepler Isaac Updike in a lifetime best of 3:58.26. American Sinclaire Johnson won the women’s 800 in 2:00.63.

The only field event as a “mixed” shot put, but the men’s and women’s individual winners were Darrell Hill (USA) at 21.35 m (70-0 1/2) and Chase Ealey of the U.S. with a seasonal best of 19.45 m (63-9 3/4).

In the evening distance races, titled the “Sound Running Sunset Tour,” Americans Taryn Rawlings and Raevyn Rogers went 1-2 in the women’s mile with lifetime bests of 4:28.93 and 4:29.26. American Josette Norris got a lifetime best of 3:59.72 in the women’s 1,500 m – the ninth American woman under four minutes – beating Jessica Hull (4:00.73) and Nikki Hiltz (4:02.94). Colby Alexander for a lifetime best in the men’s 1,500 m with an impressive 3:33.65, ahead of Luis Grijalva (GUA: 3:35.32, national record) and Johnny Gregorek (3:36.37).

● Basketball ● The U.S. women’s squad has been one of the most dominant on the planet, winning the last six Olympic tournaments and winners of 49 straight games in Olympic play.

But following its 93-85 loss to the WNBA All-Stars, the U.S. lost again on Friday (16 July) to Australia, 70-67, playing without star center Liz Cambage, who withdrew from the team for mental health reasons.

The American women had the game in hand at halftime, leading 41-28. But the U.S. went stone cold in the second half, and was outscored 23-15 in the third quarter – narrowing the gap to 56-51 – and then 19-11 in the fourth.

The U.S. shot 2-18 from the three-point line and 37.3% overall, but held a 41-28 rebounding edge in the game. Breanna Stewart scored 17 to lead the U.S., followed by A’ja Wilson with 12; Diana Taurasi sat out for the second consecutive game with a hip strain. Ezi Magbegor led Australia with 17 and the Opals forced the U.S. into 15 second-half turnovers.

/Update/ The U.S. women finished up with a win on Sunday vs. Nigeria, leading 20-4 after the first 6:23, then 29-15 at the quarter, 55-34 at half and 73-51 after three quarters. The final was 93-62, and the U.S. had five scorers in double figures: Wilson with 16, Stewart with 14, Brittney Griner with 12 and Jewell Loyd and Sylvia Fowles with 10 each. While the Americans shot 53.8% from the field, Nigeria was held to just 32.8% and had no one reach 10 points.

These teams will play each other in Tokyo in the group stage; Nigeria could be augmented by Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, who have petitioned the Court of Arbitration for Sport a refusal by FIBA to allow them to change playing allegiance from the U.S.

The U.S. men’s Olympic Team named replacements for Covid-hit Bradley Beal and the injured Kevin Love, with guard Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs and center JaVale McGee (Denver). Still to join the team are NBA Finals participants Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday of Milwaukee and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.

/Update/ On Sunday, the U.S. men finished their exhibition schedule with an encouraging 83-76 win over Spain in Las Vegas, taking control of the game in the third quarter. Spain led by 38-36 at the half, but the U.S. out-scored Spain by 21-12 to create a 57-50 edge at the end of the third and held tight in a 26-26 fourth quarter for the win.

Both teams shot poorly, with the U.S. making 43.1% of its field goals and the Spanish, only 38.2%, but badly out-rebounding the Americans by 42-22. Damian Lillard led the U.S. with 19 points, followed by Keldon Johnson – in his first game with the team – with 15, then Kevin Durant with 14 and Zach LaVine with 13. Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio led all scorers with 23, with Willy Hernangomez adding 11 and center Marc Gasol with 10.

Not much attention has been paid to the other exhibition games in Las Vegas, but they offered an important preview of the Olympic tournament:

● 10 July: Australia 87, Argentina 84
● 12 July: Nigeria 94, Argentina 71
● 13 July: Australia 108, Nigeria 69

Australia beat the U.S. in a 2019 exhibition match prior to the FIBA World Cup and is clearly a prime contender for Tokyo. Nigeria’s win over the U.S. and its throttling of Argentina mark it as a team – with seven NBA players and coached by NBA veteran Mike Brown – to be watched carefully at the Games.

● Beach Volleyball ● While the top teams are in Tokyo, the FIVB World Tour goes on and the U.S. swept both the men’s and women’s titles at the two-star tournament in Rubavu in Rwanda, with wins for Theo Brunner and Chaim Schalk and Emily Day and Sara Hughes.

In the men’s final, Brunner (36) and Schalk (35) defeated fellow Americans Chase Budinger and Troy Field in straight sets: 25-23, 21-15. It was the first World Tour win ever for the duo of Brunner and Schalk. For Brunner, it took 64 World Tour events to score his first gold, and 77 for Schalk, who played for Canada for most of his career; this was just his ninth tournament playing for the U.S.

Russians Maksim Hudyakov and Aleksandr Kramarenko won the bronze medal over countrymen Anton Kislytsyn and Daniil Kuvichka by 21-11, 21-15.

Day (33) and Hughes (26) won their first World Tour title as a pair, overcoming Germany’s Chantal Laboureur and Sarah Schulz in three sets: 19-21, 21-13, 16-14. It was Day’s first World Tour win ever, in his 93rd tournament; for Hughes, it was win no. 3.

Germans Sarah Schneider and Svenja Muller won the bronze over Valentyna Davidova and Diana Lunina (UKR) by 21-19, 21-19 to take the bronze medal.

● Cycling ● Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar – still just 22 – won his second straight Tour de France on Sunday, pedaling to Paris with a huge lead and joining a select fraternity of 21 men who have won this race more than once.

Pogacar essentially clinched the race on Thursday with his win on the final mountain stage, but there were still three days left. On Friday, countryman Matej Mohoric won his second stage of the race, with a 25 km breakaway on the 207 km route from Mourenx to Libourne, finishing 58 seconds up on Christophe Laporte (FRA) and Casper Pedersen (DEN).

Saturday’s 30.8 km individual time trial was a showcase for Belgian Wout van Aert, who won his second stage of the 2021 Tour, posting a 35:53 time. That was 21 seconds better than Kasper Asgreen (DEN) and 32 seconds faster than Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and 57 seconds up on Pogacar.

That reduced Pogacar’s margin to a still-impressive 5:20 over Vingegaard and 7:03 on Richard Carapaz (ECU) going into Sunday’s 108.4 km sprint into Paris, and it finished there, the biggest time win in this race since 2014, when Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) won by 7:37. Australia’s Ben O’Connor was fourth (+10:02) and Wilco Kelderman (NED) was fifth (+10:13).

Sunday’s race was all about whether Britain’s Mark Cavendish – at 36 – could break his tie with Belgian great Eddy Merckx for the most stage wins in the history of the race (34). Everyone knew the storyline, but no one was conceding Cavendish anything.

And it came down to the final meters of the race, with Cavendish in position to strike, but he was not as fast to the line as van Aert, 26, who won his second straight stage – and third of the Tour (and sixth of his career) – just ahead of countryman Jasper Philipsen, with Cavendish a disappointed third, banging his handlebars in anger. For Philipsen, it was his sixth stage finishing second or third, but with no wins; at 23, he will have more chances.

Pogacar and Cavendish made the headlines for this year’s Tour, surpassing the horrific crash-filled first week and especially the opening stage mess in which a spectator pointed a homemade sign toward the television cameras and caused a huge pile-up that affected the race dramatically. Fan behavior was an issue during the Tour and more attention will have to paid to this in the future.

There was also chatter about possible technical fraud when some riders heard “strange noises” from the rear hubs of some bikes, and the Bahrain Victorious team had its hotel and bus searched and some training files taken by French police on Wednesday (14th). It was later confirmed by authorities in Marseille that an investigation had been initiated on 3 July concerning “acquisition, transportation, possession and importing of a prohibited substance or method for use by an athlete without justification by members of Team Bahrain Victorious, currently in action at the 2021 Tour de France.” Team members Mohoric and Dylan Teuns (BEL) won stages in the race.

The USA Cycling Track National Championships were on this weekend for riders from 11 and up at the outdoor velodrome in Breiningsville, Pennsylvania, with some familiar names back on top of the podium.

John Croom, who won the 2019 Time Trial, ended up with three golds on the weekend, taking the Individual Pursuit, the Elimination Race and the Omnium, plus a bronze in the Scratch Race. The Points Race is still to come on Monday.

James Alvord took the men’s Sprint title over Evan Boone, but then saw Boone win the Keirin, with Tommy Quinn second. Alvord came back for a second win in the 1,000 m Time Trial over Ryan Jastrab. Kyle Perry won the Scratch Race.

Veteran star Mandy Marquardt, who did not make the Olympic Team, repeated her triple victory from the 2019 Championships, taking the Sprint, Keirin and 500 m Time Trial. Colleen Gulick logged two wins, in the Elimination Race and the Omnium, while Elspeth Huyett won the Scratch Race. As with the men, the Points Race will be on Monday.

● Football ● /Updated/The CONCACAF Gold Cup continues in the group stage, with Groups A and B finishing today (18th) and Groups C and D completing play on Tuesday (20th).

In Group A, Mexico (2-0-1) got a 26th-minute goal from Luis Rodriguez and made it stand up for a 1-0 win in Dallas over a dogged El Salvador (2-1) squad that competed strongly in a game with 41 total fouls. Mexico ended with 54% of the possession and had a 16-11 edge on shots. That gave Mexico the group title and both teams will move on to the playoffs. In Frisco, Guatemala (0-2-1: 4th) and Trinidad & Tobago (0-1-2: 3rd) finished with a 1-1 draw.

In Group B, the U.S. jumped on Canada right away in Kansas City, with Shaquell Moore scoring what is believed to be the fastest goal in team history in 20 seconds off a brilliant cross from the left of goal by Sebastian Lleget. It was 1-0 at half, but Canada was on the offensive throughout the second half and the U.S. had Daryl Dike and James Sands leave the field due to injury – with the U.S. playing with 10 men – for short stretches in the final 10 minutes. But the Americans (3-0) held on for the 1-0 victory despite only 46% of the possession and getting six shots to 14 for Canada (2-1).

Haiti (1-2) defeated Martinique (0-3), 2-1, in Frisco in their final game.

In Group C, Costa Rica and Jamaica are both 2-0 and will advance to the playoffs; they play each other for the top seed in the group. In Group D, Qatar (1-0-1) sailed past Grenada (0-2), 4-0, and Honduras (2-0) scored two second-half goals to edge Panama (0-1-1), 3-2. Honduras will advance and Qatar likely will, with a +5 goal differential over Panama (but the Panamanians play Grenada, while Qatar faces Honduras).

Playoffs will begin on 24 July with the quarterfinals, followed by semis on 29 July and the final on 1 August.

● Golf ● /Updated/American Collin Morikawa came from one shot down entering the final round of the 149th British Open at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England to win by two shots over Jordan Spieth (USA) and four over Spain’s Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA).

Morikawa shot a four-under 66 on the final round to end at -15, as Spieth and Rahm also shot 66s. Oosthuizen had the lead after each of the first three rounds, but had to settle for a third consecutive top-three finish at a major after seconds at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

At 24, Morikawa has now won two majors – also the 2020 PGA Championship – and will be playing in Tokyo at the Olympic Games. Born in Southern California and with a Japanese surname, an Olympic showdown between he and Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) could be one of the highlights of the Games in golf-mad Japan.

● Sport Climbing ● The IFSC schedule was busy this week with World Cup events in Chamonix (FRA) on 12-13 July and Briancon (FRA) on 17-18 July, both for Lead only.

In Chamonix the competition was for Lead only, with American Sean Bailey scoring his second straight World Cup win and third of the season, scoring 34+ holds in the final to 32 for Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA) and 32 for Martin Stranik (CZE). Italy scored in the women’s division with Laura Rogora winning over American Natalia Grossman, Top to 41+, with Aleksandra Totkova (BUL) third at 38+.

In Briancon, Bailey had the top score in the semis, but Russian Dmitrii Fakirianov took the final (39+) over Stranik (37+) and Swiss Sascha Lehmann (35); Bailey ended up sixth (27).

Grossman was one of five who got to the top of the wall, but had the best qualifying score and was the winner, her third win of the season and first in Lead! Slovenia’s Lucka Rakovec was second, with Eliska Adamovska (CZE) third.

● Volleyball ● /Updated/At the FIVB women’s U-20 World Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, Italy swept to an impressive victory, winning all eight of its matches and 24 of its 26 sets!

The Netherlands, Serbia, Italy and the U.S. all won their groups with 3-0 records. In the second-round round-robin, the Netherlands (3-0) and Russia (2-1) advanced to the semifinals in the first group, while the U.S. (1-2) and Brazil (0-3) moved to the 5-8 playoffs. Italy (3-0) and Serbia (2-1) were the best of the second group, beating up on Poland (1-2) and the Dominican Republic (0-3).

In the championship semis, Italy swept Russia, 3-0, and Serbia skipped past the Netherlands, 3-1, to meet again in the final in Rotterdam. Once again, the Italians swept, winning 25-18, 25-20 and 25-23. Russia defeated the Dutch, 3-2, to win the bronze.

It was the first win for Italy in its third final in this tournament and fourth medal overall in the 20 editions of this championship.

In the fifth-place playoff, the U.S. swept the Dominican Republic, 3-0, and Poland did the same to Brazil. The American women managed a tight win for fifth, coming back from 0-2 against the Poles for a 14-25, 18-25, 25-16, 29-27, 15-13 victory.

Italian setter Gaia Guiducci was named Most Valuable Player and Best Setter. The all-tournament team also included Best Outside Hitters Loveth Omoruyi (ITA) and Jolien Knollema (NED); Vita Akimova (RUS) as Best Opposite; Emma Graziani (ITA) and Hena Kurtagic (SRB) as Best Middle Blockers and Martina Armini (ITA) as Best Libero.

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THE BIG PICTURE: Bach optimistic about the Tokyo Games and Japanese reception as 0.1% of athletes and officials test positive so far

By
Rich Perelman
-
IOC President Thomas Bach at Saturday's news conference in Tokyo (Photo: Screenshot of IOC video)

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“We are very much aware of the skepticism, obviously, a number of people have here in Japan … and therefore my appeal to the Japanese people to welcome these athletes here for their competition of their life and to acknowledge that there it is not for any prize that these athletes are coming here.

“They have like the same interest as the Japanese people that these Games are safe and secure and for this, they accept and even welcome measures, restrictive measures, which make these Olympic Games the most restricted sports event – not only in Japan, as you know – but in the entire world.”

That was International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) during an in-person news conference at the Main Press Center of the Tokyo Games, asked about his message to the Japanese people as the Games get ready to start. Pressed further, Bach explained:

“You will always have different opinions. That such a discussion is becoming more heated and more emotional in the situation of a pandemic is something we have to understand. Many people feel under stress, they have to face uncertainty and that there, you react with some skepticism, that you react with some strong arguments, I think this is human life.

“Therefore, what we can do, only, is to try to get the attention of these people and to try to enter into a dialogue with these people, to get not only to get the emotions across, but to try also to gain the confidence – their confidence – in these strict Covid measures. And they can also see, the Japanese people, that even in this time, you are organize sport events and safe sport events, if you look at the many sports events which are underway now in Japan and in Tokyo at this very moment.”

Bach noted that as of Friday (16th), some 15,000 athletes and officials have arrived, with 15 positive tests upon arrival, or 0.1%. The Tokyo 2020 organizers, to their credit, are posting daily Covid-19 positives statistics, with 44 from 1 July through the 17th:

● 28 contractors
● 10 “Games-concerned personnel”
● 3 media
● 2 Tokyo 2020 staff
● 1 athlete

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) further explained that while the Olympic Village was built to house 17,000, it will actually house not more than about 9,000 at any one time during the Games due to new rules on entry and exit and other measures.

Bach was also asked about New Zealand transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, and noted:

“The rules for the qualification have been established by the International Weightlifting Federation before the qualification started and these rules apply. You cannot change rules during an ongoing competition.

“At the same time, the IOC is in an inquiry phase with all the different stakeholders – the medical experts, the social experts, human rights experts– and, of course, international federations, to review this rule and then finally to come up with some guidelines, which cannot be rules because this is a question which [has] no one-size-fits-all solution. This is a question which differs from sport to sport.”

A banner flown outside the Korean team’s tower in the Olympic Village was removed at the IOC’s request; Bach stated that under the new Rule 50 guidelines, the Village is a protected area from “any kind of divisive messages.”

Asked about his outlook for the Tokyo Games, Bach remained steadfastly optimistic:

“I would like once more, to ask and to invite, the Japanese people, humbly, to welcome and support the athletes from around the world. … Like the Japanese people, they have overcome so many obstacles to be here, finally. So the Japanese people can feel with them, and the athletes can feel with the Japanese people.

“And I’m actually very confident that the Japanese people will, once the Games are starting – at least, I hope, maybe before – not only welcome them and support them because this is what the Japanese people have demonstrated since the brilliant Olympic Games of Tokyo 1964.”

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THE TICKER: Bach asks to revisit fans if Covid lessens; NBC has 900 staff in Tokyo; USOPC redesigning the U.S. flag?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus:
/Updated for Basketball and Swimming/

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) hit the ground running once his quarantine period was up in Tokyo, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday (14th) and Tokyo Metropolitan Governor Yuriko Koike on Thursday. Of note:

● The IOC noted a report from the Tokyo 2020 organizers “about the 8,000+ people involved in the Games who travelled to Japan between 1 and 13 July. All were subject to the Tokyo 2020 screening testing regime, and all underwent pre-departure tests and health checks. Only three tested positive for COVID-19 after arrival and were immediately isolated, while the close contacts have been subject to the relevant quarantine measures.”

Bach noted that 85% of Village residents are expected to be vaccinated and 70-80% of news media attending the Games.

● Kyodo News reported that Bach asked Suga if the decision on banning spectators could be revisited if the Covid infection rate improved over the next week. The Tokyo area reported 1,308 new cases on Thursday (15th), the highest single-day report since 21 January.

Tickets were originally sold for 750 sessions, but only about 26 – all outside Tokyo – are expected to have any spectators at all during the Games. Attendance at the Opening Ceremony may be limited to about 1,000 guests, down from an original estimate of 10,000; if true, this would eliminate most of the news media from attending.

Emperor Naruhito is expected to attend the ceremony and formally open the Games.

The IOC confirmed the implementation of the new Olympic Oath for Tokyo, with the revised wording as:

“We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality. Together we stand in solidarity and commit ourselves to sport without doping, without cheating, without any form of discrimination. We do this for the honour of our teams, in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, and to make the world a better place through sport.”

In addition, the oaths will be taken by six people instead of three: two athletes, two coaches and two judges. This is all part of the IOC’s drive for gender equality as well as “solidarity.”

The IOC also detailed changes in the medal ceremonies, with the presenters already at the podium instead of walking with the medal winners, athletes taking their medals from a tray and placing around their own necks, and group photos will be dispensed with after the ceremony. All in the name of Covid-19 prevention.

More and more of the preliminary team sizes have been announced for Tokyo. In addition to the 613 announced for the U.S. and 582 for Japan, 488 are expected from Australia, 431 for China, 376 from Great Britain, 371 from Canada and 335 from Russia, although not under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee as part of the sanctions from the doping scandal from 2011-15. New Zealand expects to have 211 in all.

Because of the special Tokyo rules allowing reserves to be used in some team sports, the actual number of athletes from these large countries will likely grow slightly by the end of the Games.

The Pan Am Sports Organization has opened its first-ever training camp for smaller countries in the hemisphere, with 113 athletes and coaches from 26 NOCs gathered in Tachikawa. Athletes from athletics, judo, swimming and volleyball are present.

American star Allyson Felix announced that she has teamed with her apparel sponsor Athleta – The Gap’s sports brand for women and girls – and the Women’s Sports Foundation to award $200,000 in grants – in $10,000 chunks – for women who need financial help with childcare during Olympic training or competition.

Hammer thrower Gwen Berry and Sabre fencing star Mariel Zagunis have already been awarded grants.

Comment: A very impressive program that if properly promoted, should have a positive effect on the still-emerging image of the Athleta brand.

Molly Solomon, the NBC’s Olympics Executive Producer, told reporters on Wednesday (14th) that some 900 staff are now in Tokyo and prepping for the Games.

With no fans at most venues, Solomon noted the new possibilities:

“We believe there’s an opportunity to bring viewers closer to the action than ever. And it’s sports like swimming, gymnastics, track, basketball, beach volleyball, you’re going to hear the sounds of the games like you’ve never heard them before – from the thrashing and splashing in the pool to those intimate conversations between competitors and coaches.”

And there will be a tie-in with the U.S. as well:

“Our largest footprint [in the U.S.] will be at Universal Resorts in Orlando. We, alongside the USOPC, are putting together a two-week long watch party in primetime where family members of Team USA will attend and be able to watch coverage and cheer for their loved ones together. … the bottom line is if Americans can’t travel to Tokyo, we intend to bring America to Tokyo.”

Solomon also noted that while NBC reporters won’t be out and about in Tokyo during the Games, many pieces were prepared prior to the pandemic and NBC will have images from drones flying in the city during the Games.

The NBC coverage team includes 178 total announcers, analysts, hosts and reporters, with 79 in Tokyo, 98 in various facilities in the U.S., in Connecticut, Florida and New York and one in London.

Another U.S. network, Discovery, is also televising the Games, but to Europe, where it is the rights-holder for 50 countries and will broadcast in 19 languages.

In addition to coverage by sub-licensed broadcasters throughout Europe, Discovery will also stream some 3,500 hours of coverage itself, with 150 announcers and analysts.

● Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Paris 2024 ● The Paris organizers announced the opening of a web site which National Olympic Committees, National Paralympic Committees and national federations can use to find pre-Games training camps and facilities in advance of the 2024 Games.

The site offers 770 different sites to consider, located in 410 different areas and in 95 of the 110 “departments” of France. The organizing committee has confirmed the facilities and their quality with the “Terre de Jeux 2024” label.

Comment: This is a strategically-important economic outreach effort by Paris 2024, offering a wide range of facilities three years out, with the goal of keeping as much of the economic impact of the pre-Games training period in France vs. facilities in any of its neighbors. Whether this works or not is to be determined, but it’s an impressive, forward-thinking step.

● Games of the XXXVI Olympiad: 2036 ● “Our objective is (to host) the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036,” Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told reporters Tuesday. “I am convinced that we will win.”

This will be the sixth try for Istanbul, which bid for the 2000-04-08-12 Games and looked like a possible winner for 2020, but Tokyo was elected instead.

They’re not the first in, as London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced an interest in 2036 or 2040 just before his re-election in May of 2021. With Brisbane (AUS) set to be selected for 2032 when the IOC Session meets next week, other countries will begin to focus on 2036 or 2040, including India and a possible joint Korean bid.

● XXVI Olympic Winter Games: 2030 ● Perhaps the leader for the 2030 Winter Games has confirmed its interest, as the Mayor of Barcelona – in concert with snow sites in the Pyrenees Mountains – wants to bid for the Games.

The letter to Alejandro Blanco, the head of Spain’s National Olympic Committee, addressed the need for local consensus on the bid and a “sustainable” approach. Essentially, the ice events would be held in Barcelona – site of the hugely successful 1992 Olympic Games – and the snow events would be three hours away in the mountains.

A Barcelona-Pyrenees bid would be extremely attractive, but would place the Winter Games in Europe twice in a row, which has not happened since the 1992 and 1994 events in France and Norway.

Sapporo (JPN) is also a likely bidder as is Salt Lake City, Utah in the U.S., which would first have to overcome the sponsorship marketing conflict with the LA28 Games, and possibly Vancouver in Canada, site of the successful 2010 Winter Games.

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC is full steam ahead for Tokyo and has operations underway at the Olympic Village. But the Tokyo Games has not slowed its continuing activities in remaking itself. On 6 July, a message from USOPC Athlete Services chief Bahati VanPelt to thousands of U.S. athletes and alumni began:

“The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has become one of the first national Olympic governing bodies to unify the management of Olympic and Paralympic sport, and in 2019 officially changed its name to reflect this. Working together with branding transformation company, Landor & Fitch, they are exploring a visual identity and messaging refresh to further mark this evolution, and demonstrate greater inclusion and unity.”

A lengthy survey sought feedback, including a suggestion of a new graphical representation of the U.S. flag, with five stars and five stripes (below, at right) instead of the current 13 stars and 13 stripes (at left), used in varying contexts:

San Francisco-based Landor & Fitch is one of the world’s most respected branding consultancies, and is part of the WPP advertising and communications giant. But when the current 13-star and 13-stripe edition was chosen in a 2010 re-brand campaign, it was specifically noted that the 13+13 format was, in fact, a still-official national flag, adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and adopted in part because using 50 stars was impractical given the small sizes of some logo uses.

Five stars and five stripes is not an approved flag, but as VanPelt noted, it’s designed to “demonstrate greater inclusion and unity.”

Comment: Just one question: at a time when the USOPC’s finances and those of the National Governing Bodies are still in recovery from the pandemic, how much is all this costing?

● Athletics ● Tickets for the Oregon22 World Championships are now on sale, with pricing all over the lot, depending on the day, time and seat.

There are seats for day sessions as low as $8 on the site, which warns that “Ticket prices may fluctuate, based on demand, at any time.” There are re-sale seats being sold as high as $4,090 for a “Row A” seat looking over what appears to be the finish of the men’s 100 m!

There are no “all-session” tickets, so no way to sit in the same seat for the entire meet; that’s too bad.

The World Athletics Doping Review Board has approved another 20 Russian athletes to compete in international meets, bringing the total for the year to 143. The Russian squad for Tokyo, however, remains limited to 10.

● Basketball ● First it was the U.S. men’s Olympic team losing to Nigeria and Australia, then on Wednesday, the WNBA All-Stars put a rare defeat on the U.S. women’s Olympians, 93-85, primarily on a 27-19 fourth quarter.

The All-Stars were led by Arike Ogunbowale with 26 points (5-10 from three), with Jonquel Jones (18) and Courtney Williams (15) also in double figures.

The U.S. has only had one practice so far and Diana Taurasi not available due to an injury. Center Brittney Griner led the U.S. with 17 points, followed by Breanna Stewart with 15 and Sylvia Fowles with 12. The All-Stars out-rebounded the U.S., 41-37 and the U.S. had 15 turnovers to just seven for the WNBA stars.

More exhibition games are coming: the U.S. women will play Australia on the 16th and Nigeria on the 18th prior to heading to Tokyo.

Reports indicate that two American players, Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams, petitioned FIBA to play with Nigeria and were denied due to their long involvement with USA Basketball national teams.

ESPN reported that “Each player was given consent by USA Basketball to play for Nigeria, paid an administrative fee of $10,000 to do so and holds a Nigerian passport.”

Both can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is set up to handle such cases.

Ogwumike’s sisters Chiney and Erica are eligible and expected to play for Nigeria.

/Update/ Australia announced that star center Liz Cambage has withdrawn from the team for Tokyo, citing mental health issues.

The U.S. men’s Olympic Team defeated Argentina, 108-80 in Las Vegas, for its first exhibition win in three tries.

The Americans ran off to a 33-19 lead after one period and had a 58-42 halftime edge. The U.S. had five in double figures, led by Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant with 17 each, with Zach LaVine scoring 15, Damian Lillard with 13 and Bam Adebayo with 12. The U.S. had a 40-34 rebounding edge. Argentina got 16 from former NBA star Luis Scola.

Beal entered the Covid protocol after the game and will not travel to Tokyo, and forward Jerami Grant is in the “health and safety protocol”  as a cautionary measure. No replacement has been named as yet.

Friday’s exhibition with Australia was canceled “out of an abundance of caution“; Sunday’s game with Spain is still on.

● Cycling ● The Tour de France stormed toward the conclusion with Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar getting ready to ride into Paris as a two-time winner of cycling’s biggest race.

Pogacar erased any hopes by winning the mountain stages on Wednesday and Thursday, first riding away from Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: +0:03) and Richard Carapaz (ECU: +0:04) in the final meters of the uphill finish of the Col de Portet, then doing it to both again on the uphill finish to Luz Ardiden on Thursday, this time by two seconds.

The wins were Pogacar’s second and third on this year’s Tour and he now has a 5:45 lead on Vingegaard and 5:51 on Carapaz, with Australian Ben O’Connor fourth (+8:18). Only a crash on the final legs will keep Pogacar from defending his 2020 victory.

Friday brings a 207 km sprint stage, followed by an individual time trial (30.8 km) on Saturday and the 108.4 km ride into Paris on Sunday. The two sprint stages offer Britain’s Mark Cavendish a chance to break the record for most career stage wins in the Tour; he’s won four times in 2021 and is tied with Belgian great Eddy Merckx, who won 34 stages between 1969-74.

A survey by The Cyclists’ Alliance released on Wednesday reported that women riders who did not receive a salary increased from 17% in pre-pandemic 2018 to 34% in 2021. The pandemic was substantially to blame and there was an increased disparity in pay between teams competing on the UCI Women’s World Tour and the continental events.

● Football ● The BBC reported that five individuals have been arrested over online racial abuse following the UEFA Euro 2020 last Sunday.

A report on an arrest in Chelsea noted that a 42-year-old man was arrested “on suspicion of displaying threatening, abusive or insulting written material that is likely to stir up racial hatred.”

As for the violence that took place prior to, during and after the Italy-England final:

“The UK Football Policing Unit said, as of 13 July, 897 football-related incidents and 264 arrests had been recorded across the country in the 24-hour period surrounding the final.”

The Euro 2020 final drew huge television audiences in England and Italy, of course, but also a sensational average of 6.49 million viewers on ESPN, better than all of the U.S. Olympic Trials events held in June and the highest-viewed UEFA Euro title game in U.S. history.

The Ministry of Health in Brazil released a final tally on incidents of Covid-19 at and around the Copa America football tournament. The final total was 179 cases, just 13 more than the total released in late June.

Some 28,772 tests were made of people involved in the event from 11 June to 10 July, with 0.6% positives. Infections included 36 players or staffers from five of the national teams, 137 workers, and six officials of the CONMEBOL federation.

Brazil hosted the tournament without spectators, after co-hosts Argentina and Colombia were relieved of the event due to coronavirus issues in those countries.

At the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Panama and Qatar drew 3-3 and Honduras stomped Grenada, 4-0 in the last pair of first-round games. In Group A, El Salvador defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 2-0, and Mexico got its first win, by 3-0 over Guatemala.

In Group B, the U.S. was expected to drum Martinique in Kansas City and got off to a good start as Darryl Dike’s header gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute. He got another after a rebound of a shot off the post in the 23rd minute, but it was called an own goal by defender Samuel Camille, and the first half ended at 2-0.

Miles Robinson made it 3-0 in the 50th, heading in a cross from Eryk Williamson and the win was secure. Dike got what was officially his second goal in the 59th minute, taking the ball at the top of the box and dribbling through, then lobbing the ball into the net (4-0). Kellyn Acosta was called for a penalty in the 64th minute, and Emmanuel Riviere scored for Martinique to close to 4-1. Gyasi Zardes ran onto a long ball in the 70th minute and as the defender fell, he sent a laser across to the far corner for a 5-1 U.S. lead. The final score came from Nick Gioacchini in the 90th minute off of a Gianluica Busio cross, to end at 6-1.

Earlier, Canada had only a 1-0 lead over Haiti at halftime, but ended up with a decisive 4-1 win, with Cyle Larin scoring in the 51st minute and on a penalty in the 74th. Haiti was red-carded four minutes later and Junior Hoilett converted the resulting penalty for the final goal.

The U.S. will face Canada on Sunday afternoon to decide the group winner and seeding; both have 2-0 records and will advance to the quarterfinals.

CONCACAF is not happy with Cuba:

“Concacaf has considered the circumstances surrounding the Cuba men’s national team not traveling to Miami, Florida, for their Gold Cup Preliminary Round (Prelims) match against French Guiana, scheduled for Saturday, July 3.

“While COVID-19 related travel and visa challenges were a factor, Concacaf has received further information which highlights that other administrative issues at the Cuba Football Association contributed to the team not traveling, and subsequently forfeiting their Prelims match against French Guiana.

“Concacaf has referred this matter to its Disciplinary Committee.”

● Gymnastics ● Rio Olympic Parallel Bars champion Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) will not defend his title in Tokyo as he has been suspended for four years due to a positive meldonium test on 26 August 2020.

He has denied doping and is planning to appeal to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, already set up in Tokyo. Verniaiev, 27, is suspended from 5 November 2020 and if upheld, the ban would keep him out of the Paris Games in 2024.

● Swimming ● /Updated/ FINA announced provisional suspensions of Russian swimmers Alexander Kudashev and Veronika Andrusenko, based on evidence from the Moscow Laboratory stemming from the Russian doping scandal from 2011-15.

At the Russian Trials in April, Kudashev won the 200 m Fly and Andrusenko won the women’s 200 m Free. Both were entered in these events for Tokyo.

(Thanks to FINA Treasurer Dale Neuburger for clarifying Andrushenko’s entry for Tokyo.)

● Volleyball ● The future of the historically-significant Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) appears to be bright after it was purchased by Bally’s Corporation, with the events to be shown on the Bally’s regional sports networks line-up.

Formed in 1983, the AVP was a major attraction in the U.S. and attracted the best players in the world for years before imploding in 2010. Donald Sun, a former technology executive, bought the tour in 2012 for $2 million. The tour had as many as 31 events in 2008, but only three in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic and three so far in 2021.

What’s in it for Bally’s? The announcement noted the AVP will be “a significant opportunity for the company to gamify and incorporate interactive content into beach volleyball, which, in turn, will drive traffic to Bally’s platforms and promote customer acquisition.”

They’re betting on it.

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation had expected to conclude its Constitutional Congress prior to the Tokyo Games … but that’s not happening. Reports note that 28 August is projected as a new date to continue debate on the new constitution, which was debated but not passed on 30 June.

The IOC has continuously warned the IWF that its place at the Tokyo Games is in jeopardy unless its financial and governance issues are cleaned up. So far, not yet.

● The Last Word ● You can’t make this up, really you can’t. Russia’s TASS News Agency reported:

“The Kremlin has confirmed that it complied a list of recommendations for national Olympic athletes at the upcoming Tokyo Games with answers to potentially inflammatory and politically-loaded questions, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

“‘Unfortunately, many people want to make politicians out of [the athletes] and drag them into politics,” said Peskov.

Areas of “concern” apparently include “Crimea, harassment, the BLM movement, and doping abuse.”

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LANE ONE: FBI Inspector General report rips FBI offices and agents for lack of action for months after allegations against Larry Nassar

By
Rich Perelman
-

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Wednesday’s long-awaited report of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to respond properly to allegations of abuse against former USA Gymnastics volunteer team physician Larry Nassar. Advised in July 2015 of the issue:

“[T]he Indianapolis Field Office did not advise state or local authorities about the allegations and did not take any action to mitigate the risk to gymnasts that Nassar continued to treat. Instead, the Indianapolis agents and Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) determined that, if the FBI had jurisdiction, venue would likely be most appropriate in the Western District of Michigan and the FBI’s Lansing Resident Agency, where [Michigan State University] is located and where Nassar treated patients.

“Accordingly, the AUSA advised the Indianapolis Field Office on September 2 to transfer the case to the FBI’s Lansing Resident Agency. However, the Indianapolis Field Office failed to do so, despite informing USA Gymnastics on September 4 that it had transferred the matter to the FBI’s Detroit Field Office (of which the FBI’s Lansing Resident Agency is a part).”

For those who ask “what the hell happened” in the Nassar investigation, there it is.

But it gets worse. The report explains:

● USA Gymnastics reported the same allegations to the FBI’s Los Angeles office in May 2016, which opened an investigation, but also did not report the abuse to local authorities.

● In August 2016, Michigan State received a separate complaint, the Indianapolis Star ran an expose in September of Nassar’s years of abuse, and the MSU Police obtained a search warrant of Nassar and found masses of child pornography in his possession. Only then did the FBI’s Detroit Office seem to understand Nassar’s crimes, and he was removed from all of his positions and arrested in November 2016. But:

“According to civil court documents, approximately 70 or more young athletes were allegedly sexually abused by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment between July 2015, when USA Gymnastics first reported allegations about Nassar to the Indianapolis Field Office, and September 2016,” although some had been abused previously.

The report goes on to describe sloppy procedures by Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott (since retired) who:

“[provided] a reporter with an inaccurate statement that claimed, among other things, that ‘there was no delay by the FBI on this matter’ and that the Indianapolis Field Office had provided a ‘detailed report’ to both the FBI Detroit and Los Angeles Field Offices. Further, these inquiries resulted in an official with the Indianapolis Field Office proposing factually inaccurate changes to the white paper created in 2017 that sought to place blame on others for the Indianapolis Field Office’s failures.”

Abbott also met then-USA Gymnastics chief executive Steve Penny in late 2015, at which time they discussed the Chief Security Officer position at the U.S. Olympic Committee (as then named); Abbott applied for the position in 2017, but was not selected. He later denied that he had applied.

In summary:

“senior officials in the FBI Indianapolis Field Office failed to respond to the Nassar allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required, made numerous and fundamental errors when they did respond to them, and violated multiple FBI policies.”

The FBI’s Los Angeles office made some of the same errors.

The report was compiled with interviews of more than 60 people, including survivors, but Penny refused to cooperate in a second voluntary interview and an FBI agent in the Lansing, Michigan office who retired in 2018, declined to be interviewed.

The key question concerning the FBI is why it didn’t act decisively once Penny met with Abbott and others on 28 July 2015? The chronology:

● 27 June 2015: USA Gymnastics was advised by a coach of abuse against three gymnasts.

● 03 July 2015: USA Gymnastics engaged an investigator to determine the facts.

● 25 July 2015: The investigator’s report indicated “an unambiguous claim of sexual abuse” with incidents involving minors as far back as 2011.

● 28 July 2015: One day after Penny requested a meeting with the FBI, he, a USAG attorney and the USAG Board Chair – Peter Vidmar at that time – met with the FBI Indianapolis Field Office, as “USA Gymnastics decided that the FBI was the most appropriate law enforcement agency to contact because the alleged sexual misconduct potentially occurred in multiple places throughout the United States, as well as in other countries.”

So what happened? The report indicates that nothing happened on the FBI’s end:

● The FBI’s Indianapolis office did not see why it has been asked to assist, since “there did not appear to be clear violations of federal law or a nexus to Indianapolis.”

● FBI officials who attended the 28 July meeting said the USAG officials were instructed to contact local law enforcement as well, but Penny and Vidmar both stated that “that no one from the FBI Indianapolis Field Office told USA Gymnastics to contact local law enforcement.”

● However, on 26 July, Penny had contacted an officer he knew at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit “because Penny wanted to report a child sexual abuse allegation.” The officer stated he contacted the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana by e-mail and the attorney did get in contact with the Indianapolis office of the FBI. But very little happened.

● A series of attempts to arrange interviews with the three gymnasts were made and one gymnast was interviewed by telephone on 2 September. On 4 September, Abbott informed Penny that the case was being transferred to FBI Detroit, which would have jurisdiction over Nassar at his place of work, but not even the results of the interview were forwarded.

Everybody blamed everyone else for the delay. As for the phone interview, the FBI’s confused and incomplete notes were much different than the information obtained by the USAG investigator.

FBI Indianapolis didn’t think it should handle the case, since no crime was alleged there. It contacted the Detroit office (Eastern District of Michigan), but since Lansing was in the jurisdiction of the FBI/Western District of Michigan, it was determined the case should go there.

But nothing happened. Penny’s inquiry with FBI Los Angeles in May of 2016 started a new process, and then came the Indianapolis Star story on Nassar on 12 September 2016 that served as a catalyst in the case being taken seriously. The Los Angeles and Lansing office investigations started in earnest in October 2016.

The report spends 29 pages on the multiple failures of FBI offices in Indianapolis and Los Angeles and specific FBI personnel, including the continuing concern over jurisdictional issues vs. the need for investigation and support of the victims:

“[W]e determined that there were no law enforcement reasons for the Indianapolis Field Office or the Los Angeles Field Office to not promptly notify state and local authorities of the Nassar allegations; to the contrary, we believe that there were strong law enforcement reasons to do so.”

Recommendations are made at the end of the report and a closing response from Assistant Director Douglas Leff stated:

“We accept in full the OIG’s recommendations and take especially seriously the findings that certain FBI employees did not respond to allegations of sexual abuse adequately and with the utmost urgency in 2015 and 2016. At Director Wray’s direction, the FBI has taken immediate action to ensure that the failures of the employees outlined in the Report do not happen again.”

That didn’t help the victims, but the report does clear away the reasons for the FBI’s delay in dealing seriously with the Nassar matter, and allowed him to continue his abuse.

The report may have a minor impact on the continuing court-ordered settlement conference at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, but does not significantly change the tug-of-war between USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, its insurers and the Survivors’ Committee.

Many years from now, studies of the Nassar case and the failure of law enforcement will be classified in terms of a lack of “quality control.” But that review ignores the more human issues of why criminal abuse of minors was allowed to go on for months after the FBI was apprised of the allegations, and why allegations apparently first surfaced in 2015 when Nassar had already been abusing gymnasts for six or more years before?

No report on that yet.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HEARD AT HALFTIME: Olympic Village opens in Tokyo; Bromell wins Diamond League 100 m; U.S. men’s basketball loses again, to Australia

By
Rich Perelman
-
Now open: the Tokyo Olympic Village! (Photo: Tokyo 2020)

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News, views and noise from the non-stop, worldwide circus of Olympic sport:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) reiterated again that while it could have canceled the Tokyo Games last year due to the coronavirus, it has no interest in doing so. He told Kyodo News in an online interview:

“We, the IOC, will never abandon the athletes, and with the cancellation, we would have lost a whole generation of athletes. So therefore, a cancellation for us was not really an option.”

The story also noted:

“Bach said calling off the Olympics and receiving money from its insurance was the ‘easiest way’ at the time, but the IOC did not choose that path and invested more to make the games happen.”

The Olympic Village in Tokyo opened on Tuesday, but with few occupants thanks to the Covid-19 protocols.

The facilities for the 11,000-plus athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees will fill slowly as the coronavirus countermeasures allow entry only five days prior to the start of competitions and athletes must leave two days after their final day of competition.

The Village itself is located on the Harumi waterway and covers almost 109 acres with 24 separate buildings, to be sold as local housing. The International Olympic Committee announcement of the opening estimated that 85% of all Village residents will have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. A special clinic to handle Covid cases has also been established.

Kyodo News reported that the Main Media Center and International Broadcast Center in Tokyo have opened at the Big Sight convention facility, noting:

“Due to the coronavirus, the number of press members traveling to Japan for the Olympics and Paralympics has also been cut to 4,600 from the initially expected 8,400.”

The Main Media Center facility still include a large bullpen area for 750 people, in keeping with prior Games.

Local concern over the coronavirus is manifesting itself in multiple ways in and around the Games:

● The Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu posted signs on its elevators last week, designating them for “Japanese only” and “foreigners only,” but took them down quickly in view of heavy criticism.

The hotel management said the signs were meant “to separate the flow of movements of guests related to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from that of general guests” and apologized for any “misunderstanding.”

● On Tuesday, police announced that four electricians – two from Britain and two from the U.S. – were arrested on suspicion of using cocaine last week. They are contractors for Aggreko Events Services Japan, a local affiliate of Tokyo 2020 Official Supporter Aggreko who had completed their 14-day quarantine period and were drinking at a local bar and “trespassed” at a local apartment, prompting police to respond. Kyodo reported that “The games organizers said it has issued a warning to Aggreko Events Services Japan and urged it to ensure no such similar incidents occur.”

Japan’s Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa added, “Nonessential outings at night will not be tolerated, even after the quarantine period is over.”

● A Lithuanian athlete who had tested negative, then positive, then negative for the coronavirus tested negative again last Saturday and was allowed to join his team at its pre-Games camp.

The IOC posted “sport-specific regulations” for the Games on Saturday, primarily around the issue of handling Covid-related withdrawals from competitions. In general:

“(1) No athlete or team should be designated as “‘disqualified’ for COVID-19 reasons, instead ‘Did Not Start (DNS)’ or an equivalent sport-specific designation will be used where the athletes or team cannot take part in competition

“(2) The minimum result of the athlete/team will be protected, considering the phase of competition at which they could not compete

“(3) Where possible the place of an athlete or team unable to compete will be filled by the next most eligible athlete or team, allowing events to go ahead where possible and medals to be competed for on the field of play”

This has specific applications for different sports, but for events with multiple rounds, Covid withdrawals will generally mean the next-in-line athlete according to the qualifying criteria will be advanced.

● Games of the XXXIV Olympiad: Los Angeles 2028 ● The LA28 organizers announced a high-profile, 18-member Athletes’ Commission to “serve as strategic advisors to expand upon athlete services and experiences” for the Games. The list is impressive:

Olympians Allyson Felix, Queen Harrison, Nastia Liukin, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Apolo Ohno, Adam Rippon, Alex Shibutani, Howard Shu and Brenda Villa and Paralympians Scout Bassett, Samantha Bosco, Allison Compton, Lex Gillette, Alana Nichols, Ileana Rodriguez, Rico Roman, Oscar “Oz” Sanchez and Ahkeel Whitehead.

The group will be chair by swimming superstar Janet Evans, the LA28 Chief Athlete Officer.

Felix, Muhammad, Rippon, Bassett, Gillette and Sanchez all designed LA28 “emblems” with their own distinctive “A.”

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC released its official roster of 613 members of the U.S. Olympic Team for 2021, expected to be the largest team at the Games.

This squad will be larger than the team in Rio (558) and has 329 women and 284 men, with 193 returning Olympians and 104 Olympic medal winners. The team comes from 46 states and the District of Columbia, with California (126), Florida (51), Colorado (34) and Texas (31) as the largest contributors.

Of the 339 events at the Games, the U.S. will compete in 268; swimmer Katie Grimes is the youngest athlete at age 15, while equestrian Phillip Dutton will be competing at age 57.

Team USA includes one seven-time Olympian (Dutton), six five-time Olympians – equestrian Steffen Peters, basketball players Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, track athletes Abdi Abdirahman and Allyson Felix, and fencer Mariel Zagunis – 15 four-time Olympians, 39 three-time Olympians and 130 two-time Olympians.

The team will actually expand slightly in Tokyo, as alternates are not counted as Olympians. But with the revised rules for this Games, alternates will be allowed to fill in and compete on a more liberal basis, which will add to the final tally.

● Athletics ● The final Diamond League meet before the Olympic break was back in Gateshead (GBR) on Tuesday, with good racing, but only very modest marks.

The one world-leading individual-event mark was in the rarely-run women’s mile, with American Kate Grace coming hard off a slow pace on the final turn to run away from the field in 4:27.20, easily beating Katie Snowden (GBR: 4:28.04) and American Helen Schlachtenhaufen (4:28.13). It’s Grace’s sixth-fastest mile ever.

The sprints were featured, with American Trayvon Bromell winning the men’s 100 m, separating from a good field by 35 m and won in 9.98. Britain’s C.J. Ujah and Zharnel Hughes went 2-3 in 10.10-10.13 and American Fred Kerley fifth, also in 10.13.

Jamaica’s reigning Olympic champ Elaine Thompson-Herah took charge of the women’s 200 m on the turn and cruised home the winner in 22.32, ahead of Jodie Williams (GBR: 22.60), Blessing Okagbare (NGR: 22.61) and American Tamara Clark (22.62).

The men’s 110 m hurdles was a re-match of the Jamaican Trials, with Ronald Levy and 2016 Rio gold medalist Omar McLeod running together to the 10th hurdle and then Levy sprinting to the final as McLeod stumbled to win, 13.22-13.42. American Robert Dunning was fourth (13.71).

Britain’s Cindy Sember won the women’s 100 m hurdles in 12.69, following up on her win in the Diamond League opener on the same track. American Payton Chadwick was second at 12.75, followed by Nadine Visser (NED: 12.78).

The men’s 800 m was a test for American Olympians Clayton Murphy and Bryce Hoppel and they were in front on the final backstraight. But then Isaiah Harris – fourth at the U.S. Trials – took the lead with 200 m to go. Into the straight, Harris ran away from everyone in 1:44.76, ahead of the late-charging Wyclife Kinyamal (KEN: 1:44.91) and Peter Bol (AUS: 1:45.22). Hoppel and Murphy faded to fifth and sixth in 1:45.45 and 1:45.72.

Britain’s Elliot Giles won the Emsley Carr Mile with a lifetime best of 3:52.49. The men’s 3,000 m was a showdown between Australian Stewart McSweyn and Spain’s Mohamed Katir, who broke free by 2,000 m when the pacesetter left. A 58.8 lap brought McSweyn to the bell, and Katir took the lead with 200 m left and sailed home with a 55.8 final lap and a decisive win in a national record 7:27.64, no. 2 on the 2021 world list. McSweyn was second in 7:28.94.

Men’s Triple Jump world leader Pedro Pablo Richado (POR) was easily the most efficient competitor on the day. He sailed into the lead at 17.29 m (56-8 3/4) on his first jump, then passed on the sixth-round shoot-out and got a huge winner at 17.50 m (57-5). Italy’s Tobia Bocchi was second at 17.04 m (55-11).

Ageless (actually 37 years old) Donald Thomas (BAH) – former World Champion – won the men’s high jump at 2.25 m (7-4 1/2). The men’s javelin was less than expected, with 2012 Olympic champ Keshorn Walcott (TTO) leading through five rounds in 82.81 m (271-8). Germany’s 90 m machine Johannes Vetter managed only 82.13 m (269-5) in the first five, but then sailed the spear to 85.25 m (279-8) in the round-six shoot-out to win the event, with the best throw of the day. German Julian Weber actually got “second” via the sixth-round bests of 77.16 m (253-2) to 76.74 m (251-9).

In the women’s 400 m, Jamaican Stephenie Ann McPherson won easily in 50.44, taking the lead on the backstraight and out-classing Jodie Williams (GBR: 50.94). Dutch star Femke Bol once again ran away from the field in the women’s 400 m hurdles, winning in 53.24, her sixth straight win in 2021 and once again defeating American Shamier Little (54.53) and Jamaica’s Janieve Russell (54.66).

American Sandi Morris, Finland’s Wilma Murto and Holly Bradshaw were the only ones to clear 4.61 m (15-1 1/2) in the women’s vault, and Morris made it over 4.71 m (15-5 1/2) on her second try, as did Bradshaw. Murto missed all three and the bar went to 4.76 m (15-7 1/4) and Morris cleared and Bradshaw passed. At 4.81 m (15-9 1/4), both missed, so Morris won thanks to her clearance at 4.76 m.

Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, the 2019 Worlds silver medalist, led the women’s long jump through the first five rounds at 6.77 m (22-2 1/2), ahead of Fatima Diame (ESP: 6.67 m/21-10 3/4) and Olympic favorite Milaika Mihambo (GER: 6.62 m/21-8 3/4). In the shoot-out, Mihambo improved to 6.65 m (21-10), but Belk-Romanchuk claimed the win at 6.67 m (21-10 3/4).

The Athletics Integrity Unit is not the sort of organization you would expect to talk smack on Twitter, but on Monday it posted:

“The [world] changed. We didn’t.

“Despite increased logistical challenges, the AIU was able to complete nearly 70 percent of out-of-competition tests planned in 2020.

“We made a commitment that we would do everything we could to keep #Athletics clean. We are delivering. Are you?”

Woah! The AIU has been busy; as of 25 June, its global list of ineligible persons runs 15 pages and includes nearly 600 athletes, coaches and support personnel suspended for doping and other violations.

American sprint star Noah Lyles is always up to something. Now:

“I’m thinking about how I’m going to get the Olympic rings tattoo. I don’t want the basic rings I want an artistic flare to it. Anyone got any ideas”

Lots of replies to that tweet!

● Basketball ● The U.S. men’s Olympic Team dropped its second straight exhibition game, this time to Australia, 91-83, in Las Vegas. Once again, the game came down to the final moments and the visitors made the plays.

The U.S. played better than in its 90-87 loss to Nigeria, and led 27-24 at the quarter and 46-37 at the half. But the Aussies outscored the U.S. by 32-18 in the third and 22-19 in the fourth to emerge with an eight-point win.

Australia shot 52.9% on field goals and 10-24 (41.7%) on three-pointers, much better than the American shooting of 46.2% for the game and 13-36 (36.1%) on threes.

Star guard Patty Mills had 22 for the winners, followed by 17 from Joe Ingles and 12 from Matisse Thybulle. Damian Lillard led the U.S. with 22, Kevin Durant had 17 and Bradley Beal had 12.

The U.S. does not have Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday available yet as they are playing in the NBA Finals. The U.S. has three more exhibition games in Las Vegas: vs. Argentina tonight, vs. Australia again on 16 July and vs. Spain on 18 July.

● Cycling ● The Tour de France was back in business on Tuesday, beginning its final week with a brutal 169 km course with three imposing climbs in the Pyrenees Mountains, including the 1,395 m Col de la Core.

But this does not deter Austrian Patrick Konrad, who became the third rider in his country’s history to win a stage at the Tour de France, winning by 42 seconds after running away over the Col de la Core and unchallenged over the final 35 km. A chase group of five could not catch him and Sonny Colbrelli (ITA) ended up second, just ahead of Michael Matthews (AUS) in third.

Leader Tadej Pogacar lost no time to the other race contenders and continues with a 5:18 lead over Rigoberto Uran (COL), 5:32 over Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and 5:33 over Richard Carapaz (ECU).

Wednesday’s route is a punishing, 178.4 km triple climb from Muret to the Col du Portet at Saint-Lary-Soulan, with another misery-inducing climbing route on Thursday before a sprinter’s stage on Friday.

● Football ● The group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup is continuing, with three of the four groups completing their first of three rounds.

In Group A, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago played to a scoreless tie (!), and El Salvador defeated Guatemala, 2-0. (Guatemala replaced Curacao as the latter had too many Covid cases to field a complete team.)

In Group B, the U.S. used a Sam Vines goal in the eighth minute to beat Haiti, 1-0, and Canada clubbed Martinique by 4-1.

In Group C, Jamaica topped Suriname, 2-0 and Costa Rica dispatched Guadeloupe by 3-1. Group D opens tonight with Panama playing guest entry Qatar and Honduras facing Grenada, with both games in Houston.

UEFA announced “disciplinary proceedings” have started in the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final last Sunday in London, with four charges listed against the English Football Association:

• Invasion of the field of play by its supporters
• Throwing of objects by its supporters
• Disturbance caused by its supporters during the national anthem
• Lighting of a firework by its supporters

And there is more:

“Separately, and in accordance with Article 31(4) DR, a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to conduct a disciplinary investigation into events involving supporters which occurred inside and around the stadium.”

These are separate from inquiries in England concerning the social-media harassment of the three Black English players who missed penalty kicks at the end of the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

● Skiing ● Less than a month after completing a 23-year stint as President of the Federation International de Ski, Gian Franco Kasper (SUI) passed away at age 77 on Friday (9th).

Kasper had been at the center of world skiing for 46 years, first as Secretary General and then as President from 1998-2021. On his watch, FIS expanded considerably, both in athletic and financial terms and he left the federation in a strong position financially and as the undisputed leader in terms of winter sports.

He was an IOC member from 2000-18 and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency from 2003.

Kasper was outspoken and that got him into trouble quite often. But he also had keen insight into skiing’s role in the growth of winter sports. Asked about increasing the federation’s revenues, he shot back:

“We do not care about making as much money as possible. Marketing to generate money for sports? At any time! But to generate money from sports, we do not do that. We are first and foremost [an] advertising agency for winter tourism.”

That’s a lesson worth applying in many other sectors.

● Swimming ● FINA announced the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport that confirmed the nullification of results that had been manipulated at two meets in Uzbekistan in November 2020 and April 2021.

“The FINA Executive’s decision was made after receiving evidence establishing that certain results from these two events had been manipulated by the Uzbekistan Swimming Federation in an attempt to qualify Uzbek swimmers for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“Following this CAS award, the FINA Ethics Panel will now investigate whether further sanctions should be imposed on the Uzbekistan Swimming Federation and any other implicated party.

“It is imperative that FINA recognise aquatics competitions to ensure that the results are not manipulated, that the results are valid and reliable, and that the competitions comply with the standards set out in the FINA rules. FINA cannot accept a lessor [sic] standard.”

FINA recognized the role of whistleblowers in the matter, without naming them. Indian swimmer Likith Prema, especially, made his concerns about the timing at the April meet publicly known with video evidence; that helped to kickstart the FINA inquiry.

● Weightlifting ● Another marijuana case has popped up prior to Tokyo, but this time Arley Mendez of Chile will be able to compete.

He had been suspended for marijuana use (THC) from an in-competition test on 12 May 2021 received a reduced penalty of one month from 29 June to 28 July 2021. Since the Olympic competition in his class – men’s 81 kg – takes place on 31 July, he can compete as his eligibility was already confirmed.

● At the BuZZer ● The 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama is progressing, somewhat under the radar, but with a major announcement that ticket sales began on 7 July, one year prior to the opening of the Games.

About 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries will contest 34 sports from 7-17 July, with the Opening Ceremony at Protective Stadium at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex; tickets range from $63.75-103.80.

How about Tug of War at the University of Alabama, Birmingham? Tickets are $16.75 or $19.75 depending on the session. Aerobic Gymnastics? $24.75 to $29.75 for morning and afternoon sessions and $29.75-34.75 for evening sessions.

Flying Disc fans can see preliminary rounds for $16.75 or $19.75 and $24.75 for the finals!

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LANE ONE: Tokyo’s spectator ban looks better in view of Euro 2020’s online and in-the-streets violence

By
Rich Perelman
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Henri Vidal's poignant 1896 statue of Cain, in the Tuileries Garden in Paris

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(For our Highlights of the weekend’s top competitions, click here)

The Olympic Games in Tokyo is almost here, with just 11 days before the Opening Ceremony, to be held in a spectator-free Olympic Stadium.

After the mayhem attending Sunday’s UEFA Euro 2020 final in and around Wembley Stadium in London, perhaps that’s the right call regardless of the coronavirus situation.

In case you missed it, the violence started prior to the 8 p.m. kickoff of the Italy-England final, with “fans” assembling as early as noon in multiple locations in London, some already drunk. A crowd pushed its way past security fencing about two hours prior to the match and some made their way into the stadium. Reuters reported:

“Around two hours before the game, fans burst past stewards and some reached the concourse while bottles were thrown in from outside the perimeter.

“Some security staff were attacked, witnesses told Reuters, and entry to the stadium was halted for over 20 minutes while order was restored at the entrances.”

Some of the “fans” reached the interior of the stadium and took up seats in ticketed sections, leading to confrontations with fans – some with children – who arrived to see the game. Eventually, the chaos gave way to some football.

The game itself was a classic, with England’s Luke Shaw scoring in the second minute and Italy tying the game in the 67th on a Leonardo Bonucci goal. After extra time, the match was decided by penalty kicks, with England up 2-1, but then missing three in a row and Italy winning, 3-2. Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was named the Player of the Tournament.

But then more mayhem. In all, London police said 49 arrests were made and 19 officers were injured at Wembley Stadium, with a limited crowd of 67,000 in attendance. Riot police came to ensure order at Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square before and after the match.

There were reports of random attacks on trains, and widely-condemned social-media abuse against Black players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who missed their penalty attempts.

The head of the Football Association, Prince William, said:

“I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match. It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”

The Daily Mail further noted that “after the game there were more shambolic scenes as Wembley Way was turned into a ‘bombsite’.

“Experts said the police have serious questions to answer about the lack of officers to deal with the violence at Wembley and the West End, that saw mass brawls, bottles thrown and the smashing of shop windows.”

This was not supposed to happen in England today, a country with a horrific history of violence attached to its football clubs in the 1970s and 1980s that reached its zenith in the Heysel Stadium disaster in Brussels in 1985 before the European Cup final between England’s Liverpool and Italy’s Juventus. Liverpool “supporters” broke down a fence separating the fan bases and the ensuing riot saw 39 killed and more than 600 injured. Police arrested 34 and 14 “fans” were later convicted of manslaughter. UEFA banned English clubs from European competition for five years, and Liverpool for six years.

The situation in Italy was also bad, following its triumph and first European title since 1968. Reports confirmed:

● A man crashed his car and died in Sicily while rushing to join celebrations in downtown Caltagirone;

● In Milan, 15 people were hurt during post-match “partying” and one man blew three fingers off of his hand when a firework exploded;

● There was a report of a killing near the southern Italian town of Foggia, where an assassin shot his victim in a celebrating crowd and then drove away on a motorbike.

This is how sport brings us together?

Bonucci, who scored the tying goal, didn’t help in his post-match comments:

“We are just enjoying seeing 58,000 people leaving even before the trophy presentation, it was something which really delighted us. The trophy now is coming to Rome.

“They thought it was staying here in London, and they’re unhappy. I feel bad for them, but once again Italy has given them a lesson.”

The game drew a huge television audience in Britain, with a peak of 30.95 million viewers and an average audience of 29.85 million throughout. That’s the largest audience since the funeral of Princess Diana back in 1997. In Italy, the average audience of 18 million represents a 73.7% share, meaning nearly three-quarters of all televisions that were on in the country were tuned to the match.

The vast majority of those viewers caused no violence. But there was still plenty of mayhem to go around.

Nor was Sunday’s final the only incident during the tournament. On Friday, UEFA’s Control Ethics and Disciplinary Body issued a sanction against the Hungarian Football Federation for “discriminatory behaviour of supporters” at matches held in Budapest on 15 and 19 June and at the Germany-Hungary match in Munich on 23 June:

“- To order the Hungarian Football Federation to play its next three (3) UEFA competition matches as host association behind closed doors, the third of which being suspended for a probationary period of two (2) years as from the date of the decision, for the discriminatory behaviour of its supporters. The Hungarian Football Federation has also been fined €100,000.

“- To order the Hungarian Football Federation to implement the following directive in the above-mentioned matches in which it will play as host association: to display a banner with the wording “#EqualGame”, with the UEFA logo on it.”

The response of Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Facebook was “The committee that makes a decision like that is a pitiful and cowardly body. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

This is sport contributing to unity? Solidarity? Tolerance?

No. But it has been with us for a long time, in many places. Even in “laid-back” Los Angeles, 76 people were arrested, 30 buildings were damaged and eight police officers injured in and around a crowd of about 1,000 near Staples Center after the Lakers won the 2020 NBA title last October 11.

Japan is expected to do well at the Tokyo Games, and many of its huge, 582-member team are sad that their home fans will not be able to cheer them on. Perhaps Tokyo is doing even more of a service to sport that already realized by completing a first-of-its kind experiment in hosting a 33-sport event that may be devoid of fans, but also of mayhem and riots.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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HIGHLIGHTS: Italy wins Euros on penalties; Argentina beats Brazil in Copa America final; Kuss wins Tour stage 15; Nigeria shocks U.S. men’s basketballers

By
Rich Perelman
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First American to win a Tour de France stage since 2011: a happy Sepp Kuss! (Photo: ASO/Pauline Ballet)

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Headline results of noteworthy competitions around the world/updated/:

● Athletics ● Sweden’s World Champion Daniel Stahl extended his world lead in the men’s discus with a mighty toss of 71.40 m (234-3) in a small meet in Bottnaryds (SWE). He opened with 70.27 m (230-6), which only one other person has reached this year, then extended to 71.40 m, his third world-leading throw this year.

Stahl has been everywhere; this was his 13th meet of the year and now has four throws past 70 m (229-8) this season. The 71.40 m on Saturday is his second-longest throw ever and is the 15th-longest throw in history. And, excluding himself, this was the longest throw in the world since 2013!

● Basketball ● The U.S. men’s Olympic Team was defeated by Nigeria, 90-87, in an exhibition game in Las Vegas on Saturday evening, a shocking start for the American squad for Tokyo.

Nigeria, coached by NBA veteran Mike Brown and with five NBA players on its roster, made 20 of 42 three-pointers and was led by Gabe Vincent (Miami Heat) with 21 points, followed by Caleb Agada (17) and Ike Nwamu (13).

The U.S., still missing some players who are in the NBA Finals, was 26-63 from the floor (41.3%) and 10-24 (41.7%) from the three-point line. Kevin Durant led with 17 points – but just 4-13 from the floor – plus 15 from Jayson Tatum and 14 from Damian Lillard.

The game was tight throughout: Nigeria led by 66-64 after three quarters and extended to 85-77 with 1:43 left and held on. The U.S. was out-rebounded, 46-34, losing to an African team for the first time ever in international play.

“I think with four days of practice, there were a lot of things I liked out there, but in a way, I’m kind of glad it happened,” said U.S. head coach Gregg Popovich. “That loss means nothing if we don’t learn from it. But it could be the most important thing in this tournament for us, to learn lessons from this and see what we did to move on, because it’s a great group of guys, high character, and we’ll figure it out.”

The U.S. will get a further test on Monday vs. third-ranked Australia on Monday at 8 p.m. Easter time, to be televised on NBCSN.

In the FIBA men’s U-19 World Cup in Riga, Latvia, the U.S. sprinted ahead of France in the fourth quarter of the championship game, then held on for a 83-81 win.

The U.S., Serbia and Canada all went 3-0 in their group games, then the American men defeated Korea, 132-60, and Senegal, 88-58, to reach the semifinals. Facing undefeated Canada, the Americans managed a 92-86 win, after lading by 49-38 at halftime. Canadian forward Caleb Houstan led all scorers with 23 points and Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. led the U.S. with 16 and TCU guard Michael Miles had 15.

France rallied from 14 points down to defeat Serbia in the other semi, with guard Jayson Tchicamboud scoring 19.

The final was tight, with the U.S. holding a 21-19 lead at the quarter, but with France up by 42-37 at half and 64-59 at the end of three. The U.S. went on a 10-4 run to start the fourth quarter and edge ahead, 69-68 and extended to 75-68 with 4:30 left. But the French fought back, with Louis Lesmond scoring five points in the last 1:34, but it was not enough. Purdue guard Jaden Ivey and Lofton had 16 points each to lead the winners, with 12 from LSU guard Adam Miller. France’s Victor Wembanyama led all scorers with 22. The U.S. enjoyed a 43-29 rebound edge.

Canada defeated Serbia for the bronze medal by 101-92.

The U.S. finished 7-0 and 7-1 Gonzaga center Chet Holmgen was named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 blocks, hitting 62.0% from the field (53.8% on three-pointers) in just 21 minutes a game.

The All-Star Five included Holmgren, Lofton, Wembanyama of France, Canadian (and Purdue) center Zach Edey and forward Nikola Jovic of Serbia.

The U.S. has now won eight times in the 15 editions of this event, and four of the last five, winning in 2013-15-19-21.

● Beach Volleyball ● The last major FIVB World Tour event prior to Tokyo was the Gstaad four-star in Switzerland, with a major surprise on the men’s side.

Dutch pair Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot came in seeded 41st, but ran through the tournament to score get their first World Tour win together in just their seventh event together. They defeated Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in a tight, 23-21, 19-21, 15-10 match in the final. It was the sixth final of the season for Younousse and Tijan, with two wins.

The all-Russian third-place match saw 2019 World Champions Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy defeat countrymen Nikita Liamin and Taras Myskiv, 21-16, 21-12.

The women’s final was an all-Brazilian affair, with Agatha Bednarczuk (38) and Duda Lisboa (22) dispensing with Ana Patricia Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti, 23-21, 21-18. It’s the seventh World Tour title for Agatha and Duda in their four years as a pair on the circuit, and their fifth medal on the World Tour this season (2-1-2).

World Champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN) won the bronze medal with a 21-13, 13-21, 17-15 win over Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina (LAT).

● Cycling ● The Tour de France concluded its second week on Sunday, with Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar continuing his grip on the race, but with an American stage winner for the first time in 10 years on Sunday.

Saturday’s stage 14 winner was Bauke Mollema (NED), who broke away from the field with 43 km to do on a difficult, six-climb stage over 183.7 km, finishing in 4:16:16. That was 1:04 ahead of Patrick Konrad (AUT) and Sergio Higuita (COL) and 1:06 up on Mattia Cattaneo (ITA). Pogacar could not keep up and finished 18th, 6:53 behind the winner, but maintained a 4:04 advantage over France’s Guillaume Martin, who was 11th in the stage.

Sunday’s 15th stage ran for 191.3 km, through the Pyrenees, including the highest peak on the Tour for 2021, the Port d’Envalira at 2,406 m, then attacking the Col de Beixalis before descending into Andorra at the finish. A huge breakaway group of 32 riders tore away from the peloton within the first 20 km and had an advantage of up to 11 minutes midway through the race.

At the front, it was Colombian star Nairo Quintana who crested the Port d’Envalira first, but was joined on the descent and then dropped with 20 km to go by David Gaudu (FRA), 41-year-old Alejandro Valverde (ESP) and American Sepp Kuss, 26. Kuss simply exploded and moved away from both of the others and steamed over the Col de Beixalis and into Andorra for his first career Tour de France victory and the first stage win by an American since Tyler Farrar in 2011. Kuss is the 10th American all-time to win a Tour stage.

Kuss finished in 5:12:06, with Valverde second (+0:23) and Wout Poels (NED: +1:15) third; Gaudu was seventh, in the same group. Further back, Pogacar was attacked relentlessly by challengers, but fenced them all off and the race leaders finished together some 4:51 behind the winner.

Pogacar goes into Monday’s rest day with a 5:18 lead over Rigoberto Uran (COL), with Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) third (+5:32) and Richard Carapaz fourth (+5:33). France’s Martin had trouble and dropped back to ninth.

The 32nd Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile finished in Cormons with another American win, this time for Coryn Rivera, 28, who beat three others to the line in 2:56:40 over 113 km. She could be in the mix in the Tokyo road race in a couple of weeks.

Saturday’s 122.6 km ninth stage finished with a brutal ascent up Monte Matajur finishing at 1,294 m from a baseline of 134 m. South Africa’s Ashleigh Moolman broke away on the climb and separated from Dutch stars Demi Vollering and race leader Anna van der Breggen in the final 8 km. Moolman, who was second going into the stage, won by 1:26 over both, and cut her deficit to 1:23 behind van der Breggen heading into Sunday. Italy’s Marta Cavalli was the only other rider close by, some 1:39 behind the winner.

The final stage saw Rivera sprint to the finish ahead of Lizzie Deignan (GBR), Elise Chabbey (SUI: +0:03) and overall winner van der Breggen (NED). For van der Breggen, who is retiring after this season, it was her fourth career “Giro Donne” win – in 2015-17-20-21 – tying Italy’s Fabiana Luperini (1995-98) for the most ever.

Van der Breggen finished a comfortable 1:43 ahead of Moolman, 3:25 up on Vollering and 6:39 ahead of Deignan.

The UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in St. Petersburg (RUS) showed off a powerful Russian squad, but with the medals widely distributed.

Russian women went 1-2 in the Sprint, as Anastasiia Voinova swept Yana Tyshchenko in both finals races and those two combined with Nataliia Antonova to win the Team Sprint. Two women won two individual events: Colombia’s Martha Bayona Pineda took the Keirin and the 500 m Time Trial, and Portugal’s Maria Martins won the Elimination Race and the Omnium.

Ireland’s Kelly Murphy won the Individual Pursuit and then won the Team Pursuit with Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, and Alice Sharpe. Russians Gulnaz Khatuntseva and Diana Klimova won the Madison.

On the men’s side, Russians Lev Gonov and Ivan Smirnov won the Madison and also took the Team Pursuit over Italy, with the additions of Glen Syritsa and Egor Igoshev. In the Sprint, Kevin Quintero (COL) came from one race down to beat Mikhail Iakovlev (RUS), but Iakovlev, Danila Burlakov and Ivan Gladyshev took the Team Sprint.

France’s Tom Derache, the bronze winner in the Sprint, took the Keirin; Canadian Quentin LaFargue won the 1 km Time Trial and Scotland’s Kyle Gordon won the Individual Pursuit. Italian Carloalberto Giodani won the Elimination Race, and Yauheni Karaliok (BLR) took the Omnium over Portugal’s Iuri Leitao, 177-166.

The massive U.S. Mountain Bike National Championships was held in Winter Park, Colorado, with competitions in classifications as young as 11-12 and up to 80-89!

In the professional Cross Country races, Keegan Swenson won the men’s national title over Stephan Davourst, 1:22:14 to 1:24:36 in the four-lap race and Tokyo Olympian-to-be Erin Huck took the women’s crown, beating Alexis Skarda, 1:11:31 to 1:13:46.

The Short Track races on Sunday saw Savila Blunk win by six seconds over Gwendalyn Gibson, 30:01-30:07, with Rose Grant and Evelyn Dong well back in third (30:34) and fourth (30:35).

Swenson doubled back to win the men’s Short Track title, just ahead of Davoust, 29:19-29:37, with Cole Paton third (29:47).

In the Pro Downhills, Dakotah Norton won the men’s title over Aaron Gwin and Luca Shaw by 3:28:24-3:29.89-3:31.72. The women’s race was a win for Kailey Skelton (4:11.35), beating Ella Erickson (4:25.65) and Kialani Hines (4:26.08).

● Football ● The classic Copa America final in Rio de Janeiro pitted Lionel Messi and Argentina against Neymar and Brazil, but it was an Angel Di Maria goal in the 22nd minute that made the difference for Argentina in a 1-0 victory.

It was the 15th Copa America victory for Argentina, now tied with Uruguay for the most ever, but its first since 1993. For Argentinian icon Messi, it was his first championship with the national team after five Copa Americas and four World Cups (although he did win the Olympic tournament in Beijing in 2008).

The final was dominated by Brazilian possession, especially in the second half, but the hosts were chasing the game since Rodrigo De Paul’s long pass found Di Maria at the right of the Brazilian goal. With keeper Ederson out to cut down the angle, Di Maria popped the ball over his head and into the goal for his first-ever score for the national team.

The game got increasingly physical in the second half, with 41 total fouls called and nine yellow cards. Brazil led in shots, 13-6, but could not get by Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez.

Messi was co-high scorer with four goals and had five assists and was both the tournament’s high scorer and Best Player.

/Updated/The UEFA Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium in London was a classic match between Italy and England, with the home team trying to win its first international title since 1966, when it won the FIFA World Cup.

And the partisan crowd of more than 67,000 went into dreamland as a perfect cross by Kieran Trippier from the right side of the box flew over the Italian back four and found Luke Shaw to the left of goal and his left-footed volley flew into the goal for a 1-0 lead in the second minute! It was the fastest goal in history of the European Championship.

Italy had 65% of the possession in the half and out-shot England, 6-1, but was unable to get a goal against a tight defense and keeper Jordan Pickford.

The Azzurri kept the pressure on from the start of the second half, but missed the net repeatedly. But from a corner in the 67th minute, a wild flurry developed on front of the goal and Marco Verratti got off a header that hit the goalpost, but the rebound was available for Leonardo Bonucci, who scored for a 1-1 tie.

Italy remained dangerous, Domenico Berardi running behind the defense in the 74th minute and off a long volley, launched a shot that went over the goal. But neither side could score and regulation time ended 1-1. Italy had held the ball for two-thirds of the time and had a 14-4 shots advantage, but only the one goal.

In extra time, Italy continued the pressure and had a 3-1 shots advantage, but could not get the ball into the goal. England was more offensive-minded in the second extra period, but Italy controlled the last half of the period and it ended 1-1, with Italy finishing at 19-6 on shots.

The penalty shoot-out started off with two makes, then the drama started. Andrea Belotti’s try was saved by Pickford and Maguire made his for a 2-1 England lead. But Bonucci scored (2-2) and Marcus Rashford hit the left post! Federico Bernardeschi made his shot, but Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma guessed right and saved Jadon Sancho’s shot, leaving Italy up 3-2.

Italy’s Jorginho was ready to ice it in the fifth round, but Pickford guessed right and deflected his shot off the post, giving England a chance to tie with Bukayo Saka. The strike wasn’t hard enough and Donnarumma flew to his left and saved the penalty, giving Italy a 3-2 win and the European title. Donnarumma was named the Player of the Tournament.

The Italians, who did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, are now on a 34-match unbeaten streak and won its second European title (also in 1968) in four times in the final. A lesson for any country which has aspirations in football.

UEFA fined the England Football Association €30,000 (~$36,000) after multiple incidents, including a fan aiming a laser pointer at Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel during the Euro 2020 semifinal at Wembley Stadium in London last Wednesday.

The fan aimed the laser at Schmeichel when he was readying for Harry Kane’s penalty kick in extra time; Schmeichel saved the shot, but Kane scored on the rebound for the deciding play in England’s 2-1 win.

UEFA’s statement included: “The UEFA Control Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has decided to fine the English Football Association €30,000 for the use of laser pointer, disturbances during the national anthems and setting of fireworks.”

The CONCACAF Gold Cup opened on Saturday, with games at nine venues across five states in the U.S. and Mexico playing to a surprising 0-0 tie with Trinidad & Tobago in Arlington, Texas.

The U.S. will open vs. Haiti this evening in Kansas City, to be followed by games on the 15th (Martinique) and 18th (Canada). Group play will end on the 20th, with the playoffs from 24 July to 1 August.

● Gymnastics ● The second FIG Rhythmic World Challenge Cup was in Moscow (RUS), and a showcase for Olympic favorite Dina Averina.

She swept all four events, winning over fellow Russian Lala Kramarenko by 27.200-26.300 in Hoop, by 28.900-26.700 in Ball, 29.250-28.250 in Clubs and 25.700-23.500 in Ribbon. Sister Arina Averina was unable to compete due to a leg injury, but is promised to be ready for Tokyo.

Russia also won the group events over Uzbekistan and Japan in 5 Balls and 3 Balls + 2 Clubs.

● Table Tennis ● The U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada saw the men’s and women’s Singles title matches pit the top two seeds against each other.

The men’s title went to top-ranked Xin Zhou, who defeated Sharon Alguetti, in five sets by 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6. It was the first U.S. title for Zhou, ending a string of four straight fr Kanak Jha, who is prepping for Tokyo.

The women’s final saw second-seed Amy Wang upset five-time national champ Lily Zhang, also in five sets by 11-9, 12-10, 4-11, 16-14, 11-7. It was Wang’s first U.S. title.

● Tennis ● Wimbledon concluded its 134th edition on Sunday, with a historic win for Serb Novak Djokovic, who took his sixth title and 20th Grand Slam victory, tying him with Roger Federer (SUI) and Rafael Nadal (ESP) for the most career Slams among men.

Djokovic has now won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in the same year; the last to do that – and win all four Slams in a single year – was Australian icon Rod Laver in 1969.

Djokovic defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in four sets: 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3; it was the no. 1 seed vs. no. 7.

The women’s Singles title also went to the no. 1 seed, Australian Ash Barty, who defeated Czech Karolína Plískova (no. 8) in straight sets, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3. Barty was the first no. 1 seed to win the tournament since Serena Williams (USA) in 2016.

In men’s Doubles, Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic triumphed over Marcel Granollers (ESP) and Horacio Zeballos (ARG), 6–4, 7–6, 2–6, 7–5. In women’s Doubles, Su-wei Hsieh (TPE) and Elise Mertens (BEL) overcame Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina, 3–6, 7–5, 9–7. It was Heish’s second straight Wimbledon title; she played with Barbora Strycova (CZE) in 2019.

The Mixed Doubles title was won by Neal Skupski (GBR) and Desirae Krawczyk (USA) over Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart, 6–2, 7–6.

● Volleyball ● The 21st FIVB women’s World U-20 Championship is underway in Belgium and the Netherlands, with 16 teams competing in four groups, with the pool winners advancing to the championship second round.

Serbia, Italy and the Netherlands all won their groups with perfect 3-0 records, and the U.S. women also finished 3-0, with victories over Russia (3-1), Thailand (3-0) and Turkey (3-0). The second stage will start on the 13th.

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THE TICKER: Fan video matrix to replace fans in stands in Tokyo; four world leads in Monaco Diamond League; Cavendish ties Merckx for Tour de France stage wins!

By
Rich Perelman
-
A happy Mark Cavendish (GBR), who tied the record for the most career Tour de France stages with 34 (Photo: Tour de France)

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The latest news, notes and quotes from the worldwide Five-Ring Circus/updated/:

● Games of the XXXII Olympiad: Tokyo 2020 ● “You need not feel alone in these stadia. Billions of people around the entire globe will be glued to their screens, and they will be with you in their hearts.

“I hope that you can feel this support from all these people, who are your true fans, who are your family, your friends and your supporters.”

That was International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in a video message for athletes coming to Tokyo, in the aftermath of the banning of spectators from almost all of the Olympic stadia.

The IOC announced a blizzard of engagement programs for the Games, including a video matrix to be shown inside venues, a “virtual cheer” tool on the digital services of some broadcasters, and a video link for athletes at some sites to connect with up to five family or friends once they come off the field.

A new game site – The Tokyo 2020 FanZone – will offer trivia contests, a “fantasy challenge” involving fan-selected teams of 10 athletes from any sport and even a “bracketology” game for each team sport. Sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Intel will have their own fan-support programs and Samsung will give each athlete a free S21 5G commemorative phone.

In the aftermath of the banning of fans from the Games venues in the Tokyo area, spectators will also not be allowed in the Hokkaido prefecture, which includes Sapporo, where football matches will be held.

Kyodo News reported that fans are now banned from the Games in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa and Hokkaido. The prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima and Shizuoka are – for now – planned to allow limited spectator attendance.

On Friday, four Japanese citizens filed for a injunction against the Games in Tokyo District Court, “arguing that going ahead with the games during the coronavirus pandemic violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to live.”

Kyodo also reported that one Israeli athlete tested positive for Covid upon arrival and is in quarantine. A Lithuanian swimmer tested negative on arrival for his team’s training camp outside Tokyo, then positive on a subsequent test. A third test came back negative, but he will be tested again on Saturday.

An attempt to put out the Olympic flame in the northeast city of Mito was reported last Sunday (4th), but was unsuccessful. Reuters reported that 53-year-old Kayoko Takahashi aimed a water pistol as the torch went by and shouted “extinguish the torch fire, I’m against the Tokyo Olympics.”

She was arrested immediately “on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.”

News media expecting to be in Tokyo continue to voice concerns over access to athletes and others, restrictive rules concerning housing and transport and requirements to detail their reporting routine for monitoring by the organizing committee.

At last week’s online International Sports Journalists Association (AIPS) conference, AIPS President Gianni Merlo (ITA) spoke at length about the restrictions, including “We, the press, are not the enemy of Japan.”

A review of the conference noted “the certainty that journalists will be followed at all times, giving away privacy, and the condition to report all the people they meet, put in danger the freedom of press. All is part of the so-called coronavirus package, but is it, really?”

Juan Ignacio Gallardo, the director of the Spanish daily newspaper of sport, Marca, told the attendees:

“There is an idea of clubs and athletes, especially the elite ones, that journalism can be replaced by social media, but the fan knows how to perfectly spot the difference between propaganda and information. Journalism is a vital link in the chain. Putting barriers to journalism is ultimately putting barriers to fans. I think that we all agree on something: we are in a scenario where there are more and more obstacles, difficulties and barriers to access to athletes.”

The Australian’s European correspondent Jacquelin Magnay (AUS) tweeted:

“The rules are so grim the Olympics risk having no journalists wanting to cover future Games. Not allowed to speak to a Japanese person, not allowed to walk. Spied on at every minute. And journalists are double vaxxed, with 8 tests in 7 days.”

Replied Michael Payne (GBR), the first IOC marketing director and a continuing keen observer of the Games:

“Well the next host nation might be real happy with the new protocols. Hold tight.”

That would be Beijing (CHN), host of the Olympic Winter Games in 2022. Yep.

In case you were wondering, the Court of Arbitration for Sport is opening two offices in Tokyo: one for general disputes and another concentrating on anti-doping matters.

All hearings will be held online, with 13 arbitrators in the “Ad hoc division” and another eight dedicated to the anti-doping cases. Rapid turnaround is promised: “The CAS Ad hoc Division will be able to render decisions within 24 hours in case of urgent matters.”

Athletes are being supported in appeals to the CAS in Tokyo, free of charge by the Japan Sports Arbitration Agency in cooperation with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. They are ready.

● Games of the XXXIII Olympiad: Paris 2024 ● The French-language site FrancsJeux reported that an administrative court in Paris finally rejected two appeals by local residents against the development of a portion of the massive Parc Georges Valbon for new housing. The first use will be for media covering Paris 2024, then for 1,200 units of housing in Dugny.

This clears the way for SOLIDEO, the public authority responsible for infrastructure projects related to the Games, to go ahead with the construction program. Already, the Mayor of Dugny has asked for assurances that it will be completed on time in April, 2024.

● Athletics ● /Updated/The Wanda Diamond League meet in Monaco saw brilliant racing and world-leading marks in the men’s 800 m, 1,500 m and Steeple and the women’s 1,500 m, plus possible previews of multiple Tokyo finals.

The opening race was another world-record attempt in the men’s 400 m hurdles with new recordman Karsten Warholm. He was out like a shot once again from lane seven, but didn’t have quite as much in reserve down the stretch and won in 47.08, the equal-12th-fastest race of all time (he has six of the top 13).

Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, looking like a near-lock for the bronze medal behind Warholm and Rai Benjamin of the U.S. was second in 47.51.

The men’s 800 m saw the revival of London 2012 silver medalist Nijel Amos of Botswana, who took over from Canada’s Marco Arop in the final 75 m and won in a world-leading 1:42.91. He barely out-lasted Emmanuel Korir (KEN: 1:43.04) and Arop (1:43.26 lifetime best). Those three ran away from everyone else, including Americans Clayton Murphy (7th: 1:44.41) and Bryce Hoppel (11th: 1:47.74).

In the men’s 1,500 m, Timothy Cheruiyot was trying to be so brilliant that Athletics Kenya will overlook his fourth-place finish at the Kenyan Trials and name him for Tokyo. He took the lead after 800 m as expected, then towed the field through the final lap and fought off a challenge from Spain’s Mohamed Katir all the way to the finish and won in a world-leading (and lifetime best by 0.13) 3:28.28! Cheruiyot ran his last 400 m in a sensational 53.71 and remains at no. 7 on the all-time list. Put him on the team.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen was third in 3:29.25 and Stewart McSweyn (AUS) was the fourth man under 3:30 at 3:29.51. There were 10 lifetime bests among the 13 finishers, with national records for Katir, McSweyn and Marcin Lewandowski (POL: 3:30.42). Yowsah!

The men’s 3000 m Steeple was a nightmare. The bell rang for the final lap, but with 800 m to go instead of 400 m, and Kenyan Benjamin Kigen sprinted through the lap, only to see the bell rung again! He had nothing left and Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma was confused as well, but trotted down the backstraight with a big lead. He picked it up going into the water jump and then Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot moved in on a desperate sprint, only to have Girma speed up to win in a world-leading 8:07.75. Kibiwot was second in 8:07.81, followed by France’s Djilali Bedrani (8:11.17) and Mehdi Belhadj (8:12.43). American Hillary Bor was fifth (8:14.69, a seasonal best), with Kigen fading to seventh (8:15.09).

The women’s 1,500 m was a classic and another world leader, with Dutch star Sifan Hassan taking over as the leader with 600 m left. But with 150 m to go, Kenya’s reigning Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon launched her attack, went wide and got by with 110 m left and won in 3:51.07, a national record, a lifetime best and the no. 4 time in history. She was ecstatic!

Hassan was second in 3:53.60, with Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu third in 3:56.28. Americans Heather MacLean and Cory McGee were 10th and 11th in 4:03.63 and 4:04.20.

The men’s 100 m also had a wild finish, with American Ronnie Baker charging to the finish in 9.91 (+0.3 m/s), decisively defeating Akani Simbine (RSA: 9.98), Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA: 9.99), Andre De Grasse (CAN: 10.00) and formerly undefeated Trayvon Bromell (USA: 10.01) in fifth, American Fred Kerley was sixth in 10.15. Baker’s win makes him at least a co-favorite now with Bromell for a medal in Tokyo.

Jamaican superstar Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce took off at the start of the women’s 200 m and was joined on the straight by Marie-Josee Ta Lou (CIV), but Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) came on like a freight train in the last 60 m to edge Ta Lou, 22.23-22.25 (+0.7 m/s). Fraser-Pryce fell back to third in 22.48; Americans Dezerea Bryant and Tamara Clark went 5-6 in 22.79 and 22.95.

The women’s 800 m saw a blistering 54.80 lap for the pacesetter, then Jamaica’s Natoya Goule took over with 300 to go. But coming into the home straight, it was Britain’s Jemma Reekie and American Kate Grace, but British 1,500 m star Laura Muir went out to lane three and sprinted to the line in 1:56.73, a lifetime best and no. 5 in the world this year. Reekie also got a PR in 1:56.96 and Grace finished in a lifetime best of 1:57.20 – her third in nine days – to move to no. 7 on the all-time U.S. list.

In the women’s Steeple, Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng broke away from the pack with four laps remaining, with American Emma Coburn, world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and Winfred Yavi (BRN) with the only ones in contact. Kiyeng pushed the pace with 600 m to go, with Coburn well ahead of Chepkoech and Yavi. But Kiyeng was out of gas with a lap to go and the race tightened dramatically. Kiyeng found a reserve and won in 9:03.82 as Coburn fell over the final water jump, allowing Chepkoech (9:04.94) and Yavi (9:05.45) to finish 2-3. Coburn held on for fourth at 9:09.02. What does this mean for Tokyo? That this event is up for grabs.

The women’s vault came down to World Champion Anzhelika Sidorova (RUS), Olympic Champion Katerina Stefanidi (GRE) and U.S. Trials winner Katie Nageotte. Nageotte took the lead with a first-time clearance at 4.90 m (16-0 3/4); Stefanidi missed all three tries and Sidorova missed once and passed. At 4.96 m (16-3 1/4), Sidorova missed twice and was out. Nageotte also missed three times, but enjoyed the win.

Olympic triple jump favorite Yulimar Rojas (VEN), the only woman to surpass 15 m this season, won at 15.12 m (49-7 1/4), but fouled on her sixth-round jump, so Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts “won” at 14.29 m (46-10 3/4). Czech Barbora Spotakova – the world-record holder – came into the sixth round throw-off third, but got her best at 63.08 m (206-11) and stole the win from Pole Maria Andrejczyk, who had the best throw of the day at 63.63 m (208-9).

The men’s high jump saw Django Lovett (CAN) and Russian Mikhail Arimenko clear 2.29 m (7-6), but missed all three times at 2.32 m (7-7 1/4). To break the tie, they tried 2.32 m again and this time Arimenko got over for the victory. Sweden’s Thobias Montler grabbed a personal best of 8.27 m (27-1 3/4) in the second round to lead the men’s long jump, but was passed by Jamaican Tajay Gayle in the fifth round at 8.29 m (27-2 1/2). But in the sixth-round jump-off, it was Greece’s world leader, Miltiadis Tentoglou who got the only fair jump at 8.24 m (27-0 1/2) and that proved to be the winner.

Pretty impressive stuff! The last Diamond League stop before the Olympic break will come on the 13th in Gateshead (GBR).

The last World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet before the Olympic break was the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Szekesfehervar (HUN), with major showdowns across the board. At the top of the results list were two world-leading wins:

● Men/High Jump: 2.37 m (=) (7-9 1/4), Maksim Nedasekau (BLR)
● Men/Triple Jump: 17.92 m (58-9 1/2), Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR)

Nedasekau had to jump that high to beat Russians Ilya Ivanyuk and Mikhail Arimenko, who both cleared 2.33 m (7-7 3/4) , while Nedasekau also made 2.35 m (7-8 1/2); he joins Ivanyuk at 2.37 m on the 2021 year list. Pichardo dueled with indoor world-record setter Hugues Fabrice Zango (BUR), getting a world-leading 17.82 m (58-5 3/4) on his second jump, matched by Fabrice Zango in the third round. But Pichardo had more to offer, reaching 17.92 m (58-9 1/2) in round four.

There were major sprint developments, with South Africa’s Akine Simbine winning the men’s 100 m in 9.84, no. 2 on the 2021 world list and an African Record. He ran away from Americans Mike Rodgers (10.00), Marvin Bracy (10.02) and Isiah Young (10.04) in places 2-3-4 with Justin Gatlin sixth in 10.21.

In the women’s 100 m, defending Olympic champ Elaine Thompson-Herah made a statement with a 10.71-10.82 win over countrywoman Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce, with Marie Josee Ta Lou (CIV) third in 10.86 and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare fourth in 10.89. Wow! Thompson moved to no. 2 on the 2021 world list and Ta Lou to no. 5.

In the men’s 200 m, Canada’s Andre De Grasse scored an impressive win over Americans Kenny Bednarek and teen Erriyon Knighton, 19.97-19.99-20.03, making sure he is being considered among the medal favorites.

Same for Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in the women’s 200 m, beating superstar Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH), 21.96-22.15, with former World Champion Dafne Schippers (NED) third (22.70).

The Bahamas got a win in the men’s 400 m from Steven Gardiner, who got the best of Americans Bryce Deadmon, Michael Norman and Michael Cherry, 44.47-44.58-44.65-44.69.

The women’s 400 m was another Jamaican win, for Stephenie Ann McPherson, who ran 49.99 to beat American Wadeline Jonathas (50.70).

In the 110 m hurdles, World Champion Grant Holloway of the U.S. scored a clear win over main rivals Orlando Ortega (ESP), Russian Sergey Shubenkov and Jamaican Ronald Levy, 13.08-13.15-13.19-13.25. Puerto Rico’s world leader in the women’s 100 m hurdles, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, ran the second-fastest time in 2021, winning in 12.34, well ahead of Elvira Herman (BLR: 12.67) and Americans Gabbi Cunningham (12.75) and Sharika Nelvis (12.80).

The unstoppable Femke Bol (NED) won another fast women’s 400 m hurdles, this time over American Shamier Little, 52.81-52.85, with Jamaican Janieve Russell third in 53.68. Bol is now undefeated in five hurdles races this season.

Britain’s Elliot Giles won the men’s 800 m over Jamie Webb (GBR) and world-leader Clayton Murphy of the U.S., 1:44.89-1:45.12-1:45.20. Ethiopia went 1-2-3-4-5 in a fast 3,000 m, won by Muktar Edris in 7:30.96. New Zealand’s Tom Walsh won the men’s shot at 22.22 m (72-10 3/4) and Sweden’s Daniel Stahl won the discus at 67.71 m (222-1).

USA Track & Field named a powerful 130-member team for Tokyo, with English Gardner – sixth in the women’s 100 m final – in the relay pool as Sha’Carri Richardson was not selected.

Richardson was disqualified due to a doping positive for marijuana use and so her results disappear from the Trials; the U.S. will send Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels and Jenna Prandini in the individual 100 m, with Gabby Thomas, Aleia Hobbs and Gardner in the relay pool.

Gabbi Cunningham, fourth in the women’s 100 m hurdles, replaced Brianna McNeal, who lost her appeal against suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

In the women’s high jump, winner Vashti Cunningham and fourth-placer Rachel McCoy both had the Olympic standard and were selected, along with Tynita Butts-Townsend, who stood 30th in the World Athletics world rankings and was the next-highest American.

In the women’s discus, Kelsey Card (fourth at Trials) was added based on the world rankings, as was fourth-placer Ariana Ince in the javelin. Race walker Robyn Stevens was also added via her world ranking.

On the men’s team, 1,500 m winner Cole Hocker just missed the Olympic standard, but was admitted based on his world ranking. No U.S. javelin throwers had the Olympic mark, but Trials 1-2 finishers Curtis Thompson and Michael Shuey made it on world rankings. Same for Trials winner Nick Christie in the men’s 20 km walk.

Sad news from Britain that Adrian Metcalfe, a 45.7 400 m runner in 1961 and Olympic silver medalist in the 4×400 m in Tokyo ‘64, passed away on 2 July at 79.

For those who did not see him run, they heard him for decades as a broadcaster for ITV in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a important executive, helping to found Eurosport.

● Cycling ● The 108th Tour de France is heading into its penultimate weekend, with defending champion Tadej Pogacar (SLO) continuing to control the race. But it was 36-year-old British star Mark Cavendish who stole the headlines:

● At the 10th stage on Tuesday (6th), he once again outfought a huge group to the finish line at the end of 190.7 km in Valence for his 33rd career Tour stage win and the third of this race! That left him only one behind career leader Eddy Merckx (BEL), whose 34 career stage wins was considered unapproachable. Belgians Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen finished 2-3; it was Philipsen’s fourth top-three finish of the race so far.

● Friday’s 13th stage was a long, hilly 219.9 km route from Nimes to Carcassonne, but with a long, easy finish made for sprinters … and Cavendish. The day was hot and windy, which made the ride precarious, but Cavendish was expertly led by his Deceuninck-Quick Step team onto the final turn in perfect position with about 300 m to go. Then, he was suddenly passed by several riders and seemingly in trouble. But with strong work from teammate Michael Morkov (DEN), Cavendish got a clear lane and barely got to the line first to win his fourth stage in the race and equal Merckx’s career mark of 34.

Cavendish will have a couple more chances to grab the stage-win record for himself in stages 19 and 21. But for now, he has equaled the amazing Merckx, the greatest competitive cyclist of all time.

(Let’s note that Merckx won his stages with the goal of winning the Tour de France, which he did five times in six years between 1969-74. Cavendish is strictly a sprinter; his best overall finish at the Tour is 130th in 2011.)

In the mountain stages:

● During Wednesday’s 11th stage, the riders were faced with the brutal 1,894 m Mont Ventour twice during the 198.9 km route ending in Malaucene. But it hardly flustered van Aert, who took control on the second time over Mont Ventour, with about 40 km left and sailed through the downhill to finish 1:14 up on Kenny Elissonde (FRA) and Bauke Mollema (NED). Pogacar was fourth, 1:38 behind, but lost nothing to the pack, ending the day up 5:18 over Rigoberto Uran (COL).

● The hilly 12th stage was decided on the final hill with about 18 km to go on the road to Nimes. German Nils Politt boke away and won by 31 seconds over Imanol Erviti (ESP) and Harry Sweeney (AUS).

After Friday’s 13th stage, Pogacar has maintained his 5:18 lead over Uran and is 5:32 up on Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and 5:33 ahead of Richard Carapaz (ECU). There are two mountain stages coming up on the weekend before Monday’s rest day.

The Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile is heading toward the finish, with Dutch star Anna van der Breggen continuing in control with the race ending Sunday in Cormons.

Stage 5 was a mass sprint finish with Lorena Wiebes (NED) collecting the win ahead of Emma Norsgaard (DEN) and stage 3 winner Marianne Vos (NED). The looping, 155 km stage 6 was another mass finish, with Norsgaard moving up for the win this time, edging American Coryn Rivera and Vos at the line. The more strenuous hills of the 109.6 km seventh stage was another group finish, with Vos getting her second win, beating Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) and van der Breggen, all in 2:48:31.

Friday’s eighth stage was a flat, 129.4 km route to Mortegliano, perfect for the sprinters. As with stage 5, it was Wiebes handling the finish best, winning her second stage of the race, ahead of Norsgaard, Maria Vittoria Sperotto (ITA), Lisa Brennauer (GER) and Vos.

Van der Breggen heads to the final two stages with a commanding 2:55 led over Ashleigh Moolman (RSA) and 3:07 over Demi Vollering (NED).

The Union Cycliste Internationale confirmed on Tuesday that

“With regards to the Presidency, only David Lappartient [FRA], the current UCI President, submitted his candidacy. Pursuant to article 40, paragraph 3 of the UCI Constitution, his election for a second four-year term will be confirmed without being put to vote.”

The UCI Congress, which will include elections for other positions on the UCI Management Committee, will be held on 24 September in Leuven (BEL).

● Football ● After all of the tumult over where to play and more than 160 Covid positives among the team and officials, it will be Brazil and Argentina in the final of the Copa America. In Tuesday’s semifinal, Argentina and Colombia played to a 1-1 tie and it was Argentina winning on penalty kicks by 3-2.

The final will be played on Saturday (10th) at 9 p.m. local time in the famed Maracana Stadium in Rio, but without fans. The third-place match between Colombia and Peru will be tonight (9th) in Brazilia.

Brazil has been dominant in the Copa America, winning five of the last nine editions. Argentina last won in 1993 and lost in four of the last six finals (2004-07-15-16). The two giants have been multiple times in this championship final, most recently in 2004 and 2007, with Brazilian victories by penalties (‘04) and 3-0 (‘07).

The UEFA European Championships will finish in front of more than 60,000 delirious fans at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday (11th) with England looking for its first major tournament win since the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

The opponent will be Italy, which defeated Spain on penalties, 4-2, on Tuesday. Italy also won in 1968 and was a losing finalist in 2000 (to France) and 2012 (to Spain).

England went to extra time with Denmark after a 1-1 tie in regulation. Striker Harry Kane had a penalty kick in the first extra-time period saved by Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel, but the rebound came straight back to the charging Kane, who banged it into the net in the 104th minute for the 2-1 final.

England, playing at home in 1996, got as far as the semifinals, but has never before played in the Euro championship match.

● Swimming ● A shocker out of the European Junior Championships in Rome (ITA), with Romanian 16-year-old taking the men’s 100 m Freestyle in a world-leading 47.30.

David Popovici broke his own World Junior Record of 47.56 set in a lead-off relay leg earlier in the meet and now looms as big trouble for defending Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers of Australia, World Champion Caeleb Dressel of the U.S. and prior world leader Kliment Kolesnikov, who swam 47.31 to win the Russian Championships in April.

Wow!

The International Swimming League announced its schedule for 2021, with the 10 clubs competing in 11 quadrangular matches to be held from 26 August to 30 September, all at the Piscina Felice Scandone in Naples.

A six-match playoff series with eight clubs will be held in November, leading to a final in January 2022 at a site to be determined.

● Volleyball ● The FIVB released final testing figures from its men’s and women’s Nations League, held in a sequestered environment in Rimini, Italy from late May to late June: no positives among the teams, officials and broadcasters. In detail:

“The VNL bubble hosted over 1,000 participants with 572 volleyball players competing across a total of 248 matches throughout the month-long competition. The bubble also hosted a TV production team of more than 100 people.

“In total, 2,250 PCR and 7,920 antigen tests were performed at the event over the course of 38 days … All participants were required to produce negative test results both prior to their departure to Italy and upon arrival. Further in-competition tests were also compulsory for all participants every four days, along with an exit PCR test before departure.”

As it turned out, the only Covid positive was a bus driver for the German men’s team; he was quarantined and the German squad received additional testing.

A good signal for Tokyo.

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