SOFTBALL
Japan have won a second straight Olympic softball gold medal, beating the United States 2-0 in an emotional repeat of their 2008 victory in Beijing that again left the Americans in tears. Japan snuffed out an American rally attempt with an acrobatic double play in the sixth inning that will long be replayed. Earlier in the day, Canada beat Mexico 3-2 for softball bronze.
GYMNASTICS
The Russian Olympic Committee has won the gold in women’s gymnastics after US star Simone Biles withdrew from the competition. The Russian gymnasts posted a team score of 169.528, ahead of the US in second place at 166. Great Britain won bronze. Biles apparently suffered an injury during the vault. The 24-year-old, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor. Biles returned several minutes later with her right leg wrapped. She took off her bar grips, and hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants.
FENCING
Estonia has its first Olympic gold medal in 13 years after Katrina Lehis sealed a tense 36-32 victory over South Korea in the final of women’s team epee fencing. Individual bronze medallist Lehis was up against No. 2-ranked Choi Injeong in the last bout with scores tied and won 10-6 to take the gold. Italy beat China 23-21 to win the bronze.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Kuo Hsing-Chun won Taiwan’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with a dominant performance in the women’s 59kg weightlifting category. In both the snatch and the clean and jerk, even Kuo’s first lift was higher than any other athlete managed in three attempts. Kuo lifted a total 236kg, beating second-place Polina Guryeva of Turkmenistan by 19kg, but failed on a final attempt to break her own clean and jerk world record.
SURFING
Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira has won gold in the last day of competition at the sport’s historic debut. Ferreira won the final against Kanoa Igarashi of Japan, despite the Brazilian crashing off an air to land on a broken board. The incident required a quick board switch near the beginning of the heat. Australian Owen Wright took home bronze after a close match against top-rated Gabriel Medina. American Carissa Moore made history by winning the women’s gold. Moore beat Bianca Buitendag of South Africa. Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki took home bronze after defeating American Caroline Marks.
CANOEING
Germany’s Ricarda Funk won a surprise gold in women’s kayak slalom. Heavy favourite Jessica Fox of Australia slipped to third when she touched two gates on the final run. Funk took the lead from Spain’s defending gold medallist Maialen Chourraut with a time of 105.50 seconds on a clean run. Fox finished 1.23 seconds off the lead and held her face in her hands at the finish line, knowing she had lost the gold medal. Chourraut took silver.
SHOOTING
Yang Haoran and Yang Qian have given China a sweep in the first two mixed team shooting events, beating Americans Lucas Kozeniesky and Mary Tucker in 10m air rifle. Yang and Yang won the gold medal match 17-13, giving China their eighth medal in nine shooting events. Russians Sergey Kamenskiy and Yulia Karimova won the bronze medal match 17-9 over South Korea’s Kwon Eunji Nam Taeyun.
BOXING
Two-time Olympic boxer Daisuke Narimatsu of Japan has dropped out of the lightweight division at the Tokyo Games due to injury after winning his opening bout. Narimatsu was slated to face Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin in the round of 16 on Saturday.
CYCLING
Jolanda Neff has won the women’s mountain bike race. She led a Swiss sweep of the medals while capping a long comeback from a career-threatening crash in the North Carolina mountains. Sina Frei and Linda Indergand tried to chase down their countrywoman but never had a chance. They were left battling among themselves, at one point riding side-by-side, before Frei pulled ahead to take silver and left Indergand with bronze.
DIVING
Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi won the women’s 10m synchronised platform dive, giving China their second gold. Chen and Zhang totalled 363.78 points over five rounds on Tuesday. They received two perfect 10s for execution on their second dive. Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell of the US took silver. Gabriela Agundez Garcia and Alejandra Orozco Loza of Mexico earned bronze at 299.70.
SURFING
Two superstar surfers have been dethroned at the Olympics, where their sport is making its debut. Hometown hero Kanoa Igarashi of Japan landed an incredible 360 aerial reverse and scored him a 9.33, enough to defeat Brazilian Gabriel Medina, the world’s top-ranked surfer. Bianca Buitendag of South Africa chose to wait out the clock again to pull off yet another major upset, this time against American Caroline Marks, who simply could not catch a good enough wave. The finals now come down to Igarashi and Brazilian Italo Ferreira, and Buitendag against American Carissa Moore.
TENNIS
Japan’s tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is out after she lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round. The second-ranked Osaka, who was born in Japan and grew up in the United States, struggled with her usually reliable groundstrokes. The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova produced a series of drop-shot winners and other crafty shots that drew Osaka out of her comfort zone. Osaka won her opening two matches in straight sets following a two-month mental-health break. But conditions were different on Tuesday with the roof closed because it was raining outside.
SWIMMING
Kaylee McKeown has given the Australian women another swimming gold medal. McKeown backed up her status as the world record-holder in the women’s 100m backstroke with a winning time of 57.47 seconds. That’s just off the mark she set this year of 57.45. The silver went to Canada’s Kylie Masse in 57.72, while former world record-holder Regan Smith of the United States settled for bronze at 58.05. Coming into the Olympics, Australia had not an individual women’s title since 2008. Now they have two, with McKeown’s gold coming after Ariarne Titmus’ victory Monday in the 400m freestyle.
SHOOTING
Pang Wei and Jiang Ranxin have added to China’s medal haul in shooting, defeating Russians Artem Chernousov and Vitalina Batsarashkina to earn gold in 10m air pistol mixed team. Pang and Jiang won the gold medal match 16-14, each earning their second medal of the Tokyo Olympics. Pang and Jiang each took bronze in the individual 10m air pistol. China have won seven medals in eight shooting events, including two golds. Ukrainians Oleh Omelchuk and Olena Kostevych beat Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec in the bronze medal match.
SWIMMING
Team Great Britain have gone 1-2 in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Tom Dean captured the gold in 1 minute, 44.22 seconds, while teammate Duncan Scott picked up the silver in 1:44.26. The bronze went to Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer at 1:44.66. Defending champion Sun Yang was banned from the Tokyo Olympics for a doping violation.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
April Ross and Alix Klineman have guaranteed themselves at least one more beach volleyball match at the Tokyo Olympics. The US women beat Spain 21-13, 21-16 on Tuesday morning for their second straight win. With one more game in the preliminaries left, they can do no worse than a three-way tie for first, which would be broken during a ‘lucky loser’ matchup after the round-robin. Ross, a three-time Olympian who has already won silver and bronze, and first-timer Klineman will play the Dutch team of Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink on Friday.
TRIATHLON
Flora Duffy has won the Olympic women’s triathlon, earning Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal and its first medal of any kind since 1976. Duffy pumped her arms over her head as she finished the swimming, cycling and running course in 1 hour, 55:36 minutes. The 33-year-old had never finished higher than eighth in her previous three Olympic triathlons. Bermuda hadn’t medalled at the Olympics since boxer Clarence Hill’s bronze in heavyweight boxing in Montreal. Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown won silver and American Katie Zaferes took bronze.
