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Athletics: Katarina Johnson Thompson has released a statement about her injury struggles that derailed her heptathlon medal bid: “I don’t know where to begin to explain how I feel, I’d started the year in a wheelchair so was not willing to end my Olympic campaign in the same way. More than ever I’m proud I showed up and put myself out there and tried … It will take a lot of time for me to process this reality.” More on this later
Athletics: Some serious fallout from the USA men’s relay team’s earlier failure, with none other than Carl Lewis letting rip:
The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay. The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership. It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU kids I saw.
Related: ‘A total embarrassment’: Carl Lewis rips US men’s 4x100m team after Tokyo flop
Fancy a bit of arty Olympic photography? Then savour this gallery of Tokyo 2020 in sunshine and in shadow:
Related: Shadows and silhouettes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – in pictures
Cycling: in the men’s sprint repechage, a composed ride from the front by Jason Kenny takes him through.
Diving: Quan Hongchen takes women’s 1om platform gold! The teenage Chinese diver had established an unassailable lead and wins from her compatriot Chen Yuxi, who takes silver. China have now won six of seven golds in the diving this year. A brilliant final dive gives Australia’s Melissa Wu the bronze. Wu’s bronze medal is her first individual medal at her fourth Olympics, after she won silver with Briony Cole in the 10m synchronised platform event at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Boxing: The Not-Russia boxer Albert Batyrgaziev has won men’s featherweight gold, holding off a late charge by the USA’s Duke Ragan to take the title. The 23-year-old Russian southpaw won on a split 3–2 decision.
Thanks Scott, and a cycling blow for GB in the velodrome, with Katie Marchant crashing out in the women’s keirin quarter-finals after a collision with the Dutch rider Lauren van Riessen. “Wrong place, wrong time, Marchant tells the BBC, but she has escaped largely unhurt while Van Riessen receives treatment on the track.
Women’s 10m platform final: is it possible to improve on perfection? Probably not but Chinese teen Quan Hongchan is giving it a fair old go. The 14-year-old is soaring (and descending) towards a gold medal, having almost executed another Perfect 10 with her fourth dive.
With that, I’ll hand you over to Tom Davies. Thanks for your company. See you tomorrow.
Women’s 10m platform final: another devastatingly precise dive from 14-year-old Chinese Quan Hongchan, who third time around very nearly pulled off another perfect score. Hongchan is out on front, with countrywoman Chen Yuxi sitting second and Australia’s Melissa Wu clinging onto the bronze medal position.
The athletes get all the recognition at the Olympics, and rightly so, but an enormous amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make the Games the fortnight of fun, frivolity and fanfare that it is.
Take it away, Samantha Rajasingham:
Randomly woke up early and now watching skateboarding to start the day. Can we just give a shout-out to the studio director for the skateboarding park finals? The way they kept the sense of flow and the overall sense of space was everything for sport that benefits when you get a sense of the geometry and physics at play! Tldr… thanks director! You were awesome, as were the skatepark camerapeople.
Related: Australia equals best Olympic medal tally with quickfire canoe and skateboard golds
Women’s 10m platform final: Quan Hongchan, the 14-year old from China, is the diver to beat after executing a perfect inward 3½ somersault to shoot to the lead after two dives. Australia’s Melissa Wu is right in the thick of it after commencing with two superb dives. An elusive individual Olympic medal could yet be hers.
Women’s heptathlon: Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, the gold medalist in Rio five years ago, surged to the lead after taking out the long jump and javelin events earlier today, but her lead is a slender one with just the 800m remaining tonight. Team GB’s highly ranked Katarina Johnson-Thompson is out of the event after a day to forget yesterday.
Men’s basketball: If Team USA were lacklustre in the first half against Australia they were utterly dominant after half-time. It was a brutal show of strength by the best team on the planet. A 16th Olympic gold beckons.
Related: USA assert authority over Australia to reach Olympic basketball gold medal game
Men’s decathlon: not much change at the top following the conclusion of the eighth event – pole vault – earlier today, with world champion Kevin Mayer still out of the medal positions with just javelin and 1500m to go.
More on the mysterious case of Belarus sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya.
Related: Why a Belarusian Olympic sprinter refused to fly home
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Team USA are through to the gold medal match after beating Australia 97-78 in the semi-final. The Americans took everything the Boomers could throw at them, coming from 15 points down in the second quarter to win with ease in the end.
Australia really did dominate much of the first half, taking a 45-42 lead into the long break, but the reigning Olympic champions lifted both offensively and defensively in the second half, putting the game to bed with a 32-10 third quarter. Kevin Durant (23 points) and Devin Booker (20 points) were standouts for Team USA, while Patty Mills had 15 points and eight assists for Australia.
Men’s basketball semi-finals: baskets are coming a little easier for Australia now after that wretched third quarter. But the game has opened up and they continue to come easy for Team USA. The Americans hold a seemingly insurmountable 86-68 lead and have called a time-out following a Patty Mills three-pointer with 5.23 remaining in the game. Kevin Durant (23 points) has mostly been rested in the fourth quarter but Devin Booker has picked up the slack to register 20 of his own. Too good, USA, too classy.
Time now for a quick round-up of Team GB action so far today, to service those readers just waking up.
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Team USA have tightened up defensively, denying the room to move Australia had in the first half, and the Americans take a 74-55 lead into the final break – a remarkable 34-point turnaround after the Boomers led by 15 points during the second quarter. USA’s entire game has improved, breaching Australia’s defensive zone with increasing ease and now killing it on the outside – after missing their first nine three-pointers they are now 6/21 from the perimeter.
That was a 32-10 third quarter by Team USA. An incredible flexing of muscle. Devin Booker outscored Australia on his own in that stanza.
These are the Tokyo Olympics. They are also the Lisa Carrington Olympics. Take a bow, GOAT in a boat.
Related: Lisa Carrington is New Zealand’s greatest ever Olympian after third Tokyo gold
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Huge three-pointer by Patty Mills but then Devin Booker responds in kind and Team USA now lead Australia 59-50 as Australia call a time-out with 4.34 remaining in the third quarter.
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Team USA have started the third quarter as they ended the second – on top. Australia’s 15-point lead seems a long time ago and now the Americans lead 54-47 with six minutes remaining. Kevin Durant is doing it at both ends, denying Jock Landale a certain alley-oop and then following up with two baskets of his own to take his game tally to 23. KD is single-handedly taking this game away from Australia.
Men’s hockey: India have come from behind to beat Germany 5-4 and take bronze. A big upset and India’s first Olympic medal since 1980 – the nation can add a second when India’s women face Team GB in Friday’s bronze medal match.
#IND has done it!
They overcome a two-goal deficit against #GER to win their first Olympic #Hockey medal since 1980!@fih_hockey @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/WAj5vVvHBu
Big run by Team GB in the women’s 4x100m relay heats earlier today – and Dina Asher-Smith has some unfinished business to attend to.
Related: Dina Asher-Smith targets relay redemption as Britain run fastest Olympic heat in history
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Australia lead Team USA 45-42 at half-time in what was a breathless half of basketball. The Boomers led by 15 points at one stage in the second quarter before the Americans started to find their range from the three-point line – having missed their first nine shots – and also through Australia’s zone defence. The long break has come at a good time for the Boomers, who noticeably tired as the half wore on. But not only are they in this semi against the mighty USA, they are in front.
Patty Mills is giving America’s defence lots to think about but Dante Exum, who leads Australia’s scorers with 10, looks sore after coming down heavily on his hip or side during the second quarter. Kevin Durant is proving to be the main offensive weapon for Team USA with 15 points.
This has been some Olympic Games for Australia. And it’s not over yet.
Related: Australia equals best Olympic medal tally with quickfire canoe and skateboard golds
Men’s basketball semi-finals: Kevin Durant is ploughing a lone furrow for Team USA, scoring 13 of his team’s 30 points, but the Americans are virtually absent from range, going 0/9 from the perimeter compared to Australia’s 6/11. Mills then hits a huge three-pointer to illustrate the point, making it 44-31 to Australia with three minutes to play.
But Booker then hits Team USA’s first three with the deficit now 45-34.
Men’s basketball semi-finals: a Kevin Durant two-pointer, plus one from the charity strip, reduces Australia’s lead over Team USA but Dante Exum then hits a nice jump shot and Patty Mills follows up with a bucket under heavy pressure to extend Australia’s advantage to 39-26 with five minutes to play in the second quarter.
Make that 41-26! Exum feeds Landale for an alley-oop and the Americans have called a time-out. Australia are executing perfectly here. Can they keep it up?
Women’s high jump: 1.95m was the height du jour at qualifying this morning and congrats to Australia’s Eleanor Patterson and Nicola McDermott, both of whom are through to the final. Team USA’s Vashti Cunningham and Team GB’s Morgan Lake also progressed but no such luck for Brit Emily Borthwick, whose PB jump of 1.93m was not enough.
.@NMcDermott201 will achieve her teenage dream today when she jumps in the #Tokyo2020 Olympic High Jump qualifiers at Tokyo Stadium #TokyoTogether #Athletics #highjump @AthsAust pic.twitter.com/QPQkm4yI9P
And there could be have been a bit of US history made earlier too, following Ryan Crouser’s shot put gold medal.
WILD #Olympics history tonight according to historian @bambam1729: the Men’s Shot Put at #Tokyo2020 seems to be the first time EVER in an individual event where is an exact repeat of the podium.
2016 & 2020:#Gold: Crouser #USA#Silver: Kovacs #USA#Bronze: Walsh #NZL
Crazy! https://t.co/Dl2IOOE7vM
Basketball: the Australian Olympic team has sent a small cheer squad to the arena in Saitama – 800m hero Peter Bol and swimmer Cate Campbell are among a contingent clad in green and gold. It has been a tight, cautious first quarter so far and may well turn into a battle of attrition. But the Boomers lead 24-18 as the buzzer brings the first quarter to a close.
Keegan Palmer’s skateboard gold has ensured the Tokyo Games will be at least on a par with Australia’s most successful – they have now equalled their tally of 17 golds won in Athens in 2004. And with the Kookaburras in action later tonight, plus hopes for Melissa Wu and in the women’s high jump, they could yet open up daylight on the Athens vintage.
Basketball: Dante Exum leaps, salmon-like, for a dunk on a fast break but he’s thwarted by Kevin Durant, who’s called for a foul. Possibly a dubious call, but Exum sinks the free throws and the Boomers open up a three-point lead with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Basketball: We’re up and running in Saitama and there’s little to separate the two teams with about seven and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter. It’s a decent start from the Boomers, and they lead Team USA, the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016 gold medal winners, 7-6.
Basketball: how’s this for a semi-final match-up then? The mighty USA and Australia are about to tip-off in Saitama with a place in the gold medal match at stake. Here’s our man on the ground Kieran Pender with his match preview:
Related: From 21 athletes and no basketballs to a Boomers side brimming with stars | Kieran Pender
Keegan Palmer makes history with gold in the inaugural Olympic skateboard competition! Pedro Barros of Brazil takes silver and Cory Juneau bronze for the US.
It was a titanic battle over the last 500m, Australia and Germany going stride for stride, but Australia’s Thomas Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen called on their last reserves of strength to pull away from the world champions and make it another gold for Australia at the Sea Forest Waterway and the nation’s 16th in total at the Tokyo Games. The Czech Republic rattled home for bronze.
It’s a triple treat! The stuff of legend is transpiring before our very eyes as Carrington brushes aside a top-quality field to claim a third gold medal of at Tokyo 2020, adding the K1 500m title to her wins in the K1 200m and K2 500m. Hungary’s Tamara Csipes was a brave second with bronze going to Denmark’s Emma Aastrand Jorgensen.
Carrington now stands above all other Kiwis, claiming her sixth Olympic medal here to overtake the five won by fellow kayakers Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald and equestrian star Sir Mark Todd.
ANOTHER gold for #NZL‘s Lisa Carrington!
She wins the women’s kayak single 500m – an incredible third Olympic gold of #Tokyo2020!@planetcanoe #CanoeSprint @TheNZTeam pic.twitter.com/lAIQs5Z4xf
Pichardo jumps an Olympic record of 17.98m to take gold from China’s Yaming Zhu (17.57m, PB) and Hugues Fabrice Zango (17.47m), whose bronze is Burkina Faso’s first ever medal at an Olympic Games (including as Upper Volta). Team USA’s Will Claye was just 3cm behind Zango in fourth place while Donald Scott jumped a season-best 17.18m but could do no better than seventh place.
Pichardo, the world No 3, is a regular star turn at Diamond League events and now has an Olympic gold to add to his European Indoor title.
Just back to Team USA’s astonishing flop in the men’s 4x100m relay heats, and Carl Lewis is not mincing his words. This is a fair old crack from a man who wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t right.
The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay. The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership. It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU kids I saw .
He is the world’s finest and Crouser throws an Olympic record 23.30m just to prove it. The American was already in gold medal position but Crouser’s final throw trumped his own OR throw of 22.52 in Rio and was a mere 7cm behind the world record (which, of course, is his).
Joe Kovacs made it a 1-2 for Team USA with a throw of 22.65, while New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh threw a seasonal-best 22.47 to win bronze.
The K1 world champion becomes the first Team USA woman to win an Olympic canoe or kayak title, comfortably claiming gold from Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe and Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan.
#USA‘s Nevin Harrison wins gold in the women’s canoe single 200m with a time of 45.932!@planetcanoe #CanoeSprint @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/3e9ajkkqMa
Men’s shot put final: things are really heating up at the National Stadium – both literally and figuratively – with Team USA occupying the first two places during the fifth round of attempts.
Ryan Crouser has thrown an Olympic record 22.92m to sit in the gold medal position and might even fancy knocking off his own world record with his final attempt. Countryman Joe Kovacs (22.65) is in sliver medal position, with New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh (22.18) presently in third place.
Team USA’s Grant Holloway, the overwhelming favourite, led from lane four but he had no answer to the withering burst of Hansle Parchment, who stormed past to take gold in 13.09. The Jamaican finally has a gold medal after coming so close in major meets in the past. The tiring Holloway clung on for silver, just in advance of Ronald Levy – meaning two spots on the podium for Jamaica.
Team USA’s Devon Allen came a close fourth with Team GB’s Andrew Pozzi not far away in seventh.
Men’s 110m hurdles final: one of the Games’ big-ticket events is just moments away. Team USA’s Grant Holloway is the man to beat, without question, but countryman Devon Allen and Jamaica’s Ronald Levy are definite medal hopes.
Canoe sprint – men’s K1 200m final: wow, that was close – there was less than a second separating first and last – but gold has gone to Hungarian Sandor Totka and silver to Italy’s Manfredi Rizza.
Team GB’s Liam Heath, the Rio gold medalist in this event, was a whisker away in third place to grab bronze.
It’s Olympic bronze for @Liam_heath!
Photo finish on the line and Liam has his fourth Olympic medal.#TeamGB #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/hJrqYG0oHn
Men’s 4x100m relay heats: both of today’s heats have just been decided. Here’s what happened:
I’m en route to Saitama Super Arena, about an hour from Tokyo, for the Boomers’ blockbuster semi-final clash with Team USA.
An Olympic medal has eluded the Australian men’s basketball team on so many occasions – they have played for bronze four times in the past four decades and lost in all of them, most recently by one point in 2016.
Men’s park skateboarding: an eventful fourth and final heat saw a shake-up of the leaderboard, with Brazil – headed by overall top qualifier Luiz Francisco – boasting three finalists, Australia two – Kieran Woolley and Keegan Palmer, who sealed his spot with a run of 77.00 in the final heat and Team USA one, with Cory Juneau sneaking into eighth spot courtesy of his closing 73.00 run. Juneau’s compatriots, Zion Wright and world No 1 Heimana Reynolds, both failed to qualify.
Finalists (in qualifying order):
Men’s park skateboarding final opponents take note: don’t get in Kieran Woolley’s way!
The perils of being a camera op at the #Skateboarding. pic.twitter.com/JoiOuxcD59
Wasn’t it a big run by Australia’s Peter Bol in last night’s 800m final? To set the pace and cling on for fourth was a performance of great merit. Top bloke to boot. Deserves everything good that comes his way.
Related: Peter Bol brings Australians light in dark times despite 800m heartache | Kieran Pender
Men’s triple jump final: early days at the National Stadium but setting the pace at this stage is world No 3 Pedro Pichardo of Puerto Rico with a hop, skip and a jump of 17.61m.
Team USA pair, world No 2 Will Claye (17.19m) and Donald Scott (17.15m), have found their groove early to be sitting in second and third spot respectively. But there is a long way to go in this event.
Men’s park skateboarding: USA’s Zion Wright has joined compatriot, world No 1 Heimana Reynolds, on the scrapheap of this event after Pedro Barros became what is likely a third Brazilian to qualify for the final with a run of 73.00 in the final heat.
But in better news for Team USA, Cory Juneau has snuck into eighth spot with a first run of 71.08. Australia’s Keegan Palmer will have to do better than his first run of 64.04 but he has two more runs to remedy that.
Women’s beach volleyball: Australia are through to the final after a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Latvia in the semis at Shiokaze Park!
Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy have grown in confidence as the event has progressed and they were ruthless here, holding their nerve in a tight 23-21 opening set before blowing the Latvians away 21-13 in the second to book their spot in the gold-medal contest.
Men’s park skateboarding: the quality just keeps getting better and better at Ariake Park and the third heat has seen a shake-up at the head of the leaderboard.
Brazil’s Luiz Francisco is now top of the tops with a run of 84.31, marginally ahead of Australia’s Kieran Woolley (82.69) in second. Woolley didn’t put a foot or wheel wrong in his very first run and is now assured of a spot in the final.
Women’s beach volleyball: over at Shiokaze Park, Australia have taken a 1-0 lead over Latvia in their semi-final clash, taking a tight first set 23-21.
The two Australians, Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy, have enjoyed a stunning Olympics and are now so close to gold medal contention they can taste it.
Aussies take the first set!! Great fightback from Latvia but Mariafe and Taliqua take the first set 23-21. One set down, one away from an Olympic final !#TokyoTogether #beachvolleyball @ausvolley pic.twitter.com/peS9YQ8QPs
Women’s 4x100m relay heats: over at the National Stadium, both heats of this event have been run and won. Here’s what went down:
✅Win your heat
✅New British record (41.55)
✅Safely through to tomorrow’s final
Nice work @MissAshaPhilip @dinaashersmith @ImaniLara @daryllneita.#TeamGB #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/3O2VRnAzzM
Men’s park skateboarding: big, big run by Brazil’s Pedro Quintas to soar into the lead with a 79.02 effort with his final go in the second heat.
The second run of 72.24 by Danny Leon was enough to place the Spaniard in second place, one spot above compatriot, Jaime Mateu. USA’s Zion Wright is sitting in fourth, just ahead of Italy’s Alessandro Mazzara, meaning world No 1, American Heimana Reynolds, is now sixth place. With two more heats to go and just the top eight to go through to the final, Reynolds is in for an anxious wait.
Thanks Tom and good morning/day/evening, all. Wowee, day 13 in Tokyo has got the lot. If you can’t find something today to get the juices flowing, you’re probably on the wrong blog. But many of you (myself included) will be counting the seconds until Australia face the might of USA in the men’s basketball semi-finals – there are about 15,300 to go, give or take, so not long to wait. But plenty – and I mean plenty – to keep us occupied until then, including Australia in the semi-final of the women’s beach volleyball. Which is just about to start. So let’s get cracking.
Related: From 21 athletes and no basketballs to a Boomers side brimming with stars | Kieran Pender
With the day in full swing, I’ll hand over to the cool head and typing fingers of Adelaide’s finest, Scott Heinrich. Enjoy.
Men’s park skateboarding: More Spanish brilliance! Jaime Mateu is now in second with a score of 69.18. Italy’s Alessandro Mazzara goes up into fourth after his run of 65.25. That pushes the world No 1, USA’s Heimana Reynolds, down into fifth place. And he faces a nervous wait to make the final…
Men’s park skateboarding: We have a new leader! Spain’s Danny León puts in a breathtaking, aggressive run in heat two for a score of 72.24. He has one more run to go – and there are another 10 skaters to come but he looks like a good chance to stroll into the final. USA’s Zion Wright and Heimana Reynolds are in second and third so far. The top eight over the four heats make the final.
Women’s beach volleyball: The US pair of Alix Klineman and April Ross are guaranteed at least a silver medal after beating Switzerland’s Joana Heidrich and Anouk Vergé-Dépré 2-0 in the semi-final. Next up are Australia’s Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy, They’ll be playing Latvia’s Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina.
Canoe Sprint Men’s K1 200m: GB’s Liam Heath has qualified for the final after finishing second in his semi-final. In fact, it was the second fastest time of both semi-finals, behind Hungary’s Kolos Csizmadia. Another Hungarian, Sandor Totka, had the third-best time.
“I just spent the last half-hour reviewing the Guardian “Olympic Pictures of the day” from Opening Ceremony to today,” says Marc Plaisant. “My view of the pandemic olympics has changed completely. First I could have cared-a-less, but since I’ve haven’t missed an opening ceremony since 1984 I watched the opening ceremony with a ‘keep the record going’ attitude. I ended up hooked and have not looked back. If you and your co-bloggers would, please remind your readers to review the daily pictures. So many emotions bubbled up (good and bad). My fave so far cyclist Kiesenhofer winning Womens Road race, all on her own and no backing team.”
I loved the skateboarding yesterday for the kids’ glee but the swimming was consistently excellent – particularly the tactics in the mixed relays.
Related: Shadows and silhouettes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – in pictures
Decathlon: The leader, Canada’s Damian Warner, steamed home in heat three of the 110m hurdles and increased his lead over the pack.
The standings are now:
Men’s park skateboarding: Four heats of five skaters in the prelims with the top eight overall going into the final later today. So where you finish in your heat is not that significant – you could finish fifth and still go to the final if your score is good enough. Anyway, after two runs of heat one, the world No 1 Heimna Reynolds is struggling a little – with a 44.29 his best score, which won’t be good enough for the final in all probability. Let’s see what he does on his third run … and he gets a 63.09 . Hmmm, the experts reckon anything over 75 as your best score from your three runs will get a skater into the final. The heat finishes with these top three:
Decathlon: The world record holder Kevin Myer puts on a strong showing in the 110m hurdles, winning his heat. The overnight leader Damian Warner goes in heat three, so we’ll see how things stand after his run.
Right. A few more events are about to start now. We have the decathlon 110m hurdles, Switzerland v USA in the women’s beach volleyball semi-finals and the qualifying for the men’s park skateboarding. The women’s event yesterday was one of my highlights of the Games so far. Not just because of the skill of the athletes, but because the kids – and they were mainly kids – looked genuinely happy for each other’s success. At their age, I’d have stormed off with my skateboard as soon as anyone did better than me (which would be very quickly). Here’s a little more on yesterday’s action:
Related: Sky Brown, 13, becomes Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist with skateboard bronze
“Morning Tom!” cries Jonathan Perry. “It’s before 9am here in Tokyo and I’m dripping with sweat after taking part in the less-than-Olympic event of putting the bins out.
“So here’s a question – is any action going to be taken against Tokyo for the obvious lie in their host city application about summer being ‘mild and sunny and perfect for sport’? Or against the IOC for taking the claim on face value and not bothering to google ‘summer temperatures in Tokyo’? I assume not, but surely there should be some kind of penalty for blatant untruths in ones application?”
And here is what we can expect from Team USA in the hours ahead. Just a hunch, but I think they will win some medals.
10.05pm EDT: men’s shot put final
Highlights for Australia on Day 13? Oh boy, do we have highlights for you. The Kookaburras go for gold against Belgium while the Boomers meet the mighty Team USA in the men’s basketball semi-finals and the Matildas also play the US in the women’s football bronze medal match. Basically, the best US-Australia tension since that thing with Johnny Depp and his dog.
More here (on the sport, not Depp. For the dog stuff, click here):
Related: Australia at the Olympics on Thursday: day 13 schedule of who and when to watch in Tokyo today
Niall O’Keeffe writes in: “Great excitement in Ireland as our boxer Kellie Harrington aims for gold at 6am UK/Ireland time,” he says. “Great story as she comes from the inner city of Dublin which is often in the news for the wrong reasons. But her hood and the entire nation are behind her! We don’t win many medals so big deal for us!”
In that case, I’ll print your email. Which I just did.
Women’s golf: Madelene Sagström of Sweden is -2 after two to start her second round and she tops the leaderboard on -7. In second, Aditi Ashok of India is one-under for the day and -5 overall. USA’s Nelly Korda, the reigning USA PGA champ, is in third on -4, but has yet to start her second round.
Men’s marathon swimming: And Germany’s Florian Wellbrock wins gold by a long, long way. A completely dominant swim – and he’s still only 23. There is more competition for silver though: Hungary’s Kristóf Rasovszky just holds off the 800m freestyle silver medalist, Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy, for second. USA’s Jordan Wilimovsky, the Netherlands’ Ferry Weertman (the 2016 champ), GB’s Hector Pardoe and Australia’s Kai Edwards all finish well down the pack.
Men’s marathon swimming: The swimmers are heading into the sun now in the final stretch. The only hope for Wellbrock’s opponents is if he is temporarily blinded and starts heading out to sea.
Men’s marathon swimming: Yep, Wellbrock said he was going to break early and he has broken, rather than is broken. He leads Hungary’s Kristóf Rasovszky by 16.3 seconds and the gold is all but his with 500m to go. He was up at 3am this morning to prepare, but looking at him he could have had more of a lie in.
Men’s marathon swimming: Wellbrock has led this race for pretty much the entire way, and the 23-year-old is starting to stretch away from the field. A magnificent performance in very warm conditions. Going full pelt for nearly two hours in what amounts to warm bath water can’t be too much fun – but think of the poor guys who don’t even get a medal. Gregorio Paltrinieri looks like he’s out of the medal race but he won silver in the 800m freestyle earlier in these Games, so will have a nice prize to take home.
Men’s marathon swimming: We are on the final lap and a little less than 1500m to go. Germany’s Florian Wellbrock leads Hungary’s Kristóf Rasovszky by 4.6 seconds. France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, who won bronze in 2016, is in the same position this year and is 13.7 seconds behind with Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri 16.3 off Wellbrock in fourth. It’s Wellbrock’s race to lose now with only Rasovszky having a decent chance of catching him.
I am enjoying the fact that the TV graphics can’t fit in Marc-Antoine Olivier, so they just call him “Olivier” like he’s a Brazilian footballer or a concept artist.
Hello out there. A busy day ahead in Tokyo – here’s my colleague Martin Belam with what may tickle your fancy…
Key events for Day 13
