Tokyo 2020 Olympics: mixed triathlon relay, athletics blasts off and more

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11.13pm BST

Mixed triathlon: Britain’s Olympic triathlon medallists Georgia Taylor-Brown, Alex Yee and Jonny Brownlee have all been named in the team for Saturday’s mixed relay in Tokyo.

The four-person event, featuring two men and two women, is making its debut at the Games. Jess Learmonth, who finished ninth in her individual event, is the lead-off athlete followed by London and Rio medallist Brownlee and then Tokyo silver medallists Taylor-Brown and Yee. Here’s how it works …

11.06pm BST

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10.30pm BST

Roger Kirkby still isn’t happy. “Now I know that the funds go to more than the five we sent to take part in the triathlon, but the max they can send is six because one of the races is mixed between the men’s and women’s teams,” he says. “So whoever on high decides how the lottery cash is spent, do they not look at how many medals it’s possible to win from that sport? To not fund some sports is just not fair. And to have equestrian (£12m) hockey (£12m) rowing (£24 m) and shooting (£6m) when other sports get none is, quite frankly, disgusting.”

10.26pm BST

More on triathlon expenses … And who knew how prohibitive they could be?

Re: Triathlon. In addition to training, travel and support personnel, the equipment prices can be insane at that level. Running shoes for training and races for a single olympic triathlete might cost upwards of £10,000 per year. The bikes, of which there will be several (at least) per athlete, could easily top £15,000-£20,000 each. And if you’re really serious about winning the gold, you’ll invest in your own wind tunnel and performance analysis lab. £7m is pocket change in that regard.

10.06pm BST

Dina Asher-Smith and Adam Peaty top the list of medal hopes as Great Britain try to improve their podium tally across a handful of different disciplines.

9.48pm BST

9.42pm BST

Re Triathlon post stating that it’s not an expensive sport so why did they get £7 million in funding. It IS an expensive sport.

The world cup series is global and entails a lot of international travel. Warm weather training camps, altitude training camps all necessary and all expensive. Bike’s are seriously expensive, never mind the special race wheels and all the other bits.

9.35pm BST

A happy reader writes …

So no comment from the Guardian’s live coverage on the appalling umpiring decision in the GB men’s hockey match earlier? A clear goal waved away by the umpire, who then refused a request for a video referral.

9.01pm BST

Back home in Leeds following his win alongside Tom Daley in the men’s synchronised 10m platform competition, Matty Lee took time out of his hectic Basking in the Warm Glow of Victory schedule to … er, bask in the warm glow of victory and talk Jonathan Liew through that gold medal-winning dive. It’s a cracking read …

8.50pm BST

Instagram Vs reality pic.twitter.com/4ndyi2H5jd

8.48pm BST

The athletics legend is on the BBC, talking up tomorrow’s women’s 100m final, a race many expect to be the highlight of these Games, even if it will do well to top Fiji winning the men’s rugby sevens, those two British BMX bandits from earlier today and the British men’s fours veering horribly off course in their rowing final.

“In the last couple of months, what’s been happening in the women’s 100m has just been phenomenal,” he says. THis first round didn’t disappoint, it just added more fuel to this fire … that this is the premier event of this Olympics: the women’s 100m, not the men’s 100m. Getting ahead of ourselves, the next most exciting event is the women’s 200m.”

8.35pm BST

Women’s football: I’m just looking at the highlights of the quarter-final in which Team GB were knocked out by Australia, a game I saw most of earlier. There was some absolutely shocking defending from the British women, who as far as I can tell appear to have got no criticism whatsoever for throwing away a semi-final place that was there for the taking. Woeful, woeful stuff.

8.25pm BST

An email: “ I looked at the UK sport funding for the games and noticed that triathlon managed to bag £7m and sent five competitors for three races,” writes Roger Kirkby. “I’m all for funding our team but this seems a little out of proportion as they swim in the sea or lakes and run and cycle on roads. Not a lot of kit to buy either. Why did they need such a large amount?”

At a guess of the top of my head I’d say it goes on wages, coaching, medical bills, travel, equipment, nutrition, sports science, mechanics etc and so on. I am guessing that more than five athletes get funding which, spread out over a four-year cycle … still seems quite a lot. Anyone?

8.03pm BST

Boxing: Irish welterweight boxer Aidan Walsh guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal with a 4-1 split decision victory over Merven Clair of Mauritius in his quarter-final today.

However, the Belfast native celebrated so enthusiastically in the wake of his victory that he injured his ankle while jumping up and down in triumph, prompting terror in the Irish camp that the 24-year-old might not be fit for his semi-final against Great Britain’s Pat McCormack on Sunday.

7.52pm BST

Swimming: South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker smashed an eight-year old world record to win the Olympics 200m breaststroke final today, posting a time of 2min 18.95sec. She broke the previous record of 2min 19.11sec set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pederson’s 2:19:11 in 2013.

“It’s indescribable,” she said. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. The whole process went really quick. It’ll probably kick in when I get home. My first 100m isn’t always that fast, so I literally just focused on my own stroke and when we got to the last turn, it was anyone’s race.

This is what @TRSchoenmaker came home (Team SA Olympic Village) to. I absolutely love being South African ❤️#TeamSA #Olympics pic.twitter.com/YW9FBdcAAB

7.15pm BST

Open water swimming: When Alice Dearing plunges into the sea off Tokyo for the 10km race next Wednesday, she will not only have a chance of a place on the podium but will also be the first black female swimmer to have represented Britain at the Olympics, writes John Goodbody of an athlete who has endured more than her fair share of tribulations, tributaries and teeth-chattering, perishing cold. Read on …

7.06pm BST

Athletics: The US Olympic mixed relay team has been reinstated after originally being disqualified and will compete in Saturday’s final. The team had been DQ’d for what officials said was an illegal baton pass between Lynna Irby and Elija Godwin.

The US team appealed and was reinstated and placed directly into the final. USA Track and Field did not give details of the reason for the appeal. The decision could give Allyson Felix a chance to win her record-setting 10th Olympic medal.

6.51pm BST

Women’s football: Ellen White has gathered her thoughts and tweeted following Great Britain’s defeat at the hands of Australia in the quarter-finals, despite her best attempts to get them over the line with a hat-trick. White and her team-mates snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, going down 4-3 after extra-time, despite having been a goal up with just a minute of normal time remaining.

Team GB conceded a ludicrously soft late equaliser and missed a penalty in extra time shortly before Australia pulled two goals clear. White reduced the deficit with five minutes to go but her hat-trick goal ultimately proved too little too late.

I am utterly right now! The pride I feel being a part of this team is beyond words! And to have represented @TeamGB at #tokyo2020 was an honour & a privilege! Thank you for the support ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hj9naDGv5R

6.41pm BST

Men’s hockey: Great Britain’s men will face India in the quarter-finals after twice being pegged back by world champions and gold medal contenders Belgium in a 2-2 draw in their final group match.

Rupert Shipperley’s first Olympic goal put GB ahead after 17 minutes and they were denied a second when the umpire ruled the ball had not crossed the line after a goalmouth scramble.

6.25pm BST

Athletics: South Londoner Daryll Neita also finished second in her 100m heat, behind Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, in a time of 10.96s to set a new personal best and qualifying for the semi-finals.

“I don’t want to say it, but it felt like it could have been better,” she said. “Obviously I’m really grateful and really happy for that first round, executing and getting a PB. Under 11 seconds is where you need to be heading into the final. I actually came here telling myself I have to be in that final.

6.17pm BST

Athletics: Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished second in her women’s 100m heat, behind USA’s Teahna Daniels, in a time of 11.07sec to qualify for tomorrow’s semi-finals.

“It felt good,” she said of her performance. “It felt good to be out here and to finally get going, and it’s just great to finally get my Olympics underway. Today was just about making it through to the next round safely at the same time as knowing I’ve got another level to give tomorrow, so I am really happy.

6.10pm BST

Kon’nichiwa everybody. Tokyo may be asleep, getting the Zs in ahead of another hot and humid day of Olympic action, but here in the UK we’re wide awake. We’ll pass the time looking back on another day’s action and look ahead to what tomorrow holds in store as things start to get serious on the track and elsewhere.

6.03pm BST

Thanks for your company today, everyone. I’m passing on the baton to Barry Glendenning. Drop him an email at Barry.Glendenning@theguardian.com or find him on Twitter @bglendenning. Enjoy the Games.

6.01pm BST

How Peckham took over Tokyo, by Damien Gayle.

Peckham BMX Club is an anomaly. British Olympians tend to be overwhelmingly suburbanites, with just 35% of the current team from the UK’s largest cities. BMX, a sport that requires costly equipment and space, is more associated with quiet and leafy middle-class districts than deprived urban areas such as Peckham. And yet Peckham BMX has already contributed seven British Olympic team members: at one point four out of seven in the BMX team came from the club.

5.56pm BST

Andrew Benton has been in touch about the sports that should be given more coverage. Bring back Grandstand and Ski Sunday!

@campbellwpaul Many of the winter sports are good. I loved the atmosphere on BBC’s Ski Sunday back in the good old days, with Swiss cowbells ringing as the skiers set off. And not to forget John Noakes’s bobsleigh exploits for Blue Peter!

5.54pm BST

This is great.

Greatly enjoyed this brilliant cameraman following the action at the trampoline gymnastics today pic.twitter.com/IikPbU8MvW

5.49pm BST

Some more pics of today’s action, via our Instagram account.

5.43pm BST

Simone Biles has provided more details on the mental block that has stopped her from competing in the team and all-around gymnastics finals in Tokyo.

For anyone saying I quit, I didn’t quit, my mind and body are simply not in sync as you can see here. I don’t think you realise how dangerous this is on a hard/competition surface. Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.

Sometimes I can’t even fathom twisting. I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist. Strangest and weirdest feeling.

5.38pm BST

Our chief sports writer Barney Ronay was inside the stadium for the opening day of the athletics in Tokyo.

At 8.14pm Tokyo time, as the public address burbled weirdly and a crew of lycra-wrapped athletes, male and female, collapsed together in a narrow corner of the Tokyo Olympic stadium, Marvin Schlegel, a 23-year-old German runner, leapt up on to a concrete walkway above the running track and began to roar into the empty space.

Fists clenched, neck muscles fanned, Schlegel continued to roar, a kind of wild-man victory bark. Ten minutes earlier he had run the anchor leg in Germany’s mixed 4×400 relay team. His quartet, two women and two men, had just qualified for Saturday’s Olympic final by the finest of margins.

5.32pm BST

How Sunisa Lee became an Olympic champion, by Joan Neilsen.

On Thursday night in Tokyo, moments after Sunisa Lee was awarded the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition, the 18-year-old American called the experience “surreal.”

And of course it was. Lee, like every other US gymnast for most of the past decade, was supposed to play second fiddle, at best, to Simone Biles in Tokyo. In 2016, Biles’s teammate Laurie Hernandez told reporters at the Olympics: “If you get silver, you’re the best, because Simone doesn’t count.”

5.26pm BST

A few readers have been in touch about the sports they would like to see televised more often after the Games.

Here’s Robert Pearce:

I enjoy watching the archery but it is difficult to find on the TV schedule. It is fun at the Olympics because the matches are short and the skill levels are amazing.

I enjoyed the three-by-three basketball – short in overall duration and continuous action. More of that. Same for rugby sevens. The trend here is switching to shorter versions of established sports for shorter time spans.

I live in a cricket-frenzy country, so Tokyo 2020 has come as a positive distraction for me. I am following many sports that I don’t follow usually. Even my mum watched both penalty shootouts in the women’s football quarter-finals (Canada v Brazil and USA v Netherlands) today.

As response to your question about which sports should be covered more after the Games, my answer is: the 4x400m mixed relay, which is a terrific inclusion; archery; table tennis; rugby sevens (any match with Fiji); BMX racing; and triathlon.

5.16pm BST

My colleague Martin Belam has just sent out his daily briefing on the Games. You can receive Martin’s daily epistle on the action via email every day at 5pm BST.

It’s the perfect place to hear about the day’s action – with sections devoted to Team GB, USA, Australia and the hosts – and it also serves as a great preview for what’s happening next in Tokyo.

5.05pm BST

This is how the medal table looks after day seven in Tokyo.

In Rio five years ago, USA topped the medal table with 46 golds; Great Britain were second on 27; and China finished third with 26. Russia – who, of course, are absent from Tokyo – were fourth with 19 golds, above Germany in fifth with 17, and Japan in sixth with 12 golds. Any way you look at it, Japan are doing incredibly well.

4.53pm BST

This is the best thing I’ve read during the Olympics so far.

It was written by Rebeeca Liu, who – in her words – had a “beautiful, often hilarious and entirely strange childhood as a national champion rhythmic gymnast”.

4.40pm BST

There are three times as many LGBTQ+ athletes competing in Tokyo as there were in Rio five years ago. Our reporter Alexandra Topping has been writing about the Rainbow Olympics.

When, still damp from the pool after winning his long-awaited gold medal, British diver Tom Daley declared his pride at being a gay man and also an Olympic champion, there were tears and full hearts across the nation.

And while there was little shock – Daley has been a vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights for years – there was a joy and ease to his pronouncement that was new. With more publicly out athletes in these Olympics than in all other Games combined, Tokyo 2020 is being hailed as the Rainbow Olympics, with LGBTQ+ rights campaigners hoping its message of positive inclusivity can have a lasting, global impact.

4.27pm BST

Which sports should be covered more after the Games?

Part of the joy of the Olympics is getting the chance to watch sports you have not seen for

~~four~~
five years. The novelty and scarcity – combined with the sheer quality of the athletes – makes them more enjoyable. But which of the various disciplines in Tokyo would you like to see on TV more regularly after the Games?

4.16pm BST

Women’s football: The quarter-final between Australia and Great Britain was one of the highlights of the Games today. Here’s Samantha Lewis on how Australia won it 4-3 in extra time to set up a semi-final against Sweden.

4.09pm BST

Fencing: You might have noticed that three of the four men in the United States épée team wore pink masks today before their competition. They did so for a reason. Here’s the full story.

4.04pm BST

Andy Bull, one of our many reporters in Japan, was in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium to see Selemon Barega win gold for Ethiopia.

The first night of Olympic athletics opened with a big screen video montage of Usain Bolt’s greatest moments. It was an odd choice, another reminder of something else the competition was missing, along with the 60,000-odd fans. Their absence, on top of what was a pretty limited programme of events, made the occasion feel distinctly underwhelming.

Still, there was an Olympic debut for a new event, a little drama, caused by a handful of disqualifications, a first gold medal, won by Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega in the men’s 10,000m, one astonishing run by the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan in the women’s 5,000m, and, this being the Olympics, a sprinkling of tears, too.

3.56pm BST

This is one of the photos of the day.

3.51pm BST

Rugby sevens: In case you missed it earlier, Team GB are in contention for a medal in the women’s rugby sevens. They beat the United States 21-12 today to set up a semi-final against France on Saturday. Fiji and New Zealand will be facing off in the other semi-final.

British players Celia Quansah and Alex Matthews spoke to the media after the match. “The grit and determination we showed, especially in that defensive set at the end was unreal,” said Quansah. “We showed heart like no other, and I am just so proud of the team. We know what we’ve got to do – fuel up and come back firing tomorrow.”

3.43pm BST

Women’s football: I was writing earlier about how heartbroken Ellen White must feel after scoring a hat-trick for Team GB yet finding herself on the losing team in their quarter-final against Australia. She has been talking to our reporter Suzanne Wrack at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, saying she “would have given up every single goal to win a gold medal”.

I’m devastated. I really thought we could win the game. I thought we played some amazing football. I really thought that with this group of players we would go on to win gold. So yeah, absolutely heartbroken, but I couldn’t be more proud of the team and the staff.

We haven’t been together very long but the relationships, the connections, the family-like feel, it’s been amazing. It’s a horrible feeling but I wish Australia the best of luck in the next round.

3.33pm BST

A selection of our favourite pictures from Tokyo today. I’m a big fan of the judo photos.

3.27pm BST

Women’s football: A quick report from the USA v Netherlands quarter-final.

Megan Rapinoe converted the deciding penalty in a shootout and the United States advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s Olympic football tournament 4-2 following a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands.

United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stopped Vivianne Meidema’s opening attempt in the shootout. She then saved a shot from Aniek Nouwen before Rapinoe put her penalty away. It was Naeher’s third penalty save of the match after she had stopped Lieke Martens’s effort in the 81st minute, which would have given the Dutch a 3-2 lead.

3.19pm BST

Swimming: You might have read this story earlier. Now we have footage of Ryan Murphy’s press conference. After winning a silver medal in the 200m backstroke, the American said he was “swimming in a race that’s probably not clean”. Murphy has lost to Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov twice this week. This is what he had to say after the 200m backstroke final:

I’ve got about 15 thoughts, and 13 of them would get me into a lot of trouble. It is a huge mental drain to go through the year knowing that I’m swimming in a race that’s probably not clean, and that is what it is. The people that know a lot more about the situation made the decision that they did. I don’t have the bandwidth to train for the Olympics at a very high level and try to lobby the people that are making the decisions that they’re making the wrong decisions.

To be clear, my intention is not to make any allegations. Congratulations to Evgeny; congratulations to Luke; they did an incredible job and they’re both very talented swimmers who work very hard and have great technique.

3.10pm BST

Men’s hockey: The match between Great Britain and Belgium finished 2-2, which suited both teams. Great Britain expect to play India in the quarter-finals on Sunday, with Belgium taking on Spain.

Following today’s results, we believe we will play (India) in our quarter-final on Sunday 1 August

We will bring you official confirmation & a start time once we have received it pic.twitter.com/hZn9Du4SmQ

2.58pm BST

Women’s football: USA’s victory over the Netherlands sets up two enticing semi-finals.

USA v Canada
Sweden v Australia.

2.55pm BST

Tennis: This has not been a good day for Novak Djokovic, who will be leaving Tokyo without a gold medal.

He was beaten in the singles semi-finals earlier by Alexander Zverev – Djokovic’s first defeat in 23 matches – and has now lost in the mixed doubles semi-finals alongside his Serbian teammate Nina Stojanovic. The golden slam is most certainly off.

2.48pm BST

Women’s football: USA have reached the semi-finals, beating the Netherlands on penalties!

2.40pm BST

Women’s football: Netherlands v USA has finished 2-2 and gone to penalties.

2.39pm BST

Table tennis: Another medal for China. Ma Long has beaten his compatriot Fan Zhendong in the all-China final. That victory makes him the first man to win four table tennis gold medals at the Olympics; he won team golds in 2012 and 2016, as well as the singles event at Rio.

2.33pm BST

Women’s football: It looks as if the Netherlands v USA quarter-final will go to penalties (expect to see a last-minute winner now). It’s still 2-2 with two minutes to play.

2.27pm BST

An email from Edwin Hayward, who has been in touch about Japan’s success as these Games.

Japan’s gold in the men’s fencing team epee made it 17 golds for them, which is one more than their previous best haul to date (Tokyo 1964 and Athens 2004 each landed Japanese athletes 16 golds apiece). Thanks.

2.21pm BST

Men’s hockey: Great Britain now have a 2-1 lead against Belgium in their pool game. Rupert Shipperley opened the scoring for Team GB before Belgium equalised but Team GB have the lead again thanks to Liam Ansell.

Team GB have already qualified from the pool but they are hoping to finish second so they avoid Australia in the quarter-finals. As it stands, they will face Argentina.

2.10pm BST

Rakesh Nag has been in touch from Bangladesh to make a point about bronze-medal matches.

After the semi-finals, is it really fair to have a bronze-medal match? Boxing does a good thing in this scenario – both the losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze medals. I can’t even imagine the agony of the athletes and teams who lose semi-finals and then have to play again in a third-place match! Why don’t other events follow the same rule as boxing?

2.03pm BST

Men’s hockey: Great Britain have a 1-0 lead over Belgium at the halfway point.

Strong half from our men’s hockey team to lead Belgium 1-0 at the break.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/KTfaaiAW9b

1.58pm BST

Women’s football: There will be extra-time in the quarter-final between The Netherlands and USA. Canada, Australia and Sweden have already booked their places in the semi-finals. You can follow the match over on our live blog with Bryan Graham.

1.55pm BST

We’ve been showcasing some of our favourite photos from the Olympics on our Instagram page every day. Give us a follow if you want.

1.46pm BST

Women’s football: The Netherlands have missed a penalty in their quarter-final against USA. It’s still 2-2 with a few minutes to play.

1.44pm BST

My colleague Barney Ronay has been writing about the presence of 335 Russian athletes at the Games – and how other countries have reacted.

1.37pm BST

Men’s hockey: Team GB have taken a 1-0 lead against Belgium, who are not just the world champions but also the European champions. Rupert Shipperley scored the goal.

1.35pm BST

An email from Des Brown, who writes:

As a point of comparison with the last three Olympic Games – Team GB’s most successful of the modern era – this is where Team GB were at the end of Day 7.

Beijing 2008: 3 Golds, 2 Silvers, 3 Bronze 3. Total 8 medals.

1.31pm BST

Men’s hockey: Great Britain, who have already clinched their place in the quarter-finals, are currently in action against Belgium, the reigning world champions. It’s goalless.

1.27pm BST

Athletics: A nice stat from the men’s 10,000m, where Joshua Cheptegei won silver and Jacob Kiplimo won bronze for Uganda.

STAT ALERT: This is the first time Uganda have won two medals in the same event!

Jacob Kiplimo takes #bronze for #UGA in the men’s 10,000m #Athletics final.@WorldAthletics | #StrongerTogether | @Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/QTWQikOeyj

1.23pm BST

Women’s football: There has been a goal in the USA v Netherlands quarter-final, Vivianne Miedema finding the net to make it 2-2. You can follow that match live here. There’s half an hour to play.

1.19pm BST

Thanks Niall. I’m still recovering from Team GB’s 4-3 defeat to Australia in the women’s football quarter-finals.

Spare a thought for Ellen White, who scored a hat-trick yet still ended up on the losing side. In nearly 30 years of the Premier League, only four players have achieved that unusual feat: Matt Le Tissier, Dion Dublin, Roque Santa Cruz and Dwight Yorke

1.14pm BST

Time for me to pass the live-blog baton to Paul Campbell, who will guide you through the rest of the day’s events, and reaction to all the big stories. Thanks for joining me, it’s been real.

1.10pm BST

One more update from me today, from the men’s 1,500m freestyle swimming heats. The fastest times came from a star-studded third heat, with Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk qualifying fastest ahead of 800m winner Robert Finke. Team GB’s Dan Jervis made it in from the second heat, qualifying fifth-fastest behind Florian Wellbrock (Germany) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy).

1.07pm BST

Here’s Suzanne Wrack on the seven-goal skirmish between Team GB and Australia, where Ellen White scored a hat-trick but still ended up on the losing side:

1.04pm BST

If you’re just joining us, here are the big stories from Friday in Tokyo:

1.02pm BST

Gold for Ethiopia! Selemon Barega maintains Ethiopia’s fine 10,000m tradition, bursting clear at the back straight and holding off a resurgent Cheptegei, who takes silver, and fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo in bronze.

Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi is fourth, with USA’s Grant Fisher fifth and Canada’s Ahmed sixth.

1.01pm BST

At the final bell, the world champion, Joshua Cheptegei, doesn’t seem to have enough in the tank. Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega makes a surprise early move on the back straight …

12.59pm BST

Men’s 10,000m: After Stephen Kissa drops out, having been unable to stretch the race, the main contenders muscle their way to the front. With two laps to go, Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed makes a move, followed by three Ethiopians …

12.50pm BST

In the 10,000m, early leader Kissa has been reeled in by the pack, who are now stretched out down the home straight. It’s been cagey but with 10 laps to go, we may start to see the field thin out. Sam Atkin is struggling at the back, possibly running with an injury.

12.48pm BST

There’s swimming action going on too, with a lively evening session of heats. Here’s what’s been happening:

In the men’s 50m freestyle heats, Caeleb Dressel qualified fastest for the semi-final ahead of France’s Florent Manaudou and Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev. Britain’s Ben Proud is through in 13th place.

12.39pm BST

The men’s 10,000m is under way, with Uganda’s Stephen Kissa setting the pace up in front. GB’s Sam Atkin and Marc Scott are in the pack, being led by Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto and Weldon Langat. Just over 2k raced.

12.35pm BST

GOALS! Netherlands 1-2 USA Two goals in quick succession for the USA, Mewis and Williams on target. The winner of that one will face Canada in the semis.

12.34pm BST

There’s no miracle equaliser for Great Britain, who were two minutes from victory inside 90 minutes and missed an extra-time penalty. Sam Kerr’s two goals see Australia though, where they will (probably) face Sweden.

12.32pm BST

Fencing gold for Japan! They seal a 45-36 win over ROC, Koki Kano securing victory before being mobbed by his teammates. Watch the sword, lads.

That is, by my count, Japan’s 17th gold of these Games – they’re back within one of China at the top of the medal table.

12.29pm BST

GOAL! Team GB 3-4 Australia (White) They think it’s all over … it isn’t now! Ellen White heads home to complete her hat-trick, and Team GB have around five minutes to get an equaliser. Follow that one here.

Sweden lead Japan 3-1 and are heading to the semi-finals … and Netherlands lead the USA, Vivianne Miedema with the opener!

12.26pm BST

The USA have been disqualified from the mixed 4x400m relay heats! Having come home first in Heat 1, they were penalised for a shoddy baton handover – not the first time American teams have suffered with this particular issue.

Ireland came second in that heat, and will be joined in the final by Belgium, Poland, Netherlands, Jamaica, Germany, Spain and Great Britain, who qualified with the eighth-fastest time.

12.21pm BST

Here’s Team GB duo Beth Schriever and Kye Whyte on their BMX success earlier today:

12.20pm BST

Japan are edging towards another home gold, this time in the fencing men’s team épée. They lead the ROC 34-29, with two more bouts to go of the nine scheduled.

12.17pm BST

GOAL! Team GB 2-4 Australia (Kerr) That may be that for Team GB’s medal hopes, as Sam Kerr climbs above Steph Houghton to head home!

Should they hold on, the Matildas are likely to face Sweden in the semis. They lead the hosts, Japan, 2-1.

12.13pm BST

The women’s rugby sevens semi-finals are set after France overcame China by a score of 24-10.

New Zealand v Fiji
Great Britain v France

12.11pm BST

GOAL! Team GB 2-3 Australia (Fowler) Two minutes after Weir’s penalty is saved, 18-year-old Mary Fowler puts the Matildas in front! Her strike from distance takes a deflection off Lucy Bronze and loops beyond Ellie Roebuck into the top corner.

12.09pm BST

Penalty saved! Team GB earn an extra-time penalty, but Caroline Weir sees her spot-kick saved! It’s still 2-2 in Kashima. Canada have booked their place in the semis, winning their penalty shootout against Brazil 4-3. Hold on a minute …

12.07pm BST

Here are the thoughts of Rory McIlroy, who is in contention for a medal in Tokyo and feeling mentally refreshed:

“I think all the tools are there physically. Mentally there were a few things [in the Open]at St George’s. I was crapping myself about hitting it out of bounds right and I hit it so far left with a three-iron and I chunked a two-iron on Sunday as well.

12.04pm BST

McColgan will have another opportunity in the 10,000m – speaking of which, the men’s 10k final is coming up in half an hour.

In the other heat, GB’s Jessica Judd also came up short. Here are the qualifiers for the final:

12.00pm BST

Over at the Olympic Stadium, bitter disappointment for Eilish McColgan, who has failed to progress from the 5,000m heats.

McColgan, the daughter of 1988 silver medallist Liz McColgan, could only finish 10th in her heat, one place behind teammate Eloise Markovc. McColgan faded badly in the final stages, having appeared to be clipped.

11.55am BST

More on two missed chances for Australian medals today.

The women’s rugby sevens side crashed out after a shock defeat to Fiji in the quarter-finals. Alowesi Nakoci and Ana Maria Naisami both scored in the first half as costly mistakes robbed the defending champions of possession.

11.47am BST

GOAL! Team GB 2-2 Australia (Kerr) Team GB looked to be seeing this one out fairly comfortably – but you can’t give Sam Kerr a sniff of goal. She pounces on a defensive lapse to equalise with two minutes to go!

Elsewhere, it’s a penalty shootout between Canada and Brazil, while the Netherlands take on the USA in a heavyweight quarter-final:

11.44am BST

It looks unlikely that the golf will resume today amid bad weather and fading light. Here is the current leaderboard, with Paul Casey (on 17), Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy (both finished) also well placed on -7. There is no cut in this event, so everyone will play on over the weekend.

Scores after the second day of men’s @Olympics #Golf

-11 (F) #USA Schauffele
-10 (F) #MEX Ortiz
-8 (F) #CHI Pereira
-8 (F) #SWE Noren
-8 (F) #AUT Straka
-8 (16) #JPN Matsuyama pic.twitter.com/wT2A9hDNTc

11.35am BST

Here’s Tumaini Carayol on Alexander Zverev’s surprise win over Novak Djokovic, which ended the all-conquering Serb’s hopes of a “golden slam”:

11.31am BST

Brianna Holt writes on Simone Biles:

“Biles is held to impossible expectations. That is not only because she is the greatest in her sport, but also because she is a Black woman dominating an industry that has neglected and discriminated against athletes of her kind. A woman like Biles was never meant to be the greatest gymnast of all time, and because of that, she is held to higher standards.”

11.28am BST

Here’s Team GB’s Megan Jones: “We’re not here to win a quarter-final, we’re here to go all the way. We’re probably a bit smaller [physically]than some other nations, but this energy we’ve got is insane. I’m oozing with pride right now.”

11.23am BST

GOAL! Team GB 2-1 Australia (White) Oh my. Australia fail to clear their lines and Ellen White, Team GB’s supreme poacher, is on hand to fire into the far corner.

11.21am BST

The USA have grabbed two late tries, but it’s not enough to deny Team GB a semi-final place. It finishes Team GB 21-12 USA. There are tears on both sides, with the USA’s Abby Gustaitis absolutely devastated by the defeat.

Before that, Fiji edged out Australia 14-12 in a fierce battle. The final quarter-final at Tokyo Stadium pits France against China.

11.19am BST

In the women’s rugby sevens, there were expectations of a tough quarter-final for Team GB against the unbeaten US team. It hasn’t worked out that way, with two tries from Jaz Joyce and one for Abbie Brown putting them 21-0 ahead …

11.17am BST

GOAL! Team GB 1-1 Australia (White) Team GB had been getting frustrated, but Ellen White’s looping header gets them level. Canada v Brazil is still goalless, halfway through extra time.

11.15am BST

Gold! Another for the Czech Republic, this time in judo as Lukas Krpalek wins the men’s +100kg final, beating Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili.

Elsewhere, another medal for a true Olympic legend:

4 Olympic appearances, 4 Olympic medals!

Teddy Riner takes #bronze for #FRA in men’s +100 kg #judo #Bronze Beijing 2008#Gold London 2012#Gold Rio 2016#Bronze Tokyo 2020#StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @Judo pic.twitter.com/QvLwrIbC3y

11.12am BST

Here’s what’s coming up in the athletics (all times BST):

11am Women’s 5000m heats
11.05am Women’s triple jump qualification
11.25am Women’s shot put qualification
12pm Mixed 4x400m relay heats
12.30pm Men’s 10,000m final

11.06am BST

Here’s what’s going on right now at 11am in London, 7pm in Tokyo, 8pm in Sydney and 6am in New York:

11.01am BST

Novak Djokovic’s bid for a “golden slam” is over – sort of. He is still in the mixed doubles, where he and Nina Stojanovic will take on ROC’s Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina in the second semi-final. The winners of that will play Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova in the final, after they beat Australia’s John Peers and Ash Barty in a final tie-break. It’s not the gold medal he wanted, either way.

In the men’s singles, Zverev will face Karen Khachanov in the gold medal match, with Djokovic playing Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta for bronze. Zverev’s compatriot, Steffi Graf, remains the only tennis player to win the “golden slam” – all four grand slams and singles Olympic gold in one year.

10.57am BST

Wow. Not many would have seen this coming after Novak Djokovic won the first set 6-1, but Alexander Zverev turned the match on its head to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-1! As Djokovic heads off court, Zverev takes it all in, practically alone in the arena.

10.54am BST

From my colleague Richard Adams, a piece of history was made in the rowing earlier, with New Zealand coxswain Caleb Shepherd has becoming the first man to win a women’s Olympic Games medal. Shepherd steered the women’s eight to silver behind Canada on Friday. More on a golden day for NZ here:

10.50am BST

On the subject of quickfire gold medals, Joe Rodrigo suggests judo might theoretically be in with a shout. “Sharofiddin Boltabaev from Uzbekistan won by ippon in 2.88 seconds during a match of the IJF World Tour in Tashkent in 2019.”

10.42am BST

Zverev breaks again! It’s all happening now. From 6-1, 3-3 Djokovic has lost seven games on the spin, and Zverev leads 4-0 in the final set!

10.41am BST

GOAL! Team GB 0-1 Australia (Kennedy) Team GB had made most of the early running but failed to take the lead – and now Australia are ahead with their first shot on target. It’s Alanna Kennedy who heads home from a corner!

10.40am BST

Another home gold for Japan! It goes to judoka Sone Akira, who dominated her +78kg final against Cuba’s Idalys Ortiz.

What a performance from SONE Akira for #JPN

She wins #gold in the women’s +78 kg #judo #StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | @judo pic.twitter.com/Bg7kKiMuCA

10.36am BST

Djokovic had a host of break points in Zverev’s next service game, but couldn’t convert – and Zverev digs deep to hold and leads 1-6, 6-3, 2-0.

In the mixed doubles semi-final, Australia’s Ash Barty and John Peers have won the first set 7-5 against the ROC’s Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

10.33am BST

An extraordinary war of words has broken out after the men’s 200m backstroke final. The ROC’s Evgeny Rylov won gold, with the USA’s Ryan Murphy second. After the race, Murphy said: “It is a huge mental drain to go through the year knowing that I’m swimming in a race that’s probably not clean, and that is what it is.”

At a tense press conference an hour later, Murphy insisted he was not accusing Rylov of anything, but added: “I don’t know if it was 100% clean and that’s because of things that have happened in the past.” Britain’s Luke Greenbank, who came third, was supportive of Murphy’s view. Barney Ronay reports:

10.29am BST

Zverev strikes back! He breaks to take the second set 6-3, and breaks Djokovic again to start the decider! Is Novak’s “golden slam” bid under threat?

10.24am BST

Canada and Brazil are still deadlocked at 0-0 in their quarter-final, although Vanessa Gilles has just hit the bar with a header for Canada. Team GB have struck the woodwork twice early on against Australia, where it’s also goalless.

10.15am BST

Stuart Jenkinson suggests the shot put for the quickest way to win a medal:

“It’s basically only a few seconds per effort, so one good effort to qualify and then a really good first shot (put?) in the final. Sit back and let everyone else try to get close, spend six seconds in total actually taking part.”

10.12am BST

Sean Ingle was at the Olympic Stadium to see the athletics action begin with an explosive set of women’s 100m heats, on what looks a very fast track.

“Six women crashed through the 11-second barrier. Another 22 set personal bests. And 10 national records fell. Sprint heats are usually about loosening limbs and conserving energy. This was a sustained assault on the senses – and the record books.”

10.08am BST

Here’s Bryan Armen Graham with a nugget of tennis info. Sounds like a root-and-branch review of US tennis is urgently required:

With Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren’s loss to Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus in the men’s doubles bronze medal match, US tennis players have failed to win a gold medal at an Olympics for the first time since 1920 (although tennis was not on the programme between 1924 and 1988).

10.04am BST

Team GB and Australia have kicked off their quarter-final in Kashima. Follow it live with Emma Kemp here:

10.03am BST

Zverev is making a much better go of things in the second set, where it’s on serve at 4-3 to the German. Djokovic won the first set 6-1.

Meanwhile, my colleague and golfing guru Dave Tindall informs me that Xander Schauffele has moved into the clubhouse lead on -11. Play has been suspended due to these pesky storms over Tokyo, with Hideki Matsuyama (-8) and Paul Casey (-7) yet to finish their second rounds.

9.59am BST

One of my alternative heroes of the Games – this guy eats, sleeps, breathes volleyball. Sadly, he couldn’t inspire Argentina to victory over the ROC earlier today.

Everyone needs a hype teammate like Facundo Conte. pic.twitter.com/VpmAXywJnD

9.56am BST

Here’s a quick Team GB boxing update from overnight:

Caroline Dubois is through to the quarter-finals in the women’s lightweight boxing after a points win over Rashida Ellis of the USA, while two medals have been guaranteed in the men’s events.

9.51am BST

The women’s rugby sevens quarter-finals are due to take place this morning, with New Zealand beating ROC 36-0. It sounds like a storm is brewing above Tokyo Stadium, however, so the remaining games may be delayed. Fiji v Australia is next, then Team GB v USA and France v China.

9.47am BST

Craig McEwan has a very good question. “I was wondering about the time in competition needed to win a medal. Does anyone know (or care?!) which events need most and least time to win a medal?”

Off the top of my head, I’m thinking 100m sprinters and gymnasts in single-apparatus competitions would be among the quickest. The gold-winning golfer will be out on the course for maybe 20 hours, but there are probably athletes working longer shifts.

9.40am BST

This is a great stat from Tom Waterhouse:

“Team GB may not be top of the medal table, but it’s worth pointing out that they have won medals in a remarkable 13 different disciplines – more than any other country. Of the teams above them in the table, China and the US have won in 12, Japan and the ROC in 10, and Australia in only five.”

9.37am BST

Archery gold for South Korea! A dramatic finish in the women’s individual final, with An San fighting back to force a tie-break round against ROC’s Elena Osipova. An shoots first and hits the bullseye for 10 points, with Osipova unable to match it.

9.31am BST

The second men’s tennis semi-final is following the script so far, with Novak Djokovic winning the first set 6-1 against Alexander Zverev. ROC’s Karen Khachanov awaits in the final.

9.28am BST

The women’s football quarter-finals take place today, and the tireless Emma Kemp is on hand for coverage of Team GB v Australia. Canada v Brazil is goalless with 30 minutes played.

9.27am BST

You might recall that the USA’s women’s water polo lost a match the other day. They’ve put that right against ROC today, winning 18-5, with Maggie Steffens earning a piece of Olympic history in the process.

Maggie Steffens of @TeamUSA now owns the all-time scoring record in women’s #Olympics #Waterpolo

4⃣9⃣goals and still counting! #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/bk3bDnfeOY

9.25am BST

Team GB’s BMX bandits, Bethany Shriever of Leytonstone and Kye Whyte of Peckham, have been speaking to Hazel Irvine on the BBC.

Shriever: “It feels amazing, everything was perfect for racing today. It’s our first Games and we’ve absolutely loved it. I could barely walk afterwards, I left it all on the track. It’s been a long, hard journey, I’ve had to rely a lot on my family, and the team for supporting me to become a full-time athlete.”

9.16am BST

“Can we all take a moment to marvel at the Everest-like achievements of Beth Shriever and Kye Whyte,” says peterg2806 in the Readers’ Village below the line. “BMXing has had zero funding since Rio – they’ve literally funded this through crowdfunding and Shriever working as a part time teaching assistant. Absolutely stupendous!”

9.13am BST

More gold for China in the badminton mixed doubles, with Huang Dongping and Wang Yilyu defeating compatriots Huang Yaqiong and Zheng Siwei. China’s gold medal tally is now 18 and they’re pulling away at the top of the medal table.

#UnitedByEmotion pic.twitter.com/d8ozjf9ckv

9.11am BST

Here’s a quick roundup of some Team GB efforts so far today, with Bryony Page taking bronze on the trampoline. China’s Zhu Xueying and Liu Lingling took gold and silver.

9.09am BST

@niallmcveigh Daniell and Venus have won the Men’s Doubles tennis bronze for NZ!

They have indeed! They’re the first New Zealanders to win an Olympic tennis medal since Anthony Wilding, who represented Australasia way back in 1912.

9.04am BST

Here’s a report from the women’s basketball, where the USA pulled off a dominant win over Japan – their 51st straight Olympic victory. I’m going to stick my neck out and back the Americans for gold.

9.02am BST

Here are the big stories so far from Tokyo:

8.55am BST

The women’s individual archery final is under way, with ROC’s Elena Osipova up against South Korea’s An San, the winner of two team golds in Tokyo already. Osipova defeated GB’s Bryony Pitman 6-0 on her way to the final. In the bronze medal match, Italy’s Lucilla Boari beat the USA’s Mackenzie Brown 7-1.

8.50am BST

The two Australian track and field athletes and one coach caught up in a Covid scare after American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks tested positive will have to remain in isolation for the remainder of the Games.

The pair, believed to be vaulters Kurtis Marschall and Nina Kennedy, will still be able to compete in their events as long as they continue to return negative tests. While not competing, they will remain away from the athletes’ village and in “isolation centres” set up by the AOC, Australia’s chef de mission said on Friday.

8.48am BST

A diplomatic incident is developing after Iran’s Javad Foroughi won a shooting gold medal. Foroughi is a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, labelled a terrorist organisation by the US in 2019.

8.45am BST

The men’s golf has been ticking along overnight as they approach the halfway mark at the Kasumigaseki country club – and it’s been a big day for the pair representing Ireland, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy. Lowry shot six-under-par, McIlroy five-under to leave both on -7, three shots off the leader, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz.

Mito Pereira, Alex Noren and Xander Schauffele are tied for second (-8); Schauffele is still out on the course. Home favourite Hideki Matsuyama is also seven-under and has five holes to play; Team GB’s Paul Casey is currently on six-under-par.

8.39am BST

“If anyone else was wondering, according to Wikipedia Tennys Sandgren was named after his Swedish great-grandfather,” tweets LillaMW.

Speaking of Sandgren, he’s going for bronze in the men’s doubles tennys – but alongside fellow American, Austin Krajicek, he is 7-6, 3-1 down to NZ pair Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell.

8.36am BST

France’s Boris Neveu can only finish sixth, so it’s down to the world No 1, Jiri Prskavec. The Czech shrugs off an early mistake to lead at the first split and storms down the rest of the way. It’s gold for Prskavec (Czech Republic), silver for Grigar (Slovakia) and bronze for Aigner (Germany). Team GB’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans has to settle for sixth.

8.29am BST

Slovakia’s Jakub Grigar finishes three seconds ahead of Aigner and takes up the gold medal position, ending Forbes-Cryans’ medal hopes as he does so. Next up is USA’s Michael Smolen, who can only finish fourth. Grigar is guaranteed a medal with two left to go …

8.23am BST

Bradley Forbes-Cryans is off – but a decent start stalls as he goes wide at Gate 5! He’s still ahead of the leader, Germany’s Hannes Aigner, at the first split – but a two-second penalty leaves him three seconds behind Aigner and in the bronze medal position with Austria’s Felix Oschmautz second. Four more contenders to go, and he’ll struggle to hold on for a medal.

8.18am BST

The Russian Olympic Committee will almost certainly have another medal to celebrate in tennis, where Karen Khachanov is one game from victory over Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta. He leads 6-3, 5-2. The second semi-final will feature Novak Djokovic and Sacha Zverev.

8.16am BST

Gold! Vitalina Batsarashkina has won the women’s 25m pistol event in shooting. It’s her second gold of the Games (she also won the 10m pistol) and the ROC’s 10th at Tokyo 2020.

30 July- #Shooting – Women’s 25m Pistol

Vitalina Batsarashkina #ROC
KIM Minjung
XIAO Jiaruixuan#UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | #Olympics | #Tokyo2020

8.06am BST

Thanks Emma, and hello everyone. What’s coming up? What isn’t? But we’ll have more from track, field and pool, plus football, tennis and much more. First up, we’re off to the Kasai Canoe Slalom Course, where Britain’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans is bidding for gold in the men’s K1 slalom. Strap yourselves in!

8.02am BST

Khachanov has taken the first set 6-3 in the men’s tennis singles semi against Carreño Busta and it up 2-1 in the second.

And on that note, it’s time for me to hand over to Niall McVeigh, who has quite a packed few hours ahead! Ciao for now.

7.54am BST

Shriever has a high-profile fan.

One good thing about jet lag is I got to watch @bethanyshriever and @kye969 smash it live!! Amazing!! https://t.co/bLXY716uf4

7.51am BST

Another for the Brits to keep an eye on shortly is the men’s kayak final, which starts at 4pm local time (8am BST) at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre and features Team GB’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans. He will be out to take home another slalom medal after compatriot Mallory Franklin claimed silver in the women’s canoe yesterday.

7.43am BST

Still to come!

7.34am BST

Great Britain’s Bryony Page has claimed her second Olympic medal on the bounce with bronze in the women’s trampoline event at the Ariake Arena. The 30-year-old, who won a surprise silver in Rio in 2016, scored 55.735 to finish behind Chinese pair Zhu Xueying and Liu Lingling.

7.22am BST

The men’s tennis singles semi-finals are under way at Ariake Tennis Court, where Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta is 2-1 up in the first set against Karen Khachanov, with the match on serve. The men’s doubles bronze medal match has also begun between US pair Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren and Kiwi duo Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus. The former are also up 2-1 and it is also on serve.

7.11am BST

Technology these days, eh. If you would like to see a sport revolutionised, archery is a fitting example. They always appear so outwardly calm, but first the first time at an Olympics a vision-based heart-rate monitor allows TV audiences to feel the tension as competitors shoot for bullseye.

It is not everybody’s cup of tea, and there is disquiet in some quarters on accuracy and surveillance implications of the technology.

7.01am BST

Thanks Scott! I’m in canoe slalom land, which is a very happy place indeed. France’s Boris Neveu has usurped American Michal Smolen and then Czech Jiří Prskavec displaces him. His time is 94.29 seconds, and Lucien Delfour is up. His run starts clean, his turns crisp. Then he wastes time getting out of a couple of holes, and eventually finishes in 97.52 which is good enough for sixth. But the judges are having a close look at one of the final gates, which Delfour cleared by leaning back and ducking and turning his head like a ninja. Did he touch it? They eventually rule no, so he is in.

An early mistake from one of the favourites, Italian Giovanni De Gennaro, costs him a spot in the final. He is goooone. Even Germany’s fastest semi-final qualifier Hannes Aigner is off the pace but he qualifies seventh.

6.45am BST

And that is all from me. Now handing over to my esteemed colleague, Emma Kemp. Thanks for your company and banter today. Bye for now.

6.43am BST

Canoe Slalom: the latest from the men’s kayak semi-finals is that USA’s Michal Smolen remains the fastest with a time of 96.11 (with zero penalty seconds) but Bradley Forbes-Cryans of Team GB has been relegated to third by Slovakia’s Jakub Grigar. The top 10 go through to the final. Much is expected of Australia’s Lucien Delfour and his run is nigh.

6.39am BST

Kurt Perleberg writes in: “What do you remember about Lolo Jones?”

Well, Kurt, I’m glad you ask. Lolo – or LJ as I liked to call her – was an accomplished hurdler and bobsleigher who competed at both the summer and winter Olympics as well as winning gold medals at numerous world championships.

6.33am BST

Update on Rio gold medalist Connor Fields, the American BMX racer who could not take his place in the men’s final earlier today after coming down heavily in the third semi-final run. Fields was taken to hospital after the crash and it is good to hear he is awake.

Team USA’s Connor Fields, Olympic champion at Rio 2016, is “awake and awaiting further medical evaluation” following a crash in the semi-finals of the men’s BMX racing event at Tokyo 2020.https://t.co/QCYzN7qi8l

6.28am BST

I have not yet nailed exactly what the competition would entail but surely an Olympic event determining “The Biggest Coffee Wanker” could be introduced? My home city of Melbourne would surely provide numerous serious contenders for Gold.

Thanks, Eric, and good on you for being a fully paid-up member of the #Staring4Paris movement. I like your idea. Needs fleshing out perhaps but the winner would surely be deserving. It’s a competitive field.

6.24am BST

Canoe Slalom: the men’s kayak semi-finals are under way at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre. Close to halfway through, USA’s Michal Smolen is setting the pace with a run – stroke/paddle? – of 96.11. Bradley Forbes-Cryans of Team GB has just clocked 96.48 and is presently second fastest. Australia’s Lucien Delfour is to come.

6.12am BST

Rugby Sevens: with the final women’s Pool A match now complete – New Zealand beat ROC 33 points to zip – here are the quarter-final match-ups for later on today:

5.59am BST

For early bird readers who may be waking up around now in Great Britain, here’s an update on the day so far for Team GB

Caroline Dubois is through to the quarter-finals after winning via split decision (3-0) against the American Rashida Ellis.

Just one fight away from a guaranteed medal.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/LidUGqMzR9

5.58am BST

The runaway #Staring4Paris movement is now officially a thing – my, that didn’t take long – and has also got people thinking about what other sports should be pulled from the shadows and given their time in the sun at the next Olympics.

Here’s what you have to say:

5.48am BST

Kurt Perleberg asks: “Has any American won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics?”

Thanks for writing in, Kurt. To my knowledge, Eddie Eagan and Gillis Grafström are the only two athletes to win gold in both the summer and winter Olympics. Eagan, a boxer and bobsleigher, represented the USA. So the answer to your question is: yes.

5.38am BST

Lovers of the bean will, erm, love this story about Australia’s secret weapon in Tokyo – a bloody good cup of coffee.

5.36am BST

Athletics: Okay, back to the National Stadium and the women’s 100m heats. To recap from my earlier post (and to pad out with subsequent results), here goes:

5.22am BST

We know that Saya Sakakibara is up and about after that horror crash in the women’s BMX Racing semi-final, but here is the official word from the Australian Olympic Committee:

Saya Sakakibara crashed in the semi-final for BMX Racing this morning. She was stretchered off the course and assessed by medical. At the time Saya showed signs of a mild concussion but after 30 minutes fully recovered and was medically cleared.

She has sustained a few bumps and bruises and will continue to be monitored over the next 24 hours as a precaution. Saya is currently up and around at the course talking to family and conducting media interviews.

5.15am BST

Hockey: Australia have been held 1-1 by Spain at the Oi Hockey Stadium. Tom Wickham put the Kookaburras ahead after five minutes before Pau Quemada Cadafalch equalised on 66 minutes. The result was essentially immaterial for Australia, however, with top spot in Pool A already locked up. Quarters next.

FT’ We complete the pool stages in the top spot of Pool A.

Next stop, a quarter-final on Sunday.

1-1 #AUSvESP #HockeyInvites #PrideOfTheKookas #TokyoTogether pic.twitter.com/7Q8X9fduPZ

5.05am BST

Proud Brit mpeel (not sure if real name, but unlikely) has written in and makes a great point regarding Team GB’s efforts at the Ariake Urban Sports Park today:

“I’ve just woken up in London. My daughters are both experienced BMX racers. I know you are in Australia, but the women’s gold and men’s silver is an amazing achievement for a sport that cycling generally hasn’t taken seriously enough.”

A good day on the track for #GBR!

Kye Whyte takes silver in the men’s BMX racing final.@UCI_BMX_SX @TeamGB #BMXRacing pic.twitter.com/ONWZhmc4Q3

5.01am BST

Badminton: for purveyors of the shuttlecock – and I know you are out there – the first badminton medal of Tokyo 2020 has been won, with Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa taking bronze for Japan in the mixed doubles.

#Badminton bronze for #JPN!

Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa win the first badminton medal of #Tokyo2020 in the mixed doubles.@bwfmedia @Japan_Olympic pic.twitter.com/SfU13yVi1l

4.58am BST

Joel Eley writes in, agreeing that Staring should become an Olympics sport. I can feel the #Staring4Paris movement gathering pace.

“Hi Scott, I like your suggestion. My Australian mate is dead set on Prawning becoming an Olympic event. Personally I am not too sure but as we have been on pretty much lockdown for 3 months this is now the level of debate. Stay safe and all the best from Kuala Lumpur.”

4.54am BST

I feel like I’ve let everyone down. This sucks for sure. Thank you everyone for supporting me all the way. I feel like a gave my best today. I don’t feel like it’s clicked that it’s over. It would have been great to be in that final and go for gold.

These are the words of Australia’s Saya Sakakibara, who took a heavy tumble in the third women’s semi-final run (having won the second heat) in the BMX Racing event. The pure emotion of it all after years of striving for this moment. She will be bigger and better in Paris. The good thing is she is safe and well. That stack looked nasty.

4.49am BST

1 Shriever (GBR) – 44.358
2 Pajon (COL)
3 Smulders (NED)

The Brit capitalised on a brilliant start to hold off the Pajon, denying the Colombian a third successive Olympics gold medal. Pajon was coming so hard in the the run to the line but Shriever pulled out plenty as the line approached. Australia’s Lauren Reynolds finished fifth after being pushed wide on the first turn.

Incredible finish!

On her Olympic debut, #GBR‘s Bethany Shriever is crowned women’s BMX racing champion at #Tokyo2020.@UCI_BMX_SX @TeamGB #BMXRacing pic.twitter.com/nUkqjsjIop

4.44am BST

Women’s BMX Racing final: Reynolds in action for Australia but she will have her hands full against Pajon and Shriever.

4.43am BST

1 Kimmann (NED) – 39.053
2 Whyte (GBR)
3 Ramires Yepes (COL)

A dominant performance by the Dutchman but the final was notable for the absence of USA’s Connor Fields, who was hurt in a bad crash during the semi-final runs. We await and update on his condition.

What a race!#NED‘s Niek Kimmann becomes the men’s BMX racing Olympic champion at #Tokyo2020.@UCI_BMX_SX @nocnsf #BMXRacing pic.twitter.com/MpVn1zd007

4.33am BST

Athletics: the heats of the women’s 100m are under way at the National Stadium:

4.25am BST

BMX Racing: more drama at the Ariake Urban Sports Park, with Australia’s Saya Sakakibara crashing out in the third semi-final run barely moments after Connor Fields suffered a big stack in the men’s event. I am hearing both riders have been taken to hospital. Fingers crossed both are okay.

4.17am BST

Women’s Rugby Sevens: today’s final pool games have yielded some interesting results:

Making history

Reapi Uluinasau becomes the first #Rugby sevens player to score four tries in one match at the #Olympics #HowWeSevens | #Tokyo2020 | @fijirugby pic.twitter.com/9SjOeQMpzn

3.58am BST

BMX Racing: back briefly to the Ariake Urban Sports Park, and big news coming out of the third run in the men’s semi-final with USA’s Connor Fields crashing out early on. France’s Romain Mahieu won again. Fields has qualified in fourth position overall despite the stack but he doesn’t look in a good way and is receiving medical attention. He might not be fit for the final.

3.52am BST

I might be late to discussion on these pages about sports that aren’t in the Olympics but should be. If you can indulge me a belated contribution, how on earth is staring not there?

3.49am BST

BMX Racing: great run by Australia’s Saya Sakakibara to finish second in the first women’s semi-final run. She finished behind Colombian superstar Mariana Pajon and in front of USA’s Felicia Stancil. Great Britain’s Bethany Shriever was awesome in the second run, outpointing Simone Christensen of Denmark and Australia’s Lauren Reynolds.

3.42am BST

BMX Racing: France’s Romain Mahieu won the first men’s semi-final run ahead of USA’s Connor Fields. In run No 2, Ecuador’s Alfredo Campo finished in front of Dutchman Niek Kimmann with Great Britain’s Kye Whyte in fourth. The third run is to come.

3.35am BST

Right, with the manic swimming hour now a thing of the past and the athletics going on all day (seemingly), let’s take a look at BMX.

The Queen of BMX!
Flashback to Mariana Pajón’s thrilling Olympic debut at London 2012!
The Colombian would go on to win gold in London and again at Rio 2016!

Will she make it three Olympic in a row? The #Tokyo2020 final starts shortly! #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/QnFfH7xERT

3.30am BST

Am at the cavernous Tokyo Olympic Stadium, which in normal times would now be packed with 68,000 people but is now largely empty – save for a few thousand officials, media and volunteers.

Not a bad atmosphere mind, thanks to the top French DJ – sorry, I don’t know his name – that World Athletics have recruited. The British 800m women have all just finished their heats, with Jemma Reekie looking particularly impressive in winning hers in 1:59.97.

3.26am BST

1 Wang (CHN) – 1:55.00
2 Scott (GBR)
3 Desplanches (SUI)

Lochte’s record was never in threat but that was a very strong swim by Wang. Another individual silver for Scott after his relay gold. Andrew dropped away sharply in the freestyle leg to finish out of the placings.

3.22am BST

But now Andrew regains the lead with just the freestyle leg to go. But Wang is coming hard. And here comes Scott. Big finish coming up!

3.21am BST

Not a good turn for Andrew. Out of the medals heading into breaststroke.

3.21am BST

Andrew leads after the butterfly leg followed by Cseh and Wang. Big start by the American.

3.20am BST

Men’s 200m individual medley: Great Britain record holder Duncan Scott is a medal chance but the man to beat is Michael Andrew of the USA. Fastest qualifier Wang Shun of China is also a swimmer to watch.

3.11am BST

Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell embrace.

“This is my fourth Olympics but only second individual medal,” Campbell tells Channel Seven, holding back the tears. “I’m so happy for Emma and so happy I will be standing on the podium with her. I wanted to put forward my best performance. After a very challenger year, it’s been a really long journey to get here. I’m so thrilled.”

3.06am BST

1 McKeon (AUS) – 51.96 (OR)
2 Haughey (HKG)
3 C Campbell (AUS)

Eight Olympics medals now for McKeon and her first individual gold in Tokyo. An Olympic record to boot. Star. Led all the way.

3.02am BST

And they’re off. McKeon in the lead straight away. Haughey in second and Cate Campbell in bronze position at the turn.

3.01am BST

Women’s 100m freestyle final: Emma McKeon is looking to add to Australia’s gold medal haul. After smashing the Olympic record in the preliminary heats with a personal best of 52.13, McKeon starts in lane four in pursuit of her fourth medal of the Games. Hong Kong’s 200m freestyle silver medallist Siobhan Haughey could be McKeon’s closest challenger, followed by Australia’s triple Olympic relay gold medallist, Cate Campbell. The field also features Canada’s defending Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak, Sweden’s world record holder Sarah Sjostrom and 2016 medley relay gold medallist Abbey Weitzeil of the United States.

Not long now…

2.58am BST

1 Rylov (ROC) – 1:53.27 (OR)
2 Murphy (USA)
3 Greenbank (GBR)

Murphy came hard in the final 25m but Rylov pulled out enough to secure the double.

What a race from ROC’s Evgeny Rylov to secure gold and a new Olympic Record in the men’s 200m backstroke final.@fina1908 #Swimming pic.twitter.com/G0idCg0szT

2.55am BST

Rylov is 0.72 ahead of Murphy at the 150m. The Russian in front. Murphy is coming.

2.54am BST

Murphy is going for a fourth Olympics gold here and he is amongst the leaders at the first turn. Rylov showing up in the lead.

2.53am BST

Men’s 200m backstroke final: Ryan Murphy, who took gold in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events in Rio, finished with the third fastest time in the semi-finals on Thursday, and he’s a strong medal contended in a race where Russia’s Evgeny Rylov is favoured. Murphy won bronze in the 100m event, where he holds both the world and Olympic records, finishing .21 seconds behind Rylov.

Here we go.

2.51am BST

Upcoming medal events in the pool:

2.49am BST

1 Schoenmaker (RSA) – 2:18.95 (WR)
2 King (USA)
3 Lazor (USA)

First woman ever under 2:19. What a swim.

2.46am BST

But here comes Schoenmaker. She takes over from King at the 150m and is asserting.

2.45am BST

Women’s 200m breaststroke final: this is all about Tatjana Schoenmaker, who starts well but is trailing USA’s Lilly King at the halfway mark.

2.43am BST

Men’s 100m butterfly semi-final 2: Dressel dominates, not in world record time but the American obliterates Milak’s semi-final winning time of 50.31 to clock in with a blistering 49.71 ahead of Noe Ponti (SUI) and Jakub Majerski (POL). Milak held the Olympic record for all of three minutes. The USA’s Tom Shields touched home in last place.

Australia’s Matthew Temple qualifies for the final sixth fastest.

2.39am BST

Men’s 100m butterfly semi-final 2: Dressel starts well in lane four and touches the wall first. Korstanje in second but this is all about Dressel. World record in the offing?

2.37am BST

Men’s 100m butterfly semi-final 1: Hungarian Kristof Milak has taken the first semi in an Olympic record 50.31. Josif Miladinov, Andrei Minakjov and Australia’s Matthew Temple followed him home. Great swim from the 200m butterfly gold medalist but up next is the dominant American, Caeleb Dressel.

2.34am BST

Hello all. Thanks Tom. We are now in the sweet spot of the Olympics where athletics and swimming cross. And while there is understandably much excitement at the commencement of action at the National Stadium, for the next hour or so we will be concentrating on events at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, where four medal events – the women’s 200m breaststroke, men’s 200m backstroke, women’s 100m freestyle and men’s 200m IM – will be bookended by semi-finals in the men’s 100m butterfly and women’s 200m backstroke.

Without further ado…

2.33am BST

With the rowing over, I’ll hand the reins to Scott Heinrich. Bye!

2.33am BST

GB cut into NZ’s lead but the Kiwis continue their superb regatta with their third gold – the best nation of the Games. GB get bronze and Germany silver. The US are fourth and Australia sixth.

2.30am BST

The Kiwis are powering through now and have a 1.31 second lead over GB in second. Germany are in bronze with 500m to go.

2.29am BST

Halfway and NZ pick up the pace and move into first place past GB and Germany. But it’s still anyone’s race.

2.28am BST

At 500m it’s Germany, GB and NZ but it’s pretty close. Even Australia back in sixth are not out of this one.

2.19am BST

The final event of the rowing regatta now (see you on a nice lake in France in three years). It’s the men’s eight. USA, New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain and Australia are ready to start.

2.15am BST

Away from the Olympics, the NBA draft has taken place. The Detroit Pistons picked Cade Cunningham with the No 1 overall pick. Our Australian readers may be interested in the No 6 overall pick: Josh Giddey from Melbourne. He was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The full report is below:

2.12am BST

China move up on the Kiwis in second as Canada maintain their big lead. But NZ fight back and get back into silver as Canada win their first gold in the women’s eight since 1992. New Zealand are second and China third. The longtime champs of the US boat are well out of the medals. Australia finish fifth.

2.10am BST

500m to go and Canada are stretching out their lead with NZ in silver, China third and Australia in fourth.

2.08am BST

USA have a great history in this event. It’s Canada, Australia and NZ in first, second and third through 500m but every crew is still in it.

2.06am BST

And now the women’s rowing eight. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA, Romania and China are your crews. This is the big stuff!

2.04am BST

The men’s steeplechase is taking place. Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia and Abraham Kibiwott of Kenya won the first two heats. USA’s Mason Ferlic and Benard Keter; GB’s Zak Seddon and Phil Norman; and Australia’s Edward Trippas all missed out on automatic qualification for the next round (which is also the final).

1.55am BST

France are through as Group B winners in the women’s sevens. They saw off Canada in a 75% Francophone battle.

1.53am BST

A thrilling finish with three rowers all in a shout for gold in the last 500m. But it’s Greece’s Stefanos Ntouskos who pulls clear in the final stages. Norway’s Kjetil Borch gets second and Croatia’s Damir Martin is third. That’s Greece’s first-ever rowing gold.

1.46am BST

We’ve had the women’s single sculls final so logic dictates we now have the men’s. Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania, Croatia’s Damir Martin, Norway’s Kjetil Borch, Greece’s Stefanos Ntouskos, Sverri Nielsen of Denmark and ROC’s Alexander Vyazovkin are your gladiators. Water gladiators. With no swords. Or those trident and net things.

1.42am BST

New Zealand’s Emma Twigg has too big a lead in the closing stages for ROC’s Prakatsen to catch her. Austria’s Logbnig wins bronze just ahead of GB’s Thornley.

1.39am BST

500m to go and Twigg still has the lead – and it’s a big one. Prakatsen is second and is a fast finisher. Twigg’s lead is 2.5sec. Lobnig is third.

1.38am BST

At the halfway point it’s still NZ’s Twigg with a healthy lead over Austria’s Lobnig and then Jiang Yan of China. The TV commentary team tell me Twigg has a tendency to fade late. GB’s Thornley looks well out of the medals.

1.35am BST

It’s an experienced field: Hanna Prakhatsen is the only woman under 30 in the race. Twigg of New Zealand gets out to a quick start along with Lobnig of Austria. Twigg leads at 500m followed by Lobnig and Gmelin of Switzerland.

1.31am BST

We have a medal race coming up in the rowing. It’s the women’s single sculls and your start list is:

1) Jiang Yan (China)

1.23am BST

Fiji need a win against Brazil to make it the quarter-finals of the women’s rugby sevens (the men’s team won gold a few days back). And it’s safe to say they’re going to make it: they’re 41-5 up with a a minute or so left.

1.19am BST

The final heat of the women’s 100m preliminaries. Antigua’s Joella Lloyd wins in 11.55sec , followed by Malawi’s Asimenye Simwaka and Indonesia’s Alvin Tehupeiory. Malta’s Carla Scicluna creeps in to the next round as the fastest loser by 0.01 seconds. Phew. The first round proper is in a few hours.

1.11am BST

I’m at the pool for the third-last day of swimming competition at Tokyo 2020. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was beginning to feel a little like groundhog day: hotel – pool – hotel – repeat. But we’ve had excitement at every turn – dominant winners, unexpected medallists and the odd controversy along the way. So no complaints from me.

This morning we have four gold medals on offer, and the highlight, at least from an Australian perspective, will be the blue riband women’s 100m freestyle. Emma McKeon broke the Olympic record in qualifying and Cate Campbell will swim next to her in lane three. But over such a short distance, anything can happen – Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey has had a good meet, while Canada’s Penny Oleksiak is looking strong. A must-watch.

1.03am BST

And the athletics has started. The first event is the women’s 100m preliminary round. The big guns will not compete in this round – they come in in the next round. Three from each heat in this preliminary round go to the first-round proper. Natacha Ngoye of Congo, Maggie Barrie of Sierra Leone and Amya Clarke of St Kitts and Nevis all make it through to the next round. The winning time was 11.47 seconds.

12.54am BST

You may have noticed there’s not much live sport here at the moment. And that’s because there’s not much going on before the start of the athletics in around 10 minutes. But we do have some results! Kazakhstan’s Vladislav Yakovlev has just won the D final in the men’s single sculls, he beat Zimbabwe’s Peter Purcell-Gilpin by 0.48 seconds.

In men’s golf, Chile’s Guillermo Pereira is off to a hot start and is three under for the round after six holes. That’s moved him up to fifth overall. Second placed Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand is the only one of the first-round leaders in action at the moment. He’s on par through four holes and is still in second place.

12.44am BST

Dina Asher-Smith will start her campaign today. The sprinter is attempting to do what no British woman has done before: win Olympic gold over 100m or 200m. Here’s Sean Ingle on an extraordinary athlete:

When Dina Asher-Smith ran her first cross-country race in primary school she hated it so much she nearly stopped – only for her parents to bribe her with an ice cream to keep going. It worked – and then some. Asher-Smith ended up sprinting through the field to finish fifth out of 400 and a glittering athletics career was born.

12.33am BST

A big day for Australia at the Olympics. Going for gold in the pool are Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell, while the Matildas seek a place in the women’s football semi-finals and the track and field competition begins. For a full rundown of Aussies in action try our handy guide:

12.23am BST

I, for one, am very excited about the early heats of the athletics. The worst runners at the Olympics are waaaaay faster than you (unless Usain Bolt is an unexpected fan of the Guardian’s liveblog). And when you see them in the early heats? They are crushed by the top sprinters. So what would those athletes do to you, mortal? It reminds me of this clip of members of the public confidently predicting they could beat NFL players in a 40-yard dash. With predictable results:

12.14am BST

The golfers are the first out for the day, enjoying a casual round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. A reminder of the leaders after round one – and they’re not exactly giants of the game. Sepp Straka of Austria leads at -8; Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is-7, while Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz are -6.

12.00am BST

Hello! The athletics/track and field starts today as the end of the swimming looms into view (it’s not over just yet though). Here is my colleague Martin Belam with what’s hot and what’s also hot today at the Games:

All events are listed here in local Tokyo time. Add an hour for Sydney, subtract eight hours for Glasgow, 13 hours for New York and 16 hours for San Francisco. Confused? Surely not by now.