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Gymnastics: Elsabeth Black of Canada is first up on the beam. She hurt her ankle in training a few days ago, had to withdraw from the all-around final, and is obviously struggling to even stay up there on the beam. But is determined to get through a routine. She scores a modest 13.866, but finishing it is what she really wanted. Does that bravely.
Football: The men’s semi-final as well. Nothing to report so far, 0-0 between Brazil and Mexico in the second half.
Gymnastics: The women’s beam final is about to start, and Simone Biles will be competing. She’s out there now getting ready.
On the below point, Guy Wilkinson emails in.
“Looks like 3 cyclists in a group have to be within 1 metre of the caught rider – whether this is 1st or last is unclear. UCI regulations 3.2.081: “A team is caught when the opposing team (at least 3 riders riding together) arrives at or within a distance of one metre of it.”
Cycling: Formally, there is still no result between Denmark and Great Britain in the men’s team pursuit. Denmark is apparently arguing that point catching the last rider means the end of the race. However, usually ‘catching’ them doesn’t mean putting them through the floor of the velodrome.
Silver again for Great Britain. They were never in that race, their three riders broke up almost immediately and that means they couldn’t help one another around the circuit. The Dutch moved as one orange menace. They burn through in a new Olympic record, 41:369.
Cycling: It doesn’t come together for Australia in the men’s team sprint final, with France taking the bronze medal. Nearly two seconds faster than Australia, and a second outside the world record. Huge French support in the stands as well, must be a lot of other athletes stopping by or something. Australia’s team broke up on the circuit.
Sports climbing: Thank you climbers! I have received approximately 36 emails telling me about the strappy thing. Now I can tell you. This is the wonder of the internet. The strappy thing is called an auto-belay. It retracts automatically as the climber ascends, so there is a very light tension but not enough to give them any lift. If they put weight on it then it rolls out the other way. And if it moves quickly, as when they fall, it locks off and holds them. It is very much a big giant boingy seatbelt.
So these human beings floating up a vertical 15 metre (not 50) fake rock face are floating entirely under their own steam.
Cycling: Another update from reader Thomas Atkins. “Chris Boardman said on the BBC that he believed the Danes had won as they had caught the rearmost GB rider just before they crashed, hence they won the race. You don’t have to finish the 4k if you catch the team in front.”
This is a new development. You can win a race by just torpedoing straight into the back of the next rider. That’s what you’d have to call a flex.
Another world record! They’re falling like pennies from heaven. The Germans faster than ever before: 4:04:402, over six seconds ahead of the British. They’ll have to settle for silver, but what a duel it has been all day. The Great Britain reign over this event comes to an end, they’ve dominated it since 2012, but there is now a different Olympic champion.
The parallel bars final for the men has a late twist, fittingly, as Lukas Dauser competes last and lands a 15.700 to take silver. Ferhat Arican is something of an anomaly as a Turkish gymnast, and he takes home a medal as well. But Jingyuan Zou’s routine was astounding: difficulty 6.9, execution 9.333.
Cycling: The UCI Track Cycling twitter account says that Denmark will ride for gold in the men’s team pursuit. Doesn’t say why, and there’s still no formal result on the Olympics website.
Men’s Team Pursuit First Round ✅
It will be Italy vs Denmark for the GOLD #Tokyo2020 | #Olympics | #CyclingTrack
Gymnastics: The men’s parallel bars final is well underway, China in gold and bronze positions so far.
Cycling: Women’s team pursuit, and Australia very narrowly beat Italy for fith spot.
Cycling: Thomas Atkins is watching a different broadcast to me. On his telly, regarding the men’s team pursuit heat with the crash, “they’re saying that the Danes would be recorded as the winners of the pursuit, but they’re in danger of being disqualified for riding into the back of the opposition (and, presumably, being berks about it afterwards). I’d be surprised if GB got to ride in the final here.”
There’s still no time recorded for either team by the IOC. But one team actually finished the race, the other didn’t, and one team caused the crash. Still waiting, even Kieran Pender at the velodrome has no word yet.
Cycling: The women’s team pursuit medals are about to be contested. USA and Canada for bronze, Germany and Great Britain for gold.
Sport climbing: Can someone who knows anything about this sport email and let me know: does the strap thing help pull them up at all? Is there any tension in it? Or is it slack and purely for safety? Like, it definitely retracts as they climb, but I can’t tell if it’s… boingy, for want of a better word.
Sport climbing: Bassa Mawem of France has basically sprinted up that vertical wall in 5.42 seconds. So maybe the wall is 50 metres but surely the whole climb can’t be 50 metres? Otherwise they’re climbing almost as fast as Olympic sprinters can run.
Ah, ok, they said fifteen metres. That makes much more sense. Otherwise these guys should be climbing on the athletics track.
Sport climbing: We’ve got a big wall. Apparently it’s 50 metres high. We’ve got a bunch of coloured plastic indoor-rock-climbing bits sticking out of it. And we’ve got athletes in harnesses attacked to some sort of strap to stop them falling down if they lose their grip.
And somehow, these human beings are going Spiderman up that wall in a time of… 6.19 seconds is the fastest so far. That’s absurd.
Sport climbing: <=== Now here’s one I’m excited about. My first look at this particular sport. It’s nice to come into something completely fresh. This is the men’s combined speed qualification. Let’s have some first impressions.
Cycling: And another Olympic record, as the Dutch go around in 41.431. So Netherlands and Great Britain will race for gold in the men’s team sprint, Australia and France for bronze. The Australians can’t take a trick.
Cycling: Records as well as riders keep tumbling, this time in the men’s team sprint. They’re racing to see who will get into the gold medal race later today. Australia set an Olympic record with 42.103 to beat Russia, but then Great Britain betters that record with 41.829 to beat Germany.
Cycling: Still no confirmation on that last race result, which dictates who will face Italy for gold. But the crash certainly wasn’t GB’s fault, they were just riding along in front, being well beaten. Madsen just didn’t look up, which velodrome cyclists rarely do for aerodynamics. But you’d think that having a look around once in a while mightn’t be a bad idea.
Cycling: This is extraordinary. The Danish team was absolutely flying. They were towelling up the Brits. Both teams had dropped down to three riders, and the third British rider had broken well off the back, lagging behind his teammates. The Danes were about to lap them, in the heats of the team pursuit. Presumably, Frederik Madsen didn’t know he was about to lap GB, because he ran straight up the back of Charlie Tanfield. Full speed, crashed them both to the deck. Then the Danish rider had a tantrum and yelled and stomped around, while the bruised and dirtied British rider got back on his bike and finished the lap. That means three British riders finished, and only two Danes – which only leaves one result, surely?
Cycling: Great Britain and Denmark are racing for a spot in the gold medal showdown, and there’s a collision! A rider from each team down.
Cycling: Another Olympic record, this time in the heats for the team pursuit for the Australian men. They had that crash yesterday that means they had to retake their race and come fifth in qualifying. This means the best they can do in the finals would be bronze, but they give themselves a good shot with 3:44:902.
Italy follow that up with a fierce ride against New Zealand, and that’s the world record! They fly into the gold medal race with 3:42:307, juuuust edging out the Kiwis with 3:42:397. So NZ would have had a world record in any other race at any other time in this event, but came up against a team that went a few hundredths better.
Cycling: An Olympic record for the Netherlands men’s team sprint riders in the qualifying for that event, coming in at 42.134 seconds. Great Britain qualify second, Australia third, then France, New Zealand, Russia, Germany, Poland.
Max Laugher collects third place in the men’s 3-metre springboard, holding his nerve near the end with his highest degree of difficulty for the finals: 3.9. He registered 87.75 points for that dive, 518 in total.
There was pressure on the eventual gold medallist next, as his compatriot Zongyuan Wang scored 102.6 with an incredible forward 4-and-a-half somersault dive, landed to perfection. But Siyi Xie performed exactly the same dive and registered exactly the same score with his sixth and final appearance on the board, and retained his overall lead to take gold.
Cycling: Ok, scrap that previous post, it’s already out of date. Things move fast at the velodrome. That’s kind of the point, but still. They’re handing out world records like Oprah cars. The old record, the 4:10ish mark that Great Britain set at the Rio Olympics and that got broken by the German women yesterday? That was bettered today by Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany.
The new world record from yesterday was 4:07:307. Team GB just beat that with 4:06:748, then the Germans took it back again in the very next heat with 4:06:159.
Thanks Scott, off we go again. The 3m springboard final is well underway for the men, and the velodrome is back in action. Let’s start with an update from Kieran Pender who is currently at the latter.
Australia’s women’s team pursuit squad have hit back after a sluggish time yesterday to beat New Zealand in the first round on day two of the Tokyo 2020 track cycling action. The team’s time of 4:09.992 would have broken the previous world record, but the mark had already been smashed yesterday by Germany on Monday with 4:07.307. Australia’s seventh placing in qualifying yesterday means they are no longer in gold medal contention, but can race for bronze if their time just now is in the top two times (excluding the two teams that race for gold). They will be keeping their fingers crossed with the other races up now.
And that is all from me. Geoff Lemon will take over from here. Thanks for your company on an eventful day. Let’s do it again tomorrow.
Sailing: not another gold medal for Team GB but it’s still a medal as John Gimson and Ana Burnet claim silver in the mixed nacra 17 event. Argentina won the medal race ahead of Denmark and USA but the gold medal went to Italy duo Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti. The bronze medal goes to Germany.
It’s been quite a day on the water for Team GB.
BREAKING: @TEAMGBNACRA have SILVER at Tokyo2020 in the Nacra 17#Sailing #TeamGB #Tokyo2020 #Olympics @TeamGB @Tokyo2020 @Olympics pic.twitter.com/1oJU6oEYJ4
Diving: Team GB’s Jack Laugher is in fine form in the men’s 3m springboard final, sitting in bronze medal position after the fourth round of dives. The dominant Chinese pair, Siyi Xie and Zongyuan Wang, the men’s synchronised 3m springboard gold medal winners, are presently first and second respectively.
Another sailing gold for Team GB – their six straight in the Olympic finn class – as Scott finishes fourth in the medal race, a good enough result to secure gold and defend his Olympic title. Silver goes to Hungary’s Zsombor Berecz and bronze goes to Spaniard Joan Cardona Mendez.
It was a second sailing gold for Team GB in barely an hour after Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell’s win in the 49er class.
Related: Team GB’s sailing super Tuesday starts with dramatic double gold
Men’s basketball: well, they didn’t have it all their own way but USA have advanced to the semi-finals courtesy of a 95-81 win over Spain.
The Spanish, who will now be denied an Olympic medal for the first time since 2004, started much the brighter and led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter before the Americans flexed their muscles in what was a fairly dominant second half. Kevin Durant hit 29 points for USA, improving his shooting accuracy to 59% by game’s end, but the star of the show played for the losing team, Ricky Rubio scoring a remarkable 38 points.
Sailing: Australia’s run of gold medals in or on the water looks set to continue, with sailors Matthew Belcher and William Ryan establishing an unassailable lead in the 470 class ahead of the medal race on Wednesday.
The duo finished second behind South Korea in the ninth race, before placing eighth in the final race on Tuesday. Their lead ahead of the fleet stands at 20 points following the conclusion of heat racing, meaning that unless they are disqualified or suffer a penalty during the medal race on Wednesday, Belcher and Ryan will take gold.
The Australians’ expected success at Enoshima Yacht Harbour will see Belcher return to the top step of the 470 podium. The 38-year-old won gold at London 2012, sailing with Malcolm Page. Seeking to defend his crown with new teammate Ryan in Rio, the Australians were bettered by a Croatian boat and had to settle for the silver medal.
But following a remarkably consistent series of performances in Tokyo – the pair won line honours in three races and only finished outside the top five in the final race – Belcher will again be crowned Olympic champion, while Ryan will collect his first Olympic gold.
Once awarded, the pair’s gold medal will be Australia’s 15th of these Games. Only one has come in a land-based sport – the new Olympic discipline of BMX freestyle – with the remainder coming from swimming (nine gold medals), rowing (two), sailing (one) and canoe slalom (one). With Belcher and Ryan’s gold, the Australian Olympic team are now just two medals away from equalling their best ever Games haul – 17 gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Cycling: In breaking news, Ed Clancy has called time on his career and will not compete for Team GB in the team pursuit. Here is a snippet from a statement released by British Cycling:
British Cycling has this morning confirmed that Ed Clancy has withdrawn from the remainder of the team pursuit competition as a result of an on-going back and sciatica issue, marking the end of a fantastic career spanning 20 years which has seen him become the most successful team pursuit rider in history.
Speaking of his withdrawal from the team pursuit, Clancy said: “I’m absolutely gutted that my Olympic career has ended this way, but it would be unfair of me to try to carry on now I have aggravated my back injury. Ultimately, I want the rest of the lads to build on the hard work we have done over the past year and a half and give them the best possible chance of making it on to the podium. I will be supporting them all the way.”
Not to labour the point, but Alex Porter, who came off his bike in that horrific crash at the velodrome last night, has spoken about the moment when his handlebars snapped off the frame of his bike in a freak incident that is now the subject of an investigation.
The Australian, who lost most of the skin down the centre of his face and a “good chunk” off his arm in the crash, said he was “really angry”.
Okay, if you’ve been doing something other than devoting your life to the Olympics and/or this liveblog – and I do believe there are people out there who fit this bill – here’s an update on what’s happened today.
Diving: the semi-finals of the men’s 3m springboard took place earlier today and we are not that far away from the final taking place.
Team GB have a strong hand with Jack Laugher and James Heatly qualifying from the semis in the top four positions. But both will do well to get the better of Chinese pair Siyi Xie and Zongyuan Wang, the the men’s synchronised 3m springboard gold medal winners.
A little summary of the action so far for fans of Team GB just waking up:
Britannia rules the waves. It’s kind of official now.
Related: Team GB’s sailing super Tuesday starts with dramatic gold for men’s 49er pair
Men’s basketball: down by as many as 11 points at one stage, USA have roared back in their quarter-final against Spain to level affairs at 43 points apiece at half-time. Anyone who thought all the Americans had to do was rock up to advance to the semis is sorely mistaken. Kevin Durant is the leading points scorer for USA with 12 – though with a lowly 40% accuracy – while Spain’s Rubio Ricky leads all scorers with 13. Big second half coming up.
Last night’s spectacular crash in the velodrome, when Alex Porter’s handlebar appeared to snap clean off his bike mid-race, has prompted AusCycling to launch an investigation into the rare technical mishap.
“Discussion concerning what caused the incident is understandable, but it is clear that it will take some time to establish exactly what happened,” AusCycling said in a statement on Tuesday. “While the immediate focus is on the success of the Australian cycling team across the remainder of the Olympic program, there will be a thorough investigation and review of the factors involved in the incident.”
There was nothing in it in the medal race as Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell held off Germany by little more than a few centimetres. The win hands Team GB their first Olympic gold in this class and relegates the dominant New Zealand duo Peter Burling and Blair Tuke to silver medal position. After a disappointing day on the track for Team GB, this is just the tonic.
Men’s basketball: it’s quarter-finals time at Tokyo 2020. In the first knockout, Slovenia thrashed Germany 94-70 and it is quarter-time between USA and Spain … the Spanish leading 21-19.
Olympic Boxing in a stadium without crowds at the Kokugikan Arena is a unique experience. Every punch and audible exertion echoes across the arena while the atmosphere is provided only by the boxers’ countrymen and women from the stands.
As Carlo Paalam of the Philippines defeated Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zoirov in the men’s 48-52kg quarterfinal earlier, Paalam fell to his knees in joy while his compatriots in the stands brandished their flags and screamed loudly.
Canoe sprint: before we leave the sparkling waters of the Sea Forest Waterway, let’s tie up some loose ends from today’s medal races.
In addition to Lisa Carrington’s heroics, Cuba won gold in the men’s canoe double 1000m from China and Germany. And Hungarian Balint Kopasz added an Olympic gold to his world title when winning the men’s kayak single 1000m from compatriot Adam Varga and Portuguese Fernando Pimenta. Australia’s Thomas Green struggled into seventh place.
Balint Kopasz wins gold in the men’s kayak single 1000m as #HUN take the first two spots on the podium!@planetcanoe #CanoeSprint pic.twitter.com/rMPDDH8kNz
Canoe sprint: Lisa Carrington, take a bow. Carrington, and by extension New Zealand, have had quite a day at the Sea Forest Waterway.
First there was her win in the women’s kayak single 200m final – in an Olympic best time of 38.120. But not content with that, Carrington then teamed with Caitlin Regal to win gold from Poland and Hungary in the women’s kayak double 500m – also in an Olympic best time (1:35.785).
A disastrous Olympic Games for Team GB’s sprinters became even worse on Wednesday as Adam Gemili tore his hamstring on the warm-up track – and then took nearly two minutes to hobble around his 200m heat.
With Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake also failing to get out of his 200m heat it meant that the litany of woes – which has included Zharnel Hughes false-starting in the 100m final – continued.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya: An update on the Belarusian sprinter’s situation has come from the IOC, which is awaiting a report from the Belarusian National Olympic Committee later today.
Spokesperson Mark Adams said the IOC has twice spoken with the athlete on Tuesday as it attempts to get all the facts before taking any further action.
Canoe sprint: some canoe sprint? Why not. And it’s yet more gold for New Zealand and the incredible Lisa Carrington, along with Caitlin Regal, win the women’s kayak double ahead of Hungary and Poland. Australian duo Alyssa Bull and Alyce Wood cross the line in fifth.
Women’s javelin throw: so before we leave the athletics behind for the time being, USA’s Maggie Malone and Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber were the standout performers in Group B qualifying. But there will be no final appearance for Czech champ Barbora Spotakova, the 40-year-old finishing ninth in the group and failing to qualify for the final.
Apologies, I’m a little flushed after that 400m hurdles final. Now, back to business. Or monkey business more like. And here’s me thinking only rock stars trashed rooms.
Those “young people”, eh Ian Chesterman?!?!
Related: Australian athletes let off for damaging Olympic village rooms as missing mascots turn up
And in world record time if you don’t mind. The great Norwegian himself looks stunned. As well he might. Warholm cleared away from USA’s Rai Benjamin in the closing 20 metres to stop the clock at an utterly astounding 45.94. Wow. He has smashed through the 46-second barrier. Speechless.
Quite a remarkable performance – one of the greatest the Olympic Games has seen – and a remarkable race for that matter. Warholm was the star turn, of course, but silver medalist Benjamin ran an area record of 46.17, bronze medalist Alison dos Santos (BRA) did the same in 46.72 and area records or national records were run all the way down to seventh place.
Huge final jump of 7.00m from the German to add an Olympic gold to her world title. USA’s Brittney Reece (6.97m) was in front for most of the session but could not better Mihambo’s last effort and will have to make do with silver, which she won from Nigeria’s Ese Brume on countback.
USA’s Tara Davis was not far off with a best jump of 6.84m in sixth place but she was inconsolable after the event. Australia’s Brooke Stratton (6.83m, seventh) jumped well while Jazmin Sawyers (6.80m, eighth) and Abigail Irozuru (6.51m, 11th) rounded out Team GB’s performance in the event.
Women’s long jump final:
Women’s long jump final: Brittney Reese, Ese Brume and Malaika Mihambo officially will finish in the medals. But in what order? Let’s see.
Women’s long jump final: into the final round of jumps now. USA’s Brittney Reese is still holding sway with that jump of 6.97m, ahead of Nigeria’s Ese Brume and Germany’s Malaika Mihambo.
There will be no medal for Australia’s Brooke Stratton, whose best jump of 6.83m was good but not good enough to finished higher than seventh. One spot higher sits USA’s Tara Davis with a best of 6.84m. Not long now for the remaining jumpers to make a charge at the top three, or indeed for the top three to change their order.
Men’s 200m heats: Canadian Aaron Brown took out the fifth heat in a leisurely 20.38, with Liberian Joseph Fahnbulleh coming second and Swiss William Reais third.
But tongues were wagging after the running of the sixth heat as USA’s Kenneth Bednarek cleared away in a sizzling time of 20.01. In his wake was a runner-up, Yancarlos Martinez, who set a new Dominican record, and four other men who ran seasonal best times. Impressive.
Today promises to be a big day for Team GB, with a possible eight golds on offer and a surge up the medal table in the offing.
Two could come at the velodrome, with Jason and Laura Kenny going for a first double gold bid in the women’s and men’s pursuit finals. If Laura wins she will have five Olympic golds to her name, and this would be her third team pursuit gold in a row; if Jason wins he will have a seventh Olympic gold to pull clear of British great Chris Hoy.
Two medals won just two hours apart – and all on Olympic debut for #TeamGB
A dream day for @TomMcEwen1 with individual silver and team gold alongside @Oliver_Townend and @CollettEventing #Tokyo2020
Women’s long jump final: the cream is rising to the top at the Olympic Stadium. USA’s Brittney Reese is getting better as the session progresses and after three jumps she is showing the way with a jump of 6.97m.
Nigeria’s Ese Brume has also jumped 6.97m but presently sits second on countback. Germany’s Malaika Mihambo, considered Reece’s main threat in this event, is in bronze medal position but Team GB’s Jazmin Sawyers (6.74m), Abigail Irozuru (6.27m), Australia’s Brooke Stratton (6.83m) and USA’s Tara Davis (6.84m) will want to get a wriggle on if they are to push for a medal.
Men’s 200m heats: Qatari Femi Ogunode has taken out the third heat in a time of 20.37, just ahead of Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev and decorated Canadian Andre de Grasse, the 2016 200m final runner-up behind Usain Bolt. De Grasse barely got out of first gear here, but he did what he needed to do.
Heartbreak for Eswatini sprinter Sibusiso Matsenjwa, who jumped the gun and was shown the red card.
Women’s long jump final: we are into the second round of jumps now and Nigeria’s Ese Brume sits at the top of the pops with an jump of 6.97m. USA’s gold medal fancy, Brittney Reese, improved on her opening 6.60m effort with a 6.81m jump to rise to fourth behind Brume, Germany’s Malaika Mihambo and Serbian Ivana Spanovic.
Team GB’s Jazmin Sawyers fluffed her first jump but got her act together next time, jumping 6.80m while Australia’s Brooke Stratton put her opening illegal jump behind her to register 6.52m.
Men’s 200m heats: veteran Jamaican Rasheed Dwyer has taken out the first heat in a time of 20.31, with Divine Oduduro (NGR) and Anaso Jobodwana (RSA) also through to the semi-finals.
In the second heat, Trinidadian Jereem Richards more or less coasted around for a Tuesday stroll in a time of 20.52. Shaun Maswanganyi (RSA) and Dutchman Taymir Burnet have also the progressed, the latter running a seasonal best.
Women’s beach volleyball quarter-finals: a clinical performance by USA’s Alix Klineman and April Ross to beat Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch in straight sets, 21-19 in the first and 21-19 in the second.
Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar (not sure I’ll ever tire of that name) and Taliqua Clancy are in action later on today against Canada.
Well, I will give you this. Nice Tokyo time lapse. Enjoy.
From #3×3 to #SportClimbing ⏩pic.twitter.com/x8n11Mtc4j
And now, the news you’ve all been waiting for.
Drum roll please …
The women’s long jump final has just commenced. USA’s Brittney Reese, the London gold medalist and one of the favourties here in Tokyo, gets her session under way with what can only be termed a loosener, hitting the sand at 6.60m in an effort she will no doubt better. Australia’s Brooke Stratton begins with a foul. She, too, will be looking to improve on that. Naturally.
The early pace is being set by Germany’s Malaika Mihambo with a jump of 6.83m but there is a looooooooooong way to go.
Women’s javelin: Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk has already advanced to the final courtesy of a 65.24m throw – comfortably clear of the 63.00m distance required to progress automatically. Australia’s Mackenzie Little is enjoying an excellent day, sitting second in Group A with a personal-best throw of 62.37m. USA’s Kara Winger is some way down the field with an effort of 59.71m.
Sailing: okay, no more Rod Stewart references but the good news is Sailing is back on!
Competition is set to resume at the Enoshima Yacht Harbour as winds are expected to pick up on Tuesday following the cancellation of Monday’s action.
Before we move on from the women’s 400m heats, good news for Team GB with Ama Pipi just scraping into the semi-finals. She joins compatriot Jodie Williams in the next phase of races.
Ama Pipi (51.17) has secured her place in the 400m semi-finals
Timetable and results: https://t.co/myzl0caNWj
Coverage on @BBCSport, @Eurosport_UK and @discoveryplusUK #Tokyo2020 | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/ICbhJxCZea
Women’s 400m: onto the last of the six heats and a highly impressive run by Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino to win in a fast 50.06 after putting the race to bed rounding the final bend. USA’s Wadeline Jonathas finishes some way behind in second but is safely through to the semis, as is Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands. It was such a quick heat that the fourth and fifth placegetters – Aauri Lorena Bokesa of Spain and Eleni Artymata of Cyprus – are also through as two of the fastest losers.
Some very tired runners out there. It’s a hot one in Tokyo today.
Women’s 400m: veteran Jamaican Stephenie Ann McPherson, sixth in the Rio 400m final, wins heat five in a competitive-looking 50.89. Natalia Kaczmarek and Paolo Moran are the other automatic qualifiers, the latter running a seasonal best.
Okay, so Team GB’s Nicole Yeargin has been booted out of the 400m event due to lane infringement. Heartbreaking for the Brit as she finished third in her heat and would have made it through to the semi-finals.
Women’s 400m: impressive run by Jamaica’s Candice McLeod, at least visually, to clear away in the straight from Amandine Brossier, whose time of 51.65 is a French national record. Austrian Susanne Walli is also through to the semis but the big news out of the heat is the fate of Team GB’s Nicole Yeargin, who actually finished third but has been disqualified. Keep you posted on that one.
Women’s 400m: heat three is next. The evergreen USA runner Allyson Felix is in lane four. Incredibly, this is her fifth Olympic Games. And it’s little more than a stroll in the park for the Rio silver medalist as she wins in 50.84 from Jamaica’s Roneisha McGregor. Team GB’s Ama Pipi was just nosed out of third place and will have to wait and see if she progresses to the semis as one of the next six fastest.
No sweat. @allysonfelix is cruising to the semifinals. #TokyoOlympicspic.twitter.com/15iOpRPCiM
Thanks Tom. Always a pleasure to pick up what you’ve put down. Big day at the Olympics today – aren’t they all? – with medals galore up for grabs both on land and in water.
Looking forward to the football, hockey, basketball and cycling later on (and, of course, sport climbing) but for now it’s all happening at the National Stadium, or the Olympic Stadium, or whatever it’s called.
Allyson Felix of six gold medals fame is next in the 400m heats at her fifth Olympics. Scott Heinrich will take you through the action. Bye!
Australia’s Bendere Oboya, GB’s Jodie Williams and Quanera Hayes of the US are in heat two. Williams, Hayes and Portugal’s Cátia Azevedo finish 1-2-3. Oboya is fifth.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo puts in a huge jump to win the men’s triple jump qualifying. Turkey’s Necati Er and China’s Zhu Yaming also looked good. USA’s Donald Scott and Will Claye also made it. But their compatriot Chris Benard and GB’s Ben Williams missed out.
The women’s 400m heats now. The defending champion, Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, begins her campaign in lane two. She jogs around and still wins a ridiculously relaxed run, but then again she’s in the 200m final later today. Roxana Gómez of Cuba and Sada Williams of Barbados are the other automatic qualifiers.
The snappily titled Canoe Sprint Women’s K1 200m has taken place and we now have our line-up for the final. NZ’s Lisa Carrington, GB’s Deborah Kerr and Canada’s Andreanne Langlois all made it.
Emma Jørgensen (Denmark), Poland’s Marta Walczykiewicz, Spain’s Teresa Portela Rivas, Linnea Stensils (Sweden), Francesca Genzo of Italy and Hungary’s Dora Lucz (no relation) are also through.
The women’s beach volleyball quarter-finals are on. USA’s Alix Klineman and April Ross lead Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch after winning the first set. It’s 15-15 in the second.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a favourite in this race, and we also have Soufiane Elbakkali of Morocco who won gold in the steeplechase last night – give the man a rest. Nick Willis is 38 (38!) and racing for New Zealand.
Ingebrigtsen hangs at the back early on. Yared Nuguse of the US pulled out just before the start with a quad injury. The talented Stewart McSweyn of Australia leads us out pursued by GB’s Jake Heyward (and no bear). The Aussie and Brit have a big lead at the bell. They are inevitable chased down but both make it to the semifinals. Ingebrigtsen decides to lope up late and grab his place. Ethiopia’s Teddese Lemi, Robert Farken of Germany and Spain’s Adel Mechaal also qualify.
Heat two of the men’s 1500m now and we will see the defending champion, USA’s Matthew Centrowitz. Also running is Aussie Jye Edwards, GB’s Jake Wightman and NZ’s Samuel Tanner. Centrowitz finished in the US trials but he’s a crafty veteran and has the smarts to make the final at least.
The track may be wet but it’s still 86F/30C at 9.20am in the morning in Tokyo. Perhaps that’s why the pace of the first lap is so slow – 62 seconds. That slow pace means no one is out of it on the final lap with everyone bunched up. Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski falls and nudges Jye Edwards, but the Aussie stays on his feet. Then Morocco’s Anass Essayi falls too!
The men’s 1500m is next. The defending champion is USA’s Matthew Centrowitz, who caused a shock in Rio when he became the first American to win the Olympic final since 1908. He’s in the second heat. But first up, logically is heat one. The first six runners qualify automatically.
It’s a soggy track after overnight rain but I’m sure the athletes are happy to escape from the blistering sun. Australia’s Olly Hoare is the early leader on the first lap. The shock is Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera, considered a medal contender, who fades very badly and finishes down the field. Australia’s Hoare and USA’s Cole Hocker finishing in the qualifying spots alongside Belgium’s Ismael Debjani, Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, Poland’s Michal Rozmys and Morocco’s Abdelatif Sadiki. GB’s Josh Kerr is seventh and faces a wait to see if he’ll progress as a fastest loser. It was a fairly slow race though, so he may not be lucky.
If you’re wondering where the actual sport is, the first event starts at 9am local time in Japan. Or around five minutes if you can’t be bothered to work out the time difference. First up is the men’s triple jump qualification and 1500m heats; and the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, reader Kurt Perleberg has a question. “Who will win the most medals in the Olympics, China or America?” The US have the most at the moment but China have more golds. I think the US will end up edging it, just.
It was a momentous day in the weightlifting on Monday. Sean Ingle was there to witness it:
History was made on a Tokyo evening of superhuman strength and simmering tension as Laurel Hubbard, a 43‑year‑old weightlifter from New Zealand, became the first openly trans woman athlete to compete at an Olympic Games.
Related: Laurel Hubbard’s Olympic dream dies under the world’s gaze
And now we’ve done the day for Australia, we may as well look at US chances/highlights.
9pm EDT/2am EDT: men’s 3m springboard semi-final/final
Australia are flying high in the medal table: fourth, just above Definitely Not Russia. What chance more medals today? Well, Kurtis Marschall and Brooke Stratton go for track and field medals, track cycling continues in the velodrome, sailing medals are on offer and the Kookaburras face Germany in a hockey semi-final. For a full rundown, read our handy guide to Aussies on Day 11:
Related: Australia at the Olympics on Tuesday: day 11 schedule of who and when to watch in Tokyo today
The big news of the day (APART FROM THIS) is the return of Simone Biles. I tend to think she thought: “I may as well give it a shot, even if I only come out and all I can do is walk down the beam”. However, my colleague Bryan Graham – who actually knows about gymnastics – thinks the mental block she has experienced won’t be such a problem on the beam as it’s only in twists that she has been losing her bearings in the air. Her dismount from the beam is a a double back dismount. No twists – no twisties.
Here is the excellent Tumaini Carayol on “the twisties” that have been troubling Simone:
Related: Simone Biles’ twisties: mental block which puts gymnasts at serious risk
Hello. A big day ahead at the Olympics [note to self: STOP SAYING THIS: it’s always a big day at the Olympics]. We have the men’s football semifinals, all kinds of finals on both track and field and the return of one Simone Biles.
For a full rundown, here is my colleague Martin Belam:
