Tokyo Olympics 2020: GB’s Daley and Lee aim for diving medal, Titmus shocks Ledecky – live!

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Tokyo Olympics 2020: GB’s Daley and Lee aim for diving medal, Titmus shocks Ledecky – live!

That was some performance by Slovenia, on Olympic debut and outplaying Argentina. Luka Doncic scored 48 of his side’s 118 points, which is not far Brazilian great Oscar Schmidt set the single-game Olympic record with 55 points against Spain at Seoul 1988.

The men’s basketball tournament is pretty open after the US’s loss to France last night and Australia’s win over Nigeria.

Let’s bounce over the basketball for a minute and Slovenia are wiping the floor with Argentina. The Olympic basketball debutants have raced from a 20-point lead to a 30-point lead in the space of a couple of minutes during the third quarter. The commentator is onto it. “This is not just a team,” he cries, “this is a runaway train.” He’s probably referring mostly to Luka Doncic, who has scored 35 of his team’s 84 points thus far. Score is moving quickly but now stands at 84-58.

A second judoka has pulled out of the Olympics before facing Israeli athlete Tohar Butbul. Olympic officials say Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool did not show up for his clash with Butbul on Monday, despite having completed a weigh-in earlier on in the day.

Earlier in the Games, Alergia’s Fethi Nourine pulled out to avoid a potential meeting with Butbul, saying “the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this”. AP reported that the International Judo Foundation didn’t immediately announce a reason why Abdalrasool didn’t compete.

Related: Second judoka drops out of Tokyo Olympics before facing Israeli

An update from the hockey stadium: Team GB have secured their second win the tournament, running out 3-1 winners over underdogs Canada after a nervous start. “You have to understand when you’re playing teams that rank lower than you, they have nothing to lose. It’s a win-win for them,” said the team’s head coach Danny Kerry.

Not strictly speaking to do with the Olympics, but very much related given Paralympian Olivia Breen’s recent experience of being told what to wear, but remember the Norwegian beach handball team that was fined in a “case of improper clothing” for refusing to wear bikini bottoms during a tournament in Europe? The protest against what the team described as “very sexist” uniform rules cost them $1,500. But they might not have to fork out themselves after pop star P!nk showed her support for their cause.

I’m VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR “uniform”. The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies. I’ll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up.

Related: Time to give those in charge of female athletics short shrift | Rebecca Nicholson

Some trivia! Momiji Nishiya, the tween who just won the street skateboarding, is the second-youngest gold medallist in Olympic history. The Osaka native is 13 years and 330 days old.

US diver Marjorie Gestring remains the youngest individual Olympic champion after winning the 3m springboard at the 1936 Berlin Games at 13 years and 268 days. Brazil’s silver skateboarding medallist, Rayssa Leal, is 13 years and 203 days. Had she won she would have broken Gestring’s record.

Make that 6-0 in the hockey. All over, red rover. Australia converted six from 13 field goal opportunities against China, who themselves had zero chances. It leaves the Hockeyroos top of Pool B, though second-placed New Zealand have a game in hand and will play Japan later tonight. Still, Australia’s women have come a long way in a short period of time given the turmoil they were in a few short months ago.

Meanwhile at Oi Hockey Stadium, the Hockeyroos are on the verge of an emphatic Pool B win over China, up 4-0 in the fourth and final quarter after two goals to Emily Chalker and one apiece to Ambrosia Malone and Brooke Peris, the cousin of Nova.

As more risks are taken, more zeros are recorded. It is a fine balance to strike, because one big trick can win it but so can a decent one that actually comes off. Case in point is Zwetsloot, who was leading but fails to land the last four of her five attempts. There are only three possible medallists now in Nishiya, Leal and Funa Nakayama, we just don’t know in what order yet. Leal is up, and she falls! Nishiya has her chance, and she jumps and completes a lip trick nobody has whipped out before this very moment. Pressure is on her compatriot now, and when Nakayama falls Nishiya is confirmed as the gold medallist at the age of 13. It’s fist pumps all round. Japan owns the street. Pretty cool really.

Would you look at this! The other 13-year-old, Japan’s Momiji Nishiya (15.5k followers) lands a whopping move and moves to the top ahead of Leal. Two 13-year-olds lead the race for gold with one trick remaining. Here’s Nishiya a little earlier.

13 year old nishiya momiji being the coolest at the olympics i love her pic.twitter.com/QhZOypzSTJ

The skateboarding is getting tense. We are into the fourth of five tricks and Leal knows how to crescendo. After failing to complete her first attempt, she scores 3.91 and then 4.21 which, combined with her solid scores from the run section, has her in first. Alexis Sablone of the US is second and Zwetsloot third.

Here is Leal with Tony Hawk, the skateboarding great who spotted her on Instgram as an eight-year-old. Now she has two million Insta followers and is ranked second in the world.

Rayssa Leal is just 13

She makes her Olympic skateboarding debut tomorrow

Oh, and this is her talking to one of the sports biggest legends – Tony Hawk earlier today pic.twitter.com/Yy2OqdghCh

Quick round-up of the morning session of the men’s rugby sevens. Argentina edged Australia 29-19 to move up to second spot in Pool A. Australia are in third after one match with New Zealand leading and the top two teams automatically progressing. Also through will be the top two third-placed teams across the three pools. Great Britain and Fiji are ranked one and two in Pool B and South Africa and the US are thus in Pool C.

We’re into the tricks section of the street skateboarding final now, which means … go hard or go home! Zwetsloot opts for the former and it comes off. She sails smoothly down a long, rather thin rail. The kind of you wouldn’t dare rest more than a hand on while climbing the stairs. She scores 4.12. Momiji Nishiya stacks it on the same one, and she is not the only one. Quite a few falls in this tough section. But Zeng is upright. She slides down a thicker rail but flips her board on her way up, and the cute routine earns her a score of … 4.93! Shut the front door! She jumps to second behind Zwetsloot.

Quick peek at the archery, where Great Britain’s men’s team have booked a quarter-final berth against the Netherlands after a 6-0 rout of Indonesia. The other match-ups are:

Korea v India
USA v Japan
China v Taiwan

It’s 16-year-old Zeng Wenhui from China who is on song. In her second and final run she completes a flawless 50/50, flips her board underneath her feet and finishes with a flourish. She is outscored by Japan’s Aori Nishimura, who pulls off a field-high 3.46 but a poor first run of 0.46 means she sits only in fourth. And oh, look at this! Roos Zwetsloot has a 3.80! The Dutch athlete, who had to choose between skateboarding and hockey, may be happy she went with the former because she could walk away with a gold medal.

What a swimming session. I watched it all from the comfort of my couch and fortuitously replace Jonathan as soon as the chaos is over. So I will take you away from the pool now and to Ariake Sport Park, where the women’s street skateboarding final is under way. There are a couple of 13-year-olds in this. The youngest is Brazil’s Rayssa Leal (a friend of Tony Hawk, if you don’t mind), who starts her first run audaciously on some rails and gets on a roll before misjudging a lip slide and falling. She scores 2.94.

Thanks everyone for tolerating me for the past few hours. That was a ride, wasn’t it? A superb morning in the pool comes to a close, and it’s time for me to pass you on to Emma Kemp for more from Tokyo 2020.

Swimming: Here’s Kieran Pender’s latest report from poolside on a superb morning’s racing, especially for Australia.

Related: Ariarne Titmus ends Katie Ledecky’s reign in Olympic 400m freestyle thriller

Tennis: Just as she likes it, Naomi Osaka is quietly progressing through the women’s singles draw.

Naomi Osaka reaches the third round in Tokyo with another simple win, beating Viktorija Golubic 6-3 6-2.

Not everyone is capable of immediately performing after not competing for two months, but this has been a constant feature Osaka’s past year. Good start.

Swimming: The USA led from the second Caeleb Dressel leapt off the blocks. How many medals will he leave Tokyo with, and how many of them will be gold?

Comprehensive from the USA, Italy hold on for silver, Australia snatch bronze! Incredible final leg from Chalmers!

Swimming: Still the USA in the lead, Italy close behind, but now Canada are in third. Australia relying on some Kyle Chalmers magic.

Swimming: Maybe I pressed send too soon. Dressel tightened up in the final 25m and it’s an even top three with USA, France, and Italy at halfway.

Swimming: Lol – Dressel absolutely smashes the first leg, giving the USA an early lead.

Swimming: The final medals of the session will be awarded shortly with the final of the men’s 100m freestyle relay coming up. Can Caeleb Dressel (USA) secure his first gold of the meet? Will Italy back up their superb qualification? Can Australia continue their superb morning?

Swimming: Canada’s Kylie Masse wins the second women’s 100m backstroke semi, followed close behind by a pair of Aussies, Kaylee McKeown and Emily Seebohm. The Olympic record streak is broken.

Swimming: For the fourth consecutive race in the women’s 100m backstroke the Olympic record has fallen. Regan Smith (USA) has retaken possession of the mark for the second time this meet after winning the first semi-final. Rhyan Elizabeth White (USA) came second, Kathleen Dawson (GBR) third.

Speaking of the softball, Paul has just dropped me an email.

“Hi, I live in Yokohama and have to say that I find it really odd that Japan has just played USA at Yokohama Stadium with no crowd allowed, but just 5k down the road, two high-school baseball teams are playing at a stadium with crowds allowed.”

Related: Japan’s golden day at Olympics softens mood of Covid misgivings

Softball: USA end the group phase unbeaten with a narrow victory over Japan. The two nations meet again in tomorrow’s gold medal match.

Undefeated.

Up next ➡️ gold medal game.@USASoftballWNT x #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/94JkBPRfwb

Surfing: Relief for Australia as Sally Fitzgibbons progresses to the quarterfinals of the women’s surfing. Stephanie Gilmore suffered a huge upset in heat one, but Fitzgibbons prevailed in a tight heat eight, 10.86 v 9.03 against Pauline Ado (FRA).

We have our first viral moment of Tokyo 2020. Dean Boxhall, enjoy your 15-minutes.

when i get home and see the taco spot cooked the tortillas exactly like i like them pic.twitter.com/fDpBKlx0fj

Swimming: Australian Isaac Cooper finished seventh in the second semi of the men’s 100m backstroke. Kliment Kolesnikov led an ROC one-two. Team USA’s Joseph Armstrong was tied fifth.

Skateboarding: 13-year-old Rayssa Leal (BRA) has joined 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya (JPN) in the women’s street final. They are currently the second and third highest-ranked qualifiers.

Swimming: Back to the action and Ryan Murphy (USA) has led home Mitch Larkin (AUS) in the first semi-final of the men’s 100m backstroke.

Swimming: It’s rare that any sporting event lives up to the hype, but that 400m free final delivered in spades. Even the coaching on the sidelines.

SHOUT AHT DEAN BOXALL #Tokyo2020 #Olympics

pic.twitter.com/NyjgB0A3dz

Swimming: 20-year-old Ariarne Titmus is now a World and Olympic Champion. “I can’t believe it, I’m trying to contain my emotions… More than anything it’s relief to do the job… I wouldn’t be here without her (Ledecky) setting the standard. I’ve just been trying to chase her. She’s really fun to race… I can’t believe I actually pulled it off!”

Swimming: What a race for Ariarne Titmus! That will dominate Australia’s Olympics for the remainder of the competition. 3.56.69 from the Australian to set a new PB and national record. The great Katie Ledecky has to settle for silver after leading for 300m, only to find Titmus power past on the final two laps. Incredible sporting theatre.

Li Bingjie from China took bronze.

WOW! Titmus beats Katie Ledecky!

Swimming: 300m – Titmus coming back hard…

Swimming: 200m into the women’s 400m free final, and as expected it’s a race between two swimmers. At the halfway mark Ledecky has the edge over Titmus, and she’s not far off WR pace.

Swimming: How good is Ledecky? How significant is the rise of Titmus?

Fastest 33 times in the history of the women’s 400M freestyle:

26x K Ledecky (#1, 3-8, 10-14, 16-17, 19-20, 23-29, 31-33)
5x A Titmus (#2, 9, 18, 21, 22)
2x F Pellegrini (#15, 30)
0x Everyone else#Swimming #Tokyo2020

Swimming: Caught your breath? Nope, me neither, nonetheless we’re off to the women’s 400m free final and that titanic clash between Australia and USA. Kieran Pender has been all over this:

Ledecky v Titmus is finally here. The rivals are expected to face off for individual gold at least two more times later this week – in the 200m and 800m freestyle – along with several expected relay match-ups. But the blockbuster 400m race has a special cachet, arising from its beguiling middle distance. Too long to sprint, too short to settle into an endurance rhythm – the 400m strains the sinew and exacerbates the pain. It is the race that crowns the queen of the pool. On Monday, there can only be one.

Related: Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky set for showdown in 400m freestyle final

Swimming: Peaty’s time was 57.37. He was pushed hard in the closing stages by Kamminga, who ended on 58.00, but there was never any doubt where the gold medal was going.

Was there any doubt? Peaty goes back-to-back, leading from the first stroke to the last. The two-time Olympic champion and world record holder is a rockstar.

Arno Kamminga (NED) takes silver, Nicolò Martinenghi (ITA) bronze.

Swimming: Next up is the men’s 100m breaststroke final. Can anyone come close to Adam Peaty? Andy Bull doesn’t think so.

Forget death and taxes, in Tokyo it’s queues, health questionnaires, and the men’s 100m breaststroke. There are not supposed to be any certainties in sport, but Adam Peaty’s chances of winning a second gold in the event here in Tokyo feels as close to inevitable as you can get. His dominance is unprecedented. He has won it at the last three world championships, as well as the Rio Olympics, has broken the world record five times in five years, and swum the 17 fastest times in history, four of them this spring and summer. There isn’t another man in the field who has got within a second of his personal best.

Related: Adam Peaty’s second Olympic gold as close to an inevitability as sport gets | Andy Bull

Swimming: Lilly King (USA) finishes second behind Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) in the second semi of the 100m breaststroke. Team GB’s Sarah Vasey faded to finish fifth.

Another Australian misses a final by the barest of margins, this time Chelsea Hodges.

Skateboarding: 13-year-old – THIRTEEN! – Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya is going through to the finals of the women’s street event. She currently has the second highest qualifying mark.

Swimming: Lydia Jacoby (USA) wins the first women’s 100m breaststroke semi. Australia’s Chelsea Hodges came in fifth. Not a blistering heat, won in 1.05.72.

Rugby 7s: Australia fought back but Argentina took the honours 29-19.

Swimming: Duncan Scott of Great Britain wins the second semi of the men’s 200m freestyle ahead of American Kieran Smith. It was a faster race, meaning Team GB’s Tom Dean, who finished fourth, will qualify. But that also means 19-year-old Australian Thomas Neill misses out by three one-hundredths of a second.

Rugby 7s: Argentina are leading Australia 24-0 in the first hit-outs for both sides.

Swimming: The first semi-final in the men’s 200m freestyle featured Australia’s Tommy Neill, and he finished fourth, the USA’s Townley Haas fifth. The top four were split by just 0.29 seconds in an even race. Neill will have to wait on the second semi to see if he makes the final.

Swimming: Apologies for any misplaced enthusiasm for Australian followers. It was bronze for Emma KcKeon, not silver, despite the on-screen graphic. Give your page a quick refresh and you’ll be back up to date.

That was a quick race. Zhang, Huske and Wattel turned in world record pace, but the second 50 saw a series of comebacks, led by Maggie MacNeil in lane 7. The Canadian won with a new Commonwealth record. Zhang Yufei ended in silver, and Australia’s Emma McKeon broke the Australian record for bronze. It was originally registered on-screen as silver, but it’s bronze for the Aussie.

Swimming: Ok, action in the pool is imminent. The women’s 100m butterfly final is up first.

1. Louise Hansson (SWE), 2. Torri Huske (USA), 3. Emma McKeon (AUS), 4. Zhang Yufei (CHN), 5. Marie Wattel (FRA), 6. Sarah Sjöström (SWE), 7. Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 8. Anastasiya Shkurdai (BLR).

Rugby 7s: South Korea had a conversion attempt in the shadow of half-time to move level at 7-7 with mighty New Zealand. They missed, the Kiwis stopped messing around, and powered home 50-5.

“I know there’s a lot of attention on Ledecky/Titmus, but spare a thought for NZ’s 17 year old Erika Fairweather who qualified 4th fastest, beating her PB and seeing a new NZ record by 4 seconds,” emails Leonie Short. “Her shock and delight when she saw her time last night is why I watch the Olympics. She’s an unlikely medallist, and it’s been 25 years since NZ won a medal in the water rather than on it, but imagine her thoughts on lining up in the race of the Games.”

Excellent call. The disbelief on her face yesterday was delightful.

Skateboarding: Australia’s Hayley Wilson finished eighth in her heat for the women’s street skateboarding which is not going to be enough for her to reach the medal round. Roos Zwetsloot topped the charts with 13.48.

Hayley wraps up with a score of 5.34. She’s currently in 8th place with two heats still to run.

Great effort Hayley and congratulations on making history as Australia’s first female Olympic skateboarder! #TokyoTogether #Skateboarding @SkateAustralia pic.twitter.com/BilvEQ2BQF

Swimming: Why is the women’s 400m freestyle later on such a big deal? In part because Katie Ledecky has set the global standard in recent times – continuing a golden era for US swimming – but as Tom Dart reports, that could be coming under threat.

Titmus overcame an unwell Ledecky to win the 400m freestyle at the 2019 world championships and delivered another statement of intent at the Australian trials in June, swimming the distance in 3:56.90. That is less than half-a-second slower than Ledecky’s world record, and more than four seconds quicker than the time the American posted in the US trials.

Australian optimism is understandable, though they also looked to be emerging as a force capable of mounting a sustained challenge to American supremacy in the early 2000s, only to underwhelm in the end. The two nations even duked it out in made-for-television battles in 2003, 2005 and 2007 called the Duel in the Pool. The hyped-up rivalry proved almost as strained as the rhyme in the title. A team of elite Europeans was sourced as fresh opposition from 2009 to 2015, but fared no better. The US will be hoping it’s the same story in Tokyo. The coming days should be interesting.

Related: Is Tokyo the Olympics where USA’s swimming empire crumbles?

Rugby 7s: It won’t surprise you that New Zealand are leading Korea at half-time in their Group A opener. The scoreline stands at 14-5, but only seconds before the interval it displayed 7-5, and that should have been 7-all but Korea missed a straightforward conversion attempt.

Thanks Tom – and hello everybody.

For the next little while our attention is going to be trained on the Tokyo Aquatics Centre where four more gold medals will be handed out. Here’s what’s in store:

I’m handing over to Jonathan Howcroft now, he’ll take you through the next few hours with his usual flair and verve. And maybe some zing. Who knows?

Australia’s Steph Gilmore has spoken after her shock defeat in the women’s surfing. The former world champion and world No 5 was expected to challenge for a medal this year.

“There’s so much build-up to this, it being such a historical event for surfing – just to even qualify for the Olympics was such a battle,” she said. “This is the world’s biggest sporting stage. You want to show up and do your very best.

After a tricky start against a scrappy Canada team, GB have beaten Canada 24-0 in the teams’ men’s sevens opener. Dan Norton, as usual, was superb.

Australia’s Hayley Wilson is in eighth place in the women’s skateboarding but she’ll need a couple more good runs to make sure she makes the final with a few more heats to come. The top eight from the heats make the final, so she’s right on the edge at the moment with plenty of good skaters to come.

You can see the latest scores here:

Related: Tokyo 2020 Olympics results: live scores and complete event schedule

GB and Canada have started their men’s rugby sevens match. GB, you may remember, won silver at the last Olympics. They start their game by taking the knee. It’s a scrappy start for GB before Dan Norton scores a try just before the break to give his team a 7-0 lead. Norton is the all-time leading try scorer in sevens history, so he’s good at this type of thing.

Two days of Olympic sport in Tokyo have created a moral dilemma for millions of people in the host country who had hoped the day would never come when Japan’s athletes would win their first gold medals of the summer.

Having invested so much in opposing the Games, would it then be possible, in good conscience, to take pleasure in the feats of the athletes once they became an inevitability?

Related: Japan’s golden day at Olympics softens mood of Covid misgivings

A few more results from the women’s surfing. Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy beat NZ’s Ella Williams while USA’s Caroline Marks was too good for Japan’s Mahina Maeda. Hennessy and Marks are both through to the quarter-finals.

And the Olympic champions Fiji come back to win in their men’s sevens match against Japan. They were in trouble, trailing 19-12 with four minutes to go … and Japan squandered a late chance to score from a lineout. It ended 24-19 to Fiji.

The men’s rugby sevens has started. And the hosts are pushing the reigning/only Olympic champions Fiji: it’s 19-19 with three minutes to go.

A great photo from the end of the triathlon – it is such a brutal sport:

The Olympic Games summed up in one picture.#TeamGB pic.twitter.com/LzE4mPq3L1

I’m at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for what is arguably the biggest clash of the Olympic swim meet: American Katie Ledecky against Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 400m freestyle.

Related: Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky set for showdown in 400m freestyle final

GB’s Alex Yee has been speaking to the BBC after his silver medal in the men’s triathlon. He says his opponent was simply better on the day.

“It’s been a tough preparation phase for this Games. In training I went much harder than this race but unfortunately he was better on the day,” says Yee. “I am just over the moon. I was already deep in the well and dug that little bit in my soul. It wasn’t enough to catch Kristian Blummenfelt but it was enough to get silver.”

Sean Ingle was at the men’s triathlon earlier to see GB’s Alex Yee fall just short of victory against Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt. His report is here:

Related: GB’s Alex Yee claims silver medal in Olympic triathlon at Tokyo 2020

Sixteen-year-old Keet Oldenbeuving from the Netherlands is the early leader in the women’s street skateboarding. It’s still early days with the top eight from the three heats advancing to the final. We’re still in the first heat. Spain’s Andrea Benitez, Italy’s Asia Lanzi, Canada’s Annie Guglia and USA’s Mariah Duran are second, third fourth and fifth respectively.

The ever excellent Barney Ronay was on hand to watch the taekwondo yesterday and writes that it perfectly illustrated the beauty and cruelty of the Olympics. Read more here:

Related: Britain’s Bradly Sinden edged out for gold in Olympics taekwondo final

More women’s surfing: Yolanda Hopkins of Portugal has beaten France’s Johanne Defay in round three and will advance to the quarter-finals.

After a home victory for Japan in the men’s street skateboarding yesterday, the women take to the park today. Just the one run so far, by Andrea Benitez of Spain. She received an unspectacular 1.94. But there’s a long way to go yet…

An email from reader: “Is NBC’s coverage of the Olympics any good?” Ummmmm … define “good”. If you define it as “lots of human interest stories shown during primetime at the cost of actual live sport” then, yes, NBC’s coverage is good. But if you just want to see who won and what times they got AS THE EVENTS ACTUALLY HAPPEN, then: no.

The surfing competition at Tsurigasaki beach has produced a major shock after Australia’s Steph Gilmore, the seven-time world champion and current world No 5, was bundled out on Monday morning. Gilmore had looked in good nick when competition got under way on Sunday, but her medal hopes fell apart 24 hours later in her third round heat against South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag. Buitendag had single wave scores of 6.83 and 7.10 to move ahead of Gilmore, who could not respond in the 14 minutes remaining in the heat.

Gilmore’s exit leaves Australian hopes in the women’s competition with Sally Fitzgibbons, who faces Pauline Ado of France later on.

Other notable finishers in the triathlon: Jonny Brownlee came fifth, USA’s Kevin McDowell sixth and Australia’s highest-placed athlete, Jacob Birtwhistle, was back in 16th place.

The 27-year-old from Norway has done it! He outran Yee, who is a brilliant runner. GB’s Yee finishes second and New Zealand’s Wilde gets bronze. Blummenfelt wins by around 11 seconds. He kicked away from the pack in the final stages and Yee couldn’t respond. Blummenfelt is a notoriously fierce trainer – in a sports famed for its athletes’ dedication – and puts in up to eight hours a day. That training paid off today.

Blummenfelt has made a move! He’s surged ahead of Yee and Wilde! The 27-year-old is around five seconds ahead of the Briton and Yee can’t respond!

We’re on the last lap of the triathlon – around 1.5 miles to go. GB’s Alex Yee leads Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. Yee, remember, is a superb runner (well, they’re all superb runners, but he is superb among superb runners) and is comfortable favourite to win GB’s first gold of this year’s Games.

Men’s triathlon: Also in the leading pack of nine with Alex Yee are: USA’s Kevin McDowell, New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde; Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt and Casper Stornes; Belgium’s Marten Van Riel; GB’s Jonathan Brownlee; Switzerland’s Max Studer and France’s Dorian Coninx. Coninx is falling off the pace though and the pack could drop him soon. Australia’s highest-placed athlete, Jacob Birtwhistle, is 27 seconds back in 16th place.

The men’s triathlon is in full swing and we’re on the final leg – and the athletes are on the run. Ominously for his competitors, Great Britain’s Alex Yee is at the front of a pack of nine leading the race – he is an incredibly good runner and it will be tough for anyone to beat him on foot. Because of the heat in Tokyo the athletes are allowed to hydrate as much as they want and they’re all taking advantage.

Hello and welcome to another day of action in Tokyo. We’re all go in the men’s triathlon while round three of the women’s surfing and the debut of women’s skateboarding (there was a home win for Japan yesterday in the men’s competition) will start shortly.

Meanwhile, here is my colleague Martin Belam on what to look forward to today. All events are listed here in local Tokyo time. Add an hour for Sydney, subtract eight hours for York, 13 hours for New York and 17 hours for San Francisco.

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