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Great Britain has won the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay final, with a tremendous performance that clocked in just shy — .03 seconds — of the world record.
The time is a European record.
The British were favorites to win the event. Relay members Tom Dean and Duncan Scott had already claimed gold and silver in the individual men’s 200m freestyle.
Australia finished second, with the Russian Olympic Committee in third. Team USA came fourth after losing steam midway through the race.
This was the final medal event for swimming on Wednesday.
American great Katie Ledecky crushed the first-ever women’s 1500m freestyle final to win her first gold medal of Tokyo 2020.
Ledecky was the favorite to win the event and she didn’t disappoint.
The US swimming star clocked a time of 15:37.34, leading the field for most of the race and finishing more than four seconds ahead of silver medalist, fellow American Erica Sullivan.
German Sarah Kohler finished third, with a time of 15:42.91.
This is Ledecky’s sixth Olympic gold medal and her eighth Olympic medal in total.
It’s is her second medal of the Tokyo Games, after she earlier won silver in the 400-meter freestyle. Earlier today, however, she failed to make the podium in the 200-meter freestyle.
Japan’s Yui Ohashi has won gold in the women’s 200m individual medley, drawing loud cheers in front of her home crowd.
America’s Alex Walsh finished second, with Kate Douglass in third.
Ohashi is the second Japanese swimmer to win a medal today in Japan. Tomoru Honda claimed silver in the men’s 200m butterfly earlier in the morning.
American silver medalist Sunisa Lee tweeted Wednesday morning that she has “never been prouder” to be part of a team, just hours after she and the rest of the US women’s gymnastics team won the silver medal.
The team’s biggest star, Simone Biles, withdrew from the event because of mental health concerns.
Here’s what Lee tweeted:
Lee said at a news conference after the competition that the team felt a bevy of emotions after Biles withdrew, but that she was “really proud” of her team’s ability to “step up to the plate.”
“It’s very hard to lose a teammate, especially at the Olympic Games,” Lee said. “I was really proud of all of us. We were very stressed, (and) put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but we ended up coming back.
After a 13-year hiatus, baseball is returning to the Olympics — although no fans will be there to witness it.
Japan goes head-to-head with the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in Fukushima.
Unlike Tokyo, Fukushima prefecture is not currently under a coronavirus state of emergency, but a decision was still made to host the seven games at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium — six softball and one baseball — without fans present.
That’s despite spectators being allowed to attend other sporting events outside the Olympics in the region.
It’s particularly disappointing for the city of Fukushima, where the Olympics was supposed to celebrate the region’s recovery from a nuclear disaster more than a decade ago.
“We have genuinely dreamed of people all over the world coming to visit Fukushima, and we expected them to find out the attractiveness of Fukushima,” Akinori Iwamura, a former Major League Baseball player and manager of semi-pro baseball side the Red Hopes Fukushima, told CNN.
“Although our towns haven’t fully recovered, we wanted to tell everyone how Fukushima has been rebuilt in the last 10 years. It is pretty unfortunate to have no spectators at the games,” added Iwamura.
Over in Koriyama city — about an hour drive from Fukushima city — residents said they felt elated by Japan’s victory over the US in women’s softball on Tuesday.
And while fans can’t be in the stands for Wednesday’ game, some, like local resident Yuko Aikawa, said they were looking forward to watching on TV.
“Of course, I would’ve wanted to buy tickets to see the competition at the stadium, but I understand the decision to ban spectators,” Aikawa said. “My friends and I have been following all the events on TV.”
There’s a raucous, palpable excitement inside the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, despite the limited number of people in attendance.
While fans are still effectively banned from the stands, there are plenty of fellow Olympic competitors in the building — occupying almost two tiers of seating on one side of the pool.
The loudest cheers so far came for Japan’s Tomoru Honda, who took silver in the men’s 200m butterfly final. Other athletes from the host nation, as well as those from Australia and the United States, are getting most of the support. It sounds like someone’s even brought along a kazoo!
Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak won gold and set a new Olympic record in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Milak finished with a time of 1:51.25. He holds the world record in the event, clocking in at 1:50.73 in 2019.
Japan’s Tomoru Hunda, 19, finished with silver and Italy’s Federico Burdisso won bronze.
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus has won her second gold medal in the women’s 200m freestyle.
Titmus set a new Olympic record, finishing in 1:53.50
Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey won silver, setting a new Asian record with a time of 1:53.92. Canada’s Penny Oleksiak took bronze.
American star Katie Ledecky placed fifth, but she was not considered a favorite for the event. She will compete later in the 1500m women’s freestyle.
Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, commended Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from the women’s team gymnastics final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Tuesday over mental health concerns.
“Simone, you’ve made us so proud. Proud of who you are as a person, teammate and athlete,” Hirshland said in a statement.
“We applaud your decision to prioritize your mental wellness over all else, and offer you the full support and resources of our Team USA community as you navigate the journey ahead.”
What we know: Biles withdrew midway through the women’s team finals after leaving the field to be attended to. After visiting a trainer, Biles returned to the arena, but did not warm up for uneven bars. Instead, 20-year-old Jordan Chiles took Biles’ place.
From the sidelines, Biles supported her teammates — chatting with them and cheering after each routine. Biles was a lively presence, jumping up and down in support of her teammates.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist later explained her decision.
“Whenever you get in a high stress situation, you kind of freak out,” the 24-year-old told reporters. “I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being.”
“It just sucks when you’re fighting with your own head,” she added.
Twenty-two gold medals were won. Here’s a breakdown of who’s taking home the gold:
Artistic Gymnastics
Canoe Slalom
Cycling Mountain Bike
Diving
Equestrian
Fencing
Judo
Shooting
Softball
Surfing
Swimming
Taekwondo
Triathlon
Weightlifting
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman criticized USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee today for a lack of leadership in supporting athletes following Simone Biles’ surprise exit from the women’s team gymnastic final.
“USA Gymnastics has been an absolute disaster for years and unfortunately not enough has changed for us to believe in a safer future, but I think this just really shows the lack of leadership [of] USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Biles stepped away from Tuesday’s competition saying it was important she protect her mental wellbeing and that athletes were “people at the end of the day.”
Raisman also suggested Biles’ decision could be an indicator of greater disfunction inside the organizations that govern gymnastics for American athletes.
“Their best athlete is struggling … is there someone there to help her?” asked Raisman. “I don’t know. I’m not there, so I don’t know. But I think it’s an important question that we should be asking.”
“Does Simone have the support that she needs?” continued Raisman. “Do other athletes have the support that they need?”
Earlier in the interview, Raisman also drew from personal experience to describe the enormous pressure star athletes such as Biles face when under the global spotlight.
“It’s a tremendous amount of pressure,” she said. “…I feel for her so much and it’s a lot of pressure and I think that factored into it.”
“I’m completely devastated and I support her so much,” she added.
Watch more from Aly Raisman’s interview:
When Luis Grijalva crossed the finish line at the NCAA track and field championships last month, he knew he could reach his Olympic dream.
But first, immigration officials would have to agree to let the 22-year-old runner travel outside the United States and come back to the country he calls home.
Grijalva is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient who will travel to Japan on Friday to represent Guatemala in the 5,000-meter race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He and his lawyer spent several weeks petitioning US Citizenship and Immigration Services for a special permit known as advance parole that allows DACA recipients to reenter the US after traveling abroad.
They were unsure if immigration officials would be able to grant Grijalva permission on time, but on Monday, he got cleared to travel after weeks of uncertainty.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to represent Guatemala because that’s where I was born, (where I) have generations of family and that’s where my roots started,” he told CNN.
Grijalva was only one year old when his family moved to New York City from Guatemala. The family of five later moved to Fairfield, California, where Grijalva often ran for fun along with other children in Turkey Trot races on Thanksgiving.
At those holiday races and PE classes, Grijalva slowly started noticing that he was faster than other kids his age. But it was not until he became a teenager while at the Armijo High School in Fairfield that he realized how much he loved to run, and with the help of his coaches, focused on becoming a cross-country runner, he said.
Since graduating high school, a full-ride scholarship to Northern Arizona University has helped Grijalva continue running competitively while pursuing a career in communications. For the past three years, he has improved his performance and is improving his personal best times.
Last month, he finished second in the men’s 5,000-meter race at the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon. He had a time of 13 minutes and 13.14 seconds – an effort that became his ticket to the Olympics.
While he couldn’t represent the US in the Olympics for several reasons, including his immigration status, Guatemala selected him for the country’s delegation. He was honored for the opportunity but didn’t know if there would be enough time to apply and receive an immigration permit to travel.
At that point, Grijalva says, he had about 27 days to get the travel permission. The process to get a permit takes at least 90 days, said Jessica Smith Bobadilla, Grijalva’s lawyer.
Smith Bobadilla said they were able to put together a very detailed application and had been in touch with lawmakers in Arizona about Grijalva’s situation. On Monday, they made a last effort to expedite his application and went to the USCIS offices in Phoenix, they said.
Grijalva says it was “unbelievable” when immigration officials confirmed he had been granted permission to travel after they waited for several hours at the office.
He will be running for Guatemala on Aug. 3 for the preliminary 5,000-meter race. After the Olympics, he will continue his career professionally after having signed a contract with the shoe company Hoka One One.
“It’s honestly a dream to pursue a passion that doesn’t feel like a job,” Grijalva said. “It’s pretty awesome.”
