Tag: Tokyo 2020

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ESE BRUME GIVES NIGERIA FIRST TOKYO OLYMPICS MEDAL

In a tightly contested event that came down to the last round, Ese Brume earned Nigeria’s second medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a Bronze in the Women’s Long Jump competition.

Brume had the best season time of all the participants heading into the final and she was a medal favourite alongside the world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany & Brittney Reese of the U.S.

She raced to an early and dominant lead with her first jump, clocking 6.97m. By the second round, Reese had edged her out with an equal jump of 6.97m but leading on count back. World champion Mihambo was just right behind with 6.95m.

Going into the final round, Reese was in the lead, with Brume second in a back and forth that had been going on round by round but Mihambo delivered her best jump of the competition to take the gold with her final jump, dropping Reese to second and Brume to third, as they both couldn’t capitalise with their final jumps.

Ese Brume becomes the third Nigerian woman to win a medal in the Long Jump competition, joining Nigeria’s first gold medalist Chioma Ajunwa (who won in at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics) and Blessing Okagbare who won the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This is also Nigeria’s first medal in athletics in 13 years.

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SIMONE BILES WITHDRAWS FROM ALL-ROUND GYMNASTICS AFTER MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS

Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from Thursday’s women’s all-around final, USA Gymnastics has confirmed.

The 24-year-old pulled out after one rotation of the women’s team final on Tuesday in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns.

USA Gymnastics said Biles is yet to decide whether to withdraw from her four individual finals, which are scheduled to take place next week.

In a statement, USA Gymnastics said: “After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition.

“We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”

Biles won four gold medals in Rio in 2016 and was aiming to become the first gymnast to retain a female all-around title at the Games since Vera Caslavska in 1968.

She successfully qualified for the final in first place but a mistake on her opening vault in Tuesday night’s team final prompted her to leave the arena with a US team medic.

Amid injury fears, Biles returned to the arena to support her team to an eventual silver medal behind the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee, and later revealed she had made her decision due to a desire to protect her mental health.

Biles said on Tuesday: “It’s been really stressful these Olympic Games, not having an audience. It’s been a long week, a long Olympic process, a long year. We are just a little bit too stressed out. We should be out here having fun.

“I feel like I’m also not having as much fun and this Olympic Games I wanted it to be for myself and it felt like I was still doing it for other people. It hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me to please other people.”

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OLYMPICS 2020: GERMANY ELIMINATED IN GROUP STAGE AFTER DRAW WITH IVORY COAST

Germany have been eliminated in the group stage of the men’s Olympic football tournament after a 1-1 draw with Ivory Coast at the Miyagi Stadium in Rifu on Wednesday.

Stefan Kuntz’s side, who won silver at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, came into the match a point behind Ivory Coast and knowing anything less than a victory would mean they were knocked out.

After a bright start by Germany, Ivory Coast grew into the game and took a deserve lead on 67 minutes when Benjamin Heinrichs bundled into his own goal.

Germany equalised six minutes later through Eduard Lowen’s stunning free kick to set up a tense finish but they were unable to find a winner.

Ivory Coast, unbeaten in the group, finished second to Brazil while third-place Germany joined Saudi Arabia in exiting the competition at the first hurdle.

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13-YEAR-OLD MOMIJI NISHIYA WINS FIRST OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SKATEBOARDING GOLD MEDAL

Momiji Nishiya made history at the age of just 13 on Monday as she became the first women’s Olympic street skateboarding champion.

A day after Yuto Horigome won the men’s competition for Japan, Nishiya doubled up for Japan as she triumphed ahead of Brazil’s Rayssa Leal, also 13.

The sport, making its Olympic debut, has already taken these Games by storm and the sight of these two youngster battling it out for gold only added to the drama at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Nishiya finished with a score of 15.26 compared to 14.64 for Leal, who was looking to become the youngest ever Olympic champion but instead had to settle for being the youngest medallist in 85 years.

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MAGNIFICENT MONA MC SHARRY BECOMES FIRST IRISH SWIMMER TO MAKE OLYMPIC FINAL FOR 25 YEARS

Sligo swimming star Mona McSharry turned in a stunning performance to qualify for the 100m breaststroke final in Tokyo today, the first Irish swimmer to make an Olympic final for 25 years. The 20-year-old clocked 1:06.59 to finish fourth in her semi-final, her time quick enough to see her through to tomorrow’s final in eighth place.

“I’m over the moon. That was the target, make it round by round and when I got to the semi-finals it was the plan to try make it into the final,” she said.

“I knew it was going to be tough. I was in ninth, already having moved up from my starting position so I knew it was going to be a push, everyone is swimming really fast and it’s competitive. I’m just so happy to get another opportunity to race tomorrow.”

McSharry admitted there was some grogginess this morning following a late night after her heat, her time today not quite as swift as she swam in the heats.

“I’m not surprised about that but I’m happier with how the race felt so I’m hoping I can pull the two together and swim a fast time hopefully like that.”

On her plans ahead the final?

“I’m going to relax, have a shower, chill, I might come in tonight for a paddle. I’ll definitely come in and watch Ellen (Walshe) and Brendan (Hyland) race, that’ll be fun, just being a spectator for the night. I’ll try get to bed earlier tonight if I can.”

McSharry said she was reveling in the Olympic experience and making friends beyond the swimming contingent at what is her first Games.

“It’s been amazing,” she said. “That’s the great thing about the Irish spirit as well: we are very close as a nation.”

Her achievement marks an incredible entrance on the Olympic stage for the Grange swimmer, a scholarship student at the University of Tennessee. McSharry, of course, has long been a name marked to make waves at this level, ever since winning gold and bronze medals at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

Speaking of her move stateside, McSharry said: “I really enjoy it, I made so many friends and it’s taken me away from times, it’s more about competing and getting your hand on the wall first and that is why we do this – to compete and race against people, that adrenaline rush you get.”

Her final takes place at 3:17am Irish time on Tuesday, and McSharry will be back in action after that in the heats of the 200m breaststroke on Wednesday.

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TOKYO OLYMPICS: ANDY MURRAY FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM MEN’S SINGLES DUE TO THIGH STRAIN

Andy Murray’s bid for a third straight Olympic singles gold medal ended before it began when he withdrew ahead of his first match with a minor thigh strain.

The Scot had been due to take on ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada on Sunday but was replaced on the order of play by Australian Max Purcell.

Murray had been upbeat about his prospects after an excellent doubles victory with Joe Salisbury on Saturday but experienced tightness in his quad muscle and was advised not to try to compete in both events.

Murray and Salisbury’s form on Saturday, when they defeated French Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, suggested they could be medal contenders.

The three-time grand slam champion said: “I am really disappointed at having to withdraw but the medical staff have advised me against playing in both events, so I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the singles and focus on playing doubles with Joe.”

Murray is the only tennis player ever to win back-to-back singles gold medals, and it appears highly likely his last chance to add to that haul has now gone.

Speaking after his doubles victory on Saturday, Murray had said: “I do like the conditions here in terms of how the court plays and everything.

“Obviously not an easy one against Felix but I’ve played well in the practice sets and the practice matches that I’ve had and obviously today was a good one for the confidence. I think I’ll be all right.”

But this is yet another physical setback for the Scot, who has been unable to play consistently since his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery two and a half years ago.

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TOKYO 2020: NAOMI OSAKA EASES INTO THIRD ROUND

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles - Round 3 - Ariake Tennis Park - Tokyo, Japan - July 27, 2021. Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts during her third round match against Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic REUTERS/Mike Segar

Naomi Osaka continued her pursuit of a historic gold medal by easing into the third round of the Olympic singles competition at the Ariake Tennis Park.

The Japanese star won her first match in eight weeks against Zheng Saisai on Sunday, saying she felt refreshed and happy after stepping away from the court for mental health reasons.

There were a few understandable signs of rust but Osaka, who is hoping to follow up her starring role at the opening ceremony with a first gold medal for Japan in tennis, was very sharp in a 6-3 6-2 victory over Swiss Wimbledon quarter-finalist Viktorija Golubic on Monday.

The 23-year-old, who has only lost one of her last 24 matches on hard courts, said: “It would mean a lot to win gold here but I know it’s a process. I know these are the best players in the world and, honestly, I haven’t played in a while, so I’m trying to take it one notch at a time.

“All in all, I’m just really happy to be here. I haven’t been in Tokyo for a couple of years.”

Osaka did not play a match between the first round of the French Open in May and Sunday’s victory but she has shown before she can find her best tennis straight off the bat, going unbeaten between February 2020 and March this year while playing just four tournaments.

“I put this pressure on myself to do well because I know that I don’t play that many tournaments and I feel like I watched these players playing the tournaments while I was on my break so I just really, really want to do well,” she said.

“I feel like as long as I work hard, relatively keep my head down, then good things will happen. For me, it’s dream to be here, to play the Olympics. This is my first one, so I’m just trying to cherish this experience.”

On her performance against Golubic, Osaka said: “I was a bit more nervous before the match. I felt a lot of butterflies. But I think, as I started playing and feeling more comfortable, I knew that no matter what it would be a great match. I feel like I played better today, I think my movement was better.”

It was a good day for the big names, with Garbine Muguruza beating Wang Qiang 6-3 6-0, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova seeing off Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-4 and Maria Sakkari racing past Nina Stojanovic 6-1 6-2.

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OLYMPICS 2020: NETHERLANDS, BRAZIL DRAW IN EPIC SIX-GOAL THRILLER

Dominique Janssen’s 79th-minute goal pulled Netherlands into a 3-3 draw with Brazil on Saturday in women’s football at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vivianne Miedema gave the Dutch the early lead in the third minute but Debinha countered with an equaliser in the 16th. The teams were tied until the 59th, when Miedema scored another.

Marta converted a penalty kick to tie the score 2-2 in the 64th minute, before Ludmila’s goal about four minutes later gave Brazil the temporary lead.

Netherlands, ranked No. 4 in the world, routed Zambia 10-3 in their Olympic opener with Miedema scoring four goals.

Netherlands advanced to the World Cup final two years ago in France but lost to the United States. The Tokyo Games are Netherlands’ first Olympics.

Brazil beat China 5-0 in its opener. Marta had a pair of goals, becoming the first player to score in five straight Olympics.

Marta’s goal brought her to 13 at Olympics, which is one behind the all-time record held by Brazil teammate Christiane, who is not in the 2020 squad, but the Orlando Pride forward said she is only focused on team success.

“Our objective is to think of the collective,” Marta told Brazil’s Globo TV after the match. “Scoring goals is part of our job, but always while thinking about the collective.

“Records always happen naturally in my life, it’s never been forced. If I have to score one, two goals to help my team, then it’s normal.”

Brazil are coached by former U.S. and Sweden coach Pia Sundhage, who won gold with the Americans at the 2012 London Games.

Earlier, Zambia and China had drawn 4-4 in another epic match in Group F.

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OLYMPICS GAMES: NETHERLANDS CRUSH ZAMBIA

Vivianne Miedema scored four goals and Netherlands routed Zambia 10-3 to open the Olympic women’s football tournament on Wednesday — with Barbra Banda netting all three for the African side.

Miedema, the all-time leading scorer in the Women’s Super League, as well as the top career scorer for the Netherlands, scored goals in the ninth, 15th, 29th and 59th minutes.

Lieke Martens added two goals for the fourth-ranked Netherlands, who advanced to the World Cup final two years ago in France but fell to the United States.

Shanice van de Sanden, Jill Roord, Lineth Beerensteyn and Victoria Pelova netted the others for the Dutch. Zambia are the lowest ranked team in the tournament at No. 104.

The Tokyo Games are the Netherlands’ first Olympics and on the eve of the tournament, they received a rousing team talk from former men’s team manager Louis van Gaal.

Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman is stepping down after the Olympics to lead England in the next World Cup cycle.

Wiegman will be replaced by Portland Thorns coach Mark Parsons at the conclusion of the National Women’s Soccer League season.

This is also Zambia’s first appearance in the Olympics. Known as the Copper Queens, Zambia had played just once this year, a friendly with South Africa. The team’s scheduled tune-up match with Britain ahead of Tokyo was called off because of COVID-19 restrictions.