Tokyo 2020 round-up: Adam Peaty reaches 100m breaststroke final
Day three of the Olympic Games in Tokyo sees Great Britain go for gold in the pool and the gymnastics arena on another packed day of sport.
Earlier GB’s Alex Yee won a silver medal in the men’s triathlon event behind Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt, who put in so much effort he collapsed on the finish and had to be carried away on a wheelchair, but he was OK and fully deserving of gold. Jonny Brownlee couldn’t add another medal to his collection and ended his brilliant Olympic career with a fifth-place finish.
Adam Peaty won gold in the 100m breaststroke final, while Australia’s Ariarne Titmus edged American great Katie Ledecky in an epic women’s 400m freestyle final soon afterwards. Tom Daley and Matty Lee then clinched a spectacular gold in the men’s 10m synchronised platform, edging out heavy favourites China with a magnificent final dive. The gold rush of ‘Magic Monday’ then continued as 21-year-old Tom Pidcock won gold in the men’s cross country mountain bike race for Great Britain’s third gold medal in as many hours.
Lauren Williams won Great Britain’s fifth medal of the day but she had to settle for silver after she was defeated by Croatia’s Matea Jelic in the closing seconds of the women’s taekwondo -67kg final. Elsewhere, the Russian Olympic Committee won the first gymnastics gold in the men’s team event, with Team GB matching their fourth place finish from Rio five years ago.
Tokyo 2020: Today at the Olympic Games
- GB will be hopeful of further triathlon success in the women’s event, with Vicky Holland, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jess Learmonth all contenders
- Bianca Walkden and Mahama Cho will be looking to extend GB’s success in taekwondo, in the women’s+67kg and men’s +80kg events respectively
- Duncan Scott goes for gold in the men’s 200m freestyle, while Kathleen Dawson is in the women’s 50m backstroke final
- Charlotte Dujardin has the chance to become the first British women to win gold at three separate Games in the dressage team final
- Simone Biles will go for her first gold in Tokyo in the artistic gymnastics women’s team event – but her brilliance cannot be quantified by gold medals
- Andy Murray and Joe Salisbury have their second round match in the men’s doubles against the German pair of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz
- GB’s footballers take on Canada in their final group stage match, although their place in the next round has already been confirmed
- The men’s hockey team play Germany while the men’s rugby sevens team take on Fiji and will play a quarter-final match in the afternoon
- Gold medals will also be won in canoe slalom, softball, diving, mountain biking, surfing, judo, shooting and weightlifting
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 16:01
Tokyo 2020: Williams reflects on injury history
Lauren Williams shrugged off a series of “laughable” injury setbacks to move within 10 agonising seconds of Olympic taekwondo gold at the Makuhari Hall in Tokyo.
The Blackwood 22-year-old was denied by a last-gasp burst by Croatian world No1 Matea Jelic, whose 25-22 win cost Williams victory but left her to reflect on a performance rendered all the more remarkable by her recent struggles.
“My injury history is almost laughable really,” said Williams, who has battled an ankle injury for much of the season and revealed she also tore a hamstring just three weeks before flying to the Japanese capital.
Here’s what else the silver medalist had to say:
Alex Pattle26 July 2021 17:54
Tokyo 2020: Biles reflects on underwhelming performance
Team USA Gymnastics star Simone Biles has spoken out about the pressure she feels after Sunday’s less than stellar performance during the Olympic qualifiers.
That the US was going to win the women’s team gymnastics gold was almost a foregone conclusion until Russia came out on top with the US reaching the final after a second-place finish in the qualifying round.
Entering the final after making some uncharacteristic mistakes, the team will now try to retain their title as reigning Olympic champions on Tuesday.
Here’s what Biles had to say about Sunday’s showing:
Alex Pattle26 July 2021 17:26
Tokyo 2020: Why are the skateboarders so young?
Sky Brown of Team GB, who recently turned 13, has been making all the headlines ahead of the street sport’s Olympic debut, but she is not the youngest competitor in her disciple: Japan’s Kokona Hiraki is just 12.
To put that in perspective, she was born two days after the 2008 Beijing Olympics finished!
But even then, neither are the youngest athletes competing in Tokyo: that honour went to Syrian table tennis prodigy Hend Zaza, also 12, who has sadly already exited the tournament after being beaten by 39-year-old Liu Jia of Austria, which hardly seems fair.
It is skateboarding though that particularly attracts younger competitors, but why?
Read the article below for an answer to that question and more:
Alex Pattle26 July 2021 17:12
Tokyo 2020: Daley claims gold at long last
Here’s an excerpt from Vithushan Ehantharajah’s report on Tom Daley and Matty Lee’s triumph in the synchronised 10m diving. You can read the full piece at the bottom of this post.
“The centre step of an Olympic podium is only about half a foot taller than the others. But as Tom Daley stepped onto it for the first time, alongside his 10m synchronised diving partner Matty Lee, the air he sucked deep into his lungs seemed that little bit crisper. The view out onto the pool and to the support of his Team GB teammates looked that littler clearer. The high oh so much greater than anything he has experienced in his sporting career.
“Finally, after four Games and 13 years, Daley has his coveted gold medal. Lee had the honour of draping the 27-year-old with this most elusive prize. Four years younger and a champion in his first appearance at this level, the relevance of Daley’s achievement was never going to be lost on Lee. That he held his own on the toughest stage, alongside one of the country’s most well-wished personalities, told of his character. Just as the responsibility and execution to excel spoke of sympathy for Daley’s cause.
“Their combined excellence will be immortalised as part of an early Magic Monday for Team GB. However, the differences of their stories will never be more evident than what happens from this point on.”
Alex Pattle26 July 2021 16:56
Tokyo 2020: Social media reaction from Team GB’s gold medallists
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 16:42
Max Whitlock proud of result in artistic team final
Great Britain matched their fourth-place finish from Rio as the men’s artistic gymnastics team secured another impressive result in today’s final, and Max Whitlock was proud of the team’s efforts.
The Russian Olympic Committee, Japan and China proved to be too strong for the rest of the field in what was a high-quality contest as Team GB beat the USA on the final rotation. Whitlock was the only remaining team member from five years ago and said there has been evident progress.
“Getting into the medals was always going to be hard – those three teams have showed so much strength throughout the cycle,” he said. “We knew there was a gap there but that we were top five. We proved that today, we put a lot of risk into our routines and it paid off.
“Fourth place is hard, just outside the medals but there was a big gap there, so we can be really pleased with that. It’s a young team – I’m the oldest by a few years – they’ve all become Olympians this time around, so they’re massively proud.
“Fourth place is a really, really high achievement for us – now we can work on it, look at how we can close the gap and push into those medal positions. We’ve done it before, so hopefully we can do it again.”
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 16:37
Tokyo 2020: How ‘Magic Monday’ unfolded for Team GB
It was a morning reminiscent of ‘Super Saturday’ at the 2012 London Olympics, as the gold rush began and Team GB sparked into life in Tokyo.
From Adam Peaty to Tom Daley and Matty Lee and Tom Pidcock to Lauren Williams, here’s Lawrence Ostlere on how Great Britain’s ‘Magic Monday’ unfolded.
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 15:32
Tokyo 2020: Olympic history made for the Philippines
Hidilyn Diaz has won the Philippines its first ever gold medal at an Olympic Games after claiming victory in the women’s 55 kilograms weightlifting competition.
She set an Olympic record with a total lift of 224kg and it was the first time the country had an athlete on top of the podium since it first took part in the Games in 1924.
A proud moment for Diaz and her country – and just what the Olympics is all about.
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 15:25
Tokyo 2020: Olympics medal table
The Russian Olympic Committee’s gold medal in the men’s artistic gymnastics team final may have edged them above Great Britain at the last, but the success of ‘Magic Monday’ has seen Team GB move to fifth the medal table after a haul of five medals today.
Three gold medals earlier this morning along with two silver medals brings GB’s total up to seven, as hosts Japan took the outright lead from the United States.
1) Japan – 8 gold, 2 silver 3 bronze (13 medals)
2) United States – 7 gold, 3 silver 3 bronze (14 medals)
3) China – 6 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze (18 medals)
4) ROC – 4 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze (12 medals)
5) Great Britain – 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze (7 medals)
Jamie Braidwood26 July 2021 15:15