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TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:
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MEDAL ALERT
Germany’s Ricarda Funk has won a surprise gold medal in women’s kayak slalom. Heavy favorite Jessica Fox of Australia slipped to third when she touched two gates on the final run.
Funk took the lead from Spain’s defending gold medalist Maialen Chourraut of Spain with a time of 105.50 seconds on a clean run. Then she had to wait for Fox, who came to the Olympics as the favorite to win gold in both the kayak and canoe slalom events.
Fox, the top-ranked paddler in the world, struggled from the start when she touched the fourth gate of 25 for an immediate 2-second penalty. She was still ripping through the course and her splits were ahead of Funk until she again touched gate No. 24 to earn another penalty.
Fox finished 1.23 seconds off the lead and held her face in her hands at the finish line, knowing she had lost the gold medal. Chourraut took silver.
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MEDAL ALERT
Germany’s Ricarda Funk has won a surprise gold medal in women’s kayak slalom. Heavy favorite Jessica Fox of Australia slipped to third when she touched two gates on the final run.
Funk took the lead from Spain’s defending gold medalist Maialen Chourraut of Spain with a time of 105.50 seconds on a clean run. Then she had to wait for Fox, who came to the Olympics as the favorite to win gold in both the kayak and canoe slalom events.
Fox, the top-ranked paddler in the world, struggled from the start when she touched the fourth gate of 25 for an immediate 2-second penalty. She was still ripping through the course and her splits were ahead of Funk until she again touched gate No. 24 to earn another penalty.
Fox finished 1.23 seconds off the lead and held her face in her hands at the finish line, knowing she had lost the gold medal. Chourraut took silver.
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MEDAL ALERT
Yang Haoran and Yang Qian have given China a sweep in the first two mixed team shooting events, beating Americans Lucas Kozeniesky and Mary Tucker in 10-meter air rifle.
Yang and Yang won the gold medal match 17-13, giving China its eighth medal in nine shooting events at the Tokyo Olympics.
Russians Sergey Kamenskiy and Yulia Karimova won the bronze medal match 17-9 over South Korea’s Kwon Eunji Nam Taeyun.
The gold is Yang Qian’s second of the Tokyo Olympics after she won the women’s individual 10-meter rifle. Yang Haoran also took the bronze in the men’s individual event.
Pang Wei and Jiang Ranxin won gold in 10-meter air pistol mixed team earlier at Asaka Shooting Range.
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Canada has won its first Olympic medal in softball, taking the bronze with a 3-2 victory over Mexico.
Canada won behind 2 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief from Danielle Lawrie, the sister of former major leaguer Brett Lawrie.
Lawrie, a veteran of Canada’s 2008 Olympic team and the 2009 and 2010 USA college player of the year at the University of Washington, relieved with runners at the corners in the fifth and retired Victoria Vidales on a groundout. Lawrie struck out four, fanning Brittany Cervantes to end it.
Kelsey Harshman broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a sacrifice fly for the Canadians, who went 4-2, finishing behind the U.S. (5-0) and Japan (4-1).
In a game played in intermittent light rain, Emma Entzminger put Canada ahead with a two-run single in the second off Danielle O’Toole (0-2). Mexico tied the score on RBI singles by Cervantes in the third off starter Sara Groenewegen and by Suzy Brookshire in the fifth against Jenna Caira.
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MEDAL ALERT
Jolanda Neff has won the women’s mountain bike race at the Tokyo Olympics. She led a Swiss sweep of the medal stand while capping a long comeback from a career-threatening crash in the North Carolina mountains.
Sina Frei and Linda Indergand tried to chase down their countrywoman but never had a chance. They were left battling among themselves, at one point riding side-by-side, before Frei pulled ahead to take silver and left Indergand with bronze.
Neff took the lead when world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot crashed on a slippery section of rocks on the first loop in the mountains southwest of Tokyo. She soon built her advantage to more than a minute over a field that included France’s Loana Lecomte, the winner of every World Cup race this season, and reigning Olympic champ Jenny Rissveds.
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Japan’s wildly successful judo team has finally missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Women’s 63-kilogram judoka Miku Tashiro was eliminated by Poland’s Agata Ozdoba-Blach in the second round Tuesday at the Budokan. Tashiro is the No. 3-ranked player in her weight class, but she lost by ippon midway through her second bout.
The 33-year-old Ozdoba-Blach only earned her first major international gold medal two months ago at an IJF Grand Slam event in Russia.
Japan is the most successful nation in Olympic history in its homegrown martial art, and Japan has won more Olympic medals in judo than in any other sport.
Japan has won four golds, one silver and one bronze from the six weight classes contested over the first three days at its home Olympics.
Takanori Nagase is still in contention for Japan’s seventh judo medal after reaching the semifinals of the 81-kilogram division.
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Two-time Olympic boxer Daisuke Narimatsu of Japan has dropped out of the lightweight division at the Tokyo Games due to injury after winning his opening bout.
The Olympics Boxing Task Force said Tuesday that Narimatsu wouldn’t be able to weigh in for his next bout, which is scheduled for Saturday. Narimatsu was slated to face Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin in the round of 16.
Narimatsu beat Fiston Mbaya by unanimous decision in his opening bout at the Kokugikan on Sunday, but Narimatsu told Japanese media he injured his head in the bout.
The 31-year-old Narimatsu is one of Japan’s top amateur boxers. He competed at the Rio Olympics, winning his opening bout before losing to Carlos Balderas of the U.S.
Japan has won only five boxing medals in its Olympic history. Ryōta Murata won its only gold in London before moving on to a solid pro career as a middleweight champion.
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MEDAL ALERT
China has won another gold medal in Olympic diving.
Chen Yuxi and Zhang Jiaqi won the women’s 10-meter synchronized platform, giving the diving powerhouse its second gold of the Tokyo Games.
Chen and Zhang totaled 363.78 points over five rounds on Tuesday. They received two perfect 10s for execution on their second dive.
Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell of the U.S. took silver in just their second competition as a pair. They totaled 310.80.
Gabriela Agundez Garcia and Alejandra Orozco Loza of Mexico earned bronze at 299.70.
China won its first gold in Tokyo in women’s 3-meter synchro springboard and earned silver in men’s 10-meter platform synchro.
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Sebastian Coe says he supports a review of marijuana’s status as a doping substance after American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was banned ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
The president of World Athletics says a review is now sensible and “it should be” done.
Coe was at the U.S. Olympic trials last month when the 21-year-old Richardson won the 100 meters in 10.86 seconds. Her result was disqualified and she accepted a 30-day ban after she tested positive for a chemical found in marijuana.
Richardson said she had smoked to help cope with her mother’s recent death.
Coe says “I am sorry for her that we have lost an outstanding talent” from the Tokyo Games but adds the existing rules were interpreted correctly.
He says he has asked the independent Athletics Integrity Unit to work with the World Anti-Doping Agency on reassessing marijuana’s place on the prohibited list.
Coe says Richardson’s absence is “a loss to the competition” but he predicts “she will bounce back.”
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Two superstar surfers have been dethroned at the Olympics, where their sport is making its debut.
Hometown hero Kanoa Igarashi of Japan landed an incredible 360 aerial reverse on the beach he grew up on. The nearly-perfect maneuver sent him flying for seven seconds above the water and scored him a 9.33, enough to defeat Brazilian Gabriel Medina, the world’s top-ranked surfer.
Bianca Buitendag of South Africa chose to wait out the clock again to pull off yet another major upset, this time against American phenom Caroline Marks, who simply could not catch a good enough wave.
The finals now come down to Igarashi and the dominating Brazilian Italo Ferreira, and Buitendag against American Carissa Moore, the reigning world champion.
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The U.S. women have fallen to Japan 20-18 in their final pool-play game in 3-on-3 basketball.
Despite the loss, the Americans will head into the knockout round as the top seed after compiling a 6-1 record over four days. The semifinals and medal games for the sport’s Olympic debut are set for Wednesday.
With the score of Tuesday’s game tied at 17, Japan’s Mio Shinozaki made a 2-pointer to give her team the lead for good.
Serbia’s men were 6-0 coming into Tuesday and have locked up a spot in the semifinals.
The U.S. men did not qualify for the tournament.
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UPSET ALERT
Japan’s tennis superstar is out of the Tokyo Olympics.
Naomi Osaka lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round of the Tokyo tournament.
The second-ranked Osaka, who was born in Japan and grew up in the United States, struggled with her usually reliable groundstrokes.
The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova produced a series of drop-shot winners and other crafty shots that drew Osaka out of her comfort zone.
Osaka won her opening two matches in straight sets following a two-month mental-health break. But conditions were different Tuesday with the roof closed because it was raining outside.
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Naomi Osaka has lost the opening set of her third-round Olympic tennis match against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.
Vondrousova won 6-1 against the host country’s superstar.
Osaka won her opening two matches in straight sets following a two-month mental-health break. But conditions are different Tuesday with the roof closed because it’s raining outside.
Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron in Friday’s Tokyo Games opening ceremony.
The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova was the 2019 French Open runner-up.
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The U.S. women’s volleyball team has handed defending gold medalist China its second straight-set loss.
The Americans won a tight first set 29-27 on their fourth set point before taking the final two sets 25-22 and 25-21. They improve to 2-0 so far in Tokyo after sweeping France in the opener. The U.S. won bronze in 2016 and is seeking its first gold medal in the sport.
China is still seeking to win its first set this tournament having been swept in the opener by Turkey. The Chinese went 2-3 in pool play in 2016 before rallying to win the gold.
Jordan Thompson led the Americans with a game-high 34 points.
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Pang Wei and Jiang Ranxin have added to China’s medal haul in shooting, defeating Russians Artem Chernousov and Vitalina Batsarashkina to earn gold in 10-meter air pistol mixed team.
Pang and Jiang won the gold medal match 16 rounds to 14, each earning their second medal of the Tokyo Olympics. Pang and Jiang each took bronze in the individual 10-meter air pistol.
China has won seven medals in eight shooting events, including two golds.
Medals are presented on a tray due to COVID-19 protocols, so Pang and Jiang took the medals off the presenter’s tray and placed them around each other’s necks.
Ukrainians Oleh Omelchuk and Olena Kostevych beat Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec in the bronze medal match.
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A typhoon is bringing wind, rain and cooler temperatures to the Tokyo Games.
Archery, rowing and sailing have adjusted their Tuesday schedules, but so far no other sports have had to make changes.
In U.S. terms, the typhoon is just a mid-grade tropical storm. And it’s actually been a boon for surfers, who are getting big waves for their final day of competition.
It’s a big change from the first three days of the games, where athletes sweltered in intense heat. An archery competitor collapsed from heatstroke and tennis players and skateboarders have complained that the heat is affecting their performance.
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Brazilian men and American women are leading the final day of competition in surfing, which is making its Olympic debut.
Following the quarterfinals, Brazilians Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira will face off against hometown hero Kanoa Igarashi of Japan and Australian Owen Wright respectively.
In the women’s game champion Carissa Moore of the U.S. and Japan’s Amuro Tsuzuki will face off in the semifinals. The young American phenom Caroline Marks will go up against Bianca Buitendag of South Africa.
Moore seems to have finally found her footing after struggling the first two days to find momentum in a modest beach break that’s unlike the big waves back home in Hawaii.
She predicted yesterday that her teammate Marks, who grew up in Florida would be the woman to beat.
The finals will be held later Tuesday, weather permitting.
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MEDAL ALERT
Alaska has an Olympic swimming champion.
Jacoby was the first swimmer from the state ever to make the U.S. Olympic swimming team.
Now, she’s heading back to Anchorage with a gold medal, rallying to win in 1 minute, 4.95 seconds.
South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker claimed the silver in 1:05.22, while King gave the Americans another medal by taking the bronze in 1:05.54.
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MEDAL ALERT
The American men have lost a backstroke race at the Olympic pool for the first time 1992.
Russian athletes swept the top two spots in the 100-meter back, with Evgeny Rylov claiming the gold medal in 51.98 seconds and teammate Kliment Kolesnikov taking the silver in 52.00. The defending Olympic champion, American Ryan Murphy, settled for the bronze in 52.19.
It was the first backstroke defeat for the U.S. men at the Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games. They won 12 straight golds at the last six Olympics, including Murphy’s sweep of the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
But the streak finally ended at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
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MEDAL ALERT
Kaylee McKeown has given the Australian women another swimming gold medal.
McKeown backed up her status as the world record-holder in the women’s 100-meter backstroke with a winning time of 57.47 seconds. That’s just off the mark she set this year of 57.45.
The silver went to Canada’s Kylie Masse in 57.72, while former world record-holder Regan Smith of the United States settled for the bronze at 58.05.
Coming into the Olympics, Australia had not an individual women’s title since 2008. Now they have two, with McKeown’s gold coming after Ariarne Titmus’ victory Monday in the 400 freestyle.
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MEDAL ALERT
Britain has gone 1-2 in the men’s 200-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Tom Dean captured the gold in 1 minute, 44.22 seconds, while teammate Duncan Scott picked up the silver in 1:44.26. The bronze went to Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer at 1:44.66.
American Kieran Smith settled for a sixth-place showing after capturing a bronze in the 400 free.
Defending champion Sun Yang was banned from the Tokyo Olympics for a doping violation. He is serving a more than four-year ban, though he could be eligible to return for the 2024 Paris Games.
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The American “A-Team” of April Ross and Alix Klineman have guaranteed themselves at least one more beach volleyball match at the Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. women beat Spain 21-13, 21-16 on Tuesday morning for their second straight win. With one more game in the preliminaries left, they can do no worse than a three-way tie for first, which would be broken during a “lucky loser” matchup after the round-robin.
Ross, a three-time Olympian who has already won silver and bronze, and first-timer Klineman will play the Dutch team of Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink on Friday.
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MEDAL ALERT
Flora Duffy has won the Olympic women’s triathlon, earning Bermuda’s first Olympic gold medal and its first medal of any kind since 1976.
Duffy is a two-time former world triathlon series champion. She’s competing in her fourth Olympics and is one of just two athletes representing Bermuda in Tokyo.
The start of the race was delayed 15 minutes because of storm conditions around Tokyo Bay. Duffy pumped her arms over her head as she finished the swimming, cycling and running course in 1 hour, 55:36 minutes.
The 33-year-old Duffy had never finished higher than eighth in her previous three Olympic triathlons. Bermuda hadn’t medaled at the Olympics since boxer Clarence Hill’s bronze in heavyweight boxing in Montreal.
Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown won the silver medal and American Katie Zaferes won bronze.
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