Tokyo Olympics Digest: Japan claim first-ever skateboarding gold

Japan’s Yuto Horigome won the first-ever Olympic skateboarding event, beating out stiff competition to claim gold in the men’s street category.

Horigome, who grew up in the Tokyo ward where the event took place, experienced the irony of winning an Olympic medal in a sport he was often chased off the streets for by police while growing up in Japan’s capital.

“It felt significant to return to the Koto ward. It meant so much more to me,” Horigome said.

The silver went to Brazil’s Kelvin Hoefler, who used to sleep with his skateboard as a kid. American Jagger Eaton took bronze while Nyjah Huston, a firm favorite in the event, placed seventh in the eight-man field, falling repeatedly trying to land tough tricks.

Here’s a roundup of the latest news from the Tokyo Olympics:

Germany update

Divers Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel secured Germany’s first medal in Tokyo, winning bronze in the synchronized 3-meter springboard. Punzel, a four-time European champion, said the result was “what we have trained five years for.”

Germany also picked up a bronze in archery, finishing third in the women’s team event. Michelle Kroppen, Charline Schwarz and Lisa Unruh had lost to the Russian team in the semifinals, but beat Belarus in the bronze medal match.

Alba Berlin’s Maodo Lo led both teams in scoring with 24 points in the defeat to Italy

Germany’s men’s basketball team fell to Italy 92-82 despite having led for long stretches. It was the side’s first appearance at an Olympics in 13 years. Henrik Rödl’s men failed to score in the final four minutes, as NBA stars Nicolo Melli and Danilo Gallinari stepped up in the closing stages.

In women’s field hockey, Germany delivered a much more impressive showing. They beat defending champions Great Britain 2-1 in their first match, despite losing defender Viktoria Huse, who scored the decisive goal, for five minutes due to a yellow card in the closing stages. Captain Nike Lorenz had already made headlines before the match, after successfully campaigning to wear a rainbow flag on her sock.

Other gold medals

Australia set a world record time of 3:29.69 in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay

Australia set the first swimming world record in the Tokyo Olympics when they won gold in the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay. The Aussie team finished with a time of 3 minutes, 29.69 seconds, breaking a previous Australian mark set in 2018. Sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell swam the lead and anchor legs, with Meg Harris and Emma McKeon swmming the middle legs.

A more unlikely success story came from Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia. The 18-year-old grabbed a gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, shouting himself hoarse as he celebrated his win. Germany’s Henning Mühlleitner missed out on a bronze medal by .13 seconds in the same race.

A pair of siblings from host Japan took gold in two different Judo disciplines within an hour of each other. Uta Abe struck gold first, winning the women’s under-52kg category, defeating Amandine Buchard. She then cheered on her brother, Hifumi Abe, as he beat Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili in the under-66kg gold medal fight.

More news from Tokyo

In women’s tennis, Naomi Osaka is now the highest-ranked player remaining in the singles draw. World number one Ashleigh Barty lost her first round match to Sara Sorribes Tormo, who defeated the Wimbledon champion in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Barty made headlines in Tokyo off the court last week after it was announced she would be staying in a hotel outside the Olympic Village. The Australian will remain Japan to compete in the women’s doubles. 

On the men’s side, two-time defending Olympic champion Andy Murray is out of the running in the singles bracket, having withdrawn shortly before his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday with a thigh strain. It ends hopes of a hat-trick of golds for the Briton, who still aims to compete in the doubles with partner Joe Salisbury. 

Meanwhile, high temperatures saw the International Tennis Federation (ITF) activate its extreme weather police, which allows players extra time between sets once readings go above 30.1 degress Celsius (86.2 Fahrenheit). Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev had previously both complained about the heat during their first-round matches on Saturday. Tokyo’s high summer temperatures had long been a concern leading up to the Games.

American Bryson DeChambeau was forced to drop out of the men’s golf tournament after returning a positive COVID-19 test. He was joined by Spain’s world number one Jon Rahm shortly after. Both players competed the Open at Royal St George’s in Kent last week. The two cases continue a worrying trend of in-competition athletes testing positive for the disease, though it is estimated that 80-90% of the athletes and staff in the Olympic Village are fully vaccinated. 

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/tokyo-olympics-digest-japan-claim-first-ever-skateboarding-gold/a-58631782?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf