After her stunning withdrawal from the Olympics team gymnastics final Tuesday, Simone Biles will remain on the sidelines when the all-around final takes place Thursday. At the moment, her Olympic trajectory is unclear at best.
Biles, who was the defending gold medalist in the all-around and was projected to win five medals in Tokyo, will be replaced by Jade Carey for Team USA.
Fresh off of earning the gold medal in the first-ever women's 1,500-meter freestyle swim at the Olympics, Katie Ledecky spoke empathetically about Biles.
"I would never want to speak for Simone or say that I know what she’s feeling because none of us do, but I understand it," Ledecky said. "We’re at the highest level, we have the most eyes on us of anyone in the world right now. I’m not just saying us as in Simone and me, I’m saying everyone at the Olympics."
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Here are some of the other notable things you missed Wednesday in Tokyo while you were sleeping:
U.S. men's basketball team looks like its All-Star self
Granted it came against Iran -- which had perhaps two names that might be familiar to American basketball fans: 36-year old Hamed Haddadi, who played five seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies, and former Oregon star Arsalan Kazemi -- but the U.S. men’s basketball team came to life.
In the dominant 120-66 win over Iran, Team USA's collection of All-Star level players rebounded from an ugly loss to France in the Olympic opener while generating some good feelings and positive momentum.
Katie Ledecky wins first-ever Olympic gold in women's 1,500m free
Ledecky, the most versatile swimmer at these Olympic Games, won the gold medal in the first-ever women's 1,500-meter freestyle, a little more than an hour after finishing fifth in the 200.
It's the sixth gold medal of Ledecky's career after she made her debut as a 15-year-old at the 2012 Olympics, winning the women's 800 in London.
Ledecky's American teammate, Erica Sullivan, took the silver medal in the 1,500.
“I think people maybe feel bad for me that I’m not winning everything but I want people to be more concerned about other things going on in the world where people are truly suffering," Ledecky said after her 1,500 race. "I’m just proud to bring home a gold medal to Team USA.”
Ledecky was clearly thrilled for Sullivan, 20, to reach the podium. Sullivan, competing in her first Olympics, has looked up to Ledecky.
Swimmers fail to medal in relay for first time
While Great Britain claimed gold in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, the U.S. finished a disappointing fourth. This marked the first time in the United States' proud swimming history that it failed to medal in a relay event that it was entered in.
The U.S. had entered the Tokyo Olympics a perfect 94-for-94 medaling in swim relays.
Indiana Hoosiers win silver in men's diving synchronized 3-meter springboard
Andrew Capobianco and Michael Hixon captured the silver medal in Tokyo with a score of 444.36, finishing behind China and in front of Germany.
It is the second consecutive Olympics in which the U.S. has won silver in the event, and the second medal for Hixon, who partnered with Sam Dorman, who has since retired.
Other must-read stories from Wednesday:
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