At the Tokyo Olympics, gymnast Simone Biles continues to be the main topic of discussion. The defending gold medalist in the women's all-around competition qualified first for Thursday's final, but withdrew to focus on her mental health. Jade Carey will take Biles' place for Team USA.
The question now is whether or not Biles will compete in any of next week's individual event finals.
Elsewhere, the men's individual golf competition gets underway with opening round play. Men's singles tennis moves into the quarterfinal round, while the women have their semifinals.
And five more medals are up for grabs in the pool, with Americans Hali Flickinger and Regan Smith in the finals of the women's 200-meter butterfly, and Caeleb Dressel going for gold in the men's 100 free final.
WEDNESDAY RECAP: Katie Ledecky, USA women's 3x3 basketball win gold
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TOKYO – Even before Justin Thomas teed it up for his first shot Thursday at Kasumigaseki Country Club, he’s already made his mind up about playing golf in the Olympics.
“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” the 28-year-old Louisville native said on the eve of golf’s second run since rejoining the Olympics in 2016. “Going to the village and checking out the USA building. It’s so hard to explain. It’s unbelievable."
Thomas is No. 4 in the world with a win at the Players Championship in May that helped to put him on the hard-to-make U.S. Olympic team. Other Americans in the 60-man field are world No. 3 Collin Morikawa, No. 5 Xander Schauffele and No. 12 Patrick Reed (replacing No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau, out due to a positive COVID test).
-- Jeff Metcalfe
TOKYO — Not one to take long vacations, Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young figured a three- or four-day trip to Florida during the WNBA's Olympics layoff was an appropriate respite.
She didn't stay long.
The WNBA's 2019 No. 1 overall pick got a call from the USA Basketball selection committee letting her know that a member of the U.S. 3-on-3 team had tested positive for COVID-19 and they wanted her to join the squad.
Young, who played college ball at Notre Dame, flew from vacation to Las Vegas to begin the testing protocol. She met her new teammates in Tokyo. And on Wednesday, they defeated the Russian Olympic Committee in the championship game.
"It’s crazy to think about,” Young said. “Ten days ago, I was on vacation. My life changed like that. Now I’m a gold-medalist. It’s crazy how things work out."
— Chris Bumbaca
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