The U.S. track and field team added a pair of silver medals to its haul Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics, with veteran long jumper Brittney Reese scoring her third consecutive Olympic medal and Rai Benjamin taking second in an exhilarating 400-meter hurdle race.
Tuesday also marks the final night of gymnastics, along with the return of Simone Biles.
In the final event for the women, Biles will compete in the balance beam final alongside all-around champion and teammate Suni Lee. In qualifiers, Biles finished seventh overall on beam with a score of 14.066. Lee was third overall with a score of 14.200.
Biles' return comes after she withdrew from the all-around, floor exercise, vault and uneven bars competition after her early exit from team finals as she said she was struggling with her mental health.
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MONDAY RECAP: Canada hands USWNT shocking loss
TOKYO — For the first time in a week, Simone Biles mounted an apparatus on the Olympic competition floor.
About two hours before she is set to compete in the final day of event finals at the Tokyo Games, Biles warmed up on balance beam. Biles, who won bronze in that event in Rio, walked through her routine, in some places gesturing rather than attempting the skills she will compete later.
Biles had not competed here since the team final a week ago, when she pulled out of the competition after one event.
Biles attempted a vault that is one of the most difficult that gymnasts do but is routine for her. She bailed on the vault one rotation early and barely landed on her feet.
Since then, citing mental health concerns, Biles pulled out of the all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor finals.
-- Rachel Axon
The U.S. women's water polo team defeated Canada, 16-5, in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Maggie Steffens, Makenzie Fischer and Alys Williams each scored three goals in the comfortable knockout round win.
Steffens, a two-time gold-medal winner, is the all-time leading goal-scorer in women's Olympic water polo history.
The U.S. will play the winner of the Australia-ROC game in the semifinals on Thursday at 6:50 a.m. ET. The U.S. - the two-time reigning gold medal winners - has medaled in every women's water polo competition ever since the sport was added to the Olympic docket in 2000.
-- Jim Reineking
TOKYO — The U.S. men’s basketball team is moving onto the semifinals after surviving a stiff but not unexpected challenge from Spain in a 95-81 victory.
Trailing by as many as 10 points late in the second quarter, Team USA rode Kevin Durant to a 36-10 run that spanned both halves and eventually wore down the Spanish team, which got a 38-point effort from point guard Ricky Rubio.
As brilliant as Rubio was, however, he did not have the luxury of playing alongside multiple NBA All-Stars who showed up Tuesday with intensity on both ends of the floor and a commitment to moving the ball instead of settling for contested jumpers.
The U.S. will play the winner of Australia-Argentina in the semifinals.
-- Dan Wolken
TOKYO — The U.S. men’s basketball team is in a real dogfight against Spain in the quarterfinals, tied 43-43 at halftime.
This isn’t a huge surprise, as Spain came into the Olympics ranked No. 2 by FIBA and the reigning Basketball World Cup champions. But the way the first half played out once again highlighted some of the roster flaws for Team USA that have been apparent since the beginning.
The lack of size in the frontcourt. The inability to create easy shots from its half-court offense. The indifferent point of attack defense. All of it has created a situation where Spain is very competitive with the U.S. and at points in the first half looked like the superior team.
In fact, the U.S. is fortunate to be tied because Spain actually led 39-29 with 3:25 remaining in the half until a nice push led by Kevin Durant, who had a team-high 12 points.
The U.S. was impatient on offense for much of the half and shot just 38% from the field. Spain made 14-of-23 from inside the arc and had nine offensive rebounds.
-- Dan Wolken
TOKYO – Fourth-seeded U.S. wrestler Kayla Miracle lost 3-2 to China’s Long Jia on Tuesday in her Olympic women’s wrestling 62kg debut.
Miracle, who trains in Tempe at Sunkist Kids Regional Training Center, went ahead 2-1 with a takedown late in the first period of a round of 16 match at Makuhari Messe Hall.
Long regained the lead with 1:51 left in the six-minute match and held off Miracle’s late shot for an attempted takedown in the final minute.
In the quarterfinals, Long lost by fall to Ukraine’s Iryna Koliadenko, eliminating Miracle’s chance of wrestling again in repechage for a chance at a bronze medal.
-- Jeff Metcalfe
TOKYO — U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will not play in bronze-medal match after hyperextending her right knee in the quarterfinals.
Naeher also has a bone contusion, but an MRI showed no ligament damage, U.S. Soccer said. She is likely to miss several weeks in the NWSL, where she plays for the Chicago Red Stars.
“I’m disappointed I won’t be able to be on the field Thursday with my teammates competing for a medal, but I know this group will bounce back from a tough loss,” Naeher said through U.S. Soccer. “I can’t wait to watch them fight for a bronze medal and I will be here to support the team in any way I can to help us get it done.”
The USWNT plays Australia on Thursday for the bronze medal. The reigning World Cup champions lost to Canada 1-0 on Monday night after Jessie Fleming converted a penalty in the 74th minute.
Naeher injured her knee in the 22nd minute against Canada when she went up for a ball and landed awkwardly. Trainers worked on her for several minutes, including having her test her knee by hopping on one leg. Naeher returned to the game, but pulled up on a goal kick and immediately signaled that she needed to come out. She was in tears as she walked to the sideline.
Adrianna Franch replaced Naeher, making her seventh appearance for the USWNT.
-- Nancy Armour
TOKYO — Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang dubbed it a "superduellen," or super duel. Dagbladet, another tabloid in Oslo, went with "gullduel" – golden duel.
In the weeks leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, it became one of the most highly-anticipated one-on-one matchups, both in Norwegian media and for track and field afficianados around the world: Norway's Karsten Warholm, the world record-holder, vs. American Rai Benjamin, the third-fastest 400-meter hurdler of all-time.
And Tuesday's final did not disappoint.
In the latest edition of one of track's great individual rivalries, Warholm surged at the finish to win his first gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 45.94 seconds, a new world record. Benjamin, naturally, finished right behind him for silver, in 46.17.
Alison do Santos of Brazil took bronze.
It was the second time in two days that Warholm, 25, and Benjamin, 24, crossed the finish line almost in tandem, after sharing a semifinal heat Monday. And it will certainly not be the last time they meet, with both still in the prime of their careers.
-- Tom Schad
TOKYO — American Brittney Reese, competing in her fourth and final Olympics, won the silver in the women’s long jump Tuesday at the Tokyo Games.
German Malaika Mihamo overtook Reese on her sixth and final attempt with a jump of 22 feet, 11¾ inches.
Reese, 34, entered the final round leading with a jump of 22 feet, 10½ inches.
A product of Inglewood, California who calls Gulfport, Mississippi home, Reese won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics. She placed fifth at the 2008 Olympics.
-- Josh Peter
TOKYO – U.S. featherweight boxer Duke Ragan is moving on to the gold medal match after defeating Samuel Takyi of Ghana in the semifinal round of the Tokyo Olympic tournament.
Ragan, 23, won by split decision, 4-1. Takyi took the first round 3-2, pouring on the punches in the last 40 seconds to take a lead. While Takyi continued to build confidence in the second round, Ragan landed several shots in the last 30 seconds to win 4-1. Ragan closed out strong in the third round and secured a berth in the final.
In the final, Ragan will face off against the winner of the semifinal match between Lazaro Alvarez of Cuba and Albert Batyrgaziev of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Ragan, a Cincinnati native, is the first American featherweight medalist since Rocky Juarez won silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Ragan, women’s welterweight Oshae Jones and men’s lightweight Keyshawn Davis are the first three U.S. boxers who will bring home medals. Jones competes in the semifinal on Wednesday against Hong Gu of China and Davis will face off against a to-be-determined opponent in the semifinal on Friday
Ragan turned pro in the summer of 2020. He had a 4-0 record prior to joining the Olympic team – three by decision and one by knockout.
-- Olivia Reiner
Luka Doncic continues to impress in Tokyo as Slovenia breezed past Germany in the basketball quarterfinals with a 94-70 victory.
The Dallas Mavericks star dropped 20 points on Tuesday, and nearly got a triple-double with his 11 assists and eight rebounds. Zoran Dragic led Slovenia with 27 points as the team took the lead midway through the first quarter and held onto it for the rest of the game.
Germany was able to cut the deficit to seven at halftime, but Slovenia outscored the Germans 50-33 in the second half. The win also made Slovenia a perfect 17-0 with Doncic on the roster.
Slovenia will play the winner of France vs. Italy for a spot in the gold medal match, as Doncic and company could meet Team USA in finals.
-- Jordan Mendoza
TOKYO -- Five-time Olympian Allyson Felix is through to the next round in the women’s 400 meters.
Felix won her first-round heat with a time of 50.84 to advance to the semifinal.
“It’s nice to get going,” Felix said after her first race in Tokyo. “It felt good to get out there. I’m ready to bump it up for the semis.”
The announcer inside Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium introduced Felix as “the legend” as she was preparing to run in her fifth Olympics.
The 35-year-old has the fourth fastest time in the field entering the semifinals. Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino is going into the next round with the best 400-meter time (50.06).
Americans Wadeline Jonathas and Quanera Hayes are also joining Felix in Wednesday’s semifinal.
Felix is the only female track and field athlete to win six Olympic gold medals. The veteran sprinter’s nine overall Olympic medals are tied with former runner Merlene Ottey for most ever by a female Olympian in track and field history. She announced earlier this year that she is retiring after the Tokyo Olympics.
“Knowing that this is my last time around, it means a lot to me,” Felix said.
-- Tyler Dragon
American beach volleyball duo April Ross and Alix Klineman, better known as the “A Team,” downed Germany in their quarterfinal match.
Ross/Klineman beat Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Margareta Kozuch in straight sets (21-19, 21-19) to advance to the semifinal.
About midway through the first set, dark clouds rolled in and it started showering for a few minutes. The sky cleared and the hot sun was back, but that didn't seem to affect the U.S. team.
Back-to-back block points from Klineman put Team USA back in the first set tied at 12-12 and there was no turning back.
"That's a super strong German team and we have so much respect for them. I think it was just trusting in our abilities as a team and what we do." Ross said after the match. "We did a lot of preparation and kind of stuck with what we wanted to do. Impressed with ourselves and each other. Just kept our belief and positivity high."
Ross/Klineman will face Swiss pair Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich in the semifinals on Thursday.
-- Alex Ptachick
TOKYO — American Yared Nuguse is out of the Tokyo Olympics due to a quad injury, his college program, Notre Dame, announced Tuesday.
The announcement came just 30 minutes before Nuguse was scheduled to run his first 1500-meter heat in Tokyo. The 22-year-old finished third at the U.S. Olympic trials in June.
Team USA will now have just two athletes in the 1500-meter field: Reigning Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz, and reigning NCAA champion Cole Hocker.
-- Tom Schad
When Jasmine Camacho-Quinn broke an Olympic record and won a gold medal in Tokyo, she celebrated a historic win as an athlete, a Black representative of Puerto Rico and a member of a family she just recently met.
Camacho-Quinn made history twice in Tokyo. She beat Keni Harrison of the United States in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and set a new Olympic record of 12.26 seconds in the semifinal.
Although Camacho-Quinn was born in South Carolina, she decided to run for Puerto Rico to honor her heritage because her mother was born in Puerto Rico.
"I am pretty sure everybody (in Puerto Rico) is excited," Camacho-Quinn told reporters. "For such a small (territory), it gives little people hope. I am just glad I am the person to do that."
-- Gabriela Miranda
TOKYO — Jamaicans Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the women’s 100 meters. The women’s 200 meters figures to be much more of a toss-up.
Thompson-Herah is just a few days removed from becoming a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100 meters. She looks determined to secure another gold in the 200 and become the first woman in history to win both races in back-to-back Olympics..
If Thompson-Herah wants to achieve the feat, she’ll have to beat Fraser-Pryce for a second time in Tokyo. Fraser-Pryce cruised to an easy win in her first semifinal heat to automatically qualify for the finals.
American Gabby Thomas, however, has the all-time fastest time in the competition.
Thomas is the second fastest woman to ever run the distance. She posted a world-leading and lifetime best of 21.61 at the U.S. trials in June.
-- Tyler Dragon
TOKYO — Simone Biles feels good enough again to give it another go.
USA Gymnastics said Monday that Biles would do the last event final, balance beam, scheduled for Tuesday night. It will be her first competition since she withdrew from the women’s team final Tuesday night, citing concerns for her mental health and physical safety.
Biles came to Tokyo as the biggest star of these Olympics, projected to win a record five gold medals. But she developed a case of “the twisties,” a loss of air awareness that can have catastrophic consequences for a gymnast.
-- Nancy Armour
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