American Molly Seidel, a relative newcomer to the marathon stage, took home the bronze in the women's Olympic marathon.

She won the bronze medal in 2:27:46 of the women’s Olympic Marathon event in Tokyo.

It was Seidel's third marathon run.

Seidel is the third American woman to medal in the Olympic marathon, only after Deena Kastor won bronze in Athens in 2004 and Joan Benoit Samuelson who won gold in Los Angeles in 1984, according to reports.

Peres Jepchirchir led a 1-2 Kenyan finish in the women’s marathon, withstanding the heat and humidity while running through the streets of Sapporo.

Jepchirchir finished in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds in a race moved up an hour to avoid the heat. A smattering of fans lining the course applauded as the Tokyo Games moved north for the marathons and race walks. Her teammate Brigid Kosgei was second.

Men's basketball

Nothing about the summer was easy for the U.S. men’s basketball team, and neither was the gold-medal game.

The Americans expected nothing less.

And in the end, their Olympic reign continues.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men’s gold medalists in Olympic history and the U.S. held off France 87-82 on Saturday to win the title at the Tokyo Games — ending a summer that started with sputters but closed with celebration.

Women's golf

Nelly Korda has given the Americans a sweep of gold medals in golf, holding on for a one-shot victory in a thrill-a-minute finish to the Olympic women’s golf competition.

Korda led by as many as three shots on the back nine. In the end, she needed two putts from just inside 30 feet on the 18th hole for par and a 2-under 69.

Mone Inami of Japan made bogey from a plugged lie in the bunker on the 18th hole and faced a playoff against Lydia Ko of New Zealand for the silver medal.

For the 23-year-old Korda, it was another glittering moment in her dream season. She won her first major championship six weeks ago and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time. Now she has an Olympic gold medal and leaves no doubt who’s the best in women’s golf.

Xander Schauffele won the gold for the men last Sunday.

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Meanwhile, the U.S. women's basketball team will be playing for a record seventh gold medal Saturday night when the Americans play Japan at the Tokyo Games.

Track and field competition comes to a close on Day 15 of the Olympics and Allyson Felix, fresh off her record-setting 10th medal, will try to pass Carl Lewis as the most decorated American runner if she participates in the 4x400 meter relay. The U.S. men's team will also try to medal in the 4X400 relay, and Vashti Cunningham is expected to contend for a gold medal in the women’s high jump.

The U.S. baseball team featuring Todd Frazier and Edwin Jackson plays Japan in the gold medal game, while the U.S. women's volleyball and water polo teams also play in the finals.

Here are some things to watch:

Women's basketball

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will try to lead the U.S. women's basketball team to a seventh consecutive gold medal when the Americans play Japan in the Olympic final.

Bird and Taurasi will be going for a record fifth gold — an achievement no other basketball player has ever accomplished.

Japan has already assured itself the first Olympic medal in women’s basketball in the country’s history. Coach Tom Hovasse had said when he was hired a little over four years ago that his team would be playing against the Americans for gold at the Tokyo Games.

His team proved him right.

Track & Field

Allyson Felix became the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history with a bronze medal in the 400 meters and said after her run she expects to be part of the women's 4X400 relay team.

If she is and the Americans medal, it would be the 11th of Felix's career and move her past Carl Lewis as the most decorated track and field athlete in U.S. history.

At 35 years old, Felix knew coming into Tokyo that collecting any hardware would be the biggest challenge of her career.

"I always believe in myself. I trust my training," Felix said. "But of course I’m also a fan of the sport, I hear the chatter. I think people thought that it was a longshot for me to even be on the U.S. team and I knew I wasn’t a pick for the medals. But, you know, just give me a shot."

The relay participants aren't announced ahead of time but the women's squad could consist of Sydney McLaughlin, who set the world record in the 400-meter hurdles, and Dalilah Muhammad, who finished second.

Women's volleyball

The U.S. seeks its first gold medal ever in women’s volleyball when the Americans take on Brazil in the finals.

The United States has won three silver medals and two bronze since 1984, but has never stood at the top of the podium at the Olympics. The Americans lost to Brazil in 2008 and '12 and to China in 1984.

U.S. coach Karch Kiraly is looking to join China’s Lang Ping as the only Olympians to win gold as a player in volleyball and also a coach. His team is led by three-time Olympians Jordan Larson and Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, who have already won silver and bronze medals.

Women's water polo

The U.S. women's water polo team goes for its third straight gold medal when it faces Spain in the final at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre.

The U.S. is hoping to join the men’s teams from Britain (1908-1920) and Hungary (2000-2008) as the only countries to win at least three straight water polo titles at the Olympics.

Hungary has earned the country’s first medal in women’s water polo, beating the Russian team 11-9 for bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vanda Valyi scored three times for Hungary, which finished fourth in each of the last three Games. Rita Kesthelyi had two goals.

Men's baseball

Mike Scioscia is one win from matching mentor Tommy Lasorda, the only manager to lead the United States to a baseball gold medal.

But host Japan, which stopped its major league season during the Tokyo Olympics, is the favorite in the gold medal game.

The U.S. is a mixture of prospects mostly from Double-A, career minor leaguers and released veterans. The Americans overcame a blown ninth-inning lead in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to Japan to reach the final by beating the Dominican Republic 3-1 and South Korea 7-2.

Nick Martinez will start for the U.S. The 31-year-old right-hander pitched for Texas from 2014-17, then spent three seasons with the Pacific League’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters before switching this season to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Martinez got the opening-round win over South Korea, allowing one run and four hits in five innings with nine strikeouts. He is familiar with Yokohama Stadium from his time in Japan.

LOS ANGELES — From Olympic-hopeful to battling the health care system, Phil Gaimon is among millions whose livelihoods have been threatened by medical debt.

While Congress passed a new law banning surprise medical bills, it won't go into effect until January 1.

“Oh, I was shattered. I was freaked out when it was $90,000," said Gaimon. "And the second bill came, and that might have been the first time I cried in the entire accident. The pain didn’t do it to me, but wondering if I’d have to sell my house. You just don't know, and it's scary."

After retiring from professional cycling in 2016, Gaimon continued training like a pro. He posted routes and progress on social media, gaining a loyal following of supporters and sponsors.

"I was far more valuable having adventures on YouTube and getting hill climb records than I was finishing 18th at some weird race in Belgium no one's heard of," Gaimon.

Three years into retirement, he was contacted by USA Cycling. The coaches were looking for a fourth athlete to complete their team for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I just thought, 'Cool, I’ll go there. I'll make one video for my YouTube channel, Phil tries out for the Olympics. And that'll be the end of it.' But I went, and my time was really fast," said Gaimon. “From then, it was throwing all my plans and the rest of my year in the trash, because if the Olympics is possible, then nothing else really matters.”

But his aspirations were cut short while competing in an Olympic-qualifying event in Pennsylvania. He suffered life-threatening injuries after colliding with another rider.

“The next two months were just like a blur of hospitals, where you can't tell day from night," he recalled.

Covered by two insurance plans, he encouraged supporters to donate funds to No Kid Hungry instead of his medical bills.

"And ironically, I was not covered," he said.

His case was featured in the Kaiser Health News series Bill of the Month. His care at two East Coast hospitals was out of network, leaving him with $150,000 in medical bills.

"For months, I thought it was a mistake," said Gaimon. "Spent my day writing letters and making phone calls and trying to educate myself on what else to do.”

A new law going into effect in January protects Americans nationwide from costly surprise bills.

It bans providers from charging out-of-network prices for emergency care. For scheduled procedures, out-of-network providers must give patients an estimated bill ahead of time.

Ambulances, however, will still be exempt from the law.

“I think a lot of people are scared into paying for these bills or bullied into it or tricked into it. They tried to do it to me," said Gaimon.

The law will establish one system for filing complaints, which can be made verbally or in writing. The government must respond to consumer claims within 60 days.

Providers could face up to $10,000 for each violation.

Gaimon says he won't write a check until the numbers on his bill make sense.

“I picked a cause I believe in, No Kid Hungry. The cause of medical BS found me. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being a politician or spouting about that, but it is something everyone needs to know about," he said.

TOKYO —

Set the alarm for Day 14 of the Tokyo Games and watch Allyson Felix attempt to win a 10th track and field Olympic medal over breakfast. Then stay up late to catch the U.S. men's basketball team play for the gold.

Most of Friday's high-profile events are early, including the jumping team event at Tokyo's Equestrian Park. Jessica Springsteen, daughter of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band wife, Patti Scialfa, will attempt to win her first Olympic medal.

Medals will be awarded in the women's marathon, women's high jump, women's 10,000-meters, men's javelin, men's 1,500-meters and both 4x400 meter relays.

Women's Volleyball

April Ross now has the complete set of Olympic beach volleyball medals: silver in London, bronze in Rio de Janeiro and a gold she won with Alix Klineman at the Tokyo Games on Friday with a victory over Australia.

The Americans beat Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Australia 21-15, 21-16 under a blazing sun in a match that was mercifully quick for the biggest crowd yet at Shiokaze Park — about 60 people in the temporary stadium that seats 9,600.

Playing in 92-degree Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) temperatures under the hot Tokyo sun, the Americans finished off the Aussies in 43 minutes. In the bronze medal match earlier Friday, Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre of Switzerland cruised to a straight-set victory over Latvia.

The silver for Australia was its first beach volleyball medal since Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst took gold on Bondi Beach in 2000. But they were never really close against the Americans, who tied for the top spot in the Olympic qualification points race and lost just one set in seven matches in Tokyo.

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Here are some things to watch (all times Eastern):

Track & Field

Allyson Felix came to the Tokyo Games chasing history. The track star has nine medals across four Olympics, most of any woman in U.S. track and field history.

One more medal would give her 10 — enough to tie Carl Lewis' overall Olympic record and pass Merlene Ottey of Jamaica for most in women's track and field. Felix will run in the finals of the 400-meters, but at 35 years old, she knows the task will be difficult.

"You get older," said Felix, "and it seems like it’s harder."

Men's Basketball

France made sure the U.S. wouldn't win a medal at the 2019 Basketball World Cup, then beat the Americans again to open the Tokyo Games.

If France beats the U.S. for a third consecutive time, the country will take over as Olympic champions.

The rematch is set: France and the U.S. play for gold, and France has made it this far in the Olympics only twice before, falling to the U.S. in the gold-medal games at Sydney in 2000 and at London in 1948.

The Americans are bidding for a fourth consecutive gold medal, and Kevin Durant can join Carmelo Anthony as the only U.S. men with three basketball golds.

No nation has ever defeated the U.S. men twice in the same Olympics.

Equestrian

Jessica Springsteen failed to qualify for the individual jumping finals at Tokyo’s Equestrian Park in her first Olympic Games, but the daughter of Bruce Springsteen can still medal in the jumping team event.

The 29-year-old will be part of America’s four-rider entry.

The U.S. won the event at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2018 and will be seeking a record fourth Olympic gold medal in the team jumping event. The Americans have won a record nine Olympic medals in the team jumping event, including silver at the Rio Games.

Water Polo

Greece plays Hungary and Serbia takes on Spain in the semifinals of the men’s water polo tournament.

Each game is a rematch from the first day of group play in Tokyo. Spain beat Serbia 13-12 in their first matchup, and Greece held off Hungary for a 10-9 win.

Greece is one win away from its first men’s water polo medal at the Olympics. Serbia is looking for its second straight title after it won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Men's Baseball

South Korea plays Dominican Republic in the bronze medal baseball game. The U.S. beat South Korea to send the defending champions into the bronze medal game.

TOKYO, —

The main action for Day 12 of the Tokyo Games is at Olympic Stadium with live track & field events.

Additionally, in canoe sprint, Nevin Harrison is the only athlete representing the United States and the gold medal favorite in the women’s canoe 200.

Track & Field

Sydney McLaughlin broke her world record Wednesday and won the Olympic 400-meter-hurdles gold, finishing in 51.46 seconds in yet another close victory over rival Dalilah Muhammad.

McLaughlin came from behind over the last 100 meters to top the defending Olympic champion. Muhammad's time of 51.58 also beat McLaughlin's old record of 51.9, set at the Olympic trials last month.

Femke Bol of the Netherlands finished third.

Women's Basketball

Serbia rallied to beat China 77-70 Wednesday to reach a second straight semifinals in women's basketball.

The Serbians now will play either the United States or Australia in the semifinals of the women's basketball tournament Friday. They're aiming to improve on the bronze they won at the 2016 Rio Games.

The U.S. women's basketball team will face Australia in the next step toward a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.

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Here are some things to watch (all times Eastern):

Canoe Sprint

Nevin Harrison is the only athlete representing the United States in canoe sprint and the gold medal favorite in the women's canoe 200.

Harrison won the 2019 world championship at just 17 years old, and she won a world cup series title in May. She took up the sport at the urging of a summer camp counselor when she was 12 years old.

She also has a chance to be the first female Olympic champion in the event. The canoe 200 was added this year as part of the Olympics’ efforts at gender equity. It has been part of the canoe world championships for several years.

Beach Volleyball

April Ross and Alix Klineman will play for a spot in the women's beach volleyball gold medal match against Switzerland.

The Americans knocked out Germany and defending Olympic champion Laura Ludwig in the quarterfinals, leaving Ross as the only woman remaining in the beach volleyball tournament with an Olympic medal on her resume.

Ross won silver in London in 2012 and bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Women's Golf

The second round of women's golf features the top 14 players in the world, led by top-ranked Nelly Korda. The 23-year-old Floridian is the daughter of tennis player Petr Korda, who won the 1998 Australian Open.

Of the 60 players, 29 have returned from the Rio Games, the first time golf was played in the Olympics in more than a century. All three medalists from Rio are back, including winner Inbee Park of South Korea.

The Americans and South Koreans are the only countries that have the maximum four players. It has been a strong year for the American golfers with six LPGA wins — the most of any country on a tour that has been dominated by the South Koreans for the past decade.

The rough has been trimmed significantly since American golfer Xander Schauffele won the men's tournament at 18-under par. The men required a seven-way playoff to determine the bronze medalist and a playoff of some variety for the women would not be a surprise.

Sport Climbing

The Olympic debut of sport climbing continues with women's qualifying, which includes an element of surprise in that the climbers won’t get a chance to see the wall in two of the three disciplines until right before their first attempt.

Climbing at the Olympics will have three disciplines: lead, boulder and speed.

Lead is pretty much what recreational climbers face at climbing gyms, only on a much higher wall (15 meters) and far more difficult. There’s a six-minute limit, whoever climbs highest wins.

Bouldering is a set of four "problems" on 4.5-meter walls where turning upside down is sometimes the solution to reaching the top. Climbers have five minutes — four in the final — to solve each boulder in as many attempts as they want.

Speed is a race to the top of a 15-meter wall on a standardized route.

The action on Day 13 of the Tokyo Games will feature track and field, with medals in the men's 400-meter final, the men's and women's 4x100 relays and the women's 400 meters.

The women’s beach volleyball final gets underway, while the U.S. women's soccer team tries to salvage its Olympic tournament in the bronze medal match. The U.S. men's basketball team is one game away from its 16th Olympic men’s basketball gold medal with a semifinal matchup against Australia.

Here are some things to watch (all times Eastern):

Track & Field

American track stars Michael Cherry and Michael Norman will be chasing medals in the men's 400-meter final.

Cherry is a two-time world championship medalist and Norman is among the top three in the world.

But the stacked field includes Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, a country that has never won gold in an individual Olympic track event. The reigning world champion is the favorite.

Although reigning Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk is out, there’s another former winner in the field — Kirani James of Grenada, who won at the 2012 London Games.

The sleeper is Anthony Jose Zambrano, who could become the first Colombian man to win a track and field medal at the Olympics.

And, there’s a little history to consider: The Americans have never gone three straight Olympics without winning gold in the 400. Team USA failed to win in 2012 and ’16.

“I’m just waiting to have a breakthrough and hopefully that breakthrough is on Thursday,” Norman said.

Men's Basketball

The U.S. looks to move one win away from its 16th Olympic men’s basketball gold medal when it takes on Australia. The American men have never lost to the Australians in a major competition, going 15-0 in such meetings.

Australia has already defeated the U.S. men’s basketball team once this summer, in an exhibition at Las Vegas before the Tokyo Games. The Boomers would clinch their first major international men’s medal — from Olympics or World Cup competition — with a win. They’re 0-10 all time in those competitions when playing to secure a medal.

It’s also a matchup that will have U.S. coach Gregg Popovich and Australia point guard Patty Mills opposing one another. Mills was the last remaining member of the 2014 NBA champion Spurs — coached by Popovich — to play in San Antonio. Mills decided earlier this week to leave the Spurs as a free agent and sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

In the other semifinal, Slovenia’s Olympic basketball debut is already a smashing success behind Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. He's been the best player in the tournament and has flirted with triple-doubles in each of his past two games.

Now Doncic gets a chance to take his tiny nation to the gold medal game in Saitama. All that stands in Slovenia’s way is France, which knocked off the U.S. to open the Tokyo Games.

Doncic is a perfect 17-0 when playing for his national team.

Women's Soccer

It will be an early wakeup call to watch the Americans in the bronze medal match against Australia. The Matildas reached the medal round for the first time ever at an Olympics and desperately want to leave Kashima with the bronze.

The Americans are hoping to salvage a disappointing tournament, which included a scoreless draw against Australia in the final game of the group stage. Australia was also the only team to score on the Swedes, who play Canada for the gold.

The United States is the top-ranked team in the world and the defending World Cup champions, but goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher injured her right knee and won’t be available for the final match. Adrianna Franch will get the start in a match.

Water Polo

The U.S. women's water polo team remains in the hunt for its third consecutive gold medal and faces the Russian Olympic Committee in the semifinals.

The Americans are 21-1 this year, with their lone loss coming against Hungary last week.

The men’s teams from Britain (1908-1920) and Hungary (2000-2008) are the only countries to win at least three straight water polo titles at the Olympics.

Skateboarding

It's the last chance to catch wildly popular skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics with the men's park final.

The format is taken from the style of skateboarding that originated in Venice Beach, California, and features steeper edges of bowls and ramps. That enables higher velocity gains in shorter times — and probably plenty of awesome moves.

Heimana Reynolds from Hawaii represents the Americans in the competition.

TOKYO —

For Team USA, Allyson Felix will attempt to pass Merlene Ottey of Jamaica as the female Olympian with the most track and field medals in the mixed 4x400 relay and the women's 100-meter dash will be decided after a spirited day of heats.

Kevin Durant and the U.S. men’s basketball team face Czech Republic in its final game of group play.

Swimming

Caeleb Dressel added a world record to his growing medal haul.

He won't be joining a very exclusive club, however.

Dressel's bid to win six gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics was over before he even dove into the pool for the new 4x100-meter mixed medley relay Saturday.

The Americans were too far behind when their top swimmer took over. The best Dressel could do was rally the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in the race that features two men and two women on each team.

Track & Field

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare was provisionally suspended for doping Saturday, hours before the former world championships silver medalist was due to run in the semifinals of the women's 100 meters at the Olympics.

Okagbare tested positive for human growth hormone in an out-of-competition test on July 19, four days before the Olympics opened, the Athletics Integrity Unit said, prompting a mandatory provisional suspension.

The results of that test were only received by track and field's anti-doping body late Friday and after Okagbare had already run in the 100 heats on the opening day of track competition at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, the AIU said.

She won her heat in 11.05 seconds and was due to run in the semifinals on Saturday. The highly-anticipated women's 100 final is the last event on the day's track schedule.

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Here are some other things to watch (all times Eastern):

Men's Basketball

The U.S. men’s basketball team can secure second place in Group A and clinch a berth in the Olympic quarterfinals on Saturday when it faces the Czech Republic.

A win would also give the U.S. a chance at securing a top-four seed for the quarterfinals, which will be played in Saitama on Tuesday. Having a top-four seed is critical because it would mean that the Americans would not face any group winners in the knockout stage before the semifinals.

Beach Volleyball

The knockout round begins in beach volleyball and the top American team of April Ross and Alix Klineman made it through the preliminaries unscathed, winning all three of their matches.

That puts the Americans on the opposite side of the bracket from the overall No. 1 overall, Canada. They would not meet until the gold medal match.

For the late crowd

The elimination round of men's beach volleyball is set for tonight, along with the men's 1,500-meter free and the BMX Freestyle Finals.

The finals in men's and women's singles tennis are also tonight.

Editor's note: You will notice that this article is numbered. The main intention of the addition of numbers is not to rank these incredible athletes and their accomplishments, but rather to help readers track their progress within the article.

Nearly 11,000 athletes traveled to Tokyo to compete in the 2020 Olympics, and almost 49% of the competitors are female. With that many incredible women in one place, it's no wonder that history, highlights and hype are being added every day.

Here are 20 ways women have stolen the show in the first week of the 2020 Games:

Writing History

1. Ledecky, Sullivan go 1-2 in first Olympic women's 1500m freestyle race

When it was confirmed in June of 2017 that the women's 1500m freestyle would make its Olympic debut in Tokyo, the question was not who would win gold but rather how much faster Katie Ledecky would swim than the next closest competitor.

The six-time Olympic gold medalist swam the 30 laps in 15:37.34, over four seconds faster than teammate Erica Sullivan who clinched the silver. Though Ledecky didn't beat her own world record of 15:20:48 set at a Pro Series meet in 2018, she said after the race that she was happy to "get the job done."

She added that she thinks "of all the great female swimmers the U.S. has had that haven't had that opportunity to swim that event" and was glad she and Sullivan could honor them "in the best possible way."

2. Lee carries on American winning streak in women's all-around

Entering the women's artistic gymnastics individual all-around final Suni Lee had the weight of an American legacy on her shoulders. In the last four Olympics, a gymnast representing Team USA had been crowned Olympic champion, and Lee became the gold medal favorite overnight after reigning champion Simone Biles withdrew from the event to focus on her mental health.

As she has done time and time again in Tokyo, Lee delivered when the stakes were high and hit all four of her routines, including an incredibly difficult set on the uneven bars that scored a 15.300. Her final score of 57.433 was enough to edge out Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who won the silver. The 18-year-old is the first Hmong-American to compete in the Olympics and the first to win gold.

3. Moore surfs her way to Olympic gold

It's only fitting that the first Olympic gold in women's surfing was won by a competitor from Hawaii, the birthplace of the sport. Honolulu's Carissa Moore outscored South Africa's Bianca Buitendag 14.93 to 8.46 in the final round to become the first female Olympic champion in surfing.

4. Teens top first ever Olympic skateboarding competition

Wondering what Generation Z is up to these days? At the 2020 Olympics, the answer is simple: winning medals.

Hometown favorite Momiji Nishiya and Rayssa Leal of Brazil picked up gold and silver in the women's street skateboarding competition, though "women" may be a bit of a stretch. Both are only 13 while bronze medalist Funa Nakayama of Japan is 16.

The sport's universally acknowledged "G.O.A.T," Tony Hawk, had retired by the time Monday's three medalists were born, which means the trio could be recognized as skateboarding baby G.O.A.T.s or...kids?

5. Zolotic tops taekwondo competition to grab America's first gold

Anastasija Zolotic entered the Tokyo Olympics ranked seventh in the women's 57kg taekwondo competition but outscored every opponent she faced to become the first American female to win gold in the event. Her medal was also Team USA's first gold in taekwondo since 2004.

6. Neff leads Switzerland in sweep of mountain bike podium

Jolanda Neff not only won Switzerland's first gold in the women's mountain bike event but also led the first-ever Olympic podium sweep by one country in the discipline's history. Teammates Sina Frei and Linda Indergand earned silver and bronze but could not catch Neff, who finished the race in 1:15:46. Her winning gap – 1:11 – is the widest in the event's Games history.

7. Parratto, Schnell win first U.S. medals in women's synchronized 10m platform

The women's synchronized 10m platform has been an Olympic event since 2000, but before 2020 a pair representing the U.S. had never made the podium. That changed when Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell nailed their final dive, a back 2 1/2-somersault pike with 1 1/2 twists, to clinch a silver medal.

8. Kiefer is Team USA's fencing golden girl

In her third Olympic appearance, Lee Kiefer captured the first gold of her career and became the first American to win an individual foil gold. She defeated reigning Olympic champion Inna Deriglazova 15-13 to earn Team USA's first fencing gold of the Tokyo Games.

Global Impact

9. Diaz lifts the Philippines to new Olympic heights

In the women's 55kg weightlifting competition, Hidilyn Diaz set two Olympic records and won the Philippines' first ever gold medal. The four-time Olympian, who won a silver in Rio, snatched 97kg and lifted 127kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 224kg. Her gold medal ended the Philippines' 97-year gold-medal drought.

10. Lehis leads Estonia to its first fencing medals in nation's history

Prior to this Olympic Games, Estonia had never won an Olympic medal in any fencing event. Katrina Lehis claimed the county's first medal of any color with a bronze in the women's individual epee and scored the final touch in the women's team epee competition to clinch the nation's first fencing gold and team medal.

11. Duffy wins first gold for Bermuda

Flora Duffy was one of only two athletes in Tokyo representing Bermuda, and her golden performance in the triathlon made her the first competitor from the nation to stand atop an Olympic podium. Her time of 1:55:36 was over a minute faster than silver medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown.

Bermuda is the smallest nation to ever win an Olympic gold.

12. Guryeva takes home Turkmenistan's first Olympic medal

Polina Guryeva lifted a combined 217kg in the women's 59kg weightlifting competition to induct Turkmenistan into the all-time Olympic medal count. The 28-year-old snatched 96kg and lifted 121kg in the clean and jerk to earn a silver medal and a place in Olympic history.

13. Japan downs U.S. in highlight-filled gold-medal softball game

The gold-medal rematch was 13 years in the making, and it did not disappoint. Japan defended its gold medal for the Beijing Games, the last time softball was contested in an Olympics, by downing the U.S. 2-0.

The matchup produced a highlight reel that's worth watching more than once due to incredible catches by outfielders Michelle Moultrie and Janie Reed, who robbed Fujita Yamato of a homerun. Japanese pitcher Ueno Yukiko was phenomenal in the circle, allowing just two hits and striking out five batters in six shutout innings.

Standing Apart from the Rest

14. Yang wins first gold awarded in 2020 Games

Yang Qian earned the unique title of the first Olympic gold medalist of the Tokyo Games with a win in a nail-biting final in the women's 10-meter air rifle competition.

The 21-year-old trailed 231.4 to 231.3 heading into the final two shots but maintained her composure to clinch the gold when silver medalist Anastasiia Galashina (ROC) faltered on her final shot.

15. Alvarado makes history with demonstration during floor routine

Luciana Alvarado is the first gymnast from Costa Rica to ever qualify for the Olympics and did something no other elite gymnast has done before in a major international competition.

The 18-year-old ended her floor routine by taking a knee and raising her right fist in the air, a movement she said was intentionally included in her choreography as a sign of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

16. Jacoby puts Alaska on the map with gold in 100m breaststroke

The 17-year-old shocked the world when she finished ahead of South Africa's Tatjana Schoenmaker and teammate Lilly King, but the corner of the Earth that featured the most excitement was Lydia Jacoby's hometown of Seward, Alaska.

At a watch party, her supporters witnessed their local star become the first Alaskan to ever win a swimming gold and exploded into foam-finger-waving celebration.

17. Abe Uta captures judo gold on same day as brother Hifuma

From the first Saturday of the Tokyo Games until the end of time Abe Uta has bragging rights over her older brother Abe Hifumi because she won Olympic gold first. The siblings became the first brother and sister to win gold at the same Olympics with victories in their respective judo matches.

Uta claimed gold by winning the women's half lightweight final against France's Amandine Buchard while Hifuma joined the party a few hours later by defeating Georgian judoka Vazha Margvelashvili. Together, they made history, but Uta earned the right to always put her name first.

18. Kiesenhofer shocks the world in women's road race

Anna Kiesenhofer pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic cycling history to win the women's road race and Austria's first gold at a Summer Olympics since 2004.

The lone rider from Austria finished the 85.1-mile (137 km) course from Musashinonomori Park to Fuji International Speedway in 3:52:45 to beat out favorite Annemiek van Vleuten (NED). Austria's only other gold medal in cycling was in 1896.

19. U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team wins silver after Biles withdraws

In a demonstration of grit and grace under pressure, the U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team won a silver in team finals after losing its leader, superstar Simone Biles, at the top of the competition. Biles struggled on vault and withdrew from the remaining three events, but Suni Lee, Grace McCallum, and Jordan Chiles stepped up on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise to score a combined 166.096.

Lee was not slated to compete on floor exercise but hit her routine in the final rotation to help Team USA make the podium while Chiles had to come off the bench on bars and beam. She made errors on those events in qualifying but was rock solid in team finals.

20. Werth bests her own record for most career equestrian medals

There is no denying that Isabell Werth is the best in her sport, but if there were any doubts, the 52-year-old shut them down by winning two medals in Tokyo to bring her career total to 12.

Werth won a gold with Germany in the dressage team event and defended her silver from Rio in the individual dressage competition. She now has seven golds and five silvers.

Japanese officials have sounded the alarm after Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for two straight days with the Olympics well underway.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katunobu Kato told reporters the new cases are soaring not only in the Tokyo area but across the country.

He says Japan has never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude.

Tokyo reported 3,177 new cases on Wednesday, up from 2,848 on Tuesday, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time.

As a whole, Japan reported nearly 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, by far its highest single-day total of new cases since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins. The country's daily case rate has steadily risen every day since the Opening Ceremony last Friday.

Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is growing and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people.

People are still roaming the streets despite stay-at-home requests, making restrictions ineffective.

TOKYO —

Caeleb Dressel is expected to be the star of Day 7 at the Tokyo Games as he seeks his third gold medal in Friday night coverage of the Olympics.

The U.S. women's soccer team plays the Netherlands in a rematch of the World Cup final, and Allyson Felix can become the most decorated female Olympian in track and field.

Both the U.S. men's and women's water polo teams play and Hannah Roberts in BMX freestyle will try to become the youngest U.S. medalist in cycling since 1912. She’d also be the first female teenager to win an Olympic cycling gold medal.

Swimming

Lilly King took silver and Anne Lazor won the bronze in the women's 200 meter breaststroke at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. Shortly after, Ryan Murphy captured the silver medal in the men's 200 meter backstroke event.

Caeleb Dressel is the favorite in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, an event he won at the past two world championships and is the world record holder. He's already won two golds in Tokyo.

Katie Ledecky will be attempting to earn her 10th career medal as a big favorite in the women’s 800-meter freestyle. A victory would give Ledecky six individual golds over her career, which would be the most of any female swimmer. Ledecky is currently tied with Hungarian great Krisztina Egerszegi after winning gold in the 1,500 free.

The mixed 4x100 medley relay makes its Olympic debut. The chaotic event features teams comprised of two men and two women, but there are no restrictions on which swimmers take each of the four strokes.

That sets up some odd-looking but thrilling races where big leads can quickly evaporate.

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Here are some other events to watch (all times Eastern):

Track & Field

Activity has hardly started at Olympic Stadium but Friday gives a preview of what could be the race of the Olympics.

The women's 400-meter hurdles opening round puts Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad in action. The two have lowered the world record each of the past three times they’ve raced in a major competition. McLaughlin currently holds it at 51.90.

In the mixed 4X400 relay, a medal for the Americans would push Allyson Felix past Merlene Ottey of Jamaica as the female Olympian with the most track and field medals. She currently has 10 medals.

Water Polo

The U.S. women’s water polo team faces the Russian Olympic Committee in its first game since its first loss at the Olympics since 2008. Trying for its third consecutive gold medal, the U.S. lost 10-9 to Hungary in group play on Wednesday. It was the United States’ first loss since Jan. 16, 2020, at Australia. It dropped to 130-4 since it won gold at the 2016 Games.

Alex Obert and the U.S. men’s water polo team take on Krisztian Manhercz and Hungary. Obert scored twice during a tough 12-11 loss to Italy on Thursday, and Manhercz had five goals on five shots in a 23-1 victory against South Africa.

The U.S. is looking to strengthen its position for a likely berth in the quarterfinals.

Early Morning Soccer

The U.S. women’s national soccer team has advanced to the quarterfinals in Japan.

The Americans face the Netherlands — the team’s opponent in the 2019 World Cup final in France — on Friday in Yokohama. If they lose, they will go home.

Freestyle BMX

Hannah Roberts, a three-time BMX freestyle world champion at the age of 19 and the first woman to land a 360 tailwhip in competition, will try to become the youngest U.S. medalist in cycling since 1912. She'd also be the first female teenager to win an Olympic cycling gold medal.

Roberts since 2019 has won three world cup titles, three world championships and has a Pan American Games gold medal.

For the late crowd

Olympic first-timers Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes, the youngest U.S. beach volleyball team ever to qualify for the Summer Games, have a chance to finish with a perfect 3-0 record when they play Brazil in the round-robin finale.

The U.S. women’s volleyball team will play the Russian Olympic Committee live, and the men's trampoline final will also be held.

Tennis begins to wind down. The women's singles final is the headliner, along with the bronze medal matches for men's singles, women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

The third round of the men's golf tournament will also be played.

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps is showing his support for Simone Biles after the gold medal-winning gymnast decided to withdraw herself from the team and all-around competitions at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.

If there’s anyone who could understand the pressure Biles felt as the star of the Summer Games, it’s the most decorated Olympian in history.

In an interview with NBC’s Mike Tirico, Phelps said it broke his heart when he learned Biles was struggling and pointed out the pandemic has put mental health more people’s minds.

“You know, we carry a lot of weight on our shoulders and it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all these expectations that are being thrown on top of us,” said Phelps. “It broke my heart. But also, if you look at it, mental health over the past 18 months is something that people are talking about.”

Phelps said "it’s OK to not be OK" because we’re all humans at the end of the day.

“I think the biggest thing is, we all need to ask for help sometimes too when we go through those times. For me, I can say personally, it was something that was very challenging. It was hard for me to ask for help. I felt like I was carrying, like Simone said, the weight of the world on your shoulders,” said Phelps. “So, it’s a tough situation.”

The 36-year-old said he hopes Biles’ story puts a spotlight on mental health issues, particularly among athletes.

“I hope this is an eye-opening experience. I really do. I hope this is an opportunity for us to jump on board and to even blow this mental health thing even more wide open. It is so much bigger than we can ever imagine.”

Phelps isn’t the only Olympian to speak out in support of Biles. Five-time Olympic medal gymnast Nastia Liukin did as well and she helped explain what happened to Biles on the vault before she dropped out of the team finals on Tuesday.

“In talking to her, she did the right thing,” said Liukin. “You know, she really wanted to focus on the team, and I think when you actually take a look at what happened on that vault, she got lost and any gymnast knows – we call it the twisties – and she basically was supposed to do a whole other rotation and got completely lost in the air. It’s a mental kind of error, essentially, that every single gymnast goes through.”

She said getting lost in the air does happen often with gymnasts.

“The level of difficulty that she competes at is so high and if you are not 100% sure of yourself and where you are in the air, it can be very dangerous.”

As for what’s next for Biles, USA Gymnastics says the 24-year-old athlete will be evaluated daily to determine whether or not she will participate in next week’s individual event finals.

Gymnast Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around competition on Thursday.

TOKYO —

The host country’s 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 tennis tournament on Tuesday.

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.

Trenton native Zach Apple is an Olympic gold medalist, according to the Journal-News.

Apple, a 2015 Edgewood High School graduate, swam the anchor leg on the U.S. men’s winning 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay team Monday morning in Tokyo.

Becker won the race in 3 minutes, 8.97 seconds, the third-fastest time in history. Competing in his first Olympics, Apple swam a sizzling 46.69-second split to bring home the gold for the U.S.

Italy finished second in 3:10.11, and Australia took the bronze in 3:10.22.

Apple will begin his quest for an individual gold on Tuesday in the 100 freestyle. The prelims and semifinals are Tuesday, with the finals set for Wednesday. He likely will compete on other relays this week in Tokyo.

The United States had just given up its first run and was two outs away from losing for the first time in the Olympic softball tournament.

Amanda Chidester stepped up to the plate with two runners on and slapped the ball into left field.

“In my head, I'm like: Score! Score two! Score two! Score two!” she recalled. “When I got up and everyone was running out at me, I was like, We did it!”

Pinch-runner Ally Carda and Haylie McCleney came across the plate on Chidester's eighth-inning single, giving the United States a pulsating 2-1 victory over Australia on Sunday and a likely rematch with defending champion Japan in Tuesday's gold medal game.

Monica Abbott (2-0) struck out 13 and threw a three-hitter in a 126-pitch complete game, giving up an unearned run when Jade Wall walked on eight pitches with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth to force home the automatic runner.

With pinch-runner Ally Carda on second as the automatic runner in the bottom half, leadoff hitter McCleney reached against Tarni Stepto (0-1) with an infield single on a 1-0 pitch. McCleney hit a two-hopper to shortstop Clare Warwick, who set her feet before throwing, allowing McCleney to get on base for the fourth time in the game. She is batting .727 (8 for 11) and has reached 13 times in 15 plate appearances.

Janie Reed, the wife of major league reliever Jake Reed, sacrificed for the fourth time in the tournament, putting runners at second and third.

“Give me a strike, and I’m going for it,” Chidester recalled thinking to herself.

She swung at a pitch on the outer half of the plate and singled sharply past a diving Warwick. Wall picked up the ball two steps onto the outfield grass and heaved home, but first baseman Taylah Tsitsikorinis cut off the throw as Carda and McCleney scored standing up.

Chidester slid into second, taking the extra base just in case a runner ahead of her was thrown out. When she popped up, she saw teammates running onto the field to celebrate.

“Wow! Incredible softball,” Abbott said. “A lot of tense moments. But you live for these moments. You like to compete in these moments.”

Abbott walked six batters, two of them intentionally. She has a 0.00 ERA and two saves, allowing four hits in 17 innings with 28 strikeouts and nine walks. Abbott improved to 5-0 in her Olympic career.

After scoring just seven runs in four games, the U.S. (4-0) plays Japan on Monday in a matchup that likely will only determine which team bats last in the gold medal game. No. 2 Japan (3-0) could clinch a berth in that game when it plays Canada (2-1) later Sunday.

“We’ve got Fire and Ice throwing for us right now, and they’re throwing the ball really, really well,” U.S. coach Ken Eriksen said, referring to his nicknames for Abbott and Cat Osterman.

Abbott escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

Australia went ahead in the eighth after automatic runner Belinda White took third on Leigh Godfrey's sacrifice. Stacey Porter was intentionally walked for the second time, Taylah Tsitsikronis walked, Chelsea Forkin took a called third strike and Wall fouled off a pair of 3-2 pitches before taking an inside pitch. She has driven in three of Australia’s four runs in the tournament.

McCleney's first-inning triple was wasted as the U.S. went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position before the eighth, dropping to 3 for 31 in the Olympics. The teams combined for eight hits and through 10 games, the six countries in the tournament were batting .192 with a 555 OPS, making Major League Baseball’s .241 and 720 OPS seem robust.

Abbott, who turns 36 on Wednesday, and the 38-year-old Osterman are the last remaining players from the team that lost to Japan 3-1 in the 2008 gold medal game in Beijing.

“Hopefully,” Eriksen said, “get back on an airplane to go across the Pacific undefeated.”

Related video above: 2020 Olympics -- opening ceremony

Positive COVID-19 tests knocked Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau out of the Olympic golf tournament Sunday, in a pair of surprises that reinforced the tenuous nature of holding a massive sports event during a global pandemic.

Word of Rahm's positive test came from the Spanish Olympic committee about four hours after USA Golf delivered the same news about DeChambeau.

They are among the best-known of the some 11,000 athletes descending on Japan for the 17-day sports festival at which negative COVID tests — but not vaccinations — are required to participate.

Spain's Olympic federation explained that Rahm had two negative tests after leaving England, where he played in the British Open earlier this month. But a third test that was also required came back positive.

The country said it would not seek to replace Rahm, leaving Adri Arnaus as its only player in the men's tournament, which starts Thursday at Kasumigaseki Country Club outside of Tokyo.

This is the second positive test for Rahm in fewer than two months. He was holding a six-shot lead after three rounds at the Memorial in early June when he was informed as he was coming of the course that he had tested positive and would have to withdraw.

He came back two weeks later to win the U.S. Open and vault to No. 1 in the world. And now, Tokyo will be without the last two U.S. Open winners; DeChambeau won it at Winged Foot in 2020.

After his win at Torrey Pines, Rahm said he was vaccinated when he tested positive at the Memorial, but still had to be quarantined because he had not been vaccinated for 14 days.

“Looking back on it, yeah, I guess I wish I would have done it (vaccination) earlier,” Rahm said then. “But thinking on scheduling purposes and having the PGA and defending Memorial, to be honest it wasn’t in my mind.”

Though not common, there have been people who catch COVID-19 despite being vaccinated. Likewise, there are rare examples of people getting re-infected.

DeChambeau said he was "deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA.”

“Representing my country means the world to me and it is was a tremendous honor to make this team,” he said.

He will be replaced by 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, who must go through COVID protocols Sunday and Monday in order to travel to Japan and be ready for the tournament later in the week.

Reed found out after finishing his third round of the 3M Open on Saturday in Minnesota, where he immediately took one of his required three COVID-19 tests that each must be 24 hours apart. He was planning to start his flight to Japan on Tuesday and arrive Wednesday, which won't leave him enough time for a practice round.

“These days with how good yardage books are and with how much we have to kind of figure things out on the fly as it is, I expect to go in there and play well and be able to manage the golf course and hit the golf shots,” Reed said on Sunday, after shooting a 71 to finish at 6 under for the tournament.

True to his “Captain America” nickname, Reed has long been more gung-ho about the Summer Games than many of his peers on the tour. He's now the only two-time Olympian on the men’s side of the sport, which was reintroduced to the program in 2016. He shot 64 in the final round in Rio de Janeiro and finished 11th.

“It feels like an obligation and a duty of mine to go out and play for our country whenever I can and whenever I get the call. To be able to call myself not just an Olympian but a two-time Olympian is pretty sweet," Reed said.

Reed will join Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele on the four-man U.S team. Reed had been third in line to be a replacement, behind Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka.

Koepka had previously sounded unenthused about the prospect of playing in the Olympics, saying the sport’s four majors, plus the Ryder Cup and other big events, give players plenty to strive for. The Ryder Cup this year is set for Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits.

DeChambeau had been looking to write a new chapter to his theatric 2021 season. It has included months of sparring with Koepka, a sudden break with his longtime caddie, and, most recently, a spat with his club sponsor when he said his driver “sucks” after struggling at the British Open.

TOKYO —

Chase Kalisz got things rolling, claiming the first U.S. gold at the Olympic pool.

By the time the morning was done, the powerhouse team had a whole bunch of medals.

Six of them in all, quite a start Sunday for the Americans in the post-Michael Phelps era.

"I'm happy to be here and kick the U.S. off," said Kalisz, who won the 400-meter individual medley.

There was room for others to shine, as well.

Host Japan won a swimming gold, Tunisia claimed a surprising spot atop the medal podium, and the mighty Australian women set the first world record of the competition in the 4x100 freestyle relay.

The Americans certainly had no complaints about their opening-day performance. In Phelps' record-setting career, which encompassed five Summer Games, they never won six medals in the first session of finals.

"A pretty good start for the U.S.," said Kieran Smith, who in his first major international meet snagged a bronze in the men's 400 freestyle. "We executed today. I'm really proud of us."

The Aussies, who hope to challenge America's dominance in the pool, picked up three medals Sunday.

The free relay was never in doubt, not with a dynamic quartet that included sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell swimming the leadoff and anchor legs, respectively, joined by Meg Harris and Emma McKeon.

McKeon blew away the field on the third leg and Cate Campbell touched in 3 minutes, 29.69 seconds. At the medal ceremony, the sisters touchingly draped their medals around each other's neck.

The silver went to Canada in 3:32.78, while the Americans capped their morning with one more medal to surpass their best first-day haul from the Phelps era (five in both 2004 and 2008).

With Simone Manuel anchoring the relay, they touched just behind their rivals to the north in 3:32.81.

Kalisz was the first U.S. medal winner of the Tokyo Games, and Jay Litherland — who was born in Osaka — made it a 1-2 finish for the Americans by rallying on the freestyle leg to claim the silver. Brendon Smith of Australia earned the bronze.

In the 400 free, 18-year-old Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui was the stunning winner from lane eight, his victory punctuated with loud screams that could be heard throughout the largely empty arena.

"I was surprised with myself," said Hafnaoui, who joined Ous Mellouli as a gold medalist from the north African country. "I couldn't believe it until I touched the wall and saw the 1 (on the scoreboard)."

Hafnaoui finished in 3:43.26, followed by Australia's Jack McLoughlin and Kieran Smith. The top three were separated by less than a second after eight laps of the pool.

The U.S. women did their part, too.

Japan's Yui Ohashi won gold in the women's 400 IM with an electric breaststroke leg, but two Americans were right in her wake. Emma Weyant earned the silver, while the bronze went to Hali Flickinger.

"After we saw (Kalisz and Litherland go 1-2), we kind of looked at each other and said, 'It's our turn,'" Weyant said. "I think that really got our team going."

Kalisz, a protégé and former training partner of Phelps, touched first in 4:09.42. Litherland was next in 4:10.28, just one-10th of a second ahead of Brendon Smith.

Kalisz flexed his muscles and then climbed atop the lane rope, splashing the water while a contingent of his teammates cheered him from the stands at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

"U-S-A! U-S-A!" they chanted.

Kalisz was the silver medalist in the grueling event at the Rio Games five years ago. Now, at age 27, he's the best in the world at using all four strokes.

"That one was the most special type of pain," Kalisz said. "I had vowed that I was going to make that hurt as much as possible and give my absolute best to accomplish this."

Litherland came over to give the winner a hug, having ensured the Americans got off to the best possible start at the pool.

"To come back and do this with Chase means a lot," said Litherland, who finished fifth in the 400 IM at Rio.

After putting on their medals during a masked-up victory ceremony, Kalisz and Litherland walked around the deck arm-in-arm.

No social distancing for them.

The Americans seized their chance after Japanese star Daiya Seto stunningly failed to advance to the final, having finished ninth in the preliminaries after making a tactical error attempting to save his energy for the medal race.

The finals were held in the morning Tokyo time rather than their usual evening slot, a nod to U.S. television network NBC, which wanted to show the finals live in prime time back in America.

That was the same format used at the 2008 Beijing Games, where Phelps won a record eight gold medals. He retired after Rio, having captured 23 gold medals overall, but the Americans still have plenty of star power for the post-Phelps era.

Ohashi helped to make up for Seto's flop in the men's IM. She pulled away in the breast to win in 4:32.08.

Weyant gave chase in the freestyle leg but settled for silver in 4:32.76. Flickinger was third in 4:34.90, while Hungarian great Katinka Hosszu, the defending champion, faded to fifth.

The only people in the stands of the 15,000-seat arena were media, VIPs, officials and swimmers who weren't competing Sunday. It was an eerily quiet atmosphere at times, though many ignored requests by Japanese organizers to refrain for any sort of cheering to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

There was a drum in the stands, as well as a few horns to spice things up.

In a striking touch before the first race, the loudspeakers blared the song "Pompeii" by the British band Bastille, which includes the lyrics, "But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?"

In the pool, it was business at usual. But it certainly felt like plenty had changed in an Olympics that were delayed a year by a worldwide pandemic and are finally being staged under tight restrictions that included a ban on all fans.

The Americans had no complaints.

Even with Phelps looking down from a broadcast seat, they are off to a dynamic start at the Olympic pool.

The torch has been lit at the Tokyo Olympics, and the opening weekend will feature competition in men's gymnastics, women's soccer, swimming, tennis and more.Here are five events to keep an eye on:Tennis: Serbian player Novak Djokovic is in the running for a Calendar Golden Slam — all four Grand Slams plus an Olympic title. He'll try for a gold medal against Bolivia's Hugo Dellien on Day One of the Olympic singles tournament.Men's gymnastics: Men's qualifying is on Saturday. Athletes have been split into three different subdivisions, and U.S. gymnasts Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus and Alec Yoder are in the third and final group, which kicks off at 6:30 a.m. ET Saturday.Women's soccer: The U.S. Women's National Team will play New Zealand at 7:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.Women's basketball: The United States vs. France will start at 4:55 a.m. EST.Swimming: Both women's and men's competitions take place throughout the weekend. Look for butterfly heats, freestyle heats, freestyle relay heats and breaststroke heats.Here's a look at Saturday's schedule for the Tokyo Olympics featuring the United States, listed with live ET times:Basketball 3x3 United States vs. FranceWomen's Pool Round4:55 a.m. ET SaturdayMongolia vs. United StatesWomen's Pool Round8 a.m. ET SaturdayArchery Indonesia vs. United StatesMixed Team1/8 Eliminations9:27 p.m. ET Friday Artistic GymnasticsMen's QualificationThree Subdivisions9 p.m. ET Friday to 6:30 a.m. ET SaturdayBadmintonChina vs. United StatesMen's Double Group Play10 p.m. ET FridaySoftballUnited States vs. MexicoSoftball Opening Round1:30 a.m. ET SaturdayBeach VolleyballNetherlands vs. United StatesMen's PreliminaryAlexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, of the Netherlands, vs. Nicholas Lucena and Philip Dalhausser, of the United States8 a.m. ET SaturdayBoxingCroatia vs. United StatesWomen's feather (54-57 kg) preliminariesNikolina Cacic, of Croatia, vs. Yarisel Ramirez, of the United States10:15 p.m. ET FridayUnited States vs. FranceMen's feather (52-57 kg) preliminariesDuke Ragan, of the United States, vs. Samuel Kistohurry, of France11:36 p.m. ET FridayUnited States vs. ArgentinaMen's welter (63-69 kg) preliminariesDelante Johnson, of the United States, vs. Brian Agustin Arregui, of Argentina6 a.m. ET Saturday Cycling RoadMen's Road Race10 p.m. ET FridayEquestrianDressage Grand Prix Tema and Individual Qualifier4 a.m. ET SaturdayFencingJapan vs. United StatesMen's Sabre Individual Table of 64Tomohiro Shimamura, of Japan, vs. Andrew Mackiewicz, of the United States8:30 p.m. ET FridayEstonia vs. United StatesWomen's Epee Individual Table of 32Erika Kirpu, of Estonia, vs. Kelley Hurley, of the United States9:25 p.m. ET FridayUnited States vs. South KoreaWomen's Epee Individual Table of 32Katharine Holmes, of the United States, vs. Sera Song, of South Korea9:55 p.m. ET FridayChina vs. United StatesWomen's Epee Individual Table of 32Mingye Zhu, of China, vs. Courtney Hurley, of the United States9:55 p.m. ET FridayEgypt vs. United StatesMen's Sabre Individual Table of 32Mohamed Amer, of Egypt, vs. Daryl Homer, of the United States11:20 p.m. ET FridayUnited States vs. TBDMen's Sabre Individual Table of 32Eli Dershwitz, of the United States, vs. TBD12:10 a.m. ET SaturdayShooting10m Air Rifle Women's Final9:45 p.m. ET Friday10 Air Pistol Men's Final2:30 a.m. ET Saturday SoccerWomen's SoccerNew Zealand vs. United States7:30 a.m. ET SaturdaySwimmingMen's 400m Individual MedleyHeats 1 through 46:02 to 6:19 a.m. ET SaturdayWomen's 100m ButterflyHeats 1 through 56:25 to 6:35 a.m. ET SaturdayMen's 400m FreestyleHeats 1 through 56:38 to 7 a.m. ET SaturdayWomen's 400m Individual MedleyHeats 1 through 37:05 to 7:18 a.m. ET SaturdayMen's 100m BreaststrokeHeats 1 through 77:25 to 7:40 a.m. ET SaturdayWomen's 4 x 100m Freestyle RelayHeats 1 and 27:43 to 7:48 a.m. ET SaturdayTable TennisWomen's Singles PreliminaryNigeria vs. United StatesOlufunke Oshonaike, of Nigeria, vs. Juan Liu, of the United States8 p.m. ET FridayMen's Single PreliminaryUnited States vs. MongoliaNikhil Kumar, of the United States, vs. Lkhagvasuren Enkhbat, of Mongolia9:30 p.m. ET Friday TennisWomen's Singles First RoundSwitzerland vs. United StatesBelinda Bencic, of Switzerland, vs Jessica Pegula, of the United States10 p.m. ET FridayMen's Singles First RoundSpain vs. United StatesPablo Carreno Busta, of Spain, vs. Tennys Sandgren, of the United States10 p.m. ET FridayMen's Singles First RoundRussia vs. United StatesAslan Karatsev, of Russia, vs. Tommy Paul, of the United States10 p.m. ET FridayWomen's Singles First RoundRomania vs. United StatesMihaela Buzarnescu, of Romania, vs. Alison Riske, of the United States10 p.m. ET FridayMen's Doubles First RoundRussia vs. United StatesKaren Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, of Russia, vs. Rajeev Ram and Frances Tiafoe, of the United States10 p.m. ET FridayVolleyballMen's Preliminary RoundUnited States vs. France8:45 a.m. ET SaturdayWater PoloWomen's Preliminary RoundJapan vs. United States1 a.m. ET SaturdayCheck out the full Olympics schedule here.CNN contributed to this report.

After a yearlong delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo are officially open.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito declared the games open during the Opening Ceremony Friday at Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

"I greet you all from the bottom of my heart,” Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee, told athletes at the official opening of the games.

“Today is a moment of hope. Yes, it is very different from what all of us had imagined. But let us cherish this moment. Finally, we are all here together," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka later lit the Olympic torch, the symbolic opening of the 2021 games.

The Opening Ceremony took place in a mostly empty Olympic Stadium mostly devoid of spectators. Japan is in a state of emergency in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

First Lady Jill Biden and other world leaders are among the handful of spectators in attendance.

As per tradition, athletes from all participating filed into the stadium. The United States delegation arrived just after 9:30 a.m. ET, led by flag-bearers Eddy Alvarez, a baseball player, and Sue Bird, a basketball player.

Despite the lack of spectators, the program moved forward with typical theatrics, including a large-scale fireworks show.

The opening portion of the program focused on the themes of "apart but not alone," as a choreographed dance represented what it was like for athletes to come together after months of training solo.

The program also featured a moment of silence to honor those killed by COVID-19.

The performance is taking place just hours after the program's director, Kentaro Kobayashi, was fired after anti-Semitic jokes he made during a comedy set in the 1990s resurfaced.

The program's composer, Keigo Oyamada, also resigned in recent days after an interview he conducted in the 1990s resurfaced in which he boasted about bullying people with disabilities.

The Opening Ceremony is airing live right now on NBC. The network will re-air the performance tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in an edited and "enhanced" primetime broadcast that features additional commentary.

TOKYO, Tokyo —

Related video above: 1964 Olympic gold medalist recounts his race in Tokyo

Just 19 years after devastating defeat in World War II, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics showcased the reemergence of an innovative country that was showing off bullet trains, miniature transistor radios, and a restored reputation.

Japan's resiliency is on display again, attempting to stage the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the midst of a once-in-a century pandemic. The challenge is different, and this time there is widespread public opposition that has divided the country over the health hazards with nagging questions about who benefits from staging the Games.

Roy Tomizawa, who documented the '64 Olympics in a recent book, described those distant Games 57 years ago as the "Inclusion Games" in an email to The Associated Press.

He called the attempt this time the "Exclusion Games." But he offered some hope.

"Whether you agree or disagree with the Japanese government, the Games are going ahead in the face of significant risk," Tomizawa said. But he said these Games might also be turned into "Inclusion Games."

"With a high degree of difficulty," he added.

"Organizing an Olympics and Paralympics during this pandemic is like Simone Biles executing a Yurchenko Double Pike, a vault so difficult no other female gymnast wants to do it. Biles can. Maybe Japan can, too," Tomizawa said.

Tomizawa's book is titled: "1964 — The Greatest Year in the History of Japan: How the Tokyo Olympics Symbolized Japan's Miraculous Rise from the Ashes." It came out last year, just months before the postponed Olympics were to open.

Tomizawa writes in the book about the massive effort to be ready in '64:

"Police were taking pickpockets off the streets and ensuring bars in Tokyo were complying with directives to close down early. ... In fact, every man, woman, and child in Japan was getting ready to welcome the world to their country believing it was their civic duty to ensure that foreigners who came to town were not deprived of any necessity or assistance."

This was the year that Cassius Clay won the heavyweight championship and became Muhammad Ali. It was when Roy Emerson of Australia and Maria Bueno of Brazil took the titles at Wimbledon, when Arnold Palmer claimed his fourth and final Masters, and when the Beatles arrived on a Pan Am flight from London to play their first concert in the United States.

And it was later that same year in Tokyo when Yoshinori Sakai — born on Aug. 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, the day the atomic bomb was dropped on the city — ignited the cauldron in the national stadium to open the 18th Olympic Games.

Tomizawa grew up in New York, and his father, Tom, a second-generation Japanese-American, was an editor who worked for the television network NBC at the Olympics in Tokyo — the first to be shown internationally using communication satellites.

The family connection and curiosity got Tomizawa looking for a history in English of those 1964 Games. He couldn't find one, so he wrote his own.

Tomizawa, who has worked for 20 years in Japan, interviewed 70 Olympians from 16 nations. Some were famous at the time: Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser or American 10,000-meter gold-medalist Billy Mills.

Some made other history, like Bulgarian teammates Nikolai Prodanov and Diana Yorgova, who were married in Tokyo during the Olympics. It was billed as the first Olympic wedding and featured a Shinto priest, sake, traditional Bulgarian dances, and an interpreter to explain what was going on.

He said his favorite interview was with Jerry Shipp, a shooting guard on the American gold-medal winning basketball team coached by Hank Iba. It lasted for several hours with Shipp recounting a tough childhood growing up in an Oklahoma orphanage.

Shipp led the Americans in scoring ahead of Bill Bradley on a team that also included Larry Brown and Walt Hazzard. In addition to Shipp, Tomizawa also interviewed Jeff Mullins, Mel Counts and Luke Jackson.

"I think the Olympians tell more of the story of the Games themselves and their reaction to what they saw of Japan," Tomizawa said. "Some had been to Japan in '50s and '60s. I think everyone was surprised and shocked when they arrived in Japan thinking it would be a backward economy."

They were also taken aback by the nature of the Japanese.

"For the Canadians, the Australians, the Americans, the Brits — it was the brutal enemy," Tomizawa said. "When they came, they were welcomed and given such help and support and cheering. It was a surprise to all of them."

They also found what Tomizawa called "operational excellence," convincing doubters about the country's capabilities. The current Tokyo organizers will need that resiliency, although just getting through these Olympics is sure to be portrayed as a success no matter the details and the financial costs.

Japan is officially spending $15.4 billion on the Olympics, but government auditors say the costs are much higher. All but $6.7 billion is public money.

The International Olympic Committee chips in about $1.5 billion, and some of this is payment-in-kind rather than cash. Its payoff is the $3 billion to $4 billion it earns in broadcasts rights, much of which would be lost with a cancellation.

"Now with the world struggling to combat the coronavirus, there is a question whether Japan can get ready for a global competition within its borders," Tomizawa said by email. "If it can, then Tokyo 2020 is an opportunity for Japan to show the world how resilient this nation, and the world can be. Just bringing athletes from around the globe to compete in Japan will be a monumental achievement."

TOKYO — Team USA has announced the athletes who serve as flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday: basketball player Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez.

Bird and Alvarez are the first duo to share the honor of leading the U.S. delegation into the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics. They were chosen by a vote of fellow Team USA athletes.

Last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) amended its policy to allow national teams to appoint two flag bearers, one female and one male, in promotion of gender equality. The IOC also required that at least one male and one female athlete be included in each of the 206 national delegations that will compete in Tokyo.

Of the 613 athletes who were named to the U.S. Olympic Team, more than 230 are set to walk in Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

Bird is a four-time Olympic champion and she’ll be in pursuit of her fifth straight gold in Tokyo. The 40-year-old made her debut in Athens in 2004. She holds a combined nine Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals, which is the most of any basketball athlete, male or female, across the globe. She is also a four-time WNBA champion and is currently the defending league champion with the Seattle Storm.

As for Alvarez, the 31-year-old is competing on the U.S. Olympic baseball team, but he actually earned a silver medal in speedskating in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. He currently plays in the Miami Marlins Minor League system. He’ll be the first athlete from the sport of baseball to carry the U.S. flag in the Opening Ceremony.

As upcoming host countries, the U.S. and France will be two of the final three countries to walk in the Opening Ceremony, with host country Japan closing out the event.

LEXINGTON, Ky. —

The daughter of rock icon Bruce Springsteen and singer-songwriter Patti Scialfa has been selected as one of four riders on the U.S. jumping team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

U.S. Equestrian announced Monday that Jessica Springsteen would be making her Olympic debut. The 29-year-old has said being selected would fulfill a lifelong dream.

Springsteen will team with Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward when the equestrian competition begins Aug. 3. The team will be led by chef d'equipe Robert Ridland and Lizzy Chesson.

"I feel very confident that the seasoned group of riders that we will be sending to Tokyo is in top current form and peaking at just the right time," Ridland said in a statement.

Farrington is 40, Ward 45 and Kraut 55, and the trio has competed at a combined seven Olympics.

Springsteen, ranked third behind Kraut and Ward, will be riding 12-year-old stallion Don Juan van de Donkhoeve.

Officials with the Tokyo Olympics say they will distribute condoms to athletes staying at the Olympic Village during next month's games — but are warning athletes not to use them until they return home.

The Olympic Village — full of young athletes from around the world visiting a new city for a short time — often earns a tawdry reputation for the level of promiscuity among its residents.

In a 2012 ESPN The Magazine story, athletes spoke about the after-hours goings-on at the Olympic Village.

"There's a lot of sex going on," said U.S. soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo, later estimating that "70 to 75% of Olympians" were having sex at the games.

Beginning in 1988, the International Olympic Committee began handing out condoms at the summer games in Seoul to reduce the spread of HIV. Since then, it seems that officials each year break the record of the number of condoms distributed to athletes.

At the last Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, a local newspaper reported that officials distributed 450,000 condoms to athletes. USA Today reports that the prophylactics were available in green vending machines around the village.

Officials organizing the 2021 Games, slated to begin next month in Tokyo, say they will issue about 160,000 condoms to athletes — but they're asking athletes not to use them until they return to their home countries.

"The distribution of condoms is not for use at the athlete's village, but to have athletes take them back to their home countries to raise awareness" of HIV and AIDS issues," Tokyo 2020 said in a statement to Reuters.

Athletes at the 2021 games will face heavy restrictions in the hopes of limiting the spread of COVID-19, which is still spreading in largely un-vaccinated Japan.

According to NPR, officials will be monitoring athletes' movements via a contract tracing smartphone app. Outside of competition, athletes have been told to stay two meters apart from each other, even during meal times.

Athletes are also not permitted to leave the Olympic Village or accommodations unless they are headed to competition or to a pre-approved destination.

The IOC's decision to move ahead with the games has not been popular in Japan, where infectious disease experts have warned that hosting such a large event could lead to a surge in infections.