The Latest: More delays in Olympic rowing because of weather

By Associated Press 25 July 2021, 12:00AM

The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:

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Olympic rowing faces more delays and schedule changes as weather forecasts predict high winds and strong gusts at the Sea Forest Waterway.

Officials say the expected weather could create unrowable conditions and have rescheduled several events to Wednesday or later. A similar forecast for Monday had forced the Games to move that day’s events to Sunday.

Delayed events include the finals for the men’s and women’s four. They will now race on Wednesday. The semifinals for men’s and women’s single sculls have been moved from Wednesday to Thursday.

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Naomi Osaka made quick work of her first match in nearly two months.

The Japanese superstar who lit the Olympic cauldron eased past 52nd-ranked Zheng Saisai of China 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the tennis tournament at the Tokyo Games.

It was Osaka’s first match since she withdrew from the French Open and sat out Wimbledon to take a mental health break while revealing she has dealt with depression.

Osaka’s match was originally scheduled to open the tournament on Saturday but then was moved to Sunday before her starring role in Friday’s opening ceremony.

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MEDAL ALERT

Japan’s Yuto Horigome has won the first ever skateboarding competition at the Olympic Games, taking gold in men’s street in the city where he learned to skate as a kid and where his sport is often frowned upon.

The first ever skateboarding silver went to Brazilian Kelvin Hoefler, who used to sleep with his board when he fell in love with skating as a kid.

American skater Jagger Eaton took bronze, the Arizonan adapting best among the Americans to the heat at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo.

One of skateboarding’s biggest stars, Nyjah Huston from the U.S., fell repeatedly trying to land tricks and placed 7th in the eight-man final.

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MORE ON THE TOKYO GAMES:

— Powerhouse U.S. swim team shines with 6 medals

— Simone Biles makes her first appearance for Team USA

— Surfing and skateboarding, two of four new Olympic sports, get underway

— An Iranian defector beat an Iranian opponent in taekwondo, then upset a two-time gold medalist

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The International Tennis Federation is giving Olympics players extra time during breaks in play after facing criticism for staging matches during the highest heat of the day.

The federation says change of ends and set breaks have been extended by an extra 30 seconds and will now be one minute, 30 seconds.

Temperatures have risen above 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) for a second straight day at Ariake Tennis Park.

Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev had asked for longer breaks to bring the Olympics into line with regular tour events.

The federation says it will consider suspending play if temperatures keep rising.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Medvedev both questioned why matches Saturday were not moved into an evening session.

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Iranian defector Kimia Alizadeh has shocked two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones at the Tokyo Games, beating the British champion 16-12 in the round of 16.

Alizadeh, a bronze medalist in Rio de Janeiro, won twice for the Refugee Olympic Team to advance to the Tokyo quarterfinals.

She beat Iranian opponent Nahid Kiyani Chandeh in her opening bout before her massive upset of Jones, who was attempting to become the first three-time Olympic taekwondo gold medalist.

Alizadeh is competing for the Refugee Team after defecting to Germany shortly after becoming the first Iranian women to win an Olympic medal in 2016.

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UPSET ALERT

Top-ranked Ash Barty has been upset by 48th-ranked Spanish opponent Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Tokyo tennis tournament.

It was Barty’s Olympic singles debut. She won a doubles match with Australian teammate Storm Sanders on Saturday.

The defeat comes 15 days after Barty won Wimbledon for her second Grand Slam title.

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The U.S. women’s volleyball team’s quest for its first gold medal ever is off to a fast start.

The Americans swept Argentina in their opening match, winning 25-20, 25-19, 25-20.

The U.S. won silver medals in 2008 and 2012 and then bronze five years ago in Rio de Janeiro.

But they are still aiming for that elusive first gold medal in the sport and figure to be one of the top contenders in Tokyo along with China.

Jordan Thompson led the way in the opener with 20 points as she dominated at the net.

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Two-time defending champion Andy Murray has withdrawn from the singles tennis tournament in Tokyo.

Organizers did not immediately say why the British player pulled out shortly ahead of his scheduled opener against ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada on Center Court.

Max Purcell of Australia will play Auger-Aliassime instead.

Organizers said Murray remained in the doubles tournament with partner Joe Salisbury. Murray and Salisbury beat the second-seeded French team of Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.

Murray has a total of three Olympic medals. He also won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2012 London Games with Laura Robson.

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MEDAL ALERT

Australia has set the first swimming world record of the Tokyo Games in the women’s 4x-100-meter freestyle relay.

The Aussies touched in 3 minutes, 29.69 seconds, breaking the mark 3:30.05 that they set in 2018.

The winning team included sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell, who took the lead and anchor legs.

They were joined by Meg Harris and Emma McKeon.

Canada was second in 3:32.78, while the American took their sixth medal of the night with a bronze in 3:32.81. Simone Manuel swam the anchor leg for the U.S.

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MEDAL ALERT

Russian shooter Vitalina Batsarashkina has won gold in women’s 10-meter air pistol at the Tokyo Olympics, five years after taking silver at the Rio Games

Batsarashkina shot an Olympic-record 240.3 points, finishing 0.9 ahead of Bulgaria’s Antoaneta Kostadinova.

China’s Jian Ranxin took bronze after matching Greece’s Anna Korakaki’s three-year-old record of 587 points to lead qualifying.

Georgia’s Nina Salukvadze made history by becoming the first athlete to compete in nine Olympics and announced her retirement to Russian media after failing to qualify for the finals.

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Bryson DeChambeau has tested positive for COVID-19 before leaving the United States for Tokyo and will miss the Olympics. He’ll be replaced by Patrick Reed.

DeChambeau, last year’s U.S. Open champion, becomes the highest-profile athlete to test positive for the virus. He says he is “deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA.”

Reed was scheduled to undergo testing Sunday and Monday to clear himself to compete in Tokyo. The the first round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club is set for Thursday. Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, is now the only two-time Olympian in the sport, which was reintroduced to the program in 2016.

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MEDAL ALERT

Yui Ohashi has given Japan its first swimming gold medal at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

With a dazzling breaststroke leg, Ohashi romped to victory in the women’s 400-meter individual medley, touching first in 4 minutes, 32.08 seconds.

Her performance made up for the disappointment of the previous night, when gold medal favorite Daiya Seto didn’t advance to the final of the men’s 400 individual medley.

The United States continued to pile up medals, with Emma Weyant taking silver and Hali Flickinger the bronze. The Americans have earned five of a possible nine medals from the first three swimming finals, including a gold by Chase Kalisz in the men’s 400 individual medley.

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MEDAL ALERT

Swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia was the surprise winner in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Games.

Australia’s Jack McLoughlin settled for silver after leading much of the race, and Kieran Smith grabbed another Olympic medal for the Americans.

It is the third swimming medal for the U.S. after Chase Kalisz won the first American medal of the Tokyo Games, taking gold Sunday in the men’s 400-meter individual medley.

Jay Litherland won the silver on the same race, rallying on the freestyle leg to take the silver.

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MEDAL ALERT

Chase Kalisz has won the first American medal of the Tokyo Games, taking gold Sunday in the men’s 400-meter individual medley.

Jay Litherland made it a 1-2 finish for the powerhouse U.S. team, rallying on the freestyle leg to take the silver. Brendon Smith of Australia claimed the bronze.

Kalisz, a protege and former training partner of Olympic great Michael Phelps, touched first in 4 minutes, 9.42 seconds.

Litherland was next in 4:10.28, just ahead of Smith (4:10.38).

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Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman have cruised to a straight-set victory over China in their Olympic beach volleyball opener.

Ross is making her third appearance in the Summer Games with her third different partner. She’s already won a silver medal and a bronze. Klineman is making her Olympic debut. They’re among the favorites for the gold medal in Tokyo.

The Americans won the first set 21-17 and then took the second 21-19 over Xue Chen and Wang Xinxin.

Ross and Klineman play Spain on Tuesday.

The American men’s team of Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne play their first match on Sunday night. Bourne was a late substitute after Gibb’s original partner, Taylor Crabb, tested positive for COVID-19 when he arrived in Japan. They’ll face Italy.

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— More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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By Associated Press 25 July 2021, 12:00AM
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