Why is Russia called ROC at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics?

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Russia, or the Russian Federation, is the official name of the largest country in the world and ranked 4th in Rio 2016 after winning 56 medals. But at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the country can’t use their name, flag, or anthem. Instead, the country will compete under the name “ROC”, which is an acronym for the Russian Olympic Committee. This is due to the fact that Russia was sanctioned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after it was accused of running a state-backed doping program.

What symbols, colors, names and anthems can they use?

In 2020, the CAS sanctioned Russia due to several doping violations, banning it from all major sporting events for two years (a reduction from the four years ban established in 2019 by the World Anti-Doping Agency). Russian athletes are allowed to compete in international competitions but they have to do it under a neutral flag.

Due to the verdict, Russia will be called ROC at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. As for the flag, the country will use the ROC symbol consisting of the Olympic flame-colored in white, blue, and red stripes of the national flag above the five Olympic rings.

Presentation of the uniforms of the Russian Olympic team designed for national athletes competing in this year’s Tokyo Olympics Evgenia Novozhenina (REUTERS)

When a Russian athlete reaches the podium after winning a gold medal, the Russian anthem won’t be played. Instead, music by composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, specifically the Piano Concerto No. 1, will play in medal ceremonies. After the announcement in April 2021 of the use of the mentioned music, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of Russia’s Olympic Committee, said in a statement that “as of today, our Olympic team has all the elements of its identity. We have the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee with the colors of our tricolor, our official equipment, easily recognizable for both our compatriots and fans from other countries, without any inscriptions. And now we have a musical accompaniment.”

Regarding the uniforms worn by the athletes, the Russian flag is not allowed, but the colors of the flag will be permitted.

Olympic Latest: Serbia wins water polo for Games’ last medal

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France’s team players celebrate during the women’s gold medal handball match between the Russian Olympic Committee and France at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

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

Team Gold Silver Bronze Total United States 39 41 33 113 China 38 32 18 88 ROC 20 28 23 71 Great Britain 22 21 22 65 Japan 27 14 17 58

MEDAL ALERT

Filip Filipovic and Serbia have won their second straight gold medal in men’s water polo, beating Greece 13-10 in the final event of the Tokyo Olympics.

Nikola Jaksic scored three goals on three shots and Filipovic made several big plays as Serbia earned its fourth straight win since it lost to Croatia in group play. Serbia finished third in Group B, but it raised its game to another level when the quarterfinals rolled around — just like it did when it won gold in 2016.

Filipovic’s tiebreaking goal with 26 seconds remaining lifted Serbia to a dramatic 10-9 victory over Spain in the semis.

Serbia became the first country to repeat as Olympic champion since Hungary won three in a row from 2000 to 2008. It earned its fourth medal in its fourth appearance in the Olympics’ oldest team sport.

Dimitrios Skoumpakis, captain Ioannis Fountoulis and Angelos Vlachopoulos scored two goals apiece for Greece, which earned its first medal in men’s water polo. Its previous best finish was fourth in 2004.

Greece also matched the country’s best result in a team sport at the Olympics, joining a silver medal in women’s water polo at the Athens Games.

MEDAL ALERT

France has beaten the Russian Olympic Committee 30-25 for the gold medal in women’s handball.

Scores were level at 16-16 midway through the second half before six straight goals for France and a string of saves by goalkeeper Cleopatre Darleux took the game out of the Russians’ reach.

France’s Pauletta Foppa and Allison Pineau had seven goals each, and so did Russian player Polina Vedekhina.

France also won the men’s tournament in Saturday’s final against Denmark and becomes the first country to win both handball events at the same Olympics since Yugoslavia in 1984.

Norway matched its women’s bronze from 2016 with a commanding 36-19 win over Sweden on eight goals each from Nora Mork and Kari Brattset Dale.

MEDAL ALERT

Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan has won gold at super heavyweight in the final boxing match of the Tokyo Olympics, dominating a 5:0 victory over Richard Torrez Jr. of the United States.

The 6-foot-7 Jalolov towered over nearly every other fighter in the Olympic sport’s largest weight class, yet he also has the stiff jab of a much smaller man. He dominated all four of his bouts in Tokyo, sweeping every judge’s decision in three fights and winning by stoppage in the semifinals.

Jalolov is an 8-0 professional boxer who lives in California and fights mostly in North America. He became the most experienced pro to win gold in the second Olympics after professionals were allowed to qualify.

He also won the only boxing medal in Tokyo for the disappointing Uzbek team, which sent 11 fighters to Tokyo after topping the medal table in Rio de Janeiro.

Torrez claimed the third silver for the U.S., which had its most successful Olympics since 2000 in terms of total medals. The Americans are the most successful boxing nation in Olympic history, but they haven’t won a men’s gold medal since 2004.

Frazer Clarke of Britain and Kamshybek Kunkabayev won super heavyweight bronze.

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Lauren Price of Britain has won gold in the women’s middleweight division, beating China’s Li Qian 5:0 in a one-sided bout.

Price claimed Britain’s second gold medal and sixth medal overall in Tokyo with a solid performance against Li. Price is the first woman to win gold at middleweight after Claressa Shields, the American two-time champion.

Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands and Zemfira Magomedalieva won bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

The United States won its first Olympic gold medal ever in women’s volleyball by beating Brazil in straight sets.

The U.S. had won silver three times and bronze twice previously for the most medals by any country that hadn’t won gold. But the Americans finally completed that quest by beating the country that denied them gold in the final match in both 2008 and 2012.

The victory allowed U.S. coach Karch Kiraly to join China’s Lang Ping as the second person to win gold as a player in volleyball and then lead a country to gold as coach. Kiraly won gold indoor as a player in 1984 and ’88. He also won gold in beach volleyball in 1996.

Serbia beat South Korea for the bronze medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Hungary has won the bronze medal in men’s water polo, topping Spain 9-5 at the Tokyo Olympics.

Marton Vamos scored two goals and Viktor Nagy made eight saves as Hungary rebounded from a disappointing 9-6 loss to Greece in the semifinals.

Hungary is the winningest program in men’s water polo with nine golds, but the bronze in Tokyo was its first medal since its run of three straight Olympic titles from 2000 to 2008. It finished fifth in London and Rio de Janeiro.

Hungary’s women’s water polo team also won bronze, beating the Russian team 11-9 on Saturday.

Spain dropped its last two games in Tokyo after opening with six straight wins. It lost 10-9 to Serbia on Friday night on Filip Filipovic’s tiebreaking goal with 26 seconds left.

Alberto Munarriz Egana scored two goals for Spain, and Daniel Lopez Pinedo had eight saves.

Serbia plays Greece for gold later Sunday.

MEDAL ALERT

Andy Cruz has won Cuba’s fourth boxing gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, beating U.S. lightweight Keyshawn Davis 4:1 in the final at the Kokugikan Arena.

Cruz beat Davis for the fourth consecutive time in their amateur careers, but he had to rally with an impressive third round after Davis swept the second on all five judges’ cards.

Cruz and Davis both showed off the hand speed and athleticism that made them two of the most impressive fighters in Tokyo, but Cruz’s technical skills impressed the judges.

Cruz joined two-time Olympic gold medalists Roniel Iglesias, Arlen Lopez and Julio Cesar La Cruz with championships in Tokyo.

The American team has just one shot left to end its 17-year men’s gold medal drought when super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. fights Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov in the final bout of the Olympics.

Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov and Australia’s Harry Garside won lightweight bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

Kellie Anne Harrington of Ireland has won gold in the women’s lightweight division, beating Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil 5:0 in a close bout at the Kokugikan Arena.

Harrington is a 31-year-old career amateur who spent the past half-decade waiting for her shot to follow in the footsteps of Katie Taylor, who won gold for Ireland at the inaugural women’s Olympic boxing tournament in London.

Harrington’s technical precision contrasted sharply with Ferreira’s aggressive, exciting style. Harrington swept the third round on all five judges’ cards to win.

Finland’s Mira Potkonen and Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee won bronze.

Bahraini runner Sadik Mikhou has tested positive for a blood transfusion at the Tokyo Olympics and has been provisionally suspended.

The Moroccan-born Mikhou ran in the 1,500-meter heats on Tuesday but did not advance to the final.

The International Testing Agency says the suspected doping violation was reported on Friday.

Mikhou was previously banned for blood doping but his suspension expired in December.

The IOC has given itself more power to remove sports from the Olympic program.

The decision voted in by International Olympic Committee members comes during prolonged issues with the leadership of weightlifting and boxing.

The IOC can now remove a sport if its governing body does not comply with a decision made by the Olympic body’s executive board or if it “acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic movement.”

Weightlifting could lose its place at the 2024 Paris Olympics because of long-term doping problems and governance issues. The International Weightlifting Federation was led for two decades until last year by longtime IOC member Tamas Ajan.

Boxing at the Tokyo Games was taken out of the International Boxing Association’s control in 2019 after doubts about the integrity of Olympic bouts and IOC concerns about its presidential elections.

MEDAL ALERT

The Russian rhythmic gymnastics juggernaut collapsed in Tokyo, with the country’s team losing the gold medal to Bulgaria a day after losing the individual competition to Israel.

Russia claimed silver medals in both.

Russia has been dominant in the sports for decades. It has won gold medals in both the group and individual competitions in every Olympics since 2000, but the winning streak ended this year.

Linoy Ashram of Israel won gold in the individual competition Saturday, edging out a pair of Russian identical twins who were the favorites heading into Tokyo.

On Sunday, Bulgaria’s five-woman team won gold by beating the Russians in the group final, a two-part competition beginning with routines where performers dance with balls, followed by a set of hoops and clubs. Italy placed third.

MEDAL ALERT

Jennifer Valente got up from a crash in the omnium-ending points race to hang on for the gold medal, capping what had been an otherwise frustrating and disappointing Olympics for American cycling.

Valente won the opening scratch race, picked up three sprints in the points race and performed well in the elimination race to take an eight-point lead into the points race, where points are awarded for sprints every 10 laps.

Valente won the first sprint to pad her lead, then got up from a crash with 30 laps left to keep from losing any ground on her pursuers. She wound up taking second in the final sprint to secure the gold medal.

Yumi Kajihara took silver for Japan. Kirsten Wild earned bronze for the Netherlands.

MEDAL ALERT

Brittney Griner scored 30 points, and the United States won its seventh straight gold medal in women’s basketball, beating Japan 90-75.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have been part of five of those gold medals. Nobody has played more Olympic games for the U.S. than Taurasi with 38. Bird is second with 36 in her final Olympics.

This golden streak started in 1996 in Atlanta with Dawn Staley a player. Staley joins the late Anne Donovan as the only Americans to help the U.S. win gold as players, assistants and then head coaches.

A’ja Wilson added 19 points and Breanna Stewart scored 14 as the Americans dominated inside again. The U.S. extended its Olympic winning streak to 55 consecutive games dating to the 1992 bronze medal game.

Japan finished with the silver in the host nation’s first appearance in the medal round. Japan finished eighth at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says it’s “inevitable” that questions will be asked about the integrity of breakthrough track and field results at the Tokyo Olympics.

Coe was asked at a news conference if it was frustrating that some doubted whether the surprise win by men’s 100-meter champion Marcell Jacobs had been clean.

Italian and British media reported that Jacobs cut ties this year with a nutritionist who was linked to a police investigation of steroid distribution.

Coe said he would not speak about a specific case, though he acknowledged that after “performances that are outstanding, it is inevitable people will always ask questions.”

The two-time 1,500-meter gold medalist says: “Am I surprised about anything in athletics? Not really.”

He suggests people doubted his own rapid career progress from a “relatively modest athlete” in 1978 to an Olympic champion two years later.

Megan Rapinoe says she’s enjoying the greatest gift she doesn’t deserve: being able to stick around and watch fiancee Sue Bird play for a fifth Olympic gold medal.

Rapinoe finished up her Olympic commitment Thursday night when the U.S. won bronze in women’s soccer, with Rapinoe scoring twice in the win. Athletes return home quickly after their final competition under coronavirus pandemic protocols at the Tokyo Games.

Rapinoe says she’s thankful that someone arranged for her to be a few rows off courtside, able to support and watch Bird, knowing this will be her last Olympics. Rapinoe says she feels “super lucky” to be able to attend the game because of all the restrictions.

The U.S. men and their coach, Gregg Popovich, also are in the stands watching the American women play for their seventh consecutive gold medal. The U.S. men won gold Saturday. The teams are flying home on the same plane.

MEDAL ALERT

Jason Kenny has become Britain’s most decorated Olympian by defending his gold medal in the keirin. That gave Kenny seven golds to break a tie with cyclist Chris Hoy and nine overall to break a tie with Bradley Wiggins.

Azizulhasni Awang of Malaysia outsprinted Dutch rider Harrie Lavreysen for the silver medal.

Kenny slotted in behind the motorized pacing bike for the first three laps, then began sprinting the moment it ducked off the track. Nobody reacted to his audacious flyer, and that allowed Kenny to build nearly a quarter-lap lead.

He held it all the way to the finish, raising his arms in triumph after crossing the line.

MEDAL ALERT

Kelsey Mitchell of Canada has won gold in the women’s sprint event in track cycling, sweeping past Olena Starikova of Ukraine at the Izu Velodrome.

Mitchell upset reigning world champion Emma Hinze of Germany in the semifinals before facing off with Starikova, who likewise had upset 2019 world champion Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong in her semifinal match.

Mitchell led wire-to-wire against Starikova in the first of their best-of-three final. Then, she held Starikova off in a drag race to the finish to win Canada’s second gold in the event after Lori-Ann Muenzer’s at the 2004 Athens Games.

Lee easily swept past Hinze to win the bronze medal.

An on-track official has been removed from the track inside the Izu Velodrome on a stretcher after he was knocked over by a rider during a massive crash near the end of the scratch race in the women’s omnium.

The official, who has not been identified, was standing on the track apron near the first turn when Elisa Balsamo of Italy hit Emily Kay of Ireland as they took the bell for the final lap. Both went down, and that set off a chain reaction that took down five more riders, including two-time defending champion Laura Kenny.

The rider from Egypt, Ebtissam Zayed Ahmed, rode right over Balsamo and into the track official.

Serbia is going home with an Olympic medal in women’s volleyball for the second straight Games.

The Serbians beat South Korea in straight sets to win the bronze medal in Tokyo. Serbia won its first medal in the sport five years ago, a silver in Rio de Janeiro.

South Korea fell short in its quest for a second women’s volleyball medal after winning bronze in 1976.

The United States is taking on Brazil for the gold medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Eliud Kipchoge pulled away late and no one could come close to catching him as the 36-year-old from Kenya defended his Olympic marathon title.

Kipchoge finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 38 seconds on a breezy and humid Sunday along the streets of Sapporo. It was more than 80 seconds ahead of runner-up Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands. Bashir Abdi of Belgium earned bronze to close out the track and field portion of the Tokyo Games.

On a day with plenty of cloud cover, Kipchoge cruised. The temperature was around 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) at the start and climbed to 84 (29). The men’s race kept with its original start time a day after the women’s race was moved up an hour to avoid the heat.

Humidity was at 81% as the runners wound their way through Sapporo, which is located about 500 miles (about 830 kilometers) north of Tokyo. The race was moved to escape the extreme heat, but it was about the same temperature Sunday in Tokyo — and rainy.

Kipchoge smiled along the way and even fist-bumped a fellow racer. Kipchoge becomes the third athlete to win multiple gold medals in the men’s marathon, joining Abebe Bikila (1960, ’64) and Waldemar Cierpinski (’76, ’80).

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics

Olympic Latest: France earns gold for 1st volleyball medal

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France’s Nikola Karabatic makes a shot during the men’s gold medal handball match between France and Denmark at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

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

Team Gold Silver Bronze Total United States 39 41 33 113 China 38 32 18 88 ROC 20 28 23 71 Great Britain 22 21 22 65

MEDAL ALERT

France made sure its first Olympic volleyball medal would be gold, beating the Russians in five sets in a breakthrough win for a country that had no history of success.

The French had only qualified for the Olympics four times before this year and never made it past the quarterfinals. But they made it through the knockout stage to earn the gold despite being forced to a fifth set after blowing a 2-0 lead in the final.

Jean Patry rallied the French late in the fifth set with a kill and an ace to put them ahead 13-11. Antoine Brizard then surprised the Russians when he sent a soft shot over the net instead of setting it to give France match point and they won it 15-12 when Maxim Mikhaylov’s shot went wide.

Argentina beat Brazil in five sets for the bronze medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Malcom scored in the 108th minute and Brazil won its second consecutive gold medal in men’s soccer with a 2-1 victory over Spain.

Brazil also won gold on home soil five years ago at the iconic Maracana Stadium. Neymar struck the winner in a 5-4 shootout after a 1-1 draw with Germany.

Brazil had a 1-0 lead at the half, but Mikel Oyarzabal tied it for Spain in the 61st minute off a cross from Carlos Soler.

The Brazilians won a penalty kick in the 37th minute after a collision between Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon and Matheus Cunha. Richarlison, who led the field in Japan with five goals, took the penalty, which sailed well over the goal to keep the game scoreless.

Brazil took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Davi Alves popped the ball high into the box to keep it in play and Cunha slotted it just inside the post.

Gil Bryan nearly scored in the 88th for Spain, but his shot hit the crossbar and the match went to extra time.

Spain won the gold medal in 1992 and was also seeking its second Olympic title.

Brazil advanced to the final 4-1 on a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw with Mexico in the semifinals while Spain got past host Japan 1-0 on Marco Asensio’s goal in the 115th minute.

Mexico downed Japan 3-1 in the bronze medal match in Saitama on Friday.

MEDAL ALERT

France won the Olympic gold medal in men’s handball by beating Denmark 25-23 in the final.

France led by six goals early in the second half before Denmark came back to make it a one-goal game in the final minute. Ludovic Fabregas managed a steal and empty-net goal with six seconds left to secure the victory.

France was playing its fourth consecutive men’s Olympic final after winning in 2008 and 2012 and losing to Denmark in 2016. The French women’s team plays the Russian team for gold on Sunday.

Spain beat Egypt 33-31 for the bronze medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Mariya Lasitskene won the Russian team’s first gold medal in track and field at the Tokyo Games.

The three-time women’s high jump world champion added an Olympic gold medal to her collection with a winning height of 2.04 meters.

Lasitskene moved into first place when she cleared 2.02 meters on her first jump. She had missed early attempts before clearing 1.96, 1.98 and 2 meters.

Nicola McDermott of Australia was leading until she missed her first attempt at 2.02. She cleared it on her next attempt for a national record but missed all three attempts at 2.04.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine finished with bronze after clearing 2 meters.

MEDAL ALERT

A Japanese team of All-Stars fulfilled a determined national mission to win the Olympic baseball gold medal for the first time, beating the United States 2-0 behind Munetaka Murakami’s third-inning home run.

Masato Morishita and four relievers combined on a six-hitter, and the Japanese men (5-0) matched the accomplishment of the women’s softball team, which upended the Americans for their second straight gold medal.

Several hundred people who appeared to be Olympic volunteers cheered on Japan in a largely empty 34,000-capacity Yokohama Stadium, some wearing orange Japan jerseys and matching facemasks on the warm and humid night.

America, the nation that introduced baseball to Japan in 1872, finished 4-2. Teams were denied access to all 40-man roster players and many eligible top prospects by Major League Baseball and its clubs, hindering the U.S. and other countries whose top players are in MLB.

There were no bad exchanges this time as the U.S. men won their first gold medal in a track race at the Tokyo Games with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay.

The U.S. men didn’t reach the final of the 4x100-meter relay, but the 4x400 team of Michael Cherry, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin was never really in trouble as they completed four laps of the Olympic oval in 2 minutes, 55.70 seconds. It was a fifth gold for the U.S. men in the 4x400 since 1996.

The Netherlands took silver in a national record 2:57.18 and Botswana won bronze in 2:57.27.

MEDAL ALERT

Britain’s Joseph Choong set an Olympic record to win the men’s pentathlon Saturday, matching the gold medal won by Britain’s Kate French in the women’s event.

Choong finished third in the event’s swimming, first in fencing, 14th in riding and 15th in laser-run to set a new Olympic mark of 1,482 points.

Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy won silver and Woongtae Jun of South Korea won bronze.

Britain is the first country to win the men’s and women’s individual modern pentathlon at the same Olympic Games.

MEDAL ALERT

Allyson Felix has won her 11th Olympic medal, combining with her American teammates to finish the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 16.85 seconds for a runaway victory.

The team of Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Athing Mu was never in jeopardy in this one.

Poland finished second, 3.68 seconds behind, and Jamaica finished third.

Felix, who became the most-decorated woman in Olympic track history when she won bronze in the 400 on Friday night, now passes Carl Lewis with the most track medals of any U.S. athlete. Of the 11 medals, seven are gold.

MEDAL ALERT

Iran’s Sajad Ganjzadeh has won the Olympic gold medal in men’s over-75 kilogram karate after final opponent Tareg Hamedi was given a disqualification penalty for kicking Ganjzadeh hard in the upper body or head.

Ganjzadeh left the Budokan tatami on a stretcher after falling motionless onto his back from the spectacular kick by Hamedi, who led the bout 4:1. Ganjzadeh moved his arms before he was carried away.

After the officials conferred, a hansoku penalty was issued to Hamedi and Ganjzadeh was declared the winner. Hamedi, who left the mat in tears, still won Saudi Arabia’s second-ever silver medal, but missed out on its first gold.

Hamedi’s amazing kick was the final strike of karate’s Olympic debut tournament. The sport is not on the program for Paris in 2024, and its long-term Olympic future is up in the air.

Hamedi overcame Japan’s Ryutaro Araga in the semifinals. Araga’s bronze surprisingly was the host nation’s only kumite medal in Tokyo. Karate proliferated in Japan and spread throughout the globe during the 20th century.

Uğur Aktaş of Turkey won the other bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

Japan’s Yui Susaki defeated China’s Yanan Sun by technical superiority, 10-0, to win the women’s freestyle wrestling 50-kilogram final.

Susaki, 22, added Olympic gold to her two world titles. It was Japan’s fourth Olympic gold in women’s wrestling out of six weight classes.

Sun had won an Olympic bronze medal at 48kg in 2016.

Azerbaijan’s Mariya Stadnik won her fourth Olympic medal. She won her match for bronze by technical superiority, 10-0 over Mongolia’s Namuuntsetseg Tsogt Ochir. She previously had won two silvers and a bronze.

American Sarah Hildebrand defeated Ukraine’s Oksana Livach by technical superiority, 12-1, for the other bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

Neeraj Chopra has won India’s first gold medal in Olympic track and field with a throw of 87.58 meters to clinch the javelin title at the Tokyo Games.

India’s only previous medals in Olympic track and field were two silver medals won by Norman Pritchard in the 200-meters and the 200-meter hurdles at the Paris Games in 1900.

Chopra was the first athlete from India to win gold in javelin at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games and he has set a new benchmark in Tokyo. He held off athletes from the Czech Republic to finish atop the podium.

Jakub Vadlejch took silver and former world champion Vitezslav Vesely bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

Feryal Abdelaziz of Egypt has won the first Olympic karate gold medal in women’s over-61 kilogram kumite, beating Azerbaijan’s Iryna Zaretska to win Egypt’s second Olympic gold medal since 1948.

The 22-year-old Abdelaziz went ahead on a yuko with 28 seconds left in a cagey final bout. She scored again three seconds later and hung on for a 2:0 victory celebrated with a primal scream.

Egypt has been competing at the Olympics since 1912, but Greco-Roman wrestler Karem Gaber’s gold in Athens in 2004 was the nation’s only other gold in the past 73 years.

Gong Li of China and Sofya Berultseva of Kazakhstan won bronze.

Japan’s Ayumi Uekusa was eliminated before the finals, ending a rough Olympic year for the karate champion. Uekusa spoke out earlier this year against Japanese karate official Masao Kagawa, saying he had bullied her and injured her with a bamboo sword. Kagawa resigned.

MEDAL ALERT

Sweden has defeated Jessica Springsteen and the U.S. jumping team in a jump off for the gold medal.

Springsteen and teammates Laura Kraut and McLain Ward each moved cleanly through the shortened jump-off course and did so with a combined time of 124.2 seconds.

Peder Fredricson, the final Swedish rider, needed to circle the track in 40.30 seconds or better without error and cruised to a time of 39.01 for the country’s record fourth gold medal but first since 1924. The Americans also entered this week with three golds.

France had a clear line to a second straight gold when its final rider, Penelope Leprevost, took the course. Needing to finish with fewer than five points to win without a jump off, Leprevost’s horse refused twice, disqualifying her and the rest of the French team.

That left the Americans and Swedes tied for the lead with eight penalties apiece, necessitating the jump off.

Springsteen, the daughter of rockers Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfia, gets a silver in her Olympic debut.

MEDAL ALERT

Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway surged ahead as he rounded the last curve and set an Olympic record to win the 1,500-meters at the Tokyo Games.

Ingebrigtsen ran behind world champion Timothy Cheruiyot for most of the race before kicking late to win the gold medal in 3 minutes, 28.32 seconds, beating the record of 3:31.65 set by Abel Kipsang of Kenya two days earlier in the heats.

Cheruiyot, who missed initial selection for the Olympics and was a late addition because another runner was cut from Kenya’s team, took silver in 3:29.01.

Josh Kerr of Britain won bronze. Kipsang placed fourth.

MEDAL ALERT

The Russian Olympic Committee’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev defeated American Kyle Snyder 6-3 in the men’s freestyle 97-kilogram final.

Snyder was the Olympic gold medalist at 97kg in 2016 and is a two-time world champion. Sadulaev was the Olympic gold medalist at 86kg in 2016 and is a four-time world champion.

Sadulaev led 6-0 in the final minute. Snyder scored two on a takedown and one on a step-out to make it 6-3 before Sadulaev held on.

Cuba’s Reineris Salas defeated Azerbaijan’s Sharif Sharifov for bronze. Salas, 34, had never won a world title or an Olympic medal. Sharifov, 32, won Olympic gold in the 84kg category at the 2012 London Olympics and earned bronze at 86kg in 2016.

In the other bronze medal match, Italy’s Abraham Canyedo Ruano defeated Turkey’s Suleyman Karadeniz 6-2.

MEDAL ALERT

Russian Svetlana Romashina has won the seventh gold medal of her Olympic career, leading her team to gold in the artistic swimming team event.

Romashina has won or been on the winning team of every single event she’s participated in at four Olympics.

The only other athletes who have won at least seven Olympic golds without ever claiming silver or bronze are Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American jumper Ray Ewry, who both won eighth golds in track and field.

The rest of the ROC team included: Vlada Chigireva, Aleksandra Patskevich, Marina Goliadkina, Svetlana Kolesnichenko, Alla Shishkina, Polina Komar and Maria Shurochkina.

Romashina teamed with Kolesnichenko to win the duet on Wednesday.

The Russians were heavy favorites in a sport they have dominated for more than two decades. Their last Olympic loss in what was then known as synchronized swimming came at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Performing to “Parade of Planets” by Denis Gornizov, with planet designs on their swimsuits, ROC was awarded 98.8000 points for the free routine and finished with a total of 196.0979 points after also leading the technical routine.

China finished 2.5669 points behind to take the silver medal and Ukraine was 5.7961 behind for bronze.

MEDAL ALERT

Sifan Hassan won the 10,000 meters for her second gold and third medal of the Tokyo Olympics after entering three long-distance races.

Hassan burst past world-record holder Letesenbet Gidey on the final turn and won in a time of 29 minutes, 55.32 seconds.

It completed an astonishing 5,000 and 10,000 double for the Ethiopian-born runner, who now competes for the Netherlands. She also won a bronze in the 1,500 meters. Her victory in the 10,000 was her sixth race in eight days in Tokyo.

Kalkidan Gezahegne of Bahrain took silver in 29:56.18 and Gidey, having led for most of the race, faded for the bronze as she had no answer to Hassan’s finish.

Four runners didn’t finish race on another humid night at the Olympic Stadium.

MEDAL ALERT

Japan’s Takuto Otoguro defeated Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev 5-4 to win the men’s freestyle wrestling 65-kilogram final.

Otoguro’s best result had been a world title in 2018.

Aliyev was a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist at 57kg and a three-time world champion.

Bronze medalists were the Russian Olympic Committee’s Gadzhimurad Rashidov and India’s Bajrang Punia.

Jessica Springsteen’s final ride at her first Olympics has put the American team in medal contention at the Equestrian Park.

Springsteen’s horse, Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, front-hoofed a rail for a four-point penalty but was otherwise lightning quick and clean around the course.

Springsteen’s ride followed a perfect circuit from Olympic veteran Laura Kraut for the Americans, and the U.S. entered the final round tied with Sweden and Belgium for second with four points. France leads with two.

The 29-year-old Springsteen – daughter of rockers Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa – failed to qualify for the finals in the individual event earlier this week. She’s picked up four penalty points in each of her three runs spanning the individual and team competitions.

German world champion Jonathan Horne has left the Budokan tatami on a stretcher after getting hurt in his elimination-round kumite bout in men’s 75-kilogram Olympic karate.

Horne withdrew from the Olympic tournament about 30 minutes later.

Horne appeared to injure his arm during a sparring exchange with Georgia’s Gogita Arkania. The 32-year-old karateka collapsed to the mat in pain and was eventually taken away for medical attention.

Horne was the world champion at 84 kilograms in 2018, and he won the European title at the same weight earlier this year. He was among the favorites in this lower division in the Olympic debut of karate, which concludes its three-day run Saturday night.

MEDAL ALERT

Israel’s Linoy Ashram won the gold medal in the rhythmic gymnastics individual competition, ending Russia’s decades-long dominance in the sport.

Ashram, 22, edged out a pair of Russian identical twin sisters who were the favorites heading into Tokyo. Dina Averina, 22, placed second and her sister, Arina, fell to fourth place. Alina Harnasko of Belarus won the bronze medal.

Russia has swept the rhythmic gymnastics gold medals in every Olympics since 2000.

But Ashram’s victory Saturday, her country’s first ever in rhythmic gymnastics, breaks their streak. Her nearly flawless performance included a club routine set to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” and dancing with a ribbon to a techno remix of the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila” while dressed in a blue and white feathered leotard.

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The Danish team of Lasse Norman Hansen and Michael Morkov won the return of the men’s Madison to the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

Hansen and Morkov won just three of the 20 sprints but were consistent enough through the 200-lap race to finish with 43 points. That was three more than Britain, which earned silver on a tiebreaker, and France, which took the bronze.

The much-loved Madison, once a staple of track cycling, returned to the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games. In fact, three riders who took part in the last Madison were still around 13 years later for its return: Morkov of Denmark, Kenny de Ketele of Belgium and Germany’s Roger Kluge.

The race involves teams of two whipping each other around in a relay. One rider is considered in the race at a time, though they can switch at any juncture, and points are awarded to the top four finishers in each 10-lap segment.

MEDAL ALERT

The U.S. has won its third consecutive gold medal in women’s water polo, pounding Spain 14-5 in the final at the Tokyo Olympics.

Maddie Musselman scored three times and Ashleigh Johnson made 11 saves as the U.S. improved to 134-4 since it won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After falling 10-9 to Hungary in group play in its first loss at the Olympics since the 2008 final, the U.S. ripped off four straight wins by a combined score of 63-26.

The U.S. joins 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. The U.S. is the only team to medal in each of the six editions of the women’s tournament at the Games.

Maica Garcia had two goals for Spain, which also lost to the U.S. in the 2012 final. The silver medal matches the country’s best finish in the women’s competition.

MEDAL ALERT

Cao Yuan became the first diver to win gold medals in three different Olympic events with a thrilling duel off the 10-meter platform at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Cao completed another dominating performance by the mighty Chinese team, which was nearly perfect at these games. Yang Jian took the silver, just 1.95 points behind his teammate in a scintillating capper.

Yang nailed his final dive, receiving a string of 9.0s and 9.5s for a forward 4 1/2 somersaults with a 4.1-degree of difficulty – the hardest dive that anyone attempted.

Yang came up out of the water, pumping his fists.

But Cao was the final diver to go off the tower. While his dive wasn’t as difficult, his marks were even better – two perfect 10s, every other score a 9.5. That was enough to give him the gold with 582.35 points, with Yang taking the silver with 580.40.

Britain’s Tom Daley was the only diver who gave the Chinese a real challenge before finishing with 548.25 for the bronze. He now had four Olympics medals in his career – one gold and three bronze.

China’s only slip-up in Tokyo came in the 10-meter synchronized, where Cao and Chen Aisen settled for silver behind Daley and Matty Lee by a mere 1.23 points. That miniscule margin was the only thing stopping a perfect run at the Tokyo pool by the world’s greatest diving nation..

The Chinese were 1-2 in all four individual events, to go along with three golds and a silver in synchronized.

The 26-year-old Cao added to the golds he won on the 3-meter springboard at the 2016 Rio Games and in 10-meter synchro at the 2012 London Olympics. He also became only the second man to win medals in all four Olympic diving events after Russia’s Dmitry Sautin.

Americans Jordan Windle and Brandon Loschiavo finished ninth and 11th, respectively.

A German coach has been suspended after she was filmed hitting an uncooperative horse during the Olympic women’s modern pentathlon competition.

TV footage showed Kim Raisner leaning over a fence to strike the horse Saint Boy, which refused to jump the fences in the showjumping round. That cost German athlete Annika Schleu a chance at winning the gold medal.

The International Modern Pentathlon Union says it reviewed footage showing Raisner “appearing to strike the horse … with her fist” and that “her actions were deemed to be in violation of (the rules).”

Raisner’s suspension only applies for the rest of the Tokyo Olympics, which end Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear if she had been supposed to have any role in Saturday’s men’s competition in modern pentathlon.

Argentina won its second Olympic medal ever in men’s volleyball, rallying to beat in five sets in the bronze medal game on Saturday.

The only other medal the Argentinians won in the sport came in Seoul in 1988 when they also beat Brazil for the bronze.

The Russians play France for the gold medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Busenaz Sürmeneli of Turkey has won the women’s welterweight gold medal in Tokyo, persevering through a difficult final against China’s Gu Hong to win Turkey’s first-ever boxing gold.

Sürmeneli won the final 3:0 with two even scorecards after a bout filled with holding and awkward exchanges. They were caused almost completely by Gu, whose awkward, hold-heavy style confounded opponents on her way to silver. Gu was docked a point early in the second round for holding, but would have won the fight on two judges’ scorecards without the deduction.

Sürmeneli battered Gu late in the second round with the power and athleticism that made her arguably the most impressive fighter in the 100-woman Tokyo field. Turkey had won only two silvers and two bronzes in gold in its Olympic history before Sürmeneli’s run to the first Olympic title at women’s welterweight, one of two women’s divisions added to the Olympics in Tokyo.

Oshae Jones of the United States and Lovlina Borgohain of India won bronze. Jones is one of four medalists for the most successful U.S. boxing team since 2000, while Borgohain is the third boxing medalist in India’s Olympic history.

MEDAL ALERT

Brazil’s Hebert Sousa won the men’s middleweight boxing gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in shocking fashion when his bout with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak was stopped by a third-round knockdown.

The top-seeded Khyzhniak thoroughly dominated Sousa for the first two rounds and appeared to be cruising to Ukraine’s fifth-ever boxing gold. But Sousa caught Khyzhniak with a counter left hook during an exchange in the third, and Khyzhniak went to the canvas hard.

The referee waved off the bout while Khyzhniak got up begged to continue, adding another instance to a series of Tokyo stoppages that would be considered far too early in professional bouts.

Sousa, who beat second-seeded Gleb Bakshi of Russia in the semifinal, joins lightweight Robson Conceição as the only boxing gold medalists in Brazil’s Olympic history. Conceição won his historic gold at home in Rio de Janeiro.

Bakshi and Eumir Marcial of the Philippines won bronze medals in likely the most talent-stacked division in Tokyo.

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.

Hungary was clinging to a 10-9 lead in the final seconds when Alda Magyari stopped a long shot by the Russian Olympic Committee’s Nadezhda Glyzina. Magyari then threw the ball into the open net for the clinching goal.

Hungary beat the U.S. in group play, handing the Americans their first loss at the Olympics since the 2008 final. It outlasted the Netherlands in the quarterfinals before losing to Spain.

Spain plays the U.S. for gold later Saturday.

Hungary’s men’s team — the winningest country in the the Olympics’ oldest team sport with nine gold medals — also plays for bronze Sunday against Spain.

Glyzina, Anastasia Simanovich and Ekaterina Prokofyeva each scored two goals for the Russian team, which won bronze in 2016. Anna Karnaukh made six saves.

MEDAL ALERT

The International Olympic Committee has closed a potential disciplinary case against two Chinese gold medalists who wore pin badges of Mao Zedong on the Olympic podium.

International Olympic Committee spokesman Christian Klaue says Chinese team officials gave assurances the athletes were warned and the incident will not be repeated.

At the medal ceremony Monday for the women’s track cycling sprint, Bao Shanju and Zhong Tianshi wore pin badges of Mao, the founding leader of communist China.

The gesture tested the limits of Olympic Charter Rule 50, which prohibits political statements on the podium at the Tokyo Games. The rule will also apply at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

MEDAL ALERT

Stoyka Krasteva of Bulgaria has capped her impressive run through the Tokyo Olympics with the women’s flyweight boxing gold medal. She beat top-seeded Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey 5:0.

The 36-year-old Krasteva, a 2012 Olympian who returned to boxing in 2019 after a break, dominated her final four opponents to win Bulgaria’s fifth-ever boxing gold and its first since Daniel Petrov in 1996. Bulgaria had won just one bronze in boxing since 2004.

Cakiroglu lost the final decisively, but still won Turkey’s third-ever silver medal in boxing and sixth medal overall. Teammate Busenaz Surmeneli has another shot at Turkey’s first boxing gold in the welterweight final later Saturday.

Huang Hsiao-wen of Taiwan, the 2019 world champion, and Tsukimi Namiki of Japan won bronze in the lightest women’s weight class.

MEDAL ALERT

Galal Yafai has won Britain’s first boxing gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, beating Carlo Paalam of the Philippines 4:1 in the flyweight final.

Yafai, the 28-year-old younger brother of two professional boxers from Birmingham, is a two-time Olympian who had an impressive run in Tokyo. He finished by knocking down Paalam in the first round of the gold medal bout and going on for a comfortable win.

Britain’s powerhouse team has won two silvers and two bronzes to go with Yafai’s gold in Tokyo. Middleweight Lauren Price fights Sunday for another gold.

Paalam fell just short of winning the first Olympic boxing gold medal in the history of the Philippines after knocking off defending gold medalist Shakhoibidin Zoirov on his way to the final. The Filipino team is still heading home from Tokyo with two silver medals and a bronze after winning just five boxing medals in their entire previous Olympic history.

Ryomei Tanaka of Japan and Saken Bibossinov of Kazakhstan won bronze medals. Yafai beat Bibossinov in a thrilling semifinal.

MEDAL ALERT

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.

Aditi Ashok of India delivered one of the great putting performances to stay in reach. She had a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th that slid by the hole and kept her off the podium by one shot.

MEDAL ALERT

The U.S. has won its fourth straight Olympic men’s basketball gold medal , holding off France 87-82.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points for the Americans and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time gold medalists in men’s basketball.

Durant already became the leading scorer in U.S. men’s history in this tournament. He scored 30 points in the gold-medal games in 2012 and 2016, and nearly got there again this time.

France defeated the U.S in the teams’ opening game in this tournament, snapping the Americans’ 25-game winning streak in the Olympics.

The French almost beat them again Saturday while attempting to win their first gold in men’s basketball. They had to settle for a third silver, having also finished second to the U.S. in 1948 and 2000.

Slovenia and Australia will play later Saturday for the bronze medal.

MEDAL ALERT

Germany has won the men’s kayak four 500 meters to make Ronald Rauhe the first man to medal in canoe sprint in five Olympic Games.

The 39-year-old Rauhe is also the second-oldest gold medal winner in men’s canoe sprint. Only Sweden’s Gert Fredriksson was older at 40 in 1960.

The German kayak was trailing Spain at the 250-meter mark before rallying to win by 0.226 seconds. Spain won silver and Slovakia won bronze.

The men’s kayak four 500 at the Tokyo Games replaced the kayak four 1,000, which was held from 1964 to 2016.

MEDAL ALERT

Hungary has won the gold medal in the women’s kayak four 500 meters. New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington missed a fourth medal of the Tokyo Games when the Kiwi boat finished fourth.

Hungary finished 0.61 seconds clear of silver medalists Belarus and Poland won the bronze. The New Zealand kayak was in medal position halfway through the race before fading late.

Carrington had already won three gold medals, in the single 200 and 500 and 500 pairs. She has five gold medals in her Olympic career and six overall.

MEDAL ALERT

Christian Sorum and Anders Mol beat Russia in the men’s beach volleyball gold medal match , earning Norway’s first medal in the sport.

The top-seeded Norwegians beat the reigning world champions 21-17, 21-18 in an intermittent rain at the Shiokaze Park venue overlooking Tokyo Bay. With Qatar’s victory over Latvia for the bronze earlier Saturday, all three countries on the podium – and all six players – are first-time medalists.

In fact, the only repeat medalist in either the men’s or women’s divisions was American April Ross, who won gold with Alix Klineman on Friday. Ross had also won silver in London and bronze in Brazil.

Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy led 8-4 before giving up six straight points, including one when Mol landed on Krasilnikov’s foot. The Russians called timeout and limped to their bench for treatment, but the match resumed and Norway extended the lead to 15-11.

The second set was tied 12-12 before Norway scored four points in a row and never trailed again.

MEDAL ALERT

Brazil’s Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos won the men’s 1,000 meters canoe sprint and Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi took the bronze medal five years after his similar result in Rio de Janeiro was stripped because of a performance-enhancing drug violation.

China’s Liu Hao, the 2019 world champion, won the silver medal.

Queiroz dos Santos was the Olympic silver medalist in 2016.

Tarnovschi was suspended for four years after his doping violation. He was able to return to the Olympics in Tokyo because of the one-year delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s Cao Yuan is on track to become the second man to win Olympic medals in all four diving events.

Cao and his teammate, Yang Jian, led 12 men into the final of men’s 10-meter platform diving on Saturday.

Cao totaled 513.70 points for six dives. Yang was second at 480.85. The Chinese had some of the highest degree of difficulty in the semifinals.

Cao already owns Olympic medals in 10-meter platform synchro, individual 3-meter springboard, and 3-meter springboard synchro.

Russia’s Dimitriy Sautin was the first man to win medals in all four Olympic diving events.

Britain’s Tom Daley, the 2012 bronze medalist, advanced to the final later Saturday in fourth.

American Jordan Windle finished ninth and his teammate, Brandon Loschiavo, was 10th to reach the 12-man final.

MEDAL ALERT

China’s Mengya Sun and Shixiao Xu have won the country’s first medal in women’s canoe sprint by winning the gold in the canoe double 500 at the Sea Forest Waterway.

The 2019 world champions finished 2 seconds clear of Ukraine’s Anastasiia Chetverikova and Liudmyla Luzan. It was the second medal for Luzan, who took bronze in the single 200.

Canada’s Laurence Vincente Lapointe and Katie Vincent took the bronze medal in third. Vincent won the silver medal in the 200.

MEDAL ALERT

Qatar has won the bronze medal in men’s beach volleyball, the first medal in the sport for the country — or any country in the Middle East.

Cherif Younousse Samba and Ahmed Tijan beat Latvia 21-12, 21-18 in the third-place match on Saturday morning at the Shiokaze Park venue. Younousse knuckled the winning point over Edgar Tocs’ block attempt, then ran toward the stands pointing at the few fans who were there to cheer him on.

Then he dropped to his knees and planted his forehead in the sand.

Martins Plavins was trying to earn his second bronze medal, to go with the one he won in London. Instead, he and Tocs finish fourth – just as the Latvian women did a day earlier.

MEDAL ALERT

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 and American Molly Seidel , a relative newcomer to the marathon stage, took home the bronze.

A race that was moved to Sapporo to avoid the extreme heat in Tokyo found little relief on a winding course through the city. The starter’s gun went off a minute after 6 a.m. local time under sunny skies and with a temperature reading of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius). It climbed to nearly 86 degrees (30) near the finish, with a humidity of around 65%.

There were 88 runners entered in the field, with more than a dozen recording a did not finish. That included world champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya.

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics