(TOKYO) — Each day, ABC News will give you a roundup of key Olympic moments from the day’s events in Tokyo, happening 13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. After a 12-month delay, the unprecedented 2020 Summer Olympics is taking place without fans or spectators and under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Simone Biles withdraws from individual all-around
American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has decided not to compete in Thursday’s final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics so that she can “focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Wednesday.
“Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals,” the sport’s national governing body added. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”
Jade Carey, who had the ninth-highest score in qualifications, will compete in Biles’ place in the all-around, according to USA Gymnastics. The decision follows Biles’ early exit from the team final on Tuesday.
Katie Ledecky takes gold in first-ever women’s 1500 freestyle
Only an hour after she failed to place in the 200-meter freestyle, Team USA’s swimming star Katie Ledecky was back in the pool racing for gold and Olympic history.
Ledecky easily beat her competition, winning by more than four seconds in the 30 lap-race and becoming the first woman to win a gold medal in a 1,500-meter freestyle. Her teammate Erica Sullivan won silver.
Athletes grapple with heat and humidity as Tropical Storm Nepartak makes landfall
The suffocating heat wave in Tokyo was so unbearable during the men’s tennis singles final that Russian player Daniil Medvedev reportedly told the umpire: “I can finish the match, but I can die … If I die, are you going to be responsible?”
Temperatures in the Olympic host city were at around 88 degrees Fahrenheit, but the humidity from recent rain showers moved the heat index up to 99.
Tropical Storm Nepartak ultimately spared the Games and made landfall on Wednesday morning in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture, some 250 miles north of Tokyo.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 174
There were 14 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 among people at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, including contractors, media members and Games-concerned personnel. The total now stands at 174, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 3,177 new cases on Wednesday, a 7-day average increase of 153%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
After losing their first game since 2004 on Sunday to France, the U.S. men’s basketball team easily beat Iran 120-66. Players Damian Lillard and Devin Booker helped lead Team USA to victory with 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Team USA has one more game in the group round on Saturday against Czech Republic.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 6-1 in the third round match of the men’s singles.
Djokovic is now three games away from achieving a Golden Slam, which is when a tennis player wins all four Grand Slam tournaments as well as a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in a single calendar year. Steffi Graf of Germany is the only player to accomplish such a feat.
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