(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 finishes Tokyo Games with a bronze medal
After previously withdrawing from the team all-around and individual events, Simone Biles rejoined the competition and won the bronze medal in the individual balance beam competition. Biles ended her Olympic events by completing a solid routine, one that did not include any twists and had one minor balance check. Biles is now tied with Shannon Miller as the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast with seven medals.
Teammate Sunisa Lee, who won the gold medal in the individual all-around, did not place in the balance beam event.
U.S. men’s basketball advances to semifinals
The U.S. men’s basketball team defeated Spain 95-81, advancing to the semifinals against the winner of the game between Australia and Argentina. The effort was led by Kevin Durant with 29 points. Team USA is looking to continue its streak of winning a medal in every Olympic Games since competing in 1936.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 299
There were 18 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, including one athlete who was staying at the Olympic Village at the time of the positive test. The total now stands at 299, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 3,709 new cases on Tuesday, a seven-day average increase of 189.3%, according to data from the Tokyo metropolitan government.
U.S. takes silver in long jump, 400m hurdle world record obliterated
Team USA’s Brittany Reese won the silver medal in long jump in Tuesday’s event. The U.S. now has five silvers in the athletics competitions with the only gold in discus throw.
Norway’s Karsten Warholm took home the gold in the men’s 400m hurdles but also finished with a new world record of 45.94 seconds. He broke the previous record by .76 seconds.
Sport climbing makes its Olympic debut
Sport climbing in the Tokyo Games began with two of the three disciplines: The men’s combined bouldering qualifier and the men’s combined lead qualifier. This is the first time sport climbing has been featured in the Olympics and consists of bouldering, lead and speed disciplines.
(TOKYO) — Climbing gyms have been filling up across the U.S. in recent years, and now, the sport is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo.
This is the first time climbing will be in competition at the Olympics, with events scheduled to start Aug. 3, so it makes sense if you don’t know exactly how it all works yet.
Here’s a quick guide so you can keep up with all the beta, crimps and dynos.
What is in competition at the Olympics?
What you’re seeing is called sport climbing, which helps explain why you do not see favorites like Alex Honnold or Emily Harrington represent the U.S. While there are obviously similar techniques in use in big wall climbing, it’s a very different expertise.
Honnold even told the Olympic Channel, in 2019, “I wish I could compete at that level but basically I am too old and too weak so I will settle for watching and enjoying.”
And there’s plenty to watch and enjoy. Sport climbing is essentially what happens indoors at gyms and in competitive scenes. The Olympics will feature three disciplines: bouldering, lead and speed.
What is speed climbing?
The speed discipline is the easiest to understand: it’s a race to the top. Two climbers compete at the same time on identical “routes” — climbing paths — to reach the top first.
It’s like the “Spider-Man” of the Olympics, with races ending in less than 10 seconds. Admittedly, it’s a little controversial in the scene as it’s less traditional.
You’ll see climbers attached to ropes, but that’s just to catch them if they fall and to get down from the top. And yes, there are machines called auto belays so you don’t need someone on the ground belaying.
Scoring: Winners of each race move on to the next round until an overall winner is found.
What is lead climbing?
Lead climbing is a much more traditional discipline. Here, a climber has six minutes to climb as far as they can on a route.
Again, you’ll see climbers attached to ropes, but this time, the ropes are part of the challenge. Lead climbing involves clipping the rope into carabiners along the route to secure your place (it helps if you fall, but doesn’t assist the climb). If a climber misses a carabiner, they don’t get credit for any further they go.
Figuring out how to climb a route — figuring out the “beta” — is tough. Before anyone gets on the wall, climbers have six minutes to study the route, which is the first time they see it, and they’re not allowed to watch each other’s attempts.
As much as it is a physical challenge, it also takes mental work and planning to be successful, and the routes designed for lead climbing competition are ridiculously hard to ensure it’s not just a tie with everyone making it to the finish.
Scoring: The further they get, the more points they score, and the highest score wins.
What is bouldering?
Bouldering is a lot of what you see in a climbing gym. No ropes, just figuring out and “sending” — completing — routes.
Climbers have a few minutes to finish as many routes as they can. Each route has a set starting and ending point. Each route also has a marked “zone” hold, which is somewhere around halfway through it.
They can try any given route over and over again until they send, although they have to start from the beginning each time, and each attempt hurts their score. The ideal goal is to “flash” a boulder, or successfully complete it on your first try.
Like in lead, it takes mental work to solve a boulder route — that’s why they call them “problems.”
Scoring: This is a combination system, taking into account how many routes were completed, in how many attempts (fewer attempts is better), and climbers get some points if they reached a “zone” but didn’t complete a route.
Who wins?
After each discipline is done, final scores are calculated by multiplying the ranking in each, and the athlete with the lowest score wins. For instance, if an athlete comes first in speed, second in lead, and first in bouldering, their overall score is 2 (1x2x1).
Who’s competing for the U.S.?
The U.S. team includes two women and two men: Kyra Condie, 25, Brooke Raboutou, 20, Nathaniel Coleman, 24, and Colin Duffy, 17.
For most of these athletes, the games are a long time coming. Raboutou, who’s known for her ingenuity in problem solving, Condie, who’s super strong, and Coleman, a bouldering pro, qualified for Tokyo in 2019.
Bonus terminology to impress your friends
Dyno: A dynamic move to reach a hold, like a leap
Static: The opposite of dyno, using slow movement to get to the next hold
Crimp: A very small hold that will hurt your fingers
Sloper: Usually a big, roundish hold with little obvious space to grip that will hurt your fingers
Jug: A big, easy hold that probably won’t hurt your fingers
Chalk: It’s chalk! For your sweaty fingers
Heel or toe hook: Literally using your heel or toe to hook around a hold to get into position to reach the next hold
Top rope: What you see in a gym when someone’s on a rope climbing a tall wall; not competed at the Olympics
Pumped: The downside of being pumped up; your muscles, usually forearms, are too worked up and tighten up, making it difficult to do anything
So get pumped — but not too pumped — for climbing at the Olympics.
Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images
(TOKYO) — Sky Brown doesn’t know a world without iPhones, Teslas or Netflix. But she does know how to skateboard — very, very well.
The 13-year-old Brit is in Tokyo this week looking to make Olympic history. If she wins the women’s park competition, she would become the youngest individual gold medalist ever — in any sport.
American diver Marjorie Gestring, who won gold at the 1936 Games in Berlin in the 3-meter springboard, currently holds the record for youngest individual gold medalist at 13 years and 268 days. Brown just turned 13 on July 8.
But Brown isn’t even the youngest rider in the field for women’s park.
Japanese skater Kokona Hiraki is just 12 years old.
Hiraki won the most recent Japanese national championship, but a gold in Tokyo would be a big upset. She’s ranked the sixth best skater in the world, with Misugu Okamoto, 15, and Sakura Yosozumi, 19, both also from Japan, ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively.
Brown is currently third in the rankings.
Brown is coming off her first X Games win in July, but that competition did not feature Okamoto or Yosozumi. Still, she beat fellow Olympians American Bryce Wettstein and Australian Poppy Starr Olsen.
Of course, even if Brown does come up short in Tokyo, winning a gold in 2024 at 16 years old is no small feat.
Gestring, sadly, never got a chance to defend her Olympic gold. The 1940 and 1944 Games were canceled due to World War II, and while she tried to qualify for 1948 — at the ripe old age of 25 — she did not make the team.
Age requirements do not apply
Anyone who follows women’s gymnastics knows about the scandals in the sport caused by athletes’ ages. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to qualify — an age requirement mandated in 1997.
In 2008, China’s gymnastics team came under suspicion for using athletes who did not meet the minimum age requirement following a report by The New York Times. Gymnastics’ governing body, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, or FIG, conducted an investigation and found no reason to strip the country’s team gold.
But skateboarding has no age requirements for the Olympics. The rules are determined not by the International Olympic Committee but by the sport’s governing body, which in this case is World Skate.
Coincidentally, Brown was born just weeks before the Chinese gymnastics team won its gold in 2008.
The IOC itself has no age requirements, stating in its charter, “There may be no age limit for competitors in the Olympic Games other than as prescribed in the competition rules of an IF as approved by the IOC Executive Board.”
Some notable requirements for minimum age to compete in the Summer or Winter Olympics include: boxing (18), figure skating (15), diving (14), cycling (19), equestrian (18 for jumping, 16 for dressage) and alpine skiing (16).
USA Track and Field mandates women must be 14 to compete, while men can be any age.
Like skateboarding, sports such as swimming and rowing have no age requirements.
But unlike skateboarding, snowboarding does have a minimum age to compete in the Winter Olympics — 15. In 2014, the best female snowboarder in the world was American Chloe Kim. But at just 14, she was not eligible to compete, even though she had just won X Games gold.
Kim went on to win gold at the 2018 Games in South Korea.
Youth is served
Just days before Brown was to begin her quest to become the youngest individual Olympic champion ever, Brazil’s Rayssa Leal almost stole that crown — and in Brown’s own sport.
Leal, who turned 13 in January, very nearly won the gold in skateboard street. That would have made her the youngest Olympic champion ever, for at least a week.
But the young Brazilian was edged out by another 13-year-old, Momiji Nishiya, and had to settle for silver.
But with Nishiya turning 14 at the end of the month, she’s not younger than Gestring when she won the gold in 1936.
Third place on the skate street platform went to 16-year-old Funa Nakayama, giving the podium an average age of just 14.
(NEW YORK) — Quinn Ewers, the number two college football prospect in the 2022 class, has announced on Twitter that he is enrolling at Ohio State a year early.
Ewers was the top-ranked player in Texas and was the number one quarterback prospect in the country, according to ESPN.
Ewers said the new name, image, and likeness rules that would have prohibited him from making money this next year while in high school were one factor.
“It’s unfortunate I’ve found myself in this situation, as my preference would have been to complete my senior season at Southlake Carroll along with my teammates and friends I’ve taken the field alongside past three seasons,” Ewers wrote.
Ewers said this was not just a financial decision, but one he felt was the best for his football career.
He has one class that is about to be completed and will enroll at Ohio State and be start practice with the team.
Ohio State is looking to replace Justin Fields, who was drafted 11th overall by Chicago this spring. Redshirt freshman CJ Stroud, true freshman Kyle McCord, and redshirt freshman Jack Miller were the three quarterbacks battling to become the starter before Ewers announced his decision.
Ewers originally committed to the University of Texas but de-committed last October.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will have foot surgery on his left foot, head coach Frank Reich announced Monday.
Wentz injured the foot during Thursday’s practice and did not participate on Friday or Saturday’s training camp practices.
Riech said this injury likely stemmed from a foot injury in high school Wentz never knew about.
The team says Wentz will miss 5-12 weeks.
“Obviously we’re optimistic and hopeful that we can be on the front end of that,” said Reich.
Jacob Eason will take over as the starter. The second year quarterback did not appear in a game last year after sitting behind Phillip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett.
Wentz’s history with injuries is long. In 2017, he suffered a season ending ACL injury. The following year he missed the first two games while recovering from the injury and he was shutdown at the end of the year with a back injury.
He has only played all 16 games twice in his career.
(TOKYO) — US gymnast Simone Biles will compete on the balance beam on Tuesday, USA Gymnastics announced in a tweet.
Biles pulled out of the team all-around final, the individual all-around final, the uneven bars, and the vault in the past week citing her mental health.
Biles and Sunisa Lee, the individual all-around gold medalist, will compete for the United States.
Biles won the bronze medal on the beam during the 2016 Rio Olympics and is a four-time world champion.
(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.
Jade Carey wins gold, Simone Biles to compete in balance beam finals
Gymnast Jade Carey took the gold in the individual floor exercise final, her first gold and the fifth medal overall for the U.S. gymnastics team in the Tokyo Games. Carey was coming off an eighth place finish in the individual vault Sunday but returned to score a 14.366 and take the gold in the floor exercise.
USA Gymnastics confirmed that Simone Biles will compete in the balance beam finals on Aug. 3, along with teammate Sunisa Lee. Biles had previously withdrew from individual competitions in vault, uneven bars and floor events.
Women’s basketball extends winning streak
The U.S. women’s basketball team defeated France 93-82 in their last game of the group round. Led by A’ja Wilson with 22 points, the team extended their Olympic winning streak to 52, a feat reaching all the way back to 1992.
Women’s basketball extends winning streak
The U.S. women’s basketball team defeated France 93-82 in their last game of the group round. Led by A’ja Wilson with 22 points, the team extended their Olympic winning streak to 52, a feat reaching all the way back to 1992.
U.S. women’s soccer ends its bid for gold
The U.S. women’s soccer team lost to Canada 1-0, and with it end their run for a gold medal. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher left with an apparent knee injury in the first half and Canada capitalized on a penalty kick in the 74th minute of play. Team USA will now play for the bronze medal.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 281
There were 17 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. No athletes were among the new cases. The total now stands at 281, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 2,195 new cases on Sunday, a seven-day average increase of 206.9%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
NY Yankees 3, Miami 1
St. Louis 7, Minnesota 3
San Francisco 5, Houston 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 5, Kansas City 1
Detroit 6, Baltimore 2
Chi White Sox 2, Cleveland 1
Texas 4, Seattle 3
Oakland 8, LA Angels 3
Tampa Bay 3, Boston 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 2, Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 7, NY Mets 1
Washington 6, Chi Cubs 5
Philadelphia 15, Pittsburgh 4
San Diego 8, Colorado 1
LA Dodgers 13, Arizona 0
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Chicago 1, Philadelphia 1 (Tie)
Nashville 1, Toronto FC 1 (Tie)
(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.
Caeleb Dressel joins elite club with 5 gold medals
Caeleb Dressel pulled in two more gold medals today, first in the men’s 50m freestyle, an all-out spring that took Dressel 21.07 seconds to complete. In the last race of the evening, Dressel led Team USA to still more glory in the 4x100m medley relay. Dressel completely swept the sprint events and has become the fifth swimmer to win at least five gold medals at one Olympic Games
Dressel’s teammate Bobby Finke won his second gold medal in the men’s 1500, finishing with a blazing finishing kick that has been his trademark in these Games.
Mykayla Skinner wins silver after replacing Biles, Sunisa Lee takes Bronze
Mykayla Skinner, who replaced Biles after she withdrew from the vault competition won the silver medal, just days after she announced the end of her elite gymnastics career on Instagram after failing to qualify in the finals. Simone Biles also withdrew from the floor exercise finals, but it is still to be determined if she will compete in the balance beam.
Team USA’s Sunisa Lee took the bronze in the uneven bars, and now has a gold, silver and bronze medal to show for the 2020 Olympics.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 264
There were 18 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, including one athlete who was at the Olympic Village at the time of the positive test. The total now stands at 246, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported 3,058 new cases on Sunday, a 7-day average increase of 213.6%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins men’s 100m sprint, USA still waiting for gold
Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs surprised everyone by blazing past the competition in the men’s 100m for the gold. Team USA’s Fred Kerley finished with the silver in the event, tying with U.S. shot putter Raven Saunders for the best finish for any U.S. athlete in the track and field events thus far.
Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela set a new world record in triple jump at 15.67m, and in a rare agreement, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar decided to share the gold in men’s high jump instead of proceeding with a jump-off.
Xander Schauffele takes home gold in golf
The American golfer Xander Schauffele won the gold medal in men’s individual after he was tied for the lead with two holes to play. This win is even more special for Schauffele, whose mother was raised in Japan and whose grandparents are residents of Tokyo.
Alexander Zverev wins men’s tennis singles
Germany’s Alexander Zverev bested both Jérémy Chardy and Novak Djokovic to make it into the finals where he defeated Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 6-1. Zverev is ranked fifth in the world by Association of Tennis Professionals, but in the 2020 Games in Tokyo he is now officially first.
1st medals given in BMX freestyle, USA’s Hannah Roberts takes silver
Australian Logan Martin of the men’s division and Great Britain’s Charlotte Worthington of the women’s won the first-ever Olympic gold medals in freestyle BMX, while Team USA’s Hannah Roberts took home the silver. The aerial competition was the newest addition to the discipline of cycling, which also includes road racing, track and cross-country.
Olympic tears of joy
Every Olympic Games sees a fair share of tears shed, but this year has been especially emotional — especially for the champions. There is no shortage of hardships in a normal cycle for Olympic greats, but for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo games athletes have also battled through tropical storms, the summer heat and the deafening silence of empty stands.
Perhaps it is this combination, along with the realization of so much training and hard work, that has brought tears to the eyes of so many of the games’ champions.
