US’ Carissa Moore wins the first women’s Olympic surfing gold
USA’s Carissa Moore makes history by becoming inaugural women’s Olympic surfing champion
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok
Team USA’s Carissa Moore won the first ever women’s surfing gold medal in Olympics history on Tuesday, defeating South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag in the final.
The four-time world champion and world No.1 sealed a comprehensive victory to enter the Olympic history books.
Moore scored waves of 7.33 and 7.60 to surpass Buitendag’s total score of 8.46.
The 28-year-old had already endeared herself to the Japanese public ahead of the Games by delivering a thank you speech in Japanese to the city of Makinohara for hosting the pre-Olympic Games training camp.
In a press release from US Surfing, Moore said she practiced the speech all night and wanted to show her appreciation for the city hosting the team.
First gold of the Games for Germany
From CNN’s George Ramsay at the the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre
Ricarda Funk has just taken gold in the women’s slalom K-1 final at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre and celebrates with a running jump back into the water. It’s Germany’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics.
The third-fastest qualifier, her final time of 105.50 sees her finish ahead of Spain’s Maialen Chourraut (106.63) and Australia’s Jessica Fox (106.73).
Fox was the favorite for this event having qualified for the final with the fastest time, but she picked up a second penalty at the end of her run.
Despite the empty stands, there was a good atmosphere for the final; music blared from speakers as competitors were introduced and coaching teams ran alongside the course shouting encouragement to their athletes.
#Firsts##
Tokyo adds record number of new Covid-19 cases amid Olympic Games
From CNN’s Arthur Syin and Chandler Thornton
Tokyo has reported its highest-ever increase of new Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, adding 2,848 new cases on Tuesday.
The capital’s previous daily record of new cases was reported on January 7, with 2,520 new cases, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
The record comes amid the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in its fourth day of official competition.
At least 160 Covid-19 cases have been reported as linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games as of Tuesday, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers.
The Japanese capital is currently under a state of emergency in effect until August 22.
Brazil’s Italo Ferreira makes history as the inaugural Olympic surfing gold medalist
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok in London
Brazil’s Italo Ferreira entered the Olympic history books on Tuesday by becoming the first-ever gold medallist in surfing.
The reigning World Surf League champion defeated Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi to take the title, with Australia’s Owen Wright collecting the bronze medal.
American Carissa Moore faces South Africa’s Bianca Buitendag in the women’s gold medal contest later on Tuesday to round off the first Olympic surfing competition.
“It is like a bath.” Kayakers land in hot water at Tokyo 2020
From CNN’s George Ramsay at the the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre
After three days of hot weather, Tokyo became blanketed in thick cloud and rain overnight, with skies beginning to clear by Tuesday afternoon local time.
The earlier drop in temperature might have been a welcome relief for athletes competing in the women’s canoe slalom semifinals at the Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre, where the water is said to be a touch too warm.
“It is like a bath. It is like paddling in bathwater,” Australia’s Jessica Fox said after competing in the heats on Sunday.
“It is beautiful, it is an amazing venue, but the water is really quite warm, so it is all about the ice baths and the ice towels and as much ice as possible. It gets pretty warm in Penrith in Australia, but this is the warmest by far, for me.”
Fox was fastest in today’s semifinals — where a handful of team members and officials gathered in the stands — and is the favorite to win gold later on.
“This one sucks more than the others” says Naomi Osaka after shock Tokyo 2020 defeat
From CNN’s Ben Church
Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka says she struggled with the pressure of competing in her first Olympics after losing in straight sets on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old was considered one of the strong favorites for the gold medal and was the chosen athlete to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony.
“I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this. I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in the Olympics before and for the first year (it) was a bit much,” she said.
Osaka had not played since dropping out of the French Open last month, citing mental health issues.
She has spoken openly about her struggles with dealing with the expectations that come with being one of the world’s best players.
“I’ve taken long breaks before and I’ve managed to do well. I’m not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher,” she added.
“I feel like my attitude wasn’t that great because I don’t really know how to cope with that pressure so that’s the best that I could have done in this situation.
“How disappointed am I? I mean, I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others.”
Owen Wright, who overcame traumatic brain injury, wins first-ever Olympic surfing medal
Australia’s Owen Wright has won the first-ever Olympic medal given out in surfing, winning the bronze medal match — an incredibly impressive feat considering that he had returned to the sport after suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2015.
Wright’s injury came after wiping out at a competition in Hawaii about seven years ago. He missed the 2016 season while recovering, but made a full recovery the next year.
Wright said he “teared up” upon his win, according to the Olympic Channel Podcast.
Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira will face off for the gold later today.
The creative way Philippines gold medal winner Hidilyn Diaz trained during lockdown
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is now a household name in her home country after becoming the first-ever Philippines athlete to win an Olympics gold medal.
Her path to Olympic glory was, like her peers, upended by the pandemic. When the Philippines went lockdown, Diaz was forced to get creative while training. She posted videos of herself training with broomsticks, weights and water bottles late last year.
Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka loses in third round to Marketa Vondrousova
From CNN’s Jill Martin
Four-time major champion and world no.2 Naomi Osaka lost to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the third round of women’s tennis singles at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
Osaka was considered a favorite to win the tournament in her home country, but is out earlier than expected after an underwhelming showing, finishing with 32 unforced errors.
This is the first time the 23-year-old Japanese superstar has lost on a hard court before the quarterfinals since the 2020 Australian Open, when she lost in the third round to American Coco Gauff.
Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, and was given the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron to officially open the Games.
Vondrousova, a 2019 French Open finalist, advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win. The 22-year-old will next face either Spain’s Paula Badosa or Nadia Podoroska of Argentina.
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