Canada wins first-ever gold in women’s soccer
Canada wins first-ever gold in women’s football
From CNN’s Homero De La Fuente
It took two periods of extra-time and drama-filled penalties, but Canada’s Julia Grosso buried the game-winner against Sweden to capture the first-ever gold medal for the country in women’s football.
Stina Blackstenius scored the first goal to put Sweden ahead in the first half. Canada drew level on a Jessie Fleming penalty in the second half to force the game into extra time.
After two hard-fought extra periods, it came down to the wire in the penalty shootout, but Sweden’s Jonna Andersson had her attempt saved, opening the door for Grosso’s winner.
The match was the first-ever women’s football Olympic final to be decided by penalties.
With the gold, Canada’s Quinn becomes the first out trans and non-binary athlete to win a medal.
The United States’ women’s team defeated Australia in the bronze medal match on Thursday.
It’s “more than just me running out there”: Allyson Felix reflects on motherhood and Olympic success
From CNN’s Elise Hammond
After winning bronze in the 400 meter race and becoming the most decorated female track and field Olympian of all time, Allyson Felix is reflecting on her journey to Tokyo – through motherhood and a pandemic.
Felix, who is 35-years-old, said that winning a medal as a mother was something she felt like she could accomplish.
“I feel like I have come a long way from all the other Games. This one is just different,” she said. “Sometimes, it sounds like a cliche, but it honestly is more than just me running out there.”
Felix said that she is “not too wrapped up in winning more medals” but was just focused on coming back to the Games to compete.
“Earlier today, I looked through some of the videos again of things that we had taped when I was in hospital with ‘Cammie’ (her daughter Camryn), and on the comeback trail – those really, really hard moments – and that’s what I tried to tap into,” she said.
Being an older athlete, Felix said she was trying to be more vulnerable and transparent during this Olympics. She said that is something that is not shown as much, particularly with older athletes, so she wanted to share some of her own struggles.
“I think, a lot of times, I tied my work to what happens at these championships and I didn’t want to do that this time around,” Felix said. “Obviously, I always run for gold but I just wanted to have joy no matter what happened tonight.”
China topples Germany for gold medal in men’s team table tennis
From CNN’s Homero De La Fuente
China’s Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong and the legendary Ma Long defeated Germany’s Patrick Franziska, Timo Boll, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, 3-0, to win the gold in the men’s team table tennis final.
Ma won the last match against Boll — 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 — to clinch the gold for China.
With the victory, Ma wins a record fifth career gold, the most ever for a table tennis athlete.
Germany wins the silver medal, while host nation Japan won the bronze.
Italy narrowly wins gold in men’s 4x100m relay by .01 seconds over Great Britain
From CNN’s Homero De La Fuente
Italy has won the men’s 4x100m relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by the narrowest of margins.
Headlined by newly crowned world’s fastest man Lamont Marcell Jacobs, the Italians finished .01 seconds in front of Great Britain to win the gold medal in a time of 37.50 seconds.
The gold medal is the fifth for Italy in track & field at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Great Britain captured the silver medal in 37.51 seconds, while Canada finished in third in 37.70 seconds for the bronze.
China’s Liu Shiying wins javelin gold with first throw
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok
China’s Liu Shiying is the new women’s Olympic javelin champion after her first attempt in Friday’s final was enough to secure the gold medal.
The 27-year-old, who threw a season’s best 66.34 meters, adds the Olympic title to her Asian Games gold and 2019 World Championship silver medal.
China have now won 36 gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“It means a lot to me and my country. I want to thank everyone, my team, my country and also my parents,” Liu said. “2020 was a very difficult year for me because of the injury and of the pandemic, but I got all the support and encouragement from all of them,” she added.
She also said she was “very satisfied” with her performance.
“The most difficult thing for me was to have a breakthrough on my mind, although I improved my technique. But I didn’t have the opportunity to perform and get a better form (before),” she said.
Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk won silver with a throw of 64.61 meters with Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber taking bronze with 64.56m, her best performance of the season.
Elaine Thompson-Herah wins third gold in Tokyo as Jamaica seals women’s 4 x 100 meter title
From CNN’s Aleks Klosok
Elaine Thompson-Herah won her third gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as Jamaica set a new national record to win the women’s 4 x 100 meter title on Friday.
Friday’s gold is Thompson-Herah’s fifth gold medal overall – the only woman to win more is American Allyson Felix with six golds.
The Jamaica quartet of Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Briana Williams posted a time of 41.02 seconds.
Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Shericka Jackson finished 1-2-3 in the women’s 100 meter final last Saturday.
With gold, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce become just the fourth female athlete to win at least eight Olympic medals.
The United States, who had been bidding to win gold in this event for a third consecutive time, ran a season’s best time of 41.45 to claim silver.
Great Britain won bronze in 41.88 seconds.
Friday is the hottest day in Tokyo of the year
From CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward
Tokyo reached 34.8° C — or 94.6° F — on Friday, the hottest day of the Olympics so far and the hottest day of the year.
The heat combined with oppressive humidity yielded a heat index over 40° C, which is 104° F, through the afternoon.
This year’s average high temperature during the games has been 33° C, or 91° F, two degrees above the average temperature for this time of the year — and, notably, two degrees above what the average max temperature would have been if the games were held on schedule last year.
Janja Garnbret becomes first Olympic women’s sport climbing champion
From CNN’s Ben Church in London
Janja Garnbret became the first women’s sport climbing Olympic champion after dominating the all-around competition on Friday.
The Slovenian, 22, was the hot favorite as the sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and she certainly didn’t disappoint.
After a steady start in the speed climbing leg, she was the runaway winner in both the bouldering and lead disciplines.
Japan’s Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi took silver and bronze respectively but neither could get close to Garnbret, who cemented herself as the best female climber in the world.
Garnbret spoke to CNN Sport ahead of the Games as she prepared for her first Olympics. Read more HERE.
Allyson Felix is now the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history
With a bronze medal win in the 400 meter race, Allyson Felix has become the most decorated female track and field Olympian.
Felix has 10 medals across 5 Olympic games, matching Carl Lewis’ US record.
She ran a 49.46, her second-fastest time ever. That was 0.05 seconds faster than the time she ran to win silver in Rio 2016.
The road to Tokyo has not been easy. Felix is an Olympic veteran used to pristine training conditions, but the last year has been very different. She trained on empty soccer fields and beaches.
Felix’s two-year-old daughter Camryn has also made a few appearances on the track as the Olympian has juggled motherhood and training.
“Having a young daughter at home, that’s a whole new world,” she told CNN previously. “It’s given me a different motivation.”
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/JegN4XdJqoc/h_0a52c11c018e696baded3777427d393a
