GOLF
DeChambeau out with covid
Bryson DeChambeau tested positive for covid-19 before leaving the United States for the Olympics and will miss the Tokyo Games. He’ll be replaced by Patrick Reed. DeChambeau, last year’s U.S. Open champion, becomes the highest-profile athlete to test positive for the virus. He said he was “deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA.” Reed was scheduled to undergo testing today and Monday to clear himself to compete in Tokyo. The the first round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club is set for Thursday. Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, is now the only two-time Olympian in the sport, which was reintroduced to the program in 2016.
SOFTBALL
U.S. earns shot at gold
Amanda Chidester h i t a game-ending, two-run single in the eighth inning, Monica Abbott struck out 13 and the United States beat Australia 2-1 on Sunday to clinch a berth in the Olympic softball gold medal game. Australia scored the first run off the Americans in the tournament when Jade Wall walked on eight pitches with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. With pinch-runner Ally Carda on second as the automatic runner in the bottom half, leadoff hitter Haylie McCleney reached on an infield single to shortstop off Tarni Stepto (0-1). McCleney reached in all four plate appearances and is 13 of 15 over the Americans’ four games. Janie Reed sacrificed for the fourth time in the tournament, and Chidester singled to the back of the baseball infield dirt as both runners scored.
SHOOTING
Russian sets Olympic mark
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Russian shooter Vitalina Batsarashkina won gold in the women’s 10-meter air pistol early today, five years after taking silver at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Batsarashkina shot an Olympic-record 240.3 points, finishing 0.9 ahead of Bulgaria’s Antoaneta Kostadinova. Jian Ranxin of China took bronze after matching Greece’s Anna Korakaki’s 3-year-old record of 587 points to lead qualifying. Nina Salukvadze of Georgia made history by becoming the first athlete to compete in nine Olympics and announced her retirement to Russian media after failing to qualify for the finals.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Americans cruise in opener
Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman cruised to a straight-set victory over China in their Olympic opener. Ross is making her third appearance in the Summer Games with her third different partner. She’s already won a silver medal and a bronze. Klineman is making her Olympic debut. They’re among the favorites for the gold medal in Tokyo. The Americans won the first set 21-17 and then took the second 21-19 over Xue Chen and Wang Xinxin. Ross and Klineman play Spain on Tuesday. The American men’s team of Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne play their first match tonight. Bourne was a late substitute after Gibb’s original partner, Taylor Crabb, tested positive for covid-19 when he arrived in Japan. They’ll face Italy.
SKATEBOARDING
First medals awarded
Japan’s Yuto Horigome won the first ever skateboarding competition at the Olympic Games, taking gold in men’s street in the city where he learned to skate as a kid and where his sport is often frowned upon. The first skateboarding silver went to Brazilian Kelvin Hoefler. American skater Jagger Eaton took bronze, the Arizonan adapting best among the Americans to the heat at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo. One of skateboarding’s biggest stars, Nyjah Huston from the U.S., fell repeatedly trying to land tricks and placed seventh in the eight-man final.
JUDO
Algerian withdraws
An Algerian judo athlete will be sent home after he withdrew from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli opponent. Fethi Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, told Algerian media they were withdrawing to avoid a possible second-round matchup with Israel’s Tohar Butbul in the men’s 73 kg division on Monday. Nourine was to face Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool in the opening round, with the winner facing Butbul, the fifth seed. The International Judo Federation’s executive committee has temporarily suspended Nourine and Benikhlef, who are likely to face sanctions beyond the Olympics. Nourine and Benikhlef attribute their stance to their political support for Palestinians.
TABLE TENNIS
Youngest Olympian defeated
The youngest competitor at the Tokyo Games has been eliminated. Hend Zaza of Syria lost in straight sets to Liu Jia, ending the 12-year-old’s hopes of making noise as the youngest table tennis player in Olympics history. Zaza told Olympics.com that she was pleased with her performance and learned from the loss — and she’s hoping for another shot at the next Olympics, in Paris.
WEIGHTLIFTING
China’s Hou sets records
Hou Zhihui of China is in a class by herself. As other weightlifters in the women’s 49-kilogram division took turns Saturday lifting heavier and heavier weights, she waited and waited some more. Her declared attempt in the snatch event was several kilograms above that of her nearest competitor, Mirabai Chanu of India, who took silver. On her second attempt, Hou, 24, achieved an Olympic record. On her third minutes later, she blew past that record by lifting 94 kilograms. Hou, 24, set records again in the clean and jerk with each of her three successful lifts, finishing at 116 kilograms. She also collected three more Olympic records for the combined total of her lifts.
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