By Adam Roberts – 8/3/2021
On top of Jrue, Khris, and the rest of Team USA men’s basketball earning a quarterfinal win over Spain, there’s been plenty of other Olympic news made today. Here’s your daily check on the latest from Tokyo:
- After pulling out of all her other events while focusing on her mental health, Simone Biles returned to Olympic competition by earning the bronze medal in the women’s balance beam final. Biles finished with a score of 14.000 while fellow American Suni Lee finished in fifth place with a score of 13.866. China earned the gold and silver medals after Chenchen Guan and Xijing Tang finished atop the rankings with scores of 14.633 and 14.233. Her seventh medal ties her with Shannon Miller for the most ever by a U.S. gymnast.
- Keyshawn Davis of Virginia advanced past the quarterfinals of the men’s lightweight boxing division after topping Gabil Mamedov of the Russian Olympic Committee 4-1 on points. Up next for Davis is a semifinal bout against Armenia’s Hovhannes Bachkov scheduled for Thursday night. Davis finished in second place of the men’s lightweight division during the 2019 World Championships in Russia. Meanwhile Duke Ragan of Ohio continued his charge towards Olympic gold after taking down Ghana’s Samuel Takyi in the semifinal of the men’s featherweight boxing division. Ragan cruised to a 4-1 win on points and will take on Albert Batyrgaziev of the Russian Olympic Committee in the final tomorrow night.
- The team of April Ross and Alix Klineman cruised past Germany in straight sets to advance to the semifinals of the women’s beach volleyball tournament. The Americans improved their record at this year’s Summer Games to 5-0. Up next for the duo of Ross and Klineman is a match against Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich with a chance to play for the gold medal on the line.
- The U.S. Track and Field team is adding six more medals in Tokyo including a gold for Athing Mu in the women’s 800-meters. Fellow American Raevyn Rogers grabbed the bronze. Gabrielle Thomas also won bronze in the women’s 200-meters, Christopher Nilsen earned silver in the men’s pole vault, Rai Benjamin picked up the silver in men’s 400-meter hurdles, and Brittney Reese won silver in the women’s long jump. The U.S. now has 11 total medals in athletics with five more medal events on tap Wednesday.
In the medal race, Team USA is maintaining its overall medal lead. Americans have won a total of 73 medals, now four ahead of China. The Chinese continue to lead all nations with 32 gold while the U.S. has 24 gold. Keep checking espnlacrosse.com for daily updates from the 2020-21 Olympics!