Swimming
Caeleb Dressel won the blue riband men’s 100m freestyle as the United States celebrated two gold medals in the Tokyo pool on Thursday while China’s women responded with two golds, and a world record, of their own in another thrilling day of swimming.
Alongside Dressel’s triumph in the marquee event, fellow American Bobby Finke clinched the 800m freestyle with an impressive late surge.
China gained their first gold in the Tokyo pool with Zhang Yufei winning the women’s 200m butterfly and then she returned to the pool to help her team upset the favoured Australians to win the 4x200m freestyle relay, setting a world record along the way.
Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook took gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke, also thanks to an incredible late surge to the finish.
World champion Dressel powered to victory in an Olympic record 47.02, finishing six hundredths of a second ahead of Rio winner Kyle Chalmers of Australia, with Russian Kliment Kolesnikov taking bronze.
Dressel went into the race as favourite and led from rising star Kolesnikov at the turn before holding off a strong finish from Chalmers to touch first.
It was Dressel’s fourth Olympic gold but his first in an individual event having picked up two relay medals in Rio and the 4x100m freestyle relay in Tokyo.
“I wasn’t worried about anything at all ... it means a lot, I knew the weight was on my shoulders,” said Dressel.
“It’s a really tough year, it’s really hard. So, to have the results show up, It really came together, so I’m happy,” Dressel said.
In the 800 free, Finke pulled off a surprise win ahead of Italian world champion Gregorio Paltrinieri, who led all the way until the 750m turn when German Florian Wellbrock moved in front for the last length.
But Finke then made his late move and powered home in a time of 7:41.87. Wellbrock faded but Paltrinieri did not, the Italian, who had been a doubt for the Games due to illness, touching 0.24 seconds behind Finke to take the silver.
Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk took the bronze medal.
Finke said he had to push hard when he saw Paltrinieri was clawing his way back towards the finish.
“I noticed when I was about 10 metres out that he was catching a little ground and that was all the motivation I needed,” said the American.
Paltrinieri was the clear favourite last year before suffering with “mono,” or mononucleosis, and its tiring effects.
“I didn’t know how it would go, so being here on the podium, I wouldn’t have bet a euro on it. I wouldn’t have bet on it two weeks ago,” he said.
China’s biggest gold medal hope Zhang delivered in style – taking control from the outset as she set an Olympic record of 2:03.86 to improve on her silver from the 100m butterfly.
Americans Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger took silver and bronze to win the country’s first medals in the women’s event since Sydney in 2000.
Zhang was soon back in the water as part of the 4x200m team, which left the Americans and highly-rated Australians trailing in their wake in a race which saw all three medal winners swim under the world record time.
Australia had been the fastest qualifiers, and with double Tokyo gold medal winner Ariarne Titmus in their ranks were the heavy favourites to follow-up on their 4x100m gold.
Zhang kept China in front on the penultimate leg before handing over to Li Bingjie, who did well to hold off six-times gold medallist Katie Ledecky in the final metres as the United States had to settle for silver.
While China celebrated, Australia were left to rue their decision to leave out teenager Mollie O’Callaghan, who was their second fastest swimmer behind Titmus in the heats.
There was also criticism from some pundits of their rotation policy of fielding different teams in the heats and the final.
In the men’s 200m breaststroke, Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands led at the 150m turn and was inside world record time as he fought with Finland’s Matti Mattsson.
Stubbletly-Cook was third on the last turn, 1.2 seconds adrift of the lead, but then delivered an astonishing final lap to secure the country’s fifth gold medal in the pool so far and the first for their men.
Kamminga was second, adding to his silver in the 100m breaststroke, with Mattsson taking bronze.
The gold was the first in men’s breaststroke for Australia since Ian O’Brien in Tokyo in 1964, also in the 200m.
Covid-19
Members of the Australian athletics team briefly isolated as a precaution and were later cleared to return to their regular routines.
Games procedures state that athletes who are contact-traced and have not yet competed are isolated from the rest of their squad. They then have to be tested six hours prior to their competition and return a negative result in order to compete.
The disclosures came as Japan’s top medical adviser urged the government to send a “clearer, stronger message” about the growing risks from the pandemic, including to the medical system.
Olympic host city Tokyo recorded 3,177 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, a second straight daily record high. Nationwide new cases hit 9,570, the health ministry said, topping 9,500 for the first time.
“The biggest crisis is that society does not share a sense of risk,” top medical adviser Shigeru Omi told a parliamentary panel. “I want the government to send a stronger, clearer message.”
The hospitalisations and infection spike add to worries about the Games, which are taking place under unprecedented conditions including a ban on spectators in most venues.
Only 26.5 per cent of residents of Japan are fully vaccinated and the rollout has hit supply snags recently. More than 60 per cent of Tokyo hospital beds available for serious Covid-19 cases were already filled as of Tuesday, city data showed.
Many Japanese have worried the influx of athletes and officials for the Games will add to the surge, while experts have warned that holding the high profile sports event sends a confusing message about the need to stay home.
Olympics organisers have reported 193 Covid-19 cases related to the Games, a miniscule number given the tens of thousands of people who are involved in the event.
Olympic athletes, staff and media must follow strict rules to prevent any spread of the virus from inside an “Olympic bubble”.
