USA top Olympic medal table as delayed Games draw to close

TOKYO, Japan -- Eliud Kipchoge produced a marathon masterclass and the USA edged China at the top of the Olympics medals table as the curtain was set to fall on the biggest sports event since the pandemic on Sunday.

After Kipchoge's marathon win for Kenya, volleyball, track cycling and basketball wins put the United States top of the medals tally with 39 golds, just one ahead of China in a battle for bragging rights.

With just handball and water polo finals still to come, the 2020 Games were all but done after defying an extraordinary build-up when they were postponed last year and veered close to the first cancellation since World War II.

Thirty-three sports have been contested across 16 days in largely empty stadiums, with fans barred over coronavirus risks and athletes living in strict biosecure conditions.

"Some were already speaking of 'Ghost Games'," Olympics chief Thomas Bach told an International Olympic Committee session on Sunday.

"What we have seen here is that on the contrary the athletes have brought soul to the Olympic Games."

A succession of big names have failed to perform in Japan but marathon world record-holder Kipchoge showed his class, kicking in the closing stages and clocking 2hr 08min 38sec to retain his 2016 title.

The Games have been plagued by low Japanese support over super-spreader fears and the marathon, moved north to Sapporo to avoid Tokyo's summer heat, was one of the few events to allow spectators.

"I know there were a lot of people against holding this Olympics due to the coronavirus," said a flag-waving, 47-year-old fan on the marathon route who gave his name as Tsujita.

"But I am glad it took place. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone."

However, Sunday's closing ceremony will take place at a largely vacant Olympic Stadium, rounding off an extraordinary Games conducted mostly without live spectators but in front of a TV audience of billions.

- Trans athletes and 'twisties' -

Athletes, ordered to wear masks when not competing, training, eating or sleeping, have endured the extra psychological strain of strict "bubble" conditions in Tokyo.

Victory celebrations have been low-key, with lonely laps of honor and sparsely attended medal ceremonies. But the emotions of the competitors have been on full view.

Superstar gymnast Simone Biles provided the most jaw-dropping moment when she abruptly pulled out of competition over a bout of the "twisties", a disorientating mental block.

Biles, widely acknowledged as the greatest gymnast in history, recovered sufficiently to return for the final event, the beam, claiming a redemptive bronze.

Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard became the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Games and Canada's Quinn became the first openly transgender Olympic medallist, with gold in the women's football.

In other highlights, the US men's team won their fourth consecutive men's basketball crown and US swimmer Caeleb Dressel took over the mantle of Michael Phelps with five gold medals in the pool.

Among the final events on Sunday, Canadian cyclist Kelsey Mitchell took gold in the women's sprint while Jason Kenny won the men's keirin to become the first Briton to win seven Olympic titles.

The Americans started the day two golds behind China but the women's basketball and volleyball titles and US track cyclist Jennifer Valente's omnium victory put them top of the final table.

Uzbekistan's Bakhodir Jalolov beat US fighter Richard Torrez in the super-heavyweight boxing final, while Britain's Lauren Price and Ireland's Kellie Harrington also boxed their way to gold.

The Olympic flag will pass to 2024 hosts Paris at the closing ceremony. But the circus will reconvene in just six months' time when Beijing, faced with boycott threats and a renewed coronavirus emergency, holds the Winter Games in February.

Agence France-Presse

‘Bonded for life’: Kevin Durant revels in his 3rd Olympic gold

Kevin Durant said he is "bonded for life" with his US teammates after they beat France to win basketball gold Saturday, ensuring the Brooklyn Nets star joined all-time great Carmelo Anthony with a third Olympic title.

The 32-year-old has been the backbone of the team for a decade, scoring more Olympic points than any player in US men's basketball history, and he was again the standout against France.

He drilled 29 points to go with the 30 he bagged in the 2012 final against Spain and 30 in the 2016 decider against Serbia, reinforcing his incredible consistency. 

In doing so, he became the first American player to score more than 100 points in three different Olympics, accumulating 124 in Japan. 

"When you are part of a team that is evolving by the second, it's just amazing to see. Every game we continued to grow," he said, after the US were stunned in their opening group game by France.

"It's just that journey that is so important, you realise. You finish the job and get the gold medal, but when you go through that journey, man, it is just so special.

"I am bonded with these guys for life, it's a family for life. I am grateful we all committed to this (Olympics) early and finished it off." 

Durant who is poised to sign a four-year, $198 million contract extension with the Nets, according to his manager, scored 21 of his points Saturday in the first half.

He was quieter in the fourth term until he drained a pair of crucial free throws with eight seconds left.

Durant said he was reluctant to compare the gold medal in Japan with his previous two "because everything is its own memory". 

"But this is one of those special journeys that is hard to describe," he added.

"Each one of us put in that work every single day. From the coaches, to the trainers, to the players.

"We all came in with the goal of let's finish this thing off, let's build a family, let's build a team, let's finish this thing off."

US coach Gregg Popovich said he was "totally frozen" when his team won, calling it "an out of body experience when you are in those kinds of games".

"Every championship is special, every group is special, but I can be honest and say this the most responsibility I've ever felt, because you're playing for so many people that are watching it for your country," he said.

Popovich had special praise for Durant, whose experience proved vital to taking home the title.

"The relationships he builds with team-mates, the respect he garners, the joy he has in playing is like osmosis. It goes into all the other players," he said.

"That sort of love of the game and of people is what makes him more special as a player."

Agence France-Presse

PH boxer Eumir Marcial advances to Tokyo Olympics semi-final round

Eumir Marcial of the Philippines reacts after winning against Arman Darchinyan of Armenia during the Tokyo Olympics men's middleweight quarterfinal at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday. Marcial advances to the semi-final round to compete against Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine on Aug. 5, at 2:03 p.m.

-reuters-

Nievarez wraps up Olympic campaign in rowing

Filipino Olympian Cris Nievarez competes in the men's single sculls in rowing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Sea Forest Waterway, in Tokyo, Japan on Friday. The first-time Olympian and only Southeast Asian qualifier in Tokyo wrapped up his campaign at 23rd overall. 

-reuters-

Swimming: Olympic titlist Joseph Schooling back with ex coach for Tokyo

Singapore's Olympic butterfly champion Joseph Schooling is reuniting with former coach and mentor Sergio Lopez in the United States as he seeks to regain his lost form in time for Tokyo.

The 24-year-old failed to qualify for the 100m semifinals at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, last July finishing equal 24th and with a best time 2.54 seconds slower than his 2016 Olympic record.

He told Singapore's Straits Times newspaper in an interview on Thursday that he spent time with the Spaniard after the Southeast Asian Games last December and had "started thinking a little differently."

"I just like what Sergio does on a personal level, but also in the pool, and he inspires me to be the best version that I can be, on a day-to-day basis," he said.

"We're focusing more on mid-distance stuff. The yardage might be a little more than the past eight to nine months. And that's where I need to be right now.

"I need to be fit enough to swim the 200m fly if I want to do the 100m fly the way I want to," added the Singaporean, who spent five years at university in Austin, Texas, before returning home last year.

Schooling, who beat American great Michael Phelps in the 100 meters butterfly final in Rio to become Singapore's first Olympic gold medalist, said he will link up with Lopez at Virginia Tech from Sunday.

He will train with a group of 15 Olympic hopeful swimmers from Hungary, Poland and Hong Kong and work with Lopez until the Games, which start in July.

American Caeleb Dressel looks to be the hot favourite for the 100m butterfly in Tokyo, having set a world record time of 49.50 seconds last year in Gwangju.

"It's going to take at least 49-mid to 49-low to win (in Tokyo)," said Schooling. "It is going to take a lot quicker than what I swam in Rio to win." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Gymnastics: Carlos Yulo’s next target? Gold in next year’s Olympics

Hopes are high for 19-year-old Carlos Edriel Yulo in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Yulo did what no other Filipino has done when he won the gold in the men’s floor event of the world gymnastics championships.

He believes he can still outdo himself with more hard work and training.

“Hindi pa po ako satisfied doon,” Yulo said during a media conference on Tuesday hosted by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for him, boxer Nesthy Petecio and pole-vaulter EJ Obiena.

“Alam kong mas-kaya ko pa po.”

Even Cynthia Carrion, head of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, the sport’s national governing body, agreed with this mindset of Yulo.

“He needs to forget his win in the worlds. Stop it. From now on, he has to think of the Olympics. Olympics, Olympics. He has to win the gold,” Carrion said.

No Filipino has ever won a gold medal in the Olympics.

PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said his office has already prepared P500,000 award for Yulo based on the incentives law.

“The board also approved to give him P500,000 more. Who would have imagined a Filipino winning a gold in the world championships?” said Ramirez.

Yulo also stands to get P1 million more from the MVP Foundation. 

“Plano ko ibili iyon ng bahay para sa pamilya ko,” Yulo said. “Magiging atleta na rin kasi ang mga kapatid ko, kaya magandang lumaki sila sa maayos na environment.”

Yulo acknowledged it wasn’t always a bed of roses training for more than 3 years in Tokyo away from his family.

“Noong mga unang araw ko sa Japan, nakakaramdam na’ko ng lungkot. Nami-miss ko na’ng pamilya ko,” said Yulo, who once considered quitting.

“ ’Yung training hindi madali. Sobrang hirap. Araw araw naiiyak ako. Sinabi ko sa coach ko na magku-quit na ako,” he said.

But after visiting home and having a heart-to-heart talk with his parents, he eventually continued to train.

“Ngayon target ko nang di maulit ’yung dati. Gusto kong lumaban, gusto kong ipakita na kaya ko po,” Yulo said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Skateboarding does not need Olympic validation, says Tony Hawk

CHELLES, France -- Skateboarding does not need the prestige of Olympic status, and it could inadvertently harm the sport's counter-cultural standing, skateboarding great Tony Hawk said on Saturday.

Hawk was commenting on his sport's inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo at the Vans Park Series France event in the Chelles suburb, near Paris.

"My only concern of skateboarding on the Olympic platform is that somehow that will inspire people to skate only for fame or fortune," said Hawk, who is also the inspiration for the popular Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game series.

"Skateboarding has so much more to offer young people in terms of self-confidence, in terms of identity, in terms of setting their own challenges. And that is not competitive-based," the 51-year old American told Reuters.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously supported bringing skateboarding to the Tokyo 2020 Games, but that does not guarantee future appearances for the sport.

Hawk went on to say that the Olympics needed skateboarding more than the other way round.

"Through my more prominent professional years, I wouldn't have cared if it was in the Olympics because we already had our own scene and skateboarding was far more fun and popular than most Olympic sports," said Hawk.

"At this point, I feel like they need our cool factor more than we need their validation."

The Chelles event highlighted the sport's popularity. Stands were packed, with many fans decked out in Vans gear with their skateboards in hand.

The competition is unlike most sports. Waiting for their 40-second run, skaters hung around the deck of the park, talking and shouting while their friends beside them enjoyed a beer or a snack from a food truck.

This uniqueness, Hawk added, born of the sport's creative, alternative spirit, should continue to attract potential skaters -- not its popularity or lucrativeness.

The International Olympic Committee has given skateboarding a provisional green-light for the Paris 2024 Games alongside surfing, climbing and breakdancing. The final decision will be made in late 2020, after the Tokyo Olympics.

Hawk, who turned pro in 1982 at the age of 14, did not enjoy the same level of acceptance at the time, but the counterculture aspect of the sport pushed him further.

"I'm really thankful that I got to grow up in a time when we had to prove ourselves, just through our own dedication and not a validation from some from higher source," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Swimming: Olympic champ Joseph Schooling moving in ‘right direction’ for 2020

JAKARTA—Joseph Schooling did not claim to have swam a perfect race in winning Singapore's first gold medal of the 18th Asian Games but he feels the victory is another stepping stone towards the defense of his 100m butterfly title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Texas-based swimmer earned Singapore's first Olympic gold medal when he won the event at the 2016 Rio Games but has since struggled with inconsistency, managing only a bronze at the world championships in Hungary last year.

Schooling said winning gold in Jakarta on Wednesday, in a Games record of 51.04, brought him "relief and joy" and hopefully signaled an end to his dip in form.

"I've been up and down over the last two years but it's part of the cycle, right? You can't always be in tip-top performance," he said at the Gelora Bung Karno Aquatic Center late on Wednesday.

"What's important is if you're not feeling at your best, step up, grind it through and try to win the race. That's what defines a champion."

The 23-year-old, who will be going for a second gold after topping Thursday's 50m butterfly heats (23.84), plans to swim in Europe before returning home for a World Cup leg in November ahead of next year's world championships in South Korea.

"I'm heading in the right direction ... I'm starting to feel more and more comfortable, so I envision the next two years getting better and better heading into Korea and Tokyo," he added.

He was happy with his time in Jakarta, which was the fifth fastest of the year and bettered his gold-winning 51.76 at the 2014 Asian Games, but felt it was "just another stepping stone" towards his ultimate goal.

"You build on it each meet, each year and you finally get to the Olympics," he said. "This is one of the building years to get to do what I want to do in Tokyo.

"Are things going according to plan? Yes, I'd say so. I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm definitely in a lot better shape than I was last year. Hopefully I can keep building on that."

And if he needs motivation, Schooling says criticism helps.

"I think criticism is good," he said.

"If everyone's on your side, praising you, it might get to your head. But I think this is a great check and balance for me.

"(I've) always proven my critics wrong. It gives me more motivation to go to practice, to race harder, so I can prove people wrong." (Editing by Peter Rutherford )

source: news.abs-cbn.com