Tokyo Olympics Coverage Advisory
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Your support makes all the difference.Today is day five of the Tokyo Summer Games. The AP plans coverage from all events. All times bellow are U.S. Eastern.
Find our latest plans in Coverage Plan. For the latest stories, video and photos, visit the Olympics hub in AP Newsoom.
UPCOMING:
OLY-SWM--SYNCING UNDER COVID--Most Olympic athletes saw their preparations for Tokyo upended by the pandemic. But artistic swimmers were hit particularly hard. Closed borders, lockdowns and social distancing were alien concepts to athletes accustomed to being inches apart and, quite literally, in sync. Artistic swimmers faced a daunting task: How to prepare for the Olympics in a sport that prizes proximity during a pandemic that demands distance. By Kristen Gelineau. UPCOMING: 1,100 words, photos.
OLY-GLF--GOLF PREVIEW- Justin Thomas makes his Olympic debut and it felt like somewhere he has been before. The practice rounds with his fellow American. The team uniforms. The same bags. That all changes Thursday in the men’s golf competition begins. “I hope I beat those guys’ brains in,” he said. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 8 a.m.
OLY--SOC-SPAIN-ARGENTINA- A strong Spain squad plays Argentina as they chase a spot in the men’s Olympic soccer quarterfinals in the final round of group stages. By Rob Harris. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos. With separates on the seven other group games.
OLY--BKO-3X3 FINALS-- The U.S. women are the top seed entering Wednesday’s medal round of 3x3 basketball’s debut at the Olympics. Serbia is favored to win gold for the men. By National Writer Eddie Pells. AP Photos. 700 words. Women’s final at 8:55 a.m.
OLY--FHK-FIELD HOCKEY- Japan’s field hockey teams seek their first wins at the Olympics this year as they try to stay in contention for quarterfinal slots in their home country. The men play Spain on Wednesday while the women have a tough matchup with No. 2-ranked Australia. By Cliff Brunt. UPCOMING: 600 words, with photos by 10 a.m.
SENT:
OLY-GYM-BILES-OUT - Simone Biles has withdrawn from the all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being. The decision comes a day after the American gymnastics superstar removed herself from the team final following one rotation because she felt she wasn’t mentally ready. Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles’ place in the all-around. By AP Sports Writer Will Graves. SENT: 150 words, photos. With: OLY--GYM-BILES-USOPC and OLY-TIM-DAHLBERG-BILES.
OLY--MENTAL HEALTH--TOKYO - Simone Biles cited mental health struggles for pulling out of the gymnastics team competition and the individual all-around, highlighting the discussion that’s been coursing through sports for the past year. Biles joins other high-profile names in the Olympic space who have been talking openly about a topic that had been taboo in sports for seemingly forever. The International Olympic Committee has taken a proactive approach to providing resources for its athletes and shifted its tone from sports performance and results to mental health and uplifting the athletes’ voices. By AP Sports Writer Jenna Fryer. 1,200 words, photos.
OLY--SWM-LEDECKY’S DAY-- In the space of just over an hour, Katie Ledecky experienced the full range of Olympic emotions. The worst finish of her brilliant career. Then, finally, a gold medal. It was all bit overwhelming, and surely made her appreciate just how tough it is to get to the top -- and stay there. By Paul Newberry. SENT: 750 words, photos. With OLY-SWM-SWIMMING and OLY-SWM-CHANGING OF THE GUARD.
OLY--SWM-HISTORIC RELAY - For the first time in more than a century, Britain claimed relay gold at the Olympic pool. A dynamic quartet led by Tom Dean and Duncan Scott carried the British to a dominating victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Shockingly, the United States didn’t even make the podium. By AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry. SENT: 600 words, photos.
OLY-SWM-TERMINATOR-TITMUS - The Australian swimmer known as the Terminator won her second gold medal in the freestyle when she added gold in the 200-meter free to one earlier in the week in the 400 free. The Aussie is establishing herself as the leading freestyle swimmer in the world. She’s done it with a single-minded focus and ice cold temperament that matches her nickname. By Sports Writer Gerald Imray. SENT: 470 words, photos.
OLY--SWM-US WOMEN - The U.S. women’s swimming team is pocketing plenty of medals at the Olympic pool. Halfway through the nine-day competition, they’ve claimed two golds among 11 total medals. By comparison, the U.S. men have won two golds and five medals overall. Even when the U.S. women didn’t finish first, they’ve shown up on the podium in pairs. Katie Ledecky won the first women’s 1,500 freestyle in Olympic history on Wednesday and first-time Olympian Erica Sullivan finished second. By AP Sports Writer Beth Harris. SENT: 465 words, photos.
OLY--TEN-DJOKOVIC-VILLAGE LIFE - There he is doing the splits with the Belgian gymnastics team. Offering mental strength advice to Turkey’s volleyballers. Screaming wildly with a roomful of teammates when a fellow Serb wins gold in taekwondo. Posing for pictures with South African field hockey athletes. And many more Olympians from far and wide. Novak Djokovic is going full immersion on the Olympic experience at his fourth Games. He says he’s “just trying to enjoy every second” while ”exchanging knowledge, experiences, about life, about sports.” He adds that “you don’t get to have that kind of experience anywhere else.” By AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf. SENT: 550 words, photos.
OLY--GLF--SKOREAN PRESSURE- The South Korean duo of Sungjae Im and Siwoo Kim have done all they can to prepare for the Olympics, even skipping the British Open. Their mind is on the golf, even if there’s no ignoring what a medal would mean -- exemption from mandatory military service. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: SENT: 850 words, photos.
OLY--BKO-POLITICAL BASKETBALL-- The U.S. and Iran are almost always political adversaries, hardly ever seeing eye-to-eye on global issues ranging from everything from nuclear pacts to economic struggles. On Wednesday, they were rivals again -- in basketball at the Olympics. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 825 words, photos.
SRF-NO BEACH PARTY--ICHINOMIYA, Japan — Call it the Olympic party that never was, thanks to the coronavirus. Surfing’s big moment on the elite global stage was supposed to feature an eight-day beach festival featuring live music, organic food, a historical display, and environmentalism exhibit in what organizers say would have revolutionized the Olympic experience. By Sally Ho. SENT: 500 words with AP Photos.
NO NORTH KOREA--North Korea has a way of making its presence felt at the Olympics even without winning many — or any — medals. But to pull off the same feat without even being at the Tokyo Games? While it’s not exactly making headlines here, the North’s absence is still noteworthy, especially among those who pay attention to the intersection of sports and diplomacy, and the way North Korea’s propaganda machine uses the international limelight to advance its needs. By Foster Klug. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK JAPAN - Tokyo has reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time days after the start of the Olympics. SENT: 450 words, photos.
OLY--VOL-SMITH’S DISABILITY - U.S. men’s volleyball star David Smith was born nearly completely deaf. That was a challenge as he tried to integrate with other kids at school or on the playground. But whatever Smith may have lacked in hearing was more than made up with empathy, compassion, and most of all athletic ability. Smith has overcome his lack of hearing to become an elite athlete competing in his third Olympics for the U.S. men’s volleyball team. By AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 770 words, photos.
OLY--WRE-ADELINE GRAY - American wrestler Adeline Gray has done everything except win an Olympic gold medal during her outstanding career. The five-time world champion is one of the most dominant competitors ever in women’s freestyle wrestling. She finished a disappointing seventh in the 75-kilogram class at the 2016 Games while fighting through neck, shoulder and back injuries. She has won two more world titles since healing up. She’s now focused on finally getting an Olympic gold. She heads into the Tokyo Games as the No. 1 seed at 76kg. By Cliff Brunt. SENT: 750 words, photos.
OLY--BKL-US-TAURASI - Diana Taurasi had a big smile on her face when she stepped on the court against Nigeria for her record 33rd Olympic game. The five-time Olympian was playing in her first contest since injuring her hip three weeks ago while practicing with the Phoenix Mercury. She had said during the Americans’ training camp in Las Vegas that she’d be “fine and ready to go for the Tokyo Games.” She was a woman of her word on Tuesday. By AP Baskteball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 475 words, photos.
OLY--CYC-ORGANIZER MISHAPS - Officials at Fuji International Speedway have apologized to the Dutch team after world time trial champion Anna van der Breggen was pulled from her bike by security during a recon of the Olympic course for Wednesday’s race against the clock. The guard apparently did not know that van der Breggen was a competing athlete. She wound up falling in the incident but was not injured. On Monday, former BMX world champion Niek Kimmann collided at full speed with a race steward who had wandered onto the course during a training run. Both of them went down in a heap. Kimmann is one of the favorites to win a medal when competition takes place later this week. He said he hurt his knee. By AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 630 words, photos.
OLY--TEN-TENNIS - Daniil Medvedev was struggling so much with the suffocating heat and humidity in the Olympic tennis tournament that at one point the chair umpire asked him if he could continue playing. Medvedev replied that he could finish the match but said “I can die” and added “are you going to be responsible?” But Medvedev produced a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini of Italy to reach the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games. By AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf. SENT: 600 words, photos.
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EXPLAINERS
OLY-BBI-EXPLAINER-BASEBALL-DIFFERENCES - If the Colorado Rockies were in the Olympics, they’d have had some shorter nights. Olympic baseball, which started Wednesday, has some notable differences from Major League Baseball. A game is over when a team is losing by at least 10 runs after seven innings. MLB Statcast isn’t installed, so there is no scrunity of spin rates, exit velocity and launch angle. Runners are placed on first AND second in extra innings. Rosters are 24, and a 20-second pitch clock is used with no runners on base. By AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. SENT: 762 words, photos.
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DAILY FIXTURES
— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2000 Summer Games.
— TOKYO OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the 2020 pandemic-delayed Summer Games.
— TOKYO OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.
— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s gold medals.
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GRAPHICS
— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL COUNT — Keep track of who’s ahead in the medal race with our nation-by-nation medal tabulation.
— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s medals at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
— The AP