Upsets in Olympic pool as Japan, Tunisia strike gold
Japan and Tunisia celebrated shock gold medals on a day of upsets in the Olympic swimming pool on Sunday while Tokyo youngster Yuto Horigome claimed a fairytale hometown victory with the first ever skateboarding gold medal in Olympic history.
On the second full day of Olympic competition, the Tokyo Aquatic Center took centre stage for one of the blue riband sports of the Games with four gold medals up for grabs in a morning finals session.
But while swimming superpowers Australia and the USA traditionally dominate the Olympic pool, it was Tunisian teenager Ahmed Hafnaoui and Japan's Yui Ohashi who made the biggest waves.
Hafnaoui, 18, had only qualified eighth-fastest for the 400m freestyle final but produced a devastating late burst to win in 3min 43.36sec, overhauling Australian Jack McLoughlin, who took silver in 3:43.52.
"I just can't believe that, it's amazing," Hafnaoui said. "I felt better in the water this morning than yesterday and that's it. I'm the Olympic champion now."
It was Tunisia's first ever Olympic medal in the event and just their third gold ever in swimming.
The upsets continued in the women's 400 medley when Japan's Ohashi delighted the host nation to topple defending champion Katinka Hosszu.
Ohashi -- whose previous best performance on the world stage was a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships -- touched in 4:32.08 ahead of US duo Emma Weyant and Hali Flickinger.
"I swam believing in myself. I really did not think of winning the gold," said Ohashi.
The other early medals were split between the US and Australia.
Chase Kalisz, a silver medallist in Rio five years ago, went one better to claim the first US swimming gold of the Games with victory in the 400m medley.
Meanwhile Australia's dominant women's 4x100m freestyle relay team of Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon, Meg Harris and Bronte Campbell smashed their own world record with victory in 3:29.69.
Away from the pool, Sunday's Olympic action saw two new sports make their bow, with the opening rounds of the surfing and skateboarding competitions.
Both sports were included at this year's Games as part of an International Olympic Committee drive to attract younger fans.
A perfectly scripted skateboard final saw Japanese world champion Horigome strike gold in a tense street competition in Tokyo on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, who grew up just a stone's throw from the Olympic venue, landed three huge tricks in a row to eclipse American favourite Nyjah Huston, who finished seventh.
At Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Tokyo, blue skies and blazing sunshine greeted surfers as they paddled into the Pacific Ocean for the men's and women's heats.
It marked the culmination of efforts to get surfing added to the Olympic programme which date back more than 100 years.
"I cannot take my mask off, but behind this mask is a very happy face," said International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Covid-19 claimed another scalp with US golfer DeChambeau withdrawing from the Games after testing positive for the virus.
The PGA Tour said the big-hitting 2020 US Open champion had tested positive before leaving for Japan and would now be replaced by Patrick Reed.
The opening rounds of the men's and women's tennis singles meanwhile saw the exit of two heavyweights, with women's world number one Ashleigh Barty, the reigning Wimbledon champion, losing 6-4, 6-3 to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Two-time defending men's champion Andy Murray meanwhile abandoned his singles campaign after succumbing to a muscle injury, Team GB said in a statement. He will continue in the doubles.
Barty's exit could ease Japan star Naomi Osaka's route to a possible gold medal.
Osaka, who lit the Olympic flame at Friday's opening ceremony, plays her opening game of the women's singles on Sunday.
In other action on Sunday, US gymnastics star Simone Biles launches her bid to become the first woman in more than half a century to retain the all-around title.
The American could leave Tokyo with a career haul of nine Olympic gold medals, equalling the record set by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina in Tokyo in 1964.
Biles has not lost an all-around competition since 2013, an eight-year spell that has encompassed 19 world championship titles and four Olympic golds.
A formidable USA team led by Kevin Durant take on France in basketball, and Dutch two-time world champion Anna van der Breggen will target back-to-back golds in the women's cycling road race.
(责任编辑:新闻中心)
- 味道真系正!怀集食材邂逅顺德厨艺
- 美好环境靠大家 陋习都改改
- Veterans group has some advice for Donald Trump in powerful new video
- Veterans group has some advice for Donald Trump in powerful new video
- I went to an offline dating event for singles. Here's how it went.
- Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data
- Three players get sports scholarship
- Apple's fight with big banks is getting even nastier, and it was already nasty
- 当天止住消化道大出血
- Understanding Relational vs. Non
- Here's how the new 11
- Govt designates quake
- Trump tweeted a photo of Nancy Pelosi to insult her, and it backfired spectacularly
-
South Korean lawmakers brace for US election as Harris, Trump diverge on North Korea
Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris waves from the stage on Day 4 of ...[详细] -
UN rights envoy calls for Oxy's apology
The South Korean government should step up efforts in building a chemical-safe society and Oxy Recki ...[详细] -
N. Korea lashes out at closer security ties among S. Korea, US, Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, flanked by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, center right, a ...[详细] -
This was the most political Super Bowl ever
These are turbulent times in America, and even the Super Bowl can't escape the political drama. SEE ...[详细] -
I used the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the shower — does the screen work when wet as claimed?
The Pixel 9 Pro XL came out swinging with an impressive set of features that threaten Samsung and Ap ...[详细] -
Gattuso, Xavi meet again as Valencia host Barca
BARCELONA:Xavi Hernandez and Gennaro Gattuso were World Cup-winning midfielders with differing style ...[详细] -
North Korea delays nuclear test due to pressure from China, fear of backlash: experts
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un laughs during a meeting of the central military commission of the Wo ...[详细] -
Kid shows off his lit dance moves and the crowd goes wild
You're never too young to be lit.Zach Dean, a sports reporter for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, re ...[详细] -
TL;DR:Secure access to your favorite free porn sites with a VPN. The best service for unblocking por ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯 由市委宣传部、市文联和中国电信股份有限公司雅安分公司共同主办的“天翼杯”美术书法精品展、熊猫首都·生态天堂摄影大赛于7月5日正式拉开帷幕。大赛获奖作品将于今年12月进行展览。据了解,本次大 ...[详细]
- Coach jailed for sexual exploitation of underage athlete
- South Korea closely watching North Korea's summer military drills
- South Korea's new envoy for North Korean rights vows efforts for 'human security'
- Too early to say Liverpool are past their peak: Klopp
- Against All Odds: How Netflix Made It
- Swiatek poised for picture
- 小暑来了 盛夏开始 夏季商品迎来销售旺季