Summer Olympics Games - Tokyo 2020

[josephine]

Elaine Thompson-Herah won the women’s 200m final at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Jamaican, who won gold in the women’s 100m, clocked a time of 21.53 seconds – the second fastest ever in the history of the women’s event. Namibia’s Christine Mboma claimed silver, ahead of bronze medalist Gabrielle Thomas of Team USA.

The Jamaican sprinter nabbed gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in Tokyo, repeating her two wins in the same contests at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is the first woman to win a "double-double" in Olympic track and field's fastest races.

Shortly after the race Thompson-Herah would tell the gathered Jamaican press that she had not slept since the 100m final. She just closes her eyes and lies there. It’s fine: that’s just how she does this stuff. “Honestly I just need to sleep, I have not slept since the 100m,” she told the BBC.

Jamaican Speed Gene - Elaine Thompson-Herah

Norway's Karsten Warholm beat up world record to win gold in men's 400m hurdles

Karsten Warholm has won a spectacular men's 400m hurdles final in a new world record time of 45.94. Rai Benjamin of the USA came second to win silver (46.17), while Brazil's Alison dos Santos wins bronze (46.72).

When Warholm saw the astonishing time, he looked to be in shock. He ripped his vest apart and beat his chest in celebration before sinking to his knees. “I mean, man it’s so crazy. It’s by far the biggest moment of my life,” he said.

Warholm was delighted with his Olympic gold medal, as well as breaking the 46-second barrier for the first time in history.

Benjamin, brought to tears after just missing out on the top spot on the podium, couldn't hide his disappointment at the final result: “Knowing that you want to be the best, this is what it costs. It’s hard. It hurts. But it is what it is.”

Colin Jackson, the two-time 110m hurdles world champion said: “This is one of the most outstanding world records and I’m pretty sure that world record will outlive me. It’s just breathtaking. Wow. I am truly in shock.”

Karsten Warholm said that LEGO bricks are key for his sense of calm. The athlete revealed in an interview with BBC Sport that part of how he keeps his calm before a big race is through building with LEGO sets.

Already, Warholm has built Tower Bridge, Trafford – Manchester United, a Porsche set, and The Disney Castle, among others. “With a lot of spare time during the Covid-19 pandemic, I got into building LEGO, which was a nice way to recharge and focus on something else that I enjoy,” he told the paper.

The hurdler isn’t the only sporty celebrity to attribute his sense of peace to LEGO models. Tennis champion Iga Swiatek also told the press that spends her downtime building her own sets.

Space Hurdler - Norway's Karsten Warholm

Update

The second Polish day at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Yesterday's repeat. Sports 'copy and paste.'

Team Poland's Agnieszka Skrzypulec and Jolanta Ogar wins silver sailing gold medal in women's 470 class.

Britain's Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre scooped the gold and Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz brought home the bronze for France. There was high drama in the women’s last race as Poland edged the French team in the race for second in the overall standings. Poland's team, with Jolanta Ogar with Agnieszka Skrzypulec, finished in fourth place to go ahead of France to win silver, with Camille Lecointre and Aloise Retornaz.

After the race, the French have alleged that the British crew engaged in team racing to benefit the Polish who took silver. A protest by the French boat against the British duo at race end was dismissed by the judges.

“This is sailing. Weaker days happen, and the next one has to be shaken off. We had the tools to deal with it and we entered the medal race with a cool head. We were not looking to the past, but to the future,” Skrzypulec said after the race.

Privately, Agnieszka Skrzypulec likes cycling. Meanwhile, Jolanta Ogar represented Poland at the 2012 Olympics in London, but later she was offered a chance to cooperate with Lara Vadlau from Austria, and then joined the Austrian national team from 2013, includes 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2017, she returned to the Polish national team, again joining forces with Skrzypulc. “I represent Poland again and I am very happy. I have always felt Polish. I started my adventure with sailing as a Pole and I want to end it this way,” she said in one of the interviews.

Sea Dragonflies - Agnieszka Skrzypulec & Jolanta Ogar from Poland

Patryk Dobek won bronze in the men's 800m for Poland.

Patryk Dobek took bronze in the 800m with a time of 1:45:39. He was beaten by two Kenyans - Emmanuel Korir (1:45:06) and Ferguson Rotich (1:45:23). “I laughed with coach Krol that it couldn't be that I would achieve something so quickly. It would be a bit unfair. But when there is an opportunity, you cannot let go. This medal gives me another motivation,” said Patryk Dobek after winning the Olympic bronze medal. As he admitted, he feels great. His bronze is the first Polish Olympic medal at this distance.

Previously, he specialized in 400m hurdles ahead of a coach change in 2020. His idol is US 400m runner Jeremy Wariner. In addition to racing with other competitors on the treadmill, Dobek is also a Navy soldier. The Pole is a seaman, he also took part in the World Military Sports Games in Wuhan in 2019.

The Loneliness of the Middle-Distance Runner - Pole Patryk Dobek

Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki won the Olympic gold medal in the men’s hammer throw. His compatriot Pawel Fajdek was third.

Poland's Wojciech Nowicki won the men's hammer throw with a personal best of 82.52 metres, while his compatriot Pawel Fajdek avoided another Olympic disappointment by picking up the bronze. Norway’s Eivind Henriksen won silver.

“I didn’t expect to win but I was very well prepared,” said Nowicki, who added that it was 'a dream' to share the podium with his compatriot. “I tried my best and it worked out.”

With the year's best throw of 82.98 metres and the last four World Championships titles, Fajdek had seemed an obvious frontrunner in Tokyo. As he himself admitted, “Everyone knows what happened in London and Rio but now everything has changed. Now I am an Olympic medallist, my mind will be free.” He also added: “For me this bronze medal is like a gold.”

Wojciech Nowicki believes that “Sport is not only about winning medals. Sport is, above all, about improvement and pushing beyond your limits.” He said that his idols are Polish hammer throwers Szymon Ziolkowski and Kamila Skolimowska.

In turn, Pawel Fajdek said: “It is not worth watching out for others, you have to believe in yourself.” His father wanted to make him a cyclist, but he perceived riding in the mountains as a hard labor. So instead of two wheels, he chose one large wheel - the one located at the athletics stadium.

King of Hammer - Wojciech Nowicki from Poland

Incalculable Man - Poland's Crazy Pawel Fajdek

 

[josephine]

Children win medals at the Olympics Games

Japan’s Sakura Yosozumi won the first ever Olympic gold medal in women’s park skateboarding in Tokyo.

In park skateboarding, five judges evaluate competitors on three 45-second runs using a 0-100-point scale. The highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the remaining three scores are averaged to calculate a score for each run. An athlete’s best score out of the three runs counts for their overall score.

Sakura Yosozumi, 19 years old, who was fourth in prelims, but up a huge 60.09 in her first run of the final that practically sealed the win. “I hope skateboarding is going to be very popular in Japan because of the strong performances of the Japanese team,” she said. This is the third gold medal for Japan in skateboarding after Horigome Yuto won gold in men's street and 13 year old Nishiya Momiji clinched gold in women's street last week.

Japanese teammate Kokona Hiraki, 12-years-old, took silver. She is the youngest medalist in Olympic history since French athlete Noel Vandernotte who competed in rowing in the 1936 Games. Sky Brown, who turned 13 less than a month ago, took the bronze. Brown’s mother is Japanese and her father is British. She splits her time between the United States and Japan.

I'm Still Young - Sakura Yosozumi from Japan

I'm Forever Young - Japan’s Kokona Hiraki

I'm Young - Sky Brown from Great Britain

Chinese diver Quan Hongchan wins gold in 10m platform.

China’s 14 year old diver Quan Hongchan wrapped up the 10m platform gold medal in stunning style after producing three perfect dives at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. In the second and fourth rounds, Quan scored a perfect 10 from all seven judges as she slipped neatly into the water. “I want to thank [my parents] for encouraging me to relax and telling me to just go for my dives freely because it doesn‘t matter whether I get a medal or not,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a prodigy,” Hongchan added. “I don’t do well in my studies. You ask me all these questions and there’s only a blank in my mind.”

Chinese teammate Chen Yuxi won silver and Melissa Wu of Australia was third. Earlier, Wu won the silver in Beijing 2008 Olympics in a competition with a 10-meter synchronized platform.

Pearl Diver - Quan Hongchan of China

 

[josephine]

Poland's Dawid Tomala won the gold in the Olympic men's 50km race walk in Sapporo.

Tomala from Poland clocked a time of 3:50:08 in a race whose second half he clearly dominated. Germany's Jonathan Hilbert took the silver medal and Canada's Evan Dunfee claimed the bronze.

From the 30km mark, Tomala started increasing his lead over his competitors. He led the race for more than two hours. The Pole walked 50 kilometers in less than four hours, when the temperature during the race was over 30 degrees Celsius and the air humidity was 80%. Something incredible. “This year changed everything for me because I started for the first time 50km. It's the second 50 in my life and a gold medal is crazy, right?” Tomala said. He also revealed why he chose variable distances from 20 to 50 kilometers: “I was bored (laughs). I needed a new challenge.”

He'd never even competed at 50km prior to qualifying for Tokyo at an event in Slovakia in this year. His only Olympic experience prior to Tokyo came at London 2012, where he finished 19th in the 20km walk. His hero is Polish race walker Robert Korzeniowski.

Pole earned what might be thelast ever Olympic gold medal in the this discipline. Tomala won the 11th medal for Poland the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the fourth gold.

Man in Seven Mile Boots - Dawid Tomala from Poland

Maria Andrejczyk from Poland took silver in the women’s javelin throw contest at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

After struggling with huge health issues, severe pain and creeping sense of resignation, Poland's Andrejczyk claimed second place thanks to her best throw of 64.61m on her second attempt. She was surpassed only by China's Shiying Liu, who won the gold medal with 66.34m. Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia captured the bronze with a best effort of 64.56m.

The Polish athlete achieved her lifetime result after losing bronze at Rio five years ago by mere two centimetres. She made a decent comeback to the professional sport after being plagued by injuries for a few years.

“My shoulder did as much as it could. After all these trials, operations, I am proud of myself. I am glad that I went through this way. It was hard. There was pain, there was fear, but there were also wonderful people on my way. What I did was more, much more than this silver,” said Andrejczyk in an interview for Polish television after the competition.

However, she did not hide her sporting anger, because in her opinion, if not for health problems, gold was within reach. Her heros are Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny and Polish javelin thrower Barbara Madejczyk. It follows a simple rule: As long as you fight you are a winner.

She is the second Polish female javelin thrower to win an Olympic medal, after Maria Kwasniewska, who claimed bronze at the Berlin Games in 1936.

Andrejczyk's silver means Poland has now won 8 medals in athletics competitions and a total of 12 from all the sports at the Tokyo Olympics.

Javelin Warrior - Pole Maria Andrejczyk

Jamaica won the women's 4x100m relay gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

The quartet of Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson combined for a national record 41.02 seconds. Also joining Jamaica on the medal podium is the United States, who won the silver with a time of 41.45. Lastly, Great Britain won the bronze medal with a time of 41.88.

On their country’s independence day, the four Jamaican after the victory draped in national flags, celebrating the facts that their time established a national record.

After the victory, there were rumors of a potential protest by the Americans over a possible lane violation. However, no protest was lodged. “I don’t think they’re going to deny us on independence day,” Fraser-Pryce said, and eventually the four sprinters laughed.

It was the third gold medal for Elaine Thompson-Herah in Tokyo, who previously won the 100 and 200 meters race. Let me reminder what I wrote earlier, she also won double gold in the 100m and 200m race and silver in the 4x100 relay at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.

Jamaican Goddesses Voodoo - Jamaican Women's 4x100m Relay

 

[josephine]

Poland women's crew won bronze medal in K4 500m kayaking.

The Polish team of Karolina Naja, Anna Pulawska, Justyna Iskrzycka and Helena Wisniewska defeated in the fight for the third place New Zealand with the famous Lisa Carrington. Hungary claimed gold, six-tenths of a second ahead of Belarus.

This is Poland's first ever medal in women's K4 kayaking. Naja and Pulawska stood on the podium for the second time in Tokyo, however, having won silver on Tuesday in the 500m doubles. This is Naja's fourth Olympic medal. In 2012 in London and in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro she won bronze medals in the doubles with Beata Mikolajczyk.

This is the 13th medal won by Polish athletes in Tokyo.

Canoe in the Rain

The Polish women's relay 4x400 m won the Olympic silver medal. Natalia Kaczmarek, Iga Baumgart-Witan, Malgorzata Holub-Kowalik and Justyna Swiety-Ersetic improved the country record with a score of 3:20:53. The USA won gold with time 3:16:85, while Jamaica secured the bronze - 3:21:24.

The competitors of the Polish 4x400 m relay said that they did their best in the final run. “The coach said that when our legs fail, we have to run with the heart” - admitted Malgorzata Holub-Kowalik.

Poles ran absolutely brilliantly, fantastically, amazing! They won a silver medal in a big way. Girl power! They will be legendary. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations...

It is the 14th medal for Poland in Tokyo and the ninth medal won by athletes.

Matusinski’s Silver Angels I - The Polish Women's 4x400m Team

Matusinski’s Silver Angels II - The Polish Women's 4x400m Team

 

[josephine]

Gold medal for USA men's basketball in Tokyo.

United States claimed its fourth straight Olympic gold medal with an 87-82 victory over France at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Australia beat Slovenia, 107-93, to win bronze, its first ever medal in a major international competition.

An 83-76 group stage loss to France seemed to suggest USA supremacy at the Olympics could be threatened.

Durant, Team USA’s captain, revealed that the Americans had called a players only meeting after that 83-76 loss to refocus. “I’ve never lost with Team USA before. Taking a loss was tough. When you have a team meeting, you’re at the bottom. We worked our way up from there. A lot of people back home doubted us. When you hear the noise so much, we came together and finished it off with a perfect ending.”

In finale Kevin Durant scored 29 points and six rebounds , leading the United States to an 87-82 victory over France. But France didn't go without a fight. At one point in the first half, they trailed by 13 points but fought back and cut the lead to five before halftime.

The USA men’s basketball in Tokyo 2020 isn't the Dream Team. It’s not even the Redeem Team. Now this is the Achieve Team. Patrick Ewing, who was one of the players on the legendary Dream Team said: “All the current players grew up looking up to us and watching us dominate the rest of the world. But the rest of the world caught up. There are so many talented players. Some of the NBA’s top players today come from all over the world. It wasn’t like that back then.”

Well, the world is changing faster and faster, even in basketball.

Successors of Dream Team Come Down to Earth - USA Basketball Men's National Team

France outlasts ROC to win first men’s volleyball gold in Tokyo.

France beat the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team in the men's volleyball final in a sensational five-set match to grab their first Olympic gold medal in the sport.

France beat the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team in the men's volleyball final in a sensational five-set match to grab their first Olympic gold medal in the sport. The French took the first two sets but the ROC recovered momentum to win the following two, leading to a dramatic ending after a tight rally in the final set. It provided the perfect capper to the coaching career of Laurent Tillie, who took over the French team in 2012 and now is planning to retire. France won with Russia 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12.

In the bronze medal game, Argentina won its second Olympics medal ever in men’s volleyball, rallying to beat Brazil 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13.

"It's a magic that our dreams came true," said Laurent Tillie, who will be stepping down as France's head coach following the Games. "We've had good times and bad times, but we've pushed on to achieve our goal," he said. France captain Benjamin Toniutti added: "We gave everything and we got this gold medal. We made a history and this will never go away." Another contestant, Tillie, said, "It's a fairytale,". "It’s been a fairytale since the beginning."

The French took the first two sets but the ROC recovered momentum to win the following two, leading to a dramatic ending after a tight rally in the final set. It provided the perfect capper to the coaching career of Laurent Tillie, who took over the French team in 2012 and now is planning to retire.

In the bronze medal game, Argentina won its second Olympics medal ever in men’s volleyball, rallying to beat Brazil 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13.

“It's a magic that our dreams came true. It's a fairytale. It’s been a fairytale since the beginning.” said Laurent Tillie, who will be stepping down as France's head coach following the Games. “We've had good times and bad times, but we've pushed on to achieve our goal,” he said. France captain Benjamin Toniutti added: “We gave everything and we got this gold medal. We made a history and this will never go away.”

Gold for the Bold - France Men's National Basketball Team

Summer Olympic Medal Count By Country - Tokyo 2020 Olympics (July 23-August 8, 2021)

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[josephine]

The Olympic Games in Tokyo during the pandemic came to an end.

Empty stadiums and halls with no fans, not counting those made of cardboard. Competitors were allowed to take off their masks only during competition and training. In the Olympic Village, they moved along marked paths. During the medal ceremony, the competitors had to put them around their necks. There were also no handshakes or other forms of congratulations.

During one of the finals, a TV commentator screamed: the crowds are cheering. At the same time, the camera showed six fans in the stands jumping for joy. Funny scary story. It was all strange. Welcome to the Brave New World...


Fireworks Illuminate Over National Stadium During the Closing Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

The Flag Bearers of the Competing Nations on the Stadium During the Closing Ceremony

Artists' Performance During the Closing Ceremony

Members of the Polish Delegation Take Pctures As They Attend the Closing Ceremony

GOODBYE TOKYO
HELLO PARIS

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[Grandalf]

Okazała radość

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[josephine]

I forgot to write on Tuesday about one event in Tokyo. I wanted to finish the topic with a musical accent but it slipped my mind. I will do it now.

Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of American rock-legend couple Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, won a silver medal as part of the US equestrian jumping team at the Tokyo Olympics.

She grew up on 368-acre her family's in Colts Neck Township, New Jersey, before the family moved to LA. Springsteen began taking riding lessons when she was 4 and competing in local shows. She took horseback-riding lessons starting at age 5 and got her first pony at age 6. Springsteen a few years later, rising quickly in a sport where many of the competitors are in their 40s and 50s.

The rock star's daughter said that her mom was her first horse-jumping inspiration. “She was like my first riding idol,” Springsteen told reporters on Friday during the Tokyo Olympics. “I used to watch her jump and be like, 'Oh my God, she's jumping so big. I'm never going to be able to do that.' It's really cool that it's something we're able to enjoy as a family.”

“There really is no other sport like it, and I think the connection you develop with the horses is something really special,” she said recently. “That’s what has drawn me to it since I was little, and that is what I still love the most about it: how in sync you can be with your horse. Once you’ve created that partnership, the horses can read what you are thinking before you even ask them to do it.”

Bruce Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, couldn’t be there in person due to coronavirus restrictions, but Jessica told the press, that she had done ‘a really quick’ video call with her family back home. “They were all screaming, I don't think we understood anything but I know that they're so excited,” she said.

They were not the only ones to celebrate Springsteen's success. Stevie Van Zandt, a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, tweeted: “It's her first freakin Olympics! Absolutely incredible! She's put in years of hard work of course, but still!”

The USA had a shot at gold in a jump-off with Sweden, however the Swedes came out on top with a time of 122.90 and no penalties as opposed to the Americans' 124.20 and no penalties. The difference was 1.3 seconds. Jessica was riding on a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion named Don Juan van de Donkhoeve. Riders Laura Kraut and McLain Ward joined Springsteen on the podium for medals.

Springsteen is not the first equestrian competitor with famous parents to compete at the Olympics. Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, represented Britain at the 1976 Montreal Games and Anne's daughter, Zara Tindall, jumped at London in 2012, winning a silver medal.

Sorry, I wrote so late, but I couldn't help myself. That's all. Cheers.

Born to Ride - Jessica Springsteen from USA

Jessica Springsteen with Parents

Jessica Springsteen & Don Juan van de Donkhoeve