Summer Olympics

Simone Biles won a bronze medal in the women's gymnastics balance beam final at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Tuesday. 

The American scored a 14.000 and finished behind a pair of Chinese gymnasts in Guan Chenchen and Tang Xijing, who took gold and silver with scores of 14.633 and 14.233, respectively. 

Biles is now a two-time Olympic medalist in the event, as she took bronze in the balance beam at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

It marked a positive end to the Olympic Games for Biles, who pulled out of the team final after falling on a vault attempt and then declined to participate in the all-around final, as well as the floor exercise, uneven bars and vault finals.

After Biles took herself out of the team event and was replaced by Jordan Chiles, USA Gymnastics released a statement that noted she was dealing with a medical issue.

When addressing the media after the team event, Biles said: "It's been really stressful this Olympic Games. ... It's been a long week, a long Olympic process, a long year. I think we're a little too stressed out. We should be out here having fun, and that's just not the case."

When Biles subsequently pulled out of the individual all-around, USA Gymnastics announced she was doing so to focus on her mental health, and she would continue to be evaluated moving forward.

Team USA still managed to win silver in the team competition, and Biles looked on in support during the individual all-around as teammate Sunisa Lee became the fifth different American gymnast in a row to win gold in the event.

After the individual all-around, Biles wrote on Instagram that she was dealing with "the twisties" in practice, which is the act of a gymnast losing the necessary feel for their flips in the air.

After that, it was unclear if Biles would participate in any of the individual events, but she decided to give it a shot on the beam.

The 2021 Summer Olympics didn't go according to plan for Biles, but with a bronze medal on the balance beam, she will leave Tokyo with two medals at these Games and seven in her Olympic career.

Japan defeated the United States in walk-off fashion in the Tokyo Olympics men's baseball knockout stage Monday, sealing a 7-6 win in 10 innings.

The host country advanced to the semifinal to face South Korea, which easily defeated Israel for its spot in the next round.

The double-elimination tournament will give United States a chance to play for medals through the repechage bracket, but it will be a tougher path to gold.

Monday Results

Japan def. United States, 7-6 (10 innings)

South Korea def. Israel, 11-1

Scores and schedule available at Olympics.com.

Monday Recap

The two favorites of the tournament finally came together Monday, and they did not disappoint, with USA and Japan needing extra innings to settle things.

Down 6-5 in the ninth inning, Japan's Yuki Yanagita tied the game in the ninth inning with an RBI groundout against Scott McGough.

Two batters start on base in extra innings in the Olympics, but the United States was unable to score in the top of the 10th. Japan didn't have the same problems, butting over the runners to start the inning before Takuya Kai hit a long single off Edwin Jackson to give the home team the walk-off win.

The United States had seemingly put itself in position to win thanks to a three-run home run by Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas:

It came after the Americans chased former MLB starter Masahiro Tanaka from the game. The former New York Yankees star had six strikeouts but allowed three runs in just 3.2 innings.

Veteran major leaguer Todd Frazier had one of the key hits early to keep Team USA alive:

The United States eventually built a 6-3 lead after Casas' homer, but Japan fought back with two runs in the fifth before tying it up in the ninth.

Japan is now one win away from the gold-medal game, while Team USA needs two more wins to get there and no margin for error. They will face the winner of Israel and the Dominican Republican in the next game, and another loss will remove any chance at a gold medal.

South Korea is in good position to medal after an easy 11-1 victory over Israel in the other Round 2 matchup.

Minwoo Kim allowed just two hits in 4.1 innings, while the only run Israel scored came on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning. Former MLB players Ian Kinsler and Danny Valencia were held hitless at the top of the order for Israel.

South Korea had no such problems at the plate with 11 runs, including a seven-run fifth inning that led to the rout. Designated hitter Baekho Kang went 4-for-4 with two RBI, while Ji Hwan Oh hit one of the team's two home runs in the win.

The win clinches at least a trip to the bronze-medal game for South Korea, but the squad likely has its eyes on gold heading into the semifinals against Japan.

China earned both gold and silver in the men's gymnastics rings final of the Tokyo Olympics, but it was Liu Yang who edged teammate You Hao for the top spot on the podium.

Liu had a score of 15.500 Monday at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Japan, just two tenths of a point ahead of You for the victory.

Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece won gold at the 2016 Olympics but had to settle for the bronze medal in Tokyo.

Final Results

1. Liu Yang (China): 15.500

2. You Hao (China): 15.300

3. Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece): 15.200

4. Samir Ait Said (France): 14.900

5. Ibrahim Colak (Turkey): 14.866

6. Denis Ablyazin (ROC): 14.833

7. Adem Asil (Turkey): 14.600

8. Arthur Zanetti (Brazil): 14.133

Full scores available at Olympics.com.

It was a close battle between the top three, but Liu separated himself with a 9.000 execution score that was the best in the field.

Liu earned the first gold for China in gymnastics so far in Tokyo, adding to a men's team that won bronze in the team competition. Xiao Ruoteng also added a pair of individual medals in the all-around and floor exercise.

With neither Liu nor You competing for China in the team event, the country showcased its depth in the sport.

You's silver medal was an impressive achievement after finishing eighth in qualification and earning the last spot in the final. He had the highest degree of difficulty in his final routine, but his 8.700 execution score put him just short of gold.

Petrounias entered as the favorite as the reigning gold medalist in rings, plus three world championships in the event, but he wasn't able to replicate his past success. His 15.200 score was also lower than his 15.333 qualifying score, forcing him to settle for the bronze.

The final medals in men's gymnastics will be handed out Tuesday with the finals of the parallel bars and horizontal bars.

American Jade Carey earned a gold medal in the floor exercise at the Tokyo Olympics after earning a score of 14.366 in the event finals Monday.

It's the first Olympic medal for Carey, who competed in the individual competitions this week but did not suit up for Team USA on the way to its silver medal.

Italy's Vanessa Ferrari earned the silver in floor after posting the best score in qualifying, while Mai Murakami of Japan and Angelina Melnikova of ROC each took home bronze after tying in third place.

Final Results

1. Jade Carey (USA): 14.366

2. Vanessa Ferrari (Italy): 14.200

3. Mai Murakami (Japan): 14.166

3. Angelina Melnikova (ROC): 14.166

5. Rebecca Andrade (Brazil): 14.033

6. Jessica Gadirova (Great Britain): 14.000

7. Jennifer Gadirova (Great Britain): 13.233

8. Viktoriia Listunova (ROC): 12.400

Full scores available at Olympics.com.

A strong performance during qualifying helped Carey earn spots in the apparatus finals in both vault and floor, while she reached the individual all-around final after Simone Biles withdrew from the competition. 

Biles also withdrew from the floor final, an event she won gold in at the Rio Olympics in 2016, as well as in five different world championships. 

It left a wide-open competition for the gold medal, but it was Carey who took advantage after finishing in eighth place in both the all-around and vault finals.

The 21-year-old's routine had the toughest difficulty in the field Monday at 6.300, four-tenths higher than any other finalist and one-tenth tougher than her score in qualifying.

She handled it well with an 8.066 execution score and no penalties:

Ferrari had a higher execution score (8.300), but it wasn't enough to claim gold. The Italian still earned silver for her first Olympic medal in four trips to the Summer Games. She previously finished fourth in the floor exercise in both 2012 and 2016.

Melnikova shared a bronze for her third medal in Tokyo, also winning bronze in the all-around while helping ROC take the gold in the team competition.

Carey was still the star of the show Monday, getting a chance to celebrate her gold with her father, Brian Carey, who is also her coach:

It continues to showcase the United States' depth in gymnastics after winning silver in the team competition. Sunisa Lee won gold in the individual all-around and bronze in the uneven bars, while MyKayla Skinner took silver in bronze.

Lee and Biles will get a chance to add to that in the balance beam final Tuesday.

The United States women's national team will play for the bronze medal after Canada earned a stunning 1-0 upset over the international powerhouse in Monday's Olympic semifinal.

The match was scoreless until Jessie Fleming scored a penalty for Canada in the 75th minute:

The shot was just out of reach of backup goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, resulting in the only score of the match. Starting goalie Alyssa Naeher, who was the hero during the quarterfinal victory over the Netherlands, was forced to leave with an injury in the 30th minute.

Canada held on for the win and will face Sweden in the final for a chance at its first gold medal in women's soccer. Sweden beat Australia in the other semifinal match Monday.

The upset win was a breakthrough for Canada, which has earned bronze in the last two Olympics:

A gold medal would be the biggest moment in program history, while Christine Sinclair could add another achievement after already ranking as the top international goalscorer in history. The 38-year-old played 87 minutes in Monday's win.

The United States, meanwhile, was unable to build on its 2019 World Cup win with another major trophy.

The Americans had plenty of chances to score, outshooting Canada 17-5 in the match, including a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. They simply weren't able to get anything into the back of the net, even after adding key subs Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Christen Press in the 60th minute.

It continued an up-and-down run of matches in Tokyo that featured just one win in 90 minutes. The USWNT also had one loss and one draw in group play before surviving the quarterfinal on penalty kicks.

"Obviously, our standards are perfection all the time, so we really never reached that, and we wanted the gold medal but we have a ton to still perform for," Rapinoe said after the match.

The team will now compete for the bronze Thursday against Australia. After finishing in just fifth place at the 2016 Olympics, the United States will try to win its first soccer medal since 2012.

The Great Britain quartet of Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin won gold in style by setting a new world record in the mixed 4x100-meter medley at the 2020 Olympics. 

Great Britain finished with a time of 3:37.58, breaking the previous world record held by China (3:38.41). The Chinese team won the silver, with the Australians taking the bronze. 

Mixed 4x100m Medley Final Results

Gold: Great Britain (3:37.58)

Silver: China (3:38.86)

Bronze: Australia (3:38.95)

4th: Italy (3:39.28)

5th: United States (3:40.58)

6th: Netherlands (3:41.25)

7th: Russian Olympic Committee (3:42.45)

8th: Israel (3:44.77)

Team USA was expected to be a serious player in this race. The squad finished second during the qualifying heat to Great Britain.

Things broke badly for the U.S. during the breaststroke portion of the medley. 

The United States was in second place after the backstroke when Lydia Jacoby dove into the water. Her run was immediately thrown off because her goggles fell down, covering her nose and mouth, but leaving her eyes exposed. 

Jacoby was able to finish the 100 meters in exactly 65 seconds, but the U.S. dropped down to fifth place at that point. The problems were exacerbated when Torri Huske missed getting off the block for the butterfly. 

Caeleb Dressel did his best to close the gap over the final 100 meters, finishing in 46.99 seconds, but the deficit was too significant for Team USA to make it onto the medal podium. 

After sitting outside of the top three through the first 200 meters, Great Britain moved into the top spot thanks to James Guy's effort in the butterfly. He put the team up by 0.57 seconds over China, leaving Anna Hopkin in excellent position to seal the win in the freestyle. 

Hopkin finished the final leg in 52 seconds for the win. 

China was steady throughout the race, never dropping below third at the end of each leg. Italy fell off the pace in the second half after holding the lead during the second leg thanks to Nicolo Martinenghi's backstroke performance (58.38).

The Italian team wound up coming in fourth place, just behind the Australian squad that finished third. 

Olympic records are being set left and right at the Tokyo Games. Emma McKeon was the latest to claim one on Thursday night. 

The Australian swimmer won the first individual gold medal of her career, posting a time of 51.96 in the women's 100-meter freestyle. She topped Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (52.27) and fellow Aussie Cate Campbell (52.52) to claim gold.

"I think that coming into this morning's performance, I really wanted to put forward my best performance,” McKeon told Australia's Channel Seven after the win. "And that is pretty much a season's best, and to do that in an Olympic final, off a very, very challenging year that I've had, I'm really happy."

McKeon is putting together quite the medal collection, with two golds and four medals in total at the Tokyo Games. She's up to eight medals now in her decorated career:

Her teammate, Campbell, was participating in her fourth Olympics and claimed her first individual medal since the 2008 Games. 

"There were understandably quite a few demons knocking at my door this morning when I woke up, but I held them all at bay and I performed when it counted,” she told reporters. "I get to stand on an Olympic podium. The Australian national anthem is going to be echoing through the stadium, and I couldn't be more proud of my teammate [McKeon]. She deserves absolutely everything that has come her way." 

As for the United States' lone representative in the race, Abbey Weitzeil finished eighth (53.23).

Russian Olympic Committee's Evgeny Rylov came into the men's 200-meter backstroke  event as the favorite. He lived up to the hype. 

Rylov set an Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27, holding off the United States' Ryan Murphy (1:54.15) and Great Britain's Luke Greenbank (1:54.72) to claim the gold medal. 

Russian athletes at the Tokyo Games are competing under the banner of the ROC after Russia's name, flag and anthem were banned from this year's Olympics over a state-sponsored doping program and subsequent cover-up.

Rylov is having a strong Olympics, having already won gold in the 100-meter backstroke. Both golds have been important for the ROC, whose men had a cold streak in the pool before Rylov snapped it:

"I was overwhelmed by joy ... now I just have to prove myself in other events," Rylov told reporters after winning the 100-meter backstroke. "I do understand the sky is the limit but I have achieved a very important result and of course I felt a huge relief."

Make that two very important results. 

Beating Murphy was no small task—he won the golds in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 Rio Games. And Murphy had some strong thoughts about the race afterwards:

Murphy probably isn't the only athlete who feels that way. But he certainly didn't pull any punches after his silver-medal swim. 

In what has been a wild season of women's tennis, it comes as little surprise that some unexpected names have made their way to the final at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Proving she was no flash in the pan after upsetting No. 2 seed Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament, unseeded Marketa Vondrousova beat another high seed in Elina Svitolina on Thursday.

Meanwhile, No. 9 Belinda Bencic outlasted No. 15 Elena Rybakina in a three-set semi to advance to the final as well.

Here's how the matches played out:

(9) Belinda Bencic (SUI) def. (15) Elena Rybakina (KAZ): 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3

Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) def. (4) Elina Svitolina (UKR): 6-3, 6-1

In the first women's semifinal of the day, a pair of top-15 seeds went at it in Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.

Bencic ultimately prevailed and was overcome with emotion after one of the biggest victories of her career:

The first set was an all-out battle with both players having ample opportunity, but Bencic staved off six set points to take it 7-2 in a tiebreak.

Rybakina bounced back to win the second set, and she seemed to have Bencic on the ropes early in the third by taking a 2-0 lead.

Bencic stormed back to win the final set 6-3, however, and WTA Insider broke down the never-say-die attitude she displayed:

With the win, Bencic will take either gold or silver, putting her in elite company in the history of Swiss tennis:

Neither Roger Federer nor Stan Wawrinka played in the Olympics because of injury, meaning hopes weren't as high for Switzerland as they typically have been, but Bencic came through.

The other women's semifinal featured perhaps the biggest feel-good story of the draw, as unseeded Marketa Vondrousova looked to take down another big name in No. 4 Elina Svitolina.

Vondrousova put an early end to Osaka's tournament on the No. 2 seed's home court, and she ousted Svitolina as well.

The 22-year-old Vondrousova has had some success in the past, including reaching the French Open final in 2019, but she was considered an afterthought when the tournament started.

After all, she has just one career WTA singles title to her credit, and it came back in 2017.

None of that has mattered to Vondrousova, who is playing the best tennis of her career, as she steamrolled past one of the best players in the world 6-3, 6-1.

WTA Insider noted that Vondrousova is carrying on the Czech Republic's recent history of singles success at the Olympics:

Randy Walker of New Chapter Media pointed out that Vondrousova has a chance to become the most unlikely gold medalist in the history of women's tennis at the Olympics:

That distinction presently belongs to Puerto Rico's Monica Puig, who won gold five years ago, but Vondrousova is ranked even lower than Puig was then.

To take gold, Vondrousova will be tasked with taking down yet another top-10 player in Bencic. However, Vondrousova has a 1-0 lead over Bencic in career meetings, beating her earlier this year at the Miami Open.