July 24 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

By Matias Grez, John Sinnott, Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 12:11 a.m. ET, July 25, 2021
16 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
8:35 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Athletes under pressure as they contend with "spiking temperatures" and "oppressive' humidity"

From CNN's John Sinnott

Nao Hibino of Japan cools down between games during her Women's Singles First Round match on July 24.
Nao Hibino of Japan cools down between games during her Women's Singles First Round match on July 24. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

There's the pressure of competition, but at Tokyo 2020 the athletes are also having to contend with another challenge -- intense heat and humidity.

"Temperatures have spiked today (Saturday) to near 34°C (93°F) across the greater Tokyo region," according to CNN's weather team.
"This combined with oppressive humidity levels above 80% puts a strain on the human body as it exerts itself in outdoor competition. When humidity levels are high, your body can't properly cool itself and over-heating can easily occur."

Richard Carapaz won Ecuador's first gold medal of the Tokyo Games in the 234-kilometer men's cycling road race in brutally hot conditions.

Meanwhile, Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev cooled himself down with a mobile air conditioner during his Tokyo 2020 tennis match at the Ariake Tennis Park.

After he beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4 7-6 in the men's singles first round, Medvedev described the conditions as "some of the worst (heat) I've ever had."

On Friday, Olympic Russian Archer Svetlana Gomboeva Gomboeva fainted during the Olympic archery qualification tournament, Russian state news agency TASS reported. 

"With Sveta everything is normal. She was seen by doctors, they gave ger to drink water. They said it was a normal sunstroke, she needs to go home and sleep," the Russia Olympic said in a statement Friday.
"She has already been released, now we all together are returning to the Olympic Village. Sveta is with us, she is feeling well. So she will be part of the competing team," the statement added.
5:30 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Spectators gather to watch Olympic event in one of Japan’s rare public viewing sites

From CNN’s Emiko Jozuka, Blake Essig and Daishi Kusunoki in Oyama city, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan

Fans watch the Men's road race at Fuji International Speedway.
Fans watch the Men's road race at Fuji International Speedway. Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Five hundred excited spectators gathered Saturday at one of Japan’s rare public viewing sites in Shizuoka prefecture to watch the men’s road cycling race.

“Tokyo was chosen to host the Olympics. Even though the Games were delayed a year and are being held in very tough circumstances without spectators, as a Japanese person I feel proud the Games are happening,” Joji Matsubara, a Shizuoka resident and local spectator, told CNN.

Matsubara, who said he was lucky to get a ticket to the public viewing event, out of 2,000 other applicants, said he had been looking forward to watching the road race.

The race sees athletes begin at Tokyo’s Musashinonomori Park, cycle through Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures and make their way to the finish line on the Fuji International Speedway in Oyama in Shizuoka prefecture, which is around 2 hours from Tokyo.

The Fuji Speedway is allowing 10,000 ticket holders to witness the last leg of the road race in a venue that usually seats more than 20,000 people.

The public viewing site in Oyama city allows spectators to watch the road cycling race on a screen, enjoy a small bouldering wall and is one of the few events open to the public in Japan.

Currently, spectators will be able to attend less than 12% of Olympic venues during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

The peloton passes through the Fuji International Speedway circuit during the Men's road race on July 24.
The peloton passes through the Fuji International Speedway circuit during the Men's road race on July 24. Michael Steele/Getty Images

Just five of the 42 total Olympic venues across Japan will be open to fans. Tokyo is home to 25 of the venues, with the rest in seven prefectures.

Tokyo venues and four prefectures -- Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Fukushima -- will not have spectators at Olympic competition venues.

Miyagi, Ibaraki and Shizuoka prefectures with a total of five venues can be filled to 50% of capacity with a maximum of 10,000 spectators.

In Shizuoka prefecture, only three locations are organizing public viewing sites for the road cycling race. 

“We had wanted to invite more people to see Shizuoka and see the road race, but we had to turn down many applicants due to the pandemic and keep this a very local event,” Rie Watanabe, an official from Oyama in Shizuoka prefecture, told CNN.
5:17 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz wins gold in thrilling men's road race

From CNN's Matias Grez

Richard Carapaz of Ecuador wins the Men's Road Race on July 24.
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador wins the Men's Road Race on July 24. Martin Rickett/PA Images/Getty Images

Richard Carapaz won Ecuador's first gold medal of the Tokyo Games with a brilliant ride in the men's cycling road race.

The 28-year-old broke away in the final 10 kilometers on a brutally hot afternoon to drop the remaining challengers and earn only the second gold medal in Ecuador's history.

Saturday’s race saw Carapaz, who finished in third place at the 2021 Tour de France, turn the tables on Pogacar, who came into this race as a big favorite after clinching his second Tour title less than a week ago.

The riders not only had to content with the sweltering heat, but also a grueling final climb up the Mikuni Pass, where the field really began to thin out.

The ascent featured 6.5 kilometres at 10.6% gradient, before the riders had to contend with a four-kilometer section with an eye-watering average gradient of 12%.

There was a sprint finish behind Carapaz to decide the remaining two medals, with Belgium's Wout van Aert taking silver ahead of Pogacar in third by the narrowest of margins.

Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas crashed out early on and never really got back into contention, eventually retiring from the race.

The Welshman suffered another crash at the recent Tour de France, resulting in him needing his dislocated shoulder to be popped back in before continuing ... ouch.

Thomas tweeted after the race that he is "all good" following what he described as a "freak crash."

4:13 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Daniil Medvedev cools down with mobile air conditioner during Olympic tennis match

From CNN's John Sinnott

Daniil Medvedev cools down using a mobile air conditioner and a towel with ice cubes, during a break in the men's singles event in Tokyo, on July 24.
Daniil Medvedev cools down using a mobile air conditioner and a towel with ice cubes, during a break in the men's singles event in Tokyo, on July 24. Michael Kappeler/picture alliance/Getty Images

Tennis star Daniil Medvedev resorted to using a mobile air conditioner during his Tokyo 2020 tennis match at the Ariake Tennis Park due to the heat and humidity he had to play in on Saturday.

“It was some of the worst (heat) I've ever had," said the 25-year-old Russian after he beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4 7-6 in the men's singles first round.
"I mean, there is always Cincinnati, Washington, which are really hard. Actually, where I live, in Cannes, the summer can be really hard, I'm not gonna lie," added Medvedev. 
“But you have to play, that's the Olympics, you go for the medal. You're not here to cry about the heat. It was really tough for both of us. We talked about this after the match on the court. It was unbelievably hot. But you need to get through it."

Medvedev went on to suggest organizers might want to consider scheduling matches later in the day.

“Like they do in Mexico, the matches maybe should start at six (pm) because the heat actually gets much, much lighter," said Medvedev. "We all try to practise at six.  
“The fact that we have only one minute between changeovers is a joke. If you ask, let's say 200 tennis players that are here, I think 195 will tell you that one minute is a joke. It should be 1:30.”
8:35 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Pole vaulter's teeth "all messed up" after training accident

From CNN's John Sinnott

Harry Coppell competes during the Mens Pole Vault Final during the Muller British Athletics Championships in Manchester, England, on June 27.
Harry Coppell competes during the Mens Pole Vault Final during the Muller British Athletics Championships in Manchester, England, on June 27. Ashley Allen/Getty Images

Training for an Olympic event is a tough business. It takes hours, days, years of dedication to reach the top of your game as you look to enter the Games in peak condition.

You also look to cover every eventuality ... but a pole vault bar landing on your front teeth during training just days before you compete probably wasn't an eventuality Harry Coppell had ever envisaged having to contend with.

Coppell will be up against world record holder Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis in the pole vault, which starts on July 31.

The Briton is putting a brave face on the accident.

Ouch ...

The dental repair work looks quite an extensive job ...

3:10 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

China wins another gold medal, this time in women's weightlifting 49kg

From CNN's Jill Martin

China's Hou Zhihui stands on the podium after winning Gold in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition on July 24.
China's Hou Zhihui stands on the podium after winning Gold in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition on July 24. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

China has a second gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, with Hou Zhihui winning the women’s weightlifting 49kg final with an Olympic record total of 210 kilograms.

Hou also holds the world record that she set in April.

On Saturday, she set the Olympic record in the snatch round with 94kg and in the clean and jerk she set an Olympic record with 116kg.

Zhihui competes in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition on Saturday.
Zhihui competes in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition on Saturday. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

These weight categories are new at the Olympic Games, meaning that the top result in each event is an Olympic record.

Silver went to Chanu Saikhom Mirabai of India and Windy Cantika Aisah of Indonesia took bronze.

3:27 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Two Georgian tennis players to miss Olympics because of paperwork not filed

From CNN's Jill Martin

Georgia's Ekaterine Gorgodze reacts during the Women's Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 21.
Georgia's Ekaterine Gorgodze reacts during the Women's Tennis Grand Prix WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, on April 21. Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images

Despite having qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, two women’s tennis players from Georgia will miss the Games because of unfiled paperwork, according to a press release from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Oksana Kalashinikova and Ekaterine Gorgodze had qualified for the Olympics in women’s doubles.

However, the players weren’t included on the revised entry list for the Olympic Games published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on July 16.

Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia returns the ball during the women's doubles semi-final match at the 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy tennis tournament on March 20, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia returns the ball during the women's doubles semi-final match at the 2021 WTA St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy tennis tournament on March 20, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Mike Kireev/NurPhoto/AP

The ITF informed the players July 17 that neither the Georgia Tennis Federation nor the Georgian National Olympic Committee submitted their entry.

Kalashinikova and Gorgodze appealed to the CAS Ad Hoc Division on Wednesday, but a CAS panel dismissed their application.

“In coming to its conclusion, the Panel found that the Applicants were not nominated by the GNOC for entry into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and that in the absence of an official nomination, the ITF did nothing wrong in adopting the Revised Entry List on 16 July 2021,” the CAS release said.
“The consequence, however unfortunate for the two athletes, can only be the dismissal of their petition.”
2:13 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Olympic protests are nearly as old as the Games themselves. So why are officials so hesitant to allow them?

From CNN's Leah Asmelash

The Tokyo Olympics -- after a long delay -- are finally happening.

The opening ceremony formally kicked off the Games on Friday and sporting events are underway. There's nothing but excitement in the air, according to IOC Athletes' Commission Chair Kirsty Coventry. In her statement Tuesday, Coventry painted a rosy picture, saying: "The Village is looking great, the athletes are super excited. We've been hearing some very positive experiences from athletes I must say."

But there's also plenty of controversy. Most notably, Japanese citizens have shown rising animosity toward the Games as Covid-19 infections sweep the country, with some protesting even as the opening ceremony took place. Multiple athletes from different countries have already had to self-isolate after coming into contact with the virus -- even though most sports have yet to hold their first event.

That's not all. The Games have also become entangled in a debate over the right of athletes to protest, a topic that's become so inflamed that dozens of athletes, academics and professors around the world signed a letter Thursday pushing for the IOC to amend its longstanding rules and allow athlete protest.

"We believe the global sport community is at a turning point in matters of racial and social justice," the letter read, "and we call on you as leaders in the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to make a stronger commitment to human rights, racial/social justice, and social inclusion."

Read more here:

12:25 a.m. ET, July 24, 2021

Algerian Olympian withdraws from Games due to potential matchup with Israeli competitor

From CNN's David Close

Fethi Nourine
Fethi Nourine (International Judo Federation)

An Algerian judo athlete, Fethi Nourine, says he chose to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics rather than face an Israeli competitor.

Nourine told Echourouk TV: “I decided to withdraw out of conviction, because this is the very least we can offer the Palestinian cause. This is my duty. My goal in withdrawing is to send a message to the whole world that Israel is an occupation, a lawless country, a country without a flag.”

Nourine was scheduled to face Mohamed Abdalrasool from Sudan in the men's 73 kg class.

According to Reuters, if Nourine defeated Abdalrasool, the Algerian would have met Israel's Tohar Butbul in the following round. Butbul had a bye in the Round of 64.

CNN's Taylor Barnes and Aqeel Najim in Baghdad contributed to this report.