San Marino, a country of 34,000 people, had never won a medal before Tokyo 2020. Now it has two.
From CNN's Jill Martin
The tiny European microstate of San Marino won its second-ever Olympic medal on Saturday.
Alessandra Perilli and Gian Marco Berti will take home silver after losing to Spain's Fatima Galvez and Alberto Fernandez in the gold medal match of the mixed team trap, a shooting event. This is the first time the event has been held at an Olympic Games.
San Marino had the chance to tie with the final two shots. Perilli hit hers, but Berti missed.
Perilli won San Marino's first-ever Olympic medal earlier this week when she clinched bronze in the women’s trap.
The tiny, landlocked country is located in the Apennine Mountains and is completely surrounded by Italy. It is home to just 34,000 people and became the smallest country ever to win a medal this Olympics.
7:15 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021
Meet Nanaka Takahashi, the 12-year-old who is likely Tokyo 2020's youngest reporter
From journalists Aline Sauvegrain Tanabe and Maria Matsuda in Tokyo
Nanaka Takahashi might just be the youngest reporter covering Tokyo 2020.
The 12-year-old from Miyagi, in Japan's northeast Tohoku region, is the sole Japan-based reporter for Scholastic Kids Press -- the famed children's publisher and education company's news outlet "for kids, by kids."
Since the opening ceremony on July 23, Takahashi has been filing updates for her young audience on the Games -- and on the widespread public opposition to them.
"I met plenty of people supporting the Olympics to encourage athletes," she told CNN. "I was surprised at the number of people who were protesting against the Olympic Games even 30 minutes before the opening ceremony. They were against the Olympics because they were not only scared of the increasing infection, but also they wanted (the government) to spend money for those suffering from the pandemic.”
Takahashi has been a reporter for 10 months, but she's been learning English from an early age.
Because she was interested in jobs related to television, her mother recommended Scholastic Kids Press. It was an opportunity to practice her English and get some exposure to what it's like to work on TV.
“My dream is to work in the media," Takahashi said.
She added one of the things she's learned early on as a journalist is that it's important to stay neutral.
"No matter what opinion I have, I try to include both supporting and opposing opinions in my article," she said.
1:08 a.m. ET, July 31, 2021
US BMX racer Connor Fields is out of the ICU after suffering a brain hemorrhage in competition
From CNN's Jill Martin
Olympic US BMX racer Connor Fields, who was hurt during a scary fall in competition on Friday, sustained a brain hemorrhage and had to spend a night in an intensive care unit, his team said in a statement.
Fields, who won gold in BMX racing at the 2016 Rio Games, appears to be on the mend, according to USA Cycling. He will remain in hospital until cleared by doctors.
"The doctors are pleased to report that there has been no additional bleeding, and no new injuries were found,” USA Cycling said.
The crash took place on the third run of the men’s semifinals. Fields was taken off the course on a stretcher and was unable to race in the final.
2:34 a.m. ET, July 31, 2021
The first week of Tokyo 2020 has finished. Here's what you need to know today as week 2 kicks off
It's Saturday, July 31 in Tokyo. There are eight days left in the Olympics, and this weekend is jam-packed with events. Here's what's happening in the Japanese capital, both in the sports world and on its periphery.
Japan's surprising success: We're a week into the Tokyo Olympics, and Japan already has 17 gold medals -- a new record for the country. Only China, with 19, has more.
Those wins have helped fan some excitement in Tokyo. Ahead of the Games, polls showed a majority of residents disapproved of the government's decision to trudge ahead with a major sporting event in the middle of a coronavirus state of emergency. But TV ratings in Japan show people are tuning in to watch, and there's excitement in the air. On the streets of Tokyo, many are trying to revel in their nation's success while still abiding by the public health measures the government has in place.
The pandemic looms: Japan's sporting success does not mean all is well in the capital. Covid-19 cases continue to surge, with authorities saying on Friday they had identified another 3,300 infections. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended the state of emergency for the Tokyo metropolitan area and Okinawa, and expanded a state of emergency to four other prefectures -- Saitama, Chiba, Osaka and Kanagawa -- until August 31.
The Japan Medical Association, the country's largest association of doctors, is warning that unless more is done to stop the spread of Covid-19, the country's medical system could "collapse."
“We have to take all the measures to avoid the explosion of infection and medical system goes under strain," added Toshio Nakagawa, the head of the association, on Thursday.
A busy start to the weekend: Saturday began with Great Britain taking gold in the first-ever Olympic triathlon mixed team relay.
Swimming's penultimate day kicked off shortly after, American star Caeleb Dressel winning the men's 100 meter butterfly. His compatriot Katie Ledecky won the 800 meter freestyle, her final event of this Olympics. It was her second gold medal and last event for Tokyo 2020. The British won the final event of the day, the mixed 4x100 meter medley relay.
Other major events to watch out for:
It's a big day for tennis. World no.1 Novak Djokovic will play for bronze in the men's singles after his shock semifinal defeat to Germany's Alexander Zverev. The women's gold medal match comes later in the day, with the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova taking on Switzerland's Belinda Bencic. It all ends with an interesting match-up in the mixed doubles bronze medal match, in which the men's and women's no.1 -- Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Serbia's Djokovic -- take the court against each other. Barty is playing with John Peers and Djokovic with Nina Stojanovic.
The gold medal match for women's rugby takes place at 6 p.m. Tokyo time. Matches throughout the day will determine who plays for the top prize.
The finals for men's discus, the 4x400 meter mixed relay, and the women's 100 meter race happen tonight.
11:30 p.m. ET, July 30, 2021
MyKayla Skinner says she's "doing this for us" after being named Simone Biles' vault replacement
Skinner said she was "doing this for us," tagging Biles in an Instagram post.
Skinner posted the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, but at the time did not advance to the apparatus final because of the two-athlete-per-country limit. Biles and US teammate Jade Carey had scored the top two vault scores, respectively, in qualifying.
USA Gymnastics said Saturday that Biles, the sport's biggest star, would withdraw from two individual events on Sunday.
11:22 p.m. ET, July 30, 2021
Swimming's stars take home more gold medals
Dressel does it again: American Caeleb Dressel nabbed his third gold medal of Tokyo 2020 on Saturday by winning the men's 100 meter butterfly -- and setting a world record in the process.
McKeown backstroke show: Australian Kaylee McKeown won her second gold in the women's 200 meter backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics. Earlier this week, she set an Olympic record to win gold for the women's 100 meter backstroke -- and then accidentally dropped an F-bomb in her post-race interview.
An 800 meter showdown: The final round of Ledecky vs. Titmus didn't disappoint. Katie Ledecky claimed another swimming gold for the United States in the women's 800 meter freestyle, the third Olympics in a row she has won the event. Australia's Ariarne Titmus was her closest challenger, coming in second. Titmus had bested her American rival twice before in Tokyo, in the women's 200 meter and 400 meter freestyle.
Britain's medley: Great Britain won the final swimming medal of the day by setting a world record in the mixed 4x100 meter medley relay. China took silver and Australia bronze, while the Americans -- who sported two gold medal winners on their team -- placed a disappointing fifth.