Programming note: If you don’t plan on sleeping, stay up to watch surfing from Tahiti until well past 9 p.m. ET tonight, then watch the men’s race walk at 1 a.m. ET. Golf starts at 3 a.m.
I had no Day 4 recap because I was busy cranking out a piece for The Guardian assuring US fans that it’s too early to worry about the lack of gold medals being tucked away in US athletes’ luggage at this early date.
After today’s action … I think we can panic.
The women’s 3x3 basketball team just lost … to Azerbaijan. Sure, three of the players for Azerbaijan were naturalized from the USA. They weren’t Chelsea Gray, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson.
Five-time world BMX park champion Hannah Roberts missed out on gold and settled for silver in Tokyo when Great Britain’s Charlotte Worthington landed the trick of a lifetime. Today, she didn’t land a solid run in the final and finished eighth. Perris Benegas took silver, at least.
The men’s BMXers did no better, though they weren’t expected to do so. Marcus Christopher’s fourth-place run is a pretty good accomplishment.
Shooting? Miss. Triathlon? Not really sure what happened. Blame the Seine? Diving? Tokyo silver medalists Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell dropped to sixth. Equestrian? There will be no US riders in the dressage finals. Judo? John Jayne tied the best result for a US judoka in these Games — an appearance in the round of 16. Team USA has no one else who qualified.
Tennis? Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula followed up their shocking exits from the women’s singles with a shocking exit in women’s doubles, and Gauff has been eliminated in mixed doubles as well. Danielle Collins is out. Taylor Fritz is also out, though he and Tommy Paul advanced in doubles, and Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram spoiled the Spanish sentimentalist run of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, reaching the semifinals in the process. Paul is the only singles player left standing, and he has to play Alcaraz. Fritz and Paul have to play Andy Murray and Andy Murray’s partner. (Daniel Evans, that is.)
In gymnastics, Fred Richard and Paul Juda weren’t able to follow up their excellent bronze in the team event with solid runs in the individual all-around.
In swimming, we should never take Katie Ledecky’s greatness for granted, and she once again demonstrated her dominance in the 1,500m freestyle. But the only other US medal in the day’s five medal races was Torri Huske’s silver in the 100m freestyle.
If you’re looking for good news, look toward … badminton and table tennis? Beiwen Zhang won her pool in badminton to reach the round of 16. Kanak Jha won his third match to reach the round of 16 in table tennis. (He’s playing that match as I type, and given that he’s playing someone from China, I wouldn’t be optimistic.) Lily Zhang reached the women’s round of 16 before falling out as well.
Out at sea
The US rowers and sailors may be poised to avoid being shut out of the medals for a second straight Games.
In rowing, the women’s lightweight double sculls and women’s pair earned spots in the A final, joining the previously qualified men’s double sculls, men’s four, men’s eight and women’s four. The US is also still alive for a medal in women’s single sculls and women’s eight.
In sailing, US windsurfer Noah Lyons is still clinging to medal hopes, sitting in sixth place through 10 of 15 races, and Ian Barrows and Hans Henken are in fourth place heading into the medal race, where points count double, in men’s skiff. Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea took the 10th and final spot in the women’s skiff medal race.
Omari Jones took a unanimous decision to become the first US boxer in the quarterfinals. Jahmal Harvey took a 3–2 decision. Apparently, officials have grown weary of robbing US boxers blind.
The US women’s beach volleyball teams, both of them, are 2–0. The indoor women’s volleyball team beat Serbia 3–2 to even their record at 1–1. US women’s water polo bounced back from a loss to Spain by crushing Italy 10–3.
Then in a game I covered live for The Guardian, the US women’s soccer team demonstrated that bunkering will not stop them, beating an overly timid Australian team 2–1.
And here’s the big one today …
When I made the projections, I had this nagging feeling that young kayaker/canoeist Evy Leibfarth was going to break through at the Olympics. She didn’t do it in the kayak. But she did it in the canoe, taking bronze.
Current projections
USA: 42.24 gold, 124.02 total
China: 37.06 gold, 86.90 total
