Wednesday at the Tokyo Olympics brought a record, tears and just plain shocking results for the United States, particularly in track and field.
The highlight of the day was Ryan Crouser breaking his own Olympic record in the shot put with a distance of 23.30 meters to earn the first track and field gold for the American men in Tokyo. Joe Kovacs of the U.S. took silver.
In a series of close finishes for the Americans:
The most shocking result of the day for the U.S. was the men’s 4×100-meter relay team failing to advance to the final. The U.S. finished sixth in the second heat of qualifying, done in by a series of bad exchanges. This marks the 10th time since 1995 that the men have botched a relay at a world championships or Olympics.
The U.S. women’s 4×100 relay team made it through preliminaries with a second-place finish in their heat. They’ll race for the gold medal.
In beach volleyball, April Ross and Alix Klineman beat Switzerland 21-12, 21-11 to advance to the gold medal game Thursday against Australia. And the U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated the Dominican Republic in straight sets and will face Serbia in the semifinals.
Breanna Stewart scored 23 points to lead the Americans over Australia in the women’s basketball quarterfinal 79-55. The U.S. faces Serbia next in the semifinals.
Nevin Harrison of the U.S. won gold in the women’s canoe single 200-meter final and American Cory Juneau took bronze in the Olympic debut of men’s park skateboarding.
BMX rider Connor Fields was released from St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo on Thursday, five days after a horrific crash in his semifinal race at the Tokyo Olympics left him with a brain bleed and other injuries. He’ll head home to begin rehabilitation.Grant Holloway took silver.