After getting shut out in the medal events on Day 1 of the Tokyo Olympics, Team USA will look to break through on Sunday.
The first medals are set to be awarded in swimming with Americans Emma Weyant and Chase Kalisz among the favorites for gold in the women’s and men’s 400-meter individual medley finals.
The U.S. men’s basketball team gets into action in their version of pool play against France. Meanwhile, skateboarding and surfing will make their debuts as official Olympic sports.
And Simone Biles makes her debut in Tokyo as the women’s qualification round begins in gymnastics.
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TOKYO — Bryson DeChambeau will not be representing the United States in the men’s golf competition at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
USA Golf announced the news Sunday morning in Japan, late Saturday night in the U.S. The 2020 U.S. Open champion will be replaced by Patrick Reed as one of four American golfers in the field of 60.
“I am deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA,” DeChambeau said in a statement through USA Golf. “Representing my country means the world to me and it is was a tremendous honor to make this team. I wish Team USA the best of luck next week in Tokyo. I will now focus on getting healthy, and I look forward to returning to competition once I am cleared to do so.”
DeChambeau tested positive prior to traveling to Tokyo as part of the final testing protocol.
— Chris Bumbaca
TOKYO – American Kieran Smith won a medal in his Olympic debut, finishing third in the 400-meter freestyle.
Smith, 21, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the University of Florida was in medal position for most of the race at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on the first day of swimming finals.
He held onto the bronze medal position over the final 200 meters, finishing in 3:43.94, and giving the U.S. men their third swimming medal of the day.
Tunisa’s Ahmed Hafnaoui passed Australia’s Jack McLoughlin to win gold in 3:43.36. McLoughlin, who led from 200 to 350 meters, was runner-up in 3:43.52.
Smith also won at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month over Jake Mitchell, who also made the Olympic final, finishing eighth in 3:45.39.
— Jeff Metcalfe, USA TODAY
TOKYO — Chase Kalisz, a Michael Phelps protege who won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the men’s 400 individual medley, has done it again winning gold to give the United States its first medal of these Olympic Games.
U.S. teammate Jay Litherland took silver.
Kalisz, 27, from Bel Air, Maryland, swam the challenging 400 IM, 100 meters of all four strokes, in 4:09.42.
The longtime gold-medal favorite in this event, Japan’s Daiya Seto, shockingly failed to advance out of Saturday night’s qualifying, creating a wide-open final.
— Christine Brennan, USA TODAY
TOKYO – USA beach volleyball pair April Ross and Alix Klineman won their opening preliminary Pool B match vs. China’s Chen Xue and Xinxin Wang.
Ross and Klineman won in straight sets. They took an early lead in the first set and never looked back, taking the game 21-17. China kept the second set close, but Ross and Klineman were able to squeak out a narrow 21-19 win, closing out the match in a total of 44 minutes.
“It’s a really good Chinese team. We studied them really hard, being the first match of the Olympics. It feels really good to get that win,” Ross said after the preliminary victory. “I’m extremely happy with it.”
The American beach volleyball duo’s next match will be against Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez on July 27 at 9 a.m.
— Tyler Dragon, USA TODAY
TOKYO – A staff member in the U.S. delegation has tested positive for coronavirus, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Sunday.
It was the only confirmed positive among 1,038 U.S. delegates.
The International Olympic Committee announced 10 new COVID-19 positive cases on Sunday. Eight were non-residents of Japan, including two athletes. Organizers have announced 132 cases since July 1.
— Rachel Axon, USA TODAY
TOKYO — French gymnast Samir Ait Said suffered a gruesome injury at the Rio Olympics that horrified anyone who saw or heard it. Competing in Tokyo five years later, he is the epitome of the Olympic spirit.
“When I arrived here, I had some flashbacks from Rio. But then I realized I have to go forward,” Ait Said said Saturday, after qualifying for the still rings final. “I gave everything I had, thinking about my family, especially my father. I will give everything I have to have a gold medal. At least a medal.”
– Nancy Armour, USA TODAY
Pro hoops fans from the 1990s and early 2000s will feel a twinge of nostalgia during NBC’s coverage of Olympic basketball in Tokyo. The “Roundball Rock” theme song the network used for the NBA on NBC from 1990-2002 will be featured on its men’s and women’s basketball telecasts.
Composed by John Tesh, “Roundball Rock” became synonymous with the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls teams and its frequent national exposure extended into the Los Angeles Lakers’ run of championships with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
(The theme even spawned a 2013 Saturday Night Live skit featuring Jason Sudeikis as Tesh.)
The first (re)appearance of the Olympics will come when Team USA meets France in its Olympic opener on Sunday (8 a.m. ET).
