By Lauren Giella and Ewan Quayle
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Day 5 of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics began with a shock, as Team USA's G.O.A.T Simone Biles announced her withdrawal from the individual all-around event scheduled for Thursday. Biles is taking a step back to "focus on her mental health," USA Gymnastics said.
Teammates and former Olympics champions have expressed support for Biles, including Michael Phelps and three-time gold medalist Aly Raisman. Jade Carey will take Biles' spot in the all-around finals.
Team USA added to its medal count, winning gold in the first-ever women's 3x3 basketball final. Swimming star Katie Ledecky won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle.
The United States now sits third on the medal table with 11 golds, 11 silvers, and nine bronzes. Its main competitors for the top spot on the podium remain China, Japan and the ROC.
Follow Newsweek's liveblog for all the latest Olympics news.
- Jade Carey will replace Simone Biles in all-around finals
- Olympic viewership down more than 30% from 2016 Games
- Team USA wins gold in women's 3x3 basketball
- Extreme heat disrupts tennis matches
...
Jul 28, 2021 at 12:10 PM EDT
Novak Djokovic moves to quarter finals
Top-seed tennis star Novak Djokovic picks up another win in Tokyo as he moves to the men's singles tennis quarter-finals.
Serbia's Djokovic beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain Wednesday and will take on Japan's Kei Nishikori in the next round.
Djokovic described the heat in Tokyo Wednesday as "really brutal."
"I've played tennis now professionally for 20 years, and I've never faced this kind of conditions in my entire life on a consecutive daily basis," Djokovic said
Djokovic is just three wins away from a gold medal.
He also won in round one of mixed doubles with teammate Nina Stojanovic.
Jul 28, 2021 at 11:06 AM EDT
Jade Carey will replace Simone Biles in the all-around finals
After Simone Biles pulled out of the women's gymnastics individual all-around finals, Jade Carey will take her spot on Team USA.
Carey, who places ninth in the qualifying event, will join Sunisa Lee. Only two athletes per team are able to compete in the individual events.
The vault and floor specialist was not part of the Team USA quartet that took silver in the team all-around finals.
Read more about Jade Carey here.
...
Jul 28, 2021 at 10:37 AM EDT
Olympics viewership down more than 30% from 2016 Games
Viewership for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games has been down more than 30 percent compared to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
About 16.9 million people tuned in for NBC's Sunday night coverage of the Games, down 43 percent from the corresponding night in Rio, according to the Neilson company. On Saturday, NBC has an audience of 12.6 million, down 39 percent from Rio.
However, the numbers slightly improve when viewership from NBC's other channels is factored in. With the figures from USA, NBCSN, CNBC and live streaming, NBC's "total audience delivery" on Sunday reached 20 million.
Jul 28, 2021 at 10:17 AM EDT
Shi Zhiyoung earns gold in weightlifting, sets new world record
Shi Zhiyoung earned his second gold medal in the men's weightlifting 73kg category and set a new world record in Tokyo.
He lifted 166kg in the snatch and 198kg in the clean and jerk for a combined weight of 364kg. This surpasses the previous record of 363kg which Shi set himself in the 2019 World Championships. His snatch and clean and jerk also broke the world record.
Julio Ruben Mayora Pernia earned silver and Rahmat Erwin Abdullah of Indonesia took home bronze.
Jul 28, 2021 at 10:05 AM EDT
Latvia wins gold in men’s 3x basketball, earning first medal in Tokyo Games
In a close battle, Latvia defeated the Russian Olympic Committee to wins gold in the first-ever men's 3x3 basketball final.
This is Latvia's first medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The ROC took silver and Serbia earned bronze over China.
Jul 28, 2021 at 09:41 AM EDT
Japan wins gold in men’s all-around gymnastics, Team USA finishes in top 12
Daiki Hashimoto took home gold in men's all-around gymnastics for host country Japan.
China's Xiao Ruoteng took silver and the Russian Olympic Committee's Nikita Nagornyy earned bronze.
Team USA's Brody Malone and Sam Mikulak finished in 10th and 12th place.
Jul 28, 2021 at 09:23 AM EDT
Team USA wins gold in first-ever women’s 3×3 basketball competition
Team USA dominated the short court, defeating the Russian Olympic Committee 18-15 in the 10-minute game.
Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young become the first-ever women's 3x3 basketball gold medal team.
ROC takes silver and China beat France to earn bronze.
Jul 28, 2021 at 09:03 AM EDT
Tennis matches pushed back due to extreme heat in Tokyo
Tennis matches in Tokyo have been pushed back due to high temperatures.
Wednesday's 11 a.m. matches at the Ariake Tennis Park will now begin at 3 p.m. local time from Thursday.
"In the interests of player health and welfare and following extensive consultation, the ITF has announced a change of schedule due to increasing heat and humidity currently being experienced in Tokyo," the International Tennis Federation said in a statement.
Jul 28, 2021 at 08:41 AM EDT
Katie Ledecky wins gold in first-ever women’s 1500m freestyle race
Swimming star Katie Ledecky won gold in the first-ever women's 1500-meter freestyle race at the Olympics.
She dominates the event, finishing in 15:37.34. Ledecky is now a six-time gold medal winner.
Teammate Erica Sullivan finished second to earn a silver for Team USA.
Jul 28, 2021 at 08:03 AM EDT
In case you missed it – Wednesday early morning highlights
- Dutch athlete 'on strike for outside air' during hotel quarantine
- Tokyo hits record daily COVID cases - again
Jul 28, 2021 at 07:48 AM EDT
Andy Murray ‘crushed’ after tennis defeat
He and teammate Joe Salisbury were knocked out of Tokyo 2020 earlier today after Croatian doubles pair Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic beat them 10-7 in the final set.
Jul 28, 2021 at 07:35 AM EDT
Spanish tennis player forced to withdraw due to heatstroke
The player retired and was helped away from the court in a wheelchair, accompanied by her team.
The game was won by Czech player Markéta Vondrousova.
...
Jul 28, 2021 at 07:03 AM EDT
U.S. men’s gymnastics aim for gold
Jul 28, 2021 at 06:48 AM EDT
Aussie swimmer breaks Olympic swimming record
Emma McKeon has broken the new women's 100m freestyle Olympic record, clocking 52.13, just two days ago after it was set by Sarah Sjöström during a relay.
A swim-off will take place later for the final qualification spot to the semi-finals.
Jul 28, 2021 at 06:09 AM EDT
Fiji defends rugby title against New Zealand
The team finished with more than double the points needed to beat their opponents and secured the country's first gold medal of the Games.
Jul 28, 2021 at 05:45 AM EDT
‘We’re thinking of you’: Team USA supports Simone Biles
Jul 28, 2021 at 05:29 AM EDT
USA beats France and will compete for gold at 3×3 women’s basketball
Team USA secured victory at the very last second against France and will play for the gold medal at 7am ET.
Kelsey Plum, Stefanie Dolson, Jacquelyn Young, and Allisha Gray defeated France 18-16 and will face the winner of the semifinal between China and the Russian Olympic Committee.
Jul 28, 2021 at 04:53 AM EDT
Dutch athlete ‘on strike for outside air’ during hotel quarantine
Quarantined Olympic skateboarder Candy Jacobs says she's had to go "on strike" to be allowed fresh air at a COVID-19 isolation hotel in Japan. The Dutch athlete was removed from the Olympic Village after testing positive last week.
Jacobs says that "not having any outside air is so inhuman." She says she refused to move on her seventh day of quarantine in a room where the window doesn't open. After more than seven hours, she claims, officials agreed to let her stand at an open window for 15 minutes a day.
"Having that first breath of outside air was the saddest and best moment in my life."
Jul 28, 2021 at 04:33 AM EDT
Tokyo hits record daily COVID cases – again
For the second consecutive day, Tokyo has reached its highest number of COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began.
Health officials reported 3,177 new cases in the past 24 hours.
Jul 28, 2021 at 04:31 AM EDT
Michael Phelps’ 200m Olympic record broken by Hungarian swimmer
Phelps managed the 200m Butterfly at Beijing 2008 in 1:52.03.
But this morning, Team Hungary's Kristóf Milák smashed the record - 1:51.25.
Jul 28, 2021 at 04:24 AM EDT
Full statement from USA Gymnastics after Simon Biles pulls out
Jul 28, 2021 at 04:13 AM EDT
Good morning and welcome to Newsweek’s liveblog
Day five of Tokyo 2020 has been largely mired in controversy after Simon Biles withdrew herself on Tuesday citing mental health concerns due to the pressure being placed on her to perform well.
Her teammates, USA Gymnastics, as well as current and former Olympic champions have come out to support her. Team USA now sits third in the medal table - can they reclaim the top spot today?
Stick with Newsweek's liveblog throughout Wednesday for all the latest.
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