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TOKYO (AP) – The latest news on the Tokyo Olympics, which are being held under heavy restrictions after a year of delay due to the coronavirus pandemic:
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MEDAL ALERT
Sena Irie of Japan won the first-ever women’s featherweight boxing gold medal with a unanimous decision over Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.
Irie became the first female boxer to win a medal for Japan when she won the Tokyo boxing tournament’s first gold medal by sweeping the third round on the judges’ five cards at Kokugikan Arena. Irie’s sharper punches won over the judges in a fight with plenty of clinch.
Petecio settled for the Philippines’ first boxing medal since 1996, but Manny Pacquiao’s home nation is in contention for at least two more medals in Tokyo.
Featherweight was one of two women’s weight classes added to the Tokyo Olympics. The women’s field was also expanded to 100 fighters from 36 in her first two Olympics.
Italian Irma Testa and Briton Karriss Artingstall won the division’s first bronze medals.
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Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuan gave China a brace in the men’s 3-meter diving semi-final at the Tokyo Aquatic Center.
In search of China’s fifth diving gold in six Olympic events, Xie and Wang led a group of 12 qualifiers to the afternoon final.
Xie totaled 543.45 points for six dives, Wang just behind at 540.50. Briton Jack Laugher was the only diver even close to the Chinese duo, taking third place with 514.75.
Another British diver, James Heatly, was fourth in 454.85 – a whopping 88.60 behind the leader.
The only American diver, Andrew Capobianco, qualified for the final in 10th place with 419.60. His teammate Tyler Downs was eliminated in Monday’s preliminaries. Capobianco has previously won a silver medal with Michael Hixon in the 3-meter synchronized event, one of three diving medals for the Americans.
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MEDAL ALERT
Germany’s Malaika Mihambo took first place in the women’s long jump with a 7-meter jump on her last attempt and edged out veteran American Brittney Reese for the Olympic gold medal.
Mihambo won the title of world champion in 2019 and finished just off the podium in fourth place at the 2016 Olympics.
Reese, 34, has now won back-to-back Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Games and Rio de Janeiro after winning the title in London in 2012.
The four-time world champion had the chance to win with the last jump of the competition but could not improve on her best mark of 6.97 meters.
Nigeria’s Ese Brume, who led after the first round and was again in the lead after the fourth, also finished 6.97 meters and won bronze on a countdown.
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MEDAL ALERT
Cuba won a surprise gold medal in the men’s 1,000-meter canoe double, ahead of China and Germany.
Germany had won the event in five of the last seven Olympics and Sebastian Brendel had been in the German boat for gold in 2012 and 2016.
But the race turned into a battle between Cuba and China for the final 500 meters. Cubans Serguey Torres Madrigal and Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez crossed the finish line to win by 0.2 seconds.
The Cuban duo won silver at the 2019 world championships, but Cuba had not won a medal in that event at the Olympics since 2000.
Germany took bronze to win a medal in the events for the seventh consecutive Olympics.
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MEDAL ALERT
New Zealander Lisa Carrington blew the field away by winning her third consecutive women’s kayak sprint 200 at the Sea Forest Waterway.
The gold medal could be the first of Carrington’s four potential medals in Tokyo. She will also compete in the Women’s 500 Kayak Doubles later Tuesday and the 500 Singles and Quads later in the week.
Carrington took off from the start and had a half-boat-length lead just 50 yards after the start of the race. She beat Spain’s Teresa Portela by 0.76 seconds.
Emma Aastrand Jorgensen from Denmark won the bronze medal.
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Allyson Felix won her first round of the 400 meters as she began her quest in Tokyo for a 10th Olympic medal.
Felix, 35, who is competing in his fifth Olympics, has six gold and three silver medals to his name. She is tied with Jamaican great Merlene Ottey for most women’s track and field medals in Olympic history. Felix has a shot at a medal in the 400m and could have another shot at the women’s 4×400 this weekend.
Before her race, she was presented as a legend.
Felix ran in spikes designed by his new company, Saysh. It made the moment more special. The only thing missing was his young daughter, Camryn, who is back home.
“It changed everything,” Felix said of motherhood. “It gave me a different motivation. … I think it’s even more meaningful to be on this stage as a mom.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya failed in a lawsuit to be allowed to run the 200 meters.
The court revealed on Tuesday morning the legal measures taken by Tsimanouskaya as she also sought a humanitarian visa to avoid returning to Belarus, where she believes her life would be in danger.
CAS said it rejected Tsimanouskaya’s request for an interim decision to overturn Belarusian Olympic officials’ refusal to let her compete in the 200.
The playoffs were held Monday morning and the semi-finals in the evening at the Olympic Stadium.
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April Ross is the latest medalist in the women’s Olympic beach volleyball category.
The 2016 U.S. bronze medalist and her partner ousted defending champion Laura Ludwig of Germany on Tuesday and advanced to the semi-finals at the Shiokaze Park venue. Ross, who also has a silver medal from London, is the last remaining woman to step onto the podium in previous Summer Games.
This time Ross is playing with Olympic debutante Alix Klineman. They beat Ludwig and his new partner Maggie Kozuch 21-19, 21-19.
Ross and Klineman are America’s last hopes for a beach volleyball medal in Tokyo. The cradle of sport has never been excluded from the Olympics.
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– More AP: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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