Let’s be honest, CrossFit and MMA are more popular than sport climbing and boxing these days. So, why are we looking at the latter at the Olympics in Tokyo and not the former?
It could be that the process of getting on the docket with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a long one, and a minefield of politics and considerations.
Read CrossFit and MMA Should Be Olympic Events at its original source Breaking Muscle:
http://breakingmuscle.com/news/crossfit-and-mma-should-be-olympic-events
Kyle Chalmers looks in ominous form as he came to Australia’s rescue in the heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
The men will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who smashed the competition to win the Aussies’ first gold medal in Tokyo, when they hit the pool for the final.
Chalmers anchored the relay and did his job in a blistering 46.63 seconds to help his team recover from a shaky start and qualify third fastest for the final, behind America and Italy. It was one of the 10 fastest splits in history, and smoked the individual 100m world record of 46.91 seconds.
The boys in green and gold will need to work on their sluggish start to avoid putting the pressure on Chalmers to deliver a miracle in the final. But the way he powered through the water had everyone taking notice.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for a blockbuster showdown between 400m freestyle superstars Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky. World record holder and reigning Olympic champion Ledecky, from America, qualified fastest ahead of Aussie young gun Titmus, who cruised through her heat.
The battle between two of the most talented swimmers in the world will be must-watch viewing on Monday.
“I felt really good, probably the most relaxed I’ve actually felt in a while,” Titmus said. “I felt like tonight was really about trying to conserve your emotions for tomorrow morning, so I’m happy to be in one of the middle lanes in the morning.
“I’d like to think I’ve got a bit more on the tank for the final. I’m relieved it’s finally here and I know that I’ve done the work.”
Elsewhere the Olympic record for the women’s 100m backstroke was broken three times in five minutes as Australia’s Kaylee McKeown sent a warning to her rivals.
Canada’s Kyle Masse broke the record in Heat 4 with a rapid 58.17s, but that lasted about two minutes before US star Regan Smith beat that mark in the very next heat, touching the wall in 57.96s.
But the best was yet to come. McKeown broke the Olympic record once again in Heat 6 to set the fastest time of the night in 57.88s.
McKeown and Emily Seebohm both qualified for the semi-finals, which take place tomorrow morning.
With Nic Savage
Emma McKeon has put the world on notice by setting a new Australian record in her first swim of what could be a lucrative Olympics, as she took her first step towards securing a possible seven gold medals.
The 27-year-old is hunting individual honours in three events and will form part of four relay teams as she seeks to add to her collection of four medals from Rio – one gold, two silver and a bronze.
McKeon blitzed through her heat of the 100m butterfly in 55.82 seconds – bettering the 55.93s she swum earlier this year – and touched the wall first in a dead heat with China’s Yufei Zhang. However, a photo of the finish caused plenty of controversy as it appeared to show McKeon touching the wall well ahead of her rival, despite the pair registering the same time.
Plenty of viewers had questions about the final result.
Former Victorian cricket legend Darren Berry couldn’t believe his eyes, tweeting: “WTF seriously Emma McKeon touched clearly ahead of China on the wall how on earth can that be a dead heat?”
Alexander Grant wrote: “Can we talk about the fact that McKeon comfortably beat her Chinese opponent in that heat but it was declared a dead heat?”
Nicole Jeffrey added: “Something wrong with the timing there. McKeon a clear winner on the video, but given same time as Zhang.”
Swimmers need to put enough pressure on the wall to trigger their finishing time and after the race an official said a light touch from McKeon was the reason why the race ended as a dead heat, as Zhang came home strong.
Fellow Australian Brianna Throssell was in the same heat and snuck into the semi-finals as the 16th fastest swimmer in the 100m fly.
McKeon said a relaxed build-up to the Games has helped her enter the competition in good shape.
“Until tonight when I was warming up I didn’t feel like I was racing, that probably worked for me,” she said. “I felt like it went pretty well. I was happy with the time.
“I didn’t really feel like I was going that quick, so I think that gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow morning.
“I knew the Chinese girl next to me would be fast. I saw her go pretty quick at the end of last year. I feel like everyone is on an even playing field once you get to the semis and finals.”
McKeon’s effort was the second Australian record of the night after Brendon Smith sizzled through the water in the 400m individual medley.
The 21-year-old beat his own personal best to become the first swimmer from Down Under to break 4:10.00 in the event, finishing in 4:09.27 to qualify fastest for the final.
“I want to go faster every time I swim, so really happy with that and to be first ranked going into the final is really surreal,” Smith said.
Elijah Winnington and Jack McLoughlin provided the second dead heat of the evening when they finished equal first in the 400m freestyle – an event Australia has a strong pedigree in. It was the race Ian Thorpe dominated and where Mack Horton won gold in Rio five years ago by beating controversial Chinese star Sun Yang.
Winnington and McLoughlin hit the wall in 3:45.20 and will enter Sunday morning’s final as the fourth fastest swimmers.
There was more drama with the timing on the pooldeck when the pair’s official time initially came up as being three seconds faster than it actually was.
“I was actually feeling a bit of pressure yesterday. I was quite nervous about making the final,” Winnington said. “It’s actually the first time I’ve ever swum internationally, first time I’ve raced so many of those guys so I was fortunate I was next to Jack.”
Zac Stubblety-Cook was second in his heat of the 100m breastroke, recovering from a slow start before countryman Matthew Wilson finished his heat in seventh with a time of 1:00.03.
The women’s 4×100 freestyle relay team finished off the night in style. Seventeen-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan dived in the water first and gave the Aussies a strong start as they executed perfectly to win their heat and qualify fastest ahead of the Netherlands for Sunday’s final.
McKeon was rested from the heat, as was flag bearer Cate Campbell, but both will be part of the team for its tilt at gold.
It was an impressive opening for Australia in the pool but that will only add to the pressure when it comes time to compete for medals.
“It’s a fantastic opening night but with that comes expectation that we perform not only in the semifinals but in the finals,” Ian Thorpe said in commentary for Channel 7. “The heat is going to be on this Aussie team.”
In the most ambitious crossover in sporting history, the athletic arena that is the Olympic Games dabbled into the world of the nerd.
More specifically, video games.
How on earth did we arrive at this rather peculiar junction, you’re probably asking yourself.
The music during the Opening Ceremony probably meant very little to most viewers. But for the gaming dorks among us, their ears pricked up as they leapt off their couch (presuming they were watching the ceremony itself) and proclaimed “I know that music!”
Those tunes came from games like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Sonic the Hedgehog.
The video game connoisseurs took to social media to rejoice as the gaming and athletic world collided.
Who knows what will happen during the Closing Ceremony now — perhaps even more video game music awaits.
Fingers crossed the Wii Sports theme music makes an appearance at some point.
Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, at the 2021 US Classic, landed the Yurchenko Double Pike on the vault exercise. The first woman to ever perform the “impossible” move in competition just did a pretty good job of nailing the exact same move on the training podium at the Tokyo Olympics.
There was some doubt about whether she would pull the move out for competition in Tokyo, or maybe it was just coyness, but Biles certainly looks ready to do the business and go for gold in the finals.
Read Just How Amazing is Simone Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike at its original source Breaking Muscle:
https://breakingmuscle.com/news/just-how-amazing-is-simone-biles-yurchenko-double-pike
If rising Australian boxing star Paulo Aokuso wants a place on the podium in Tokyo, he’ll have to do it the hard way.
The 24-year-old light heavyweight secured a bye in the first round of Thursday night’s Olympic draw before finding out he’ll likely face No. 1 seed Bekzad Nurdauletov, who beat him just last year, in the quarter-finals.
Aokuso put his division on notice when he beat the then second-best light heavyweight in the world at the start of 2020 in his first international tournament. It was in the same competition that he later fell to Nurdauletov in a decision defeat.
It was better news for some of the other Australians as Skye Nicolson also secured a bye in the first round of the featherweight bracket, with South Korea’s Im Aeji waiting for her after that.
Nicolson won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2016 World Championships and is on a collision course with No. 3 seed Brazilian Jucielen Romeu if both secure passage to the quarter-finals.
Caitlin Parker, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, will face Panama’s Atheyna Bylon for a place in the quarter-finals, with the women’s middleweight division starting with just 16 competitors.
Alex Winwood (flyweight) and Harry Garside (lightweight) weren’t as lucky; they’ll both have to win their way to the last 16 at the Games.
Winwood will face Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba, while Garside, who won gold in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games, will stand across from John Ume of Papua New Guinea.
Australia is still searching for its first gold medal in boxing at the Olympics.
SCHEDULE
Skye Nicolson — BYE, then vs. Im Aeji (KOR) on Monday, July 26
Caitlin Parker — vs. Atheyna Bylon (PAN) on Saturday, July 31
Alex Winwood — vs. Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) on Monday, July 26
Harry Garside — vs. John Ume (PNG) on Sunday, July 25
Paulo Aokuso — BYE, then Gazi Jalidov (ESP) on Wednesday, July 28
The US women’s football team has conquered everything in the football world over the years but have been shocked in the opening game of the Olympics.
The World No. 1 side and four-time Olympic gold medallists at the 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics – women’s football has only been in the Games since 1996 – were left shocked with a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Sweden in the Group G.
Sweden are no slouches at the sport and are ranked 5th in the world.
They also knocked the US out of the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals before going on to a silver medal.
While it was not unfathomable that Sweden should be the US team, it was that they should beat the US so easily, with social media erupting over the thrashing.
Ultimately, it was not that the US lost, but more how that lost that had fans floored.
Stina Blackstenius scored twice and Lina Hurtig added a third goal
It was incredible as it was the first time in 44 games — a 3-1 loss in a friendly to France in January 2019 — that the Americans had been defeated.
The USA Today report began: “Instead of getting revenge for their ouster at the Rio Olympics, the U.S. women got embarrassed.”
US Team captain Megan Rapinoe was blunt in her assessment after the game.
“It is what it is. We got bopped,” Rapinoe said. “I thought we were a little bit nervous, a bit tight, doing dumb stuff.”
US coach Vlatko Andonovski said that it will come down to their performances to see if they can drag themselves out of this hole and win a five gold medal in seven Olympics.
“It’s obvious we put ourselves in a big hole, but we’re the only ones who can get ourselves out of it,” Andonovski said.
“It’s not going to be easy. We’ve got to get positive results in the next two games, but the fact there is still a chance I know this team is not going to give up.”
Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson warned his players not to become overconfident after their stunning performance.
“Yes, naturally (that can happen), but we also just know we can be happy for three points,” he said.
“But it’s a long tournament. Six games in 17 days if you go all the way. We are not in the quarter-finals yet so we have to get better in every game.”
While the US have come back from a first game loss to win gold at the 2008 Olympics, Australia and New Zealand have a chance of knocking the US out of the Olympics with wins.
The top two teams in each group go through to the finals, while the highest two third ranked teams in groups E, F and G can sneak into the knockout stage
New Zealand face the US on Saturday, while Australia get a shot next Tuesday.
43-year-old Laurel Hubbard will be the first transgender competitor at an Olympics this summer in Tokyo. The New Zealander will get to compete in the superheavyweight category in weightlifting despite the storm of controversy that preceded her getting this opportunity.
While there were various groups, and fellow competitors, who had criticized Hubbard’s inclusion, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and fellow competitors like Team GB’s Emily Campbell, have shown their support and pointed out that Hubbard has abided by the rules in place and competed fairly. Hubbard transitioned in 2013 but had competed in men’s events prior.
Read IOC Confirms First Transgender Olympian Will Be Laurel Hubbard at its original source Breaking Muscle:
http://breakingmuscle.com/news/ioc-confirms-first-transgender-olympian-will-be-laurel-hubbard
Leticia Bufoni, Brazil’s 5-time X Games gold medalist and eventual Olympian on the 2020 Olympic postponement, talks breaking into the boys club and skateboarding in whatever the hell she wants.
But first, the basics:
Age: 27
Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
Top 3 Career Highlights:
Leticia Bufoni: We’d been getting ready for the past two or three years and everyone was so ready for this moment; it getting postponed a year—it kind of sucks. At the same time, we have more time to train. I think skateboarding, in general, will get more attention.
Skateboarding has changed a lot in the past few years, and it’s become a more serious sport. Before, it was a lifestyle and now it’s a sport. Skateboarding is finally getting the attention it deserves because we train like athletes; we compete, eat healthy, and do everything that a real athlete does. Skateboarding is a sport, and now, people finally recognize that.
I love working out, so I’ll pretty much do everything. Most of the exercise I do is focused on skateboarding, so I do balance training, a lot of stretching, along with ankle and hip mobility.
I started skating around the age 9 or 10. All my friends bought skateboards, then I had nobody to play soccer with; I started skating so I wasn’t alone. I was the only girl skating and I was definitely fighting all the time with the boys, because that’s what kids do.
Having girls look up to me is a dream, because I didn’t have that when I was skateboarding.
When I started skateboarding, women didn’t have the support that we do today. We didn’t have that many contests or sponsors. Now that we have more women in the sport, we have bigger events, and it’s getting easier and easier to compete. But I remember when I first started skating, it was super hard, and there was no support.
I love skateboarding so much. I knew it was what I wanted to do for life. I knew I had to stop school and focus on competing because you can always go back to school but, skateboarding, if you don’t do it when you’re young, it gets harder and harder.
Since I like to work out so much, I was always wearing fitness clothing. One day, I started skating in leggings, and everyone was hating on me. They said it didn’t look good, I was going to get hurt, that the outfits were too tight. It’s comfortable. You’ve got to be comfortable. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. Now everyone is kind of used to seeing me skate in workout clothes, so they don’t even say anything anymore. There’s a new generation now and they’re all wearing leggings and starting to become more feminine.
I think so. Before, I had never seen any girls skating in leggings. And back in the day, everyone was sort of tomboy with their outfits. Now everyone is wearing makeup and getting their hair done to go skating. I’ve been doing this because I want to look good. I want to look like a girl and rip on a skateboard.
From where I came from to where I am now, having girls look up to me is a dream. I want to keep inspiring more girls. I want to be a role model. I want to be someone others can look up to because I didn’t have that when I was skateboarding.
Read more about Leticia Bufoni in our Olympics package The Athletes and Sports You Can’t Miss at the Tokyo Games
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Turkey, Columbia, Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, and weightlifting powerhouse Romannia have already felt the sting of bans for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) and the International Wegightlifting Federation (IWF) are not messing around right now with new leadership at the latter determined to the remove the stigma of corruption and a lack of oversight from the past.
Read Tokyo 2020 Doesn’t Want Weightlifting Doping Headaches at its original source Breaking Muscle:
https://breakingmuscle.com/news/tokyo-2020-doesnt-want-weightlifting-doping-headaches
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