By Joshua Berlinger, Aditi Sangal and Adam Renton, CNN
From CNN's Arthur Syin in Tokyo
Tokyo reported 4,166 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, its highest daily increase since the pandemic began, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Wednesday's figure tops its previous record from Saturday when the capital reported 4,058 new cases.
At least 327 cases have been linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games as it goes ahead with its 12th day of official competition.
The Tokyo metropolitan area is currently under a state of emergency, in effect until August 31.
From CNN's Ben Church
Sydney McLaughlin said the track in Tokyo was giving athlete's an extra boost after smashing her own women's 400m hurdles world record on Tuesday.
The American took gold with a run of 51.46 seconds, beating her rival Dalilah Muhammad, who took silver in a time of 51.58.
McLaughlin set the previous world record back in June this year but both her and Muhammad went under that time in Tokyo.
Her result bore similarities to Karsten Warholm's world record run in the men's 400m hurdles on Monday.
"You can feel the difference. A lot of people talk about the shoes, but I think it’s one of those tracks that it gives you that energy right back and pushes you and propels you forward," she said.
She also credited her world beating performance to staying in control of her emotions and not letting external factors distract her from her goal -- something which many athletes have said they've struggled with due to the unprecedented circumstances.
“It’s just amazing to bring that home to my friends and family. I come out here as one, but there are 10,000 behind me, and I know they are cheering and super happy right now," she added.
“A lot of that is outside things I can’t control. I just tried to minimize it, stayed off social media, stayed in my room, talked to friends and family and stick to what I knew I could do," she said.
“When you have a lot of outside voices coming at you, it can alter how you feel internally. The more I can distance myself from that, the more I can stay as calm and relaxed as possible.”
From CNN's Manveena Suri in New Delhi
India won its third medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, when boxer Lovlina Borgohain claimed bronze in the women’s welterweight semifinal.
Borgohain failed to advance to the gold medal bout after losing to Turkey’s Busenaz Surmeneli.
The other two Indian athletes to medal in Tokyo are Mirabai Chanu, who bagged silver in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition, and P.V. Sindhu, who won bronze in women's singles badminton.
With more Indian athletes in contention for the podium in wrestling and hockey later today, the country is aiming to surpass its best Olympic haul of six medals at London 2012.
India has fielded a surprisingly small number of competitors in Tokyo considering it is the world's second-most populous country.
A lack of funding and proper infrastructure have prevented India from becoming an Olympic powerhouse. And most of the country's best athletes opt to play cricket, by far the subcontinent's most popular sport.
However, the number of Indian Olympians has, in recent years, risen steadily as the government invests more in sports and athletics.
From CNN's Chandler Thornton and Chris Liakos
A fifth person from Greece's Olympic artistic swimming team -- a team official -- has tested positive for Covid-19, according to Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya.
The other four Covid-19 cases are swimmers from the team.
"As of yesterday, five of the 12 Greek artistic swimmers and team officials who were staying at the Olympic Village had tested positive for COVID-19," Takaya said in a regular press briefing Wednesday.
"Of the seven who tested negative, some have already been designated as close contacts, while the status of the others is still being determined," Takaya added.
The team was moved out of the village and into a quarantine facility Tuesday.
The team had to withdraw from its team event and artistic swimming duet event, ending Greece’s artistic swimming presence in Tokyo 2020, according to the Hellenic Olympic Committee.
"We wish them a speedy recovery," Takaya said.
From CNN's Gawon Bae and Matias Grez
Australia's Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman says he is "deeply disappointed" with the "unacceptable" behavior of the Australian football and rugby teams on their flight home from Tokyo.
"I just said that they did have excessive alcohol consumption, that they were loud and disruptive to other members of the flight, and that they failed to respond to requests made for them to do whatever they needed to do on the flight," Chesterman told reporters.
"At least one person" had been sick in the plane toilet, "leaving that inoperable for the remainder of the fight," he added.
Can I also say how deeply disappointed I am in this behaviour," Chesterman said. "This behavior clearly is unacceptable and does not meet the standards set by this team."
Football Australia and Rugby Australia, the sports' governing bodies, have started formal investigations into the behavior of their athletes, Chesterman confirmed.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) will wait for the conclusion of those investigations before proceeding.
Chesterman added:
"This is a proud team, performing brilliantly after a very very challenging preparation and the vast, vast majority have conducted themselves superbly both on and off the field of play.
"I'm also aware that rugby sevens and the football teams are full of good people. Some have sadly made poor choices as young people from time to time can.
"That's not to condone their behaviour but to state the obvious. People make mistakes.
"They have remorse and I certainly hope, and I believe, that in the future they'll make better choices."
From CNN's Jill Martin
The US women’s basketball team, the top team in the world and winners of the past six Olympic gold medals, advanced to the semifinals Wednesday with a 79-55 win against world number two Australia.
Breanna Stewart had 20 points in the first half and would finish with 23 on the day to lead Team USA.
This quarterfinal clash between the two teams Wednesday was a rematch of the gold medal games from the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. The Americans have won gold in this event in every Olympics since 1996 and currently have a 53-game win streak in Olympic play, dating back to the bronze medal game in 1992.
Up next for the US will be Serbia, which defeated China 77-70 earlier in the day.
The other quarterfinals still to come Wednesday are Japan vs Belgium and Spain vs France.
Australia, competing in this Olympics without their best player, Liz Cambage of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, will leave Tokyo without a medal. The Opals had to take a tougher route to get to the quarterfinal stage after losing early in preliminary play. Cambage withdrew ahead of the Olympics when the team was preparing in Nevada, citing mental health.
From journalist Lauren Lau in Hong Kong and CNN's Rebecca Wright and Tom Booth in Tokyo
The Olympics may feature some of the world's fiercest competitors, but the spirit of humility and sportsmanship has been a hallmark of Tokyo 2020.
Here are some of the best moments from the games
Hugs at Ariake Skate Park: It was all love between the world's top female skateboarders when they competed for the first-ever gold medal in park skateboarding.
All the participants hugged each other each time they finished a run in the final, a heartwarming show of solidarity.
Japan's Sakura Yosozumi won gold and her teammate Kokona Hiraki claimed silver. Sky Brown of Great Britain took bronze.
Jumpers share gold: The final of the men's high jump might just go down as Tokyo 2020's best feel-good moment.
Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar were neck and neck as the event drew to a close. Each executed the first six jumps up to 2.37 meters (7 feet 8 inches), but neither could clear the bar at 2.39 meters.
The duo were offered the chance for a tie-breaker. Barshim asked if they could each have golds. When the official said yes, Tamberi jumped into Barshim's arms for a huge hug, and the crowd roared in celebration.
Graceful in defeat: After Viktor Axelsen of Denmark beat defending Olympic champion Chen Long of China to win gold in men's singles badminton, he embraced his opponent and shed tears of joy.
By beating Chen, the gold medalist at Rio 2016, Axelsen became the first player from outside of Asia to win the event in more than 20 years.
The mutual respect was on display when the two traded jerseys.
Celebrating swimming history: Tatjana Schoenmaker made history, and it seemed like everyone wanted to celebrate. After the South African swimmer set an Olympic record to win gold in the 200 meters breaststroke, she burst into tears of joy.
Competitors from the lane next to her, American swimmers Annie Lazor and Lilly King, who won silver and bronze in the event, joined in for a group hug to celebrate Schoenmaker's remarkable win.
From CNN's Michael Guy
The mercury is expected to rise to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in Tokyo on Wednesday, making it the hottest day of the Olympics so far.
For athletes competing outdoors, the conditions during the day will likely be punishing. Tokyo's stifling summer humidity means temperatures will feel as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Because of these conditions, Japan's Meteorological Agency may issue a code red heat alert, the highest level on the scale.
Conditions are hot throughout Japan. Forty of the country's 47 prefectures were placed under heat illness alerts on Wednesday.
An ongoing issue: Tokyo's high summer temperatures and thick humidity concerned many going into the Summer Games. Makoto Yokohari, a professor of environment and urban planning at the University of Tokyo and adviser to Olympic organizers, told CNN before the opening ceremony that "when you take into account not only the temperature, but also humidity, I would say that a Tokyo summer is the worst in the history of Olympics."
Several athletes, including tennis star Novak Djokovic, have voiced concerns about the dangers of the heat and humidity. Djokovic called the conditions "brutal" when he was competing.
From CNN's Gawon Bae
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked China's Olympic Committee to explain why two Chinese cyclists, Bao Shanju and Zhong Tianshi, wore badges featuring the likeness of the country's late leader Mao Zedong during a medal ceremony on Monday.
Spokesman Mark Adams on Tuesday said the IOC has contacted the Chinese Olympic Committee about the incident. The following day he said the IOC was assured "this will not happen again."
IOC rules prohibit athletes from protesting or engaging in political demonstrations on the podium, though they are allowed to express their views at other Olympic venues.
American Raven Saunders, who won the silver medal in shot put, was the first athlete to protest on the podium at the Tokyo Games, crossing her arms into an X-shape during her medal ceremony Sunday. The IOC said it has “fully suspended” any action against Saunders after news of her mother's death overnight.
