Japan's Sakura Yosozumi wins gold and Kokona Hiraki takes silver in women's park skateboarding
Gold medalist Sakura Yosozumi of Japan celebrates on the podium next to silver medalist Kokona Hiraki of Japan and bronze medalist Sky Brown of Great Britain after their park skateboarding final event on August 4. Mike Blake/Reuters
Japan's Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki took gold and silver in the first ever women's park skateboarding event.
British skateboarder Sky Brown, another one of the sport's bright young stars, won bronze. She beat out Misugu Okamoto for third place, denying Japan a clean sweep in the event.
All three medalists are younger than 20. Yosozumi is 19, Hiraki is 12, and Brown is 13.
Brown, Great Britain's youngest ever Olympian, is now also the country's youngest ever medalist.
With Yosozumi's win, Japan has taken gold in all three skateboarding events so far in Tokyo.
Skateboarding concludes Thursday with the men's park event.
11:59 p.m. ET, August 3, 2021
What you need to know on Day 12 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Poland's Amelia Brodka competes in the park skateboarding preliminaries on Wednesday. Ben Curtis/AP
Skateboarding is back. Women's sport climbing makes its Olympic debut. And the women's 400 meters hurdles final proved to be just as exciting as the men's race on Tuesday.
Here's what you need to know on day 12 of the Tokyo Olympics.
Timanovskaya leaves Tokyo: Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya was seen boarding a Vienna-bound flight out of Tokyo on Wednesday, just days after she was threatened by team officials for refusing to compete in an event she had never trained for.
Biles wins bronze: The best-ever female American gymnast finished Tokyo 2020 on a high note, taking home the bronze medal in the individual balance beam event. Biles had a tough Olympics, withdrawing midway through the team competition for mental health reasons.
She then skipped the next four individual finals — the all-around individual competition, the vault, the uneven bars and floor — to focus on her psychological well-being.
Biles said competing in beam was different than the other disciplines.
"For the other events, physically and mentally, it was not safe for me to do it because I could not do the skills without jeopardizing my health and safety," she told reporters after winning bronze. "At the end of the day, we're not just entertainment. We're human and there are things going on behind the scenes that we're also trying to deal with on top of sports."
China's Guan Chenchen took gold and her teammate Tang Xijing claimed silver.
Morning medals:
Hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin smashed her own world record to win the women's 400 meters hurdles. Fellow American Dalilah Muhammad, who also broke the previous world record, took silver.
Marathon swimming: Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil won the 10 kilometer race, the Olympics' longest swim, by less than a second. She swam in 1:59:30.8 to earn her first Olympic medal.
The leaderboard: China leads all countries with 32 gold medals, followed by the US with 25 and Japan with 19. The US has won 75 total medals, more than any other nation. China is second with 69 and the Russian Olympic Committee has 52.
What's on tap later:
Athletics: Wednesday's headliners include the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase final. For the men, gold is up for grabs in the hammer, 800 meters and 200 meters.
Women's basketball: Serbia beat China to advance to the semifinals, and the US takes on Australia next. The other two quarterfinals, Japan vs. Belgium and Spain vs. France, take place Wednesday evening in Japan.
Boxing: Among the medal fights,Cuba's Arlen Lopez bids for a second Olympic gold against Team GB's Ben Whittaker in the men's light heavyweight final at the Kokugikan Arena.
The men and women who medaled in the 400 meters hurdles crushed records in almost identical fashion
From CNN's Jill Martin
American Sydney McLaughlin competes in the women's 400 meter hurdles final on Wednesday. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
It's happened again.
For the second day in a row, an Olympic 400 meters hurdles final was a tightly contested race — with two athletes breaking what was the previous world record in the event and the third-place finisher running the fourth-fastest time ever.
This time it came in the women’s race.
Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad entered the final as favorites to win gold. McLaughlin had set the previous world record in June with a time of 51.90 seconds. On Wednesday morning in Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, she and Muhammed both topped it.
McLaughlin finished nearly a half-second faster, taking gold with a run of 51.46 seconds. Muhammad, who won this event at Rio 2016, took silver in a time of 51.58.
"What a great race," McLaughlin said. "I'm just grateful to be out here celebrating that extraordinary race and representing my country."
Femke Bol of the Netherlands finished in 52.03 seconds to win bronze. Bol's time was the fourth-fastest run in this event ever.
Surprising similarities: The men's 400 meters hurdles played out almost identically on Tuesday. Norway's Karsten Warholm held the world record heading into the race. Both he and second-place finisher Rai Benjamin beat Warholm's previous record to win gold and silver, respectively, just like McLaughlin and Muhammad.
"I can't really (get) it straight in my head yet. I'm sure I'll process it and celebrate later," McLaughlin said after the women's race.
Bronze medalist Alison dos Santos of Brazil ran the fourth-fastest time in history in the men's event to win bronze — just like Bol.
Norway's Karsten Warholm reacts after winning the men's 400 meter hurdles final on Tuesday. Petr David Josek/AP
11:40 p.m. ET, August 3, 2021
Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya has left Tokyo
From CNN's Taylor Barnes, Sara Turnbull and Helen Regan
Belarusian Olympian Kristina Timanovskaya arrives at a boarding gate for her flight out of Narita International Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday. Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya, who refused to fly home fearing she would be arrested, was seen boarding a Vienna-bound flight out of Tokyo on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old athlete was set to compete in the women's 200 meters at the Tokyo Games on Monday, but instead said team officials tried to forcibly send her back to Belarus against her wishes after she criticized sporting authorities.
Her drama-filled plight has dominated global headlines around the Games and while her comments were not overtly political, her case has heightened fears of the safety of those who speak out against Belarusian officials.
Timanovskaya was seen arriving at Narita airport on Wednesday morning with luggage and wearing blue jeans and a blue sweatshirt. She later boarded Austrian Airlines flight OS52.
The athlete had been expected to travel to Warsaw, Poland, where she was offered safe refuge and a humanitarian visa by the country's Prime Minister. It is not clear if she will make a connection in Vienna on her way to Poland, or if she intends to stay in Austria, or travel elsewhere.
Simone Biles reveals her aunt unexpectedly died during the Olympics
From CNN's Jill Martin
American Simone Biles is seen during warm-ups prior to the balance beam final on August 3. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Following her bronze medal win on balance beam Tuesday, Simone Biles revealed that her aunt had died during the Olympics.
"Two days ago my aunt unexpectedly passed, and that was something I wasn't expecting to happen at the Olympic Games either, so at the end of the day, you have to be a little bit more mindful of what you say online, because you have no idea of what these athletes are going through as well as (in) their sports," Biles said.
Biles didn’t compete in four individual finals at the Tokyo Olympics — the all-around individual competition, vault, uneven bars and floor exercise — after withdrawing during the women’s team final, citing mental health concerns.
"Every day I had to be medically evaluated by the doctors, and then I had two sessions with a sports psychologist which kind of helped keep me more level-headed,” said Biles, regarding preparations for the beam final. “I was cleared to do beam, which I honestly didn't think I'd be cleared to do last night."
11:46 p.m. ET, August 3, 2021
Chinese badminton player Chen Qingchen's cursing riles South Koreans
From CNN's Serenitie Wang and Jake Kwon
China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yi compete against South Korea during the doubles semifinal match on July 31. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
South Korea plans to pursue a formal complaint in response to a Chinese Olympian who was heard repeatedly swearing during a badminton match between the two nations.
Chen Qingchen, 24, could be heard shouting a popular Chinese slang term, translated loosely as "f**k" in Mandarin, throughout the live televised broadcast of her women's doubles match against South Korea on Tuesday, July 27.
Chen was heard first yelling the common, but impolite phrase after she and her partner, Jia Yifan, lost the first set to their South Korean opponents.
Both Chinese players then repeated the phrase for every winning point during the remainder of the match, eventually winning 2-1 against South Korea's Kim Soyeong and Kong Heeyong. The Chinese duo went on to advance to the finals of the competition, claiming silver after losing to Indonesia's Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in the finals on Monday.
Chen's outburst has been covered extensively by South Korean media, prompting widespread and often critical commentary accusing the Chinese Olympian of unsporting behavior.
"I'm just here to represent," says US athlete Gwen Berry after raising her fist at Tokyo 2020
From CNN's Ben Church
American Gwen Berry competes in the hammer throw final on August 3. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
US hammer thrower Gwen Berry says she is "ready to change some stuff for real" after raising her fist before the women's hammer throw final at Tokyo 2020 on Tuesday.
As she was introduced into the stadium, Berry raised a clenched fist, later explaining she was protesting social and racial injustice.
"I'm just here to represent, man," she told reporters on Tuesday. "I know a lot of people like me, a lot of athletes like me, a lot of people are scared to succeed or speak out. As long as I can represent those people, I'm fine."
Berry has been outspoken on social issues in the past and has a history of protesting at major track and field events.
After qualifying for her second Games in June, the 32-year-old turned away from the flag while the national anthem played during the medal ceremony and draped a T-shirt reading the words "activist athlete" over her head.
Berry later said she was "set up" on the podium having been told that the anthem would be played before the athletes stepped on.
In 2019, she also lost some of her sponsorships after raising her fist in protest on the podium at the Pan American Games in Peru.
She received a 12-month probation from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee for the act, which she says was meant to highlight social injustice in America.
IOC rules: The International Olympic Committee's Rule 50 ban prohibits athletes from protesting at Olympic sites.
Following a 10-month review of the rule that concluded in April, the body decided to uphold it, but in July added an amendment allowing athletes to express their views in mixed zones, press conferences and during interviews, as well as prior to the start of competition.
These are the gold medal events happening Wednesday at the Olympics
The Tokyo Olympics will soon be coming to a close. But in the meantime, there are still several medals to be handed out in key events.
Here's a shortlist of the finals happening on Wednesday:
Weightlifting:
Men's +109 kg
Skateboarding:
Women's park final
Equestrian:
Jumping individual final
Athletics:
Women's 3,000 meters steeplechase final
Men's hammer throw final
Men's 800 meters final
Men's 200 meters final
Sailing:
470 Men final
470 Women final
Cycling
Cycling Track — Men's team pursuit finals
Boxing:
Men's light heavy final
Swimming:
Artistic swimming — Duet free routine final
Wrestling:
Men's Greco-Roman 67kg final
Men's Greco-Roman 87kg final
Women's freestyle 62kg final
1:02 a.m. ET, August 4, 2021
Guan Chenchen wins balance beam gold at the Tokyo Olympics as Simone Biles claims bronze
From CNN's George Ramsay at Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo
China's Guan Chenchen won gold in the women's balance beam final at the Tokyo Olympics as US gymnastics star Simone Biles overcame mental health challenges to claim a bronze.
Biles' psychological well-being has been the focus of attention since she withdrew from the women's team final last week.
The 24-year-old then didn't compete in four individual finals at the Tokyo Olympics — the all-around individual competition, the vault, the uneven bars and floor — but returned to great applause from her US teammates seated in one corner of the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
"To bring the topic of mental health, I think it should be talked about a lot more, especially with athletes because I know some of us are going through the same things and we're always told to push through it," Biles told reporters following her third-place finish. "We're all a little bit older now and we can speak for ourselves. But at the end of the day, we're not just entertainment. We're human and there are things going on behind the scenes that we're also trying to deal with on top of sports."
Following her withdrawal from the team event, Biles said that she was medically evaluated each day and also had two sessions with a Team USA psychologist.
The dismount of her beam routine was also switched at the last minute so she wouldn't have to perform a twist.
"Going forward, it was just taking it a day at a time and seeing where that went," Biles said about the days since her withdrawal from the team final. "For the other events, physically and mentally, it was not safe for me to do it because I could not do the skills without jeopardizing my health and safety."
Tuesday's beam final was Biles' last chance to claim a medal at Tokyo 2020 and she scored 14.000 for a clean and confident routine.
That score initially placed her second behind China's Tang Xijing on 14.233, but the 16-year-old Guan, the top qualifier in the event and the last to perform her routine, moved into the gold medal position with a score of 14.633.
