Allyson Felix becomes most decorated US track and field athlete in Olympics history

August 7 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

By John Sinnott, Ben Church, George Ramsay, Sana Noor Haq, Joshua Berlinger, Brett McKeehan and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, August 8, 2021
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11:42 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Allyson Felix becomes most decorated US track and field athlete in Olympics history

From CNN's Hannah Ritchie

American Allyson Felix reacts after winning gold in the 4x400 meter relay final on Saturday.
American Allyson Felix reacts after winning gold in the 4x400 meter relay final on Saturday. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Team USA's Allyson Felix won her 11th Olympic medal and seventh gold, becoming the most decorated US track and field athlete in Olympics history, after the United States won gold in the women’s 400m sprint relay Saturday.

Felix overtook sprint legend Carl Lewis' haul of 10 medals. She remains one short of Finland's Paavo Nurmi all-time track and field record of 12 medals.

The US team of Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Athing Mu stormed away to the win, with Poland taking home the silver with a national record and Jamaica securing the bronze.

"The first was a very, very long time ago [in Athens 2004] when everything was new," the 35-year-old Felix told reporters. "And this one everything is different but in a good way. I am so pleased it was running with these amazing women."

Clarification: This post has been updated to reflect that Felix is the most decorated US track and field athlete.

9:23 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Germany's modern pentathlon coach disqualified from Olympics for hitting horse

From CNN's Gawon Bae, Hannah Ritchie and Ben Church

Annika Schleu of Germany, seen on the horse, Saint Boy, as the horse refuses to jump during the women's modern pentathlon on August 6, in Tokyo.
Annika Schleu of Germany, seen on the horse, Saint Boy, as the horse refuses to jump during the women's modern pentathlon on August 6, in Tokyo. Marijan Murat/dpa/Getty Images

Germany's modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner has been disqualified from Tokyo 2020 for hitting a horse, the Modern Pentathlon Federation (UIPM) said in a statement on Saturday.

The incident occurred as Raisner was trying to assist German modern pentathlete Annika Schleu on Friday, ahead of her show jumping round in the women's event.

Schleu was seen visibly struggling to control Saint Boy, the horse she had been randomly assigned to jump with.

Athletes only have 20 minutes to bond with their horse before competing.

Raisner could be heard on TV telling Schleu to hit the horse to get Saint Boy to behave. Raisner was then seen hitting the horse once above his back leg. 

"The UIPM Executive Board has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," the UIPM said.

"The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu (GER), with her fist during the Riding discipline of the Women's Modern Pentathlon competition."

Read more about it HERE.

9:20 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

ROC's Svetlana Romashina captures seventh career gold medal after artistic swimming team win

From CNN's Wayne Sterling

Svetlana Romashina of the Russian Olympic Committee, center, celebrates victory with her teammates after they won gold in the team artistic swimming final.
Svetlana Romashina of the Russian Olympic Committee, center, celebrates victory with her teammates after they won gold in the team artistic swimming final. Alexey Filippov/Sputnik via AP

Svetlana Romashina claime her seventh Olympic gold medal after the Russian Olympic Committee won the women's artistic swimming team free routine with a total score of 196.0979 points.

The 31-year-old becomes the seventh woman to win at least seven gold medals in a summer sport at the Olympic Games.

Romashina is also the fourth athlete to win at least seven Olympic gold medals without ever claiming silver or bronze, after track and field athletes Usain Bolt of Jamaica (eight) and the USA's Ray Ewry (eight) and swimmer Caeleb Dressel (seven).  

China finished with 193.5310 to take silver and Ukraine had 190.3018 to claim bronze.

9:42 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Tokyo reports more than 4,500 new coronavirus cases

From Arthur Syin in Tokyo and Hannah Ritchie in London

Tokyo reported 4,566 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. 

It’s the fourth day in a row that Tokyo has reported over 4,000 new daily infections. 

The cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in Japan surpassed the 1 million mark on Friday, with cases now totaling 1,002,287.

Tokyo 2020 reported 22 new Covid-19 cases linked to the Olympic Games Saturday, increasing the total number of cases from the Games up to 409 since July 1.

The Tokyo metropolitan area is currently under a state of emergency, which will stay in place until August 31. 

9:45 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes gold in men's 1500m, setting a new Olympic record

From CNN's Hannah Ritchie

Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway reacts after winning gold in the 1500 meter final on Saturday.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway reacts after winning gold in the 1500 meter final on Saturday. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the gold medal in the men’s 1500m on Saturday, setting Olympic and European records with a time of 3.28.32. 

Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya won silver and Josh Kerr of Great Britain took home bronze.

Ingebrigtsen’s victory marks the first time a European has won gold in the event since Spain’s Fermin Cacho in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Cheruiyot had been leading the race and was the pace setter for most of the event, with Ingebrigtsen trailing close behind. 

The 20-year-old Norwegian overtook Cheruiyot during the final lap to claim gold and set the new Olympic record.

8:17 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

These are the Olympic events you won't want to miss today

From CNN's Alyssa Kraus

Milena Baldassarri of Team Italy competes during the Individual All-Around Fina on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 7, in Tokyo.
Milena Baldassarri of Team Italy competes during the Individual All-Around Fina on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 7, in Tokyo. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Medals will be awarded in basketball, football and more on Saturday.

Here are some events to check out. Remember, Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time.

Basketball: The final games in both men's and women's basketball will be held on Saturday. The gold medal match for women's basketball is at 10:30 p.m. ET. If you're interested in the men's gold medal match, the US men's team's game will be replayed on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. after originally airing on Friday.

Rhythmic Gymnastics: At 10 p.m. ET, eight countries — each with five gymnasts — will compete in the group all-around final.

Football: The final football match of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics started Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET. In the men's gold medal match, Brazil and Spain face off from International Stadium Yokohama.

Track and Field: The final events in track and field will be held throughout the day on Saturday. Medals will be awarded in the men's and women's 4x400m relays, women's high jump, men's 1500m, women's 10,000m and men's javelin. Medals are set to be awarded at the men's marathon at 6 p.m. ET.

Volleyball: Several key matches in both men's and women's volleyball are taking place on Saturday. The men's gold medal match starts at 8:15 a.m. ET. The women's bronze medal match will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET, with the women's gold medal match being held the following day.

Here's your full guide on how to watch the Olympics and the entire schedule. In between watching events, check out our gallery of the most memorable photos of the Games so far.

8:27 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Sifan Hassan wins second distance gold at Tokyo 2020

From CNN's Ben Church

Netherlands' Sifan Hassan celebrates as she wins the women's 10,000m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 7.
Netherlands' Sifan Hassan celebrates as she wins the women's 10,000m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 7. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Sifan Hassan won the women's 10,000 meters on Saturday to complete a golden double on the track at Tokyo 2020.

Hassan took home her first gold medal of the Games on Monday when she came first in the 5000m event, and went on to claim her second medal in the 1500m on Friday when she won bronze. 

Despite her packed schedule, the Dutch runner was able to race clear of Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne and Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey, who finished second and third respectively.

The three women were well ahead of the rest of the field but Gidey, who led the initial breakaway group, struggled to stay with Hassan, who waited for the perfect moment to launch her sprint finish and win in a time of 29:55.33.

Hassan had come into Tokyo 2020 dreaming of winning an unprecedented Olympic treble but she still made history by winning medals in all three events. 

No one in Olympic history has completed a medley of medals across both the middle and long-distance events in a single Games before.

Hassan, who was born in Ethiopia, fled to the Netherlands in 2008 as a refugee and has lived there since she was a teenager.

She has raced a total of 24,500 meters in just eight days this Olympics. 

7:21 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

Meet Japan's Olympic pin obsessives

From CNN's Megan C. Hills

An Olympic pin collector waits to exchange pins with other collectors near the Olympic Stadium on July 29, in Tokyo.
An Olympic pin collector waits to exchange pins with other collectors near the Olympic Stadium on July 29, in Tokyo. Carl Court/Getty Images

Shlomi Tsafrir has over 100,000 pieces of Olympic memorabilia in his shop. Collecting and selling them is his full-time job -- one which sees him scouring overseas auction houses and even designing pins for Olympic delegations.

"Almost every drawer, every cupboard you open in this house, something Olympic will pop up," Tsafrir said.
"Even though I cannot speak English, I can communicate through pins. Each pin has a story.

However, Tsafrir is one of the many pin traders left disappointed this year as the pandemic has damaged his chances of making sales and collecting new designs. 

With virtually all spectators banned, there are few opportunities to make in-person trades.

Read more about the world of Olympic memorabilia HERE.

6:11 a.m. ET, August 7, 2021

How Abdi Abdirahman’s journey to Olympic competition echoes the world’s trek to the Games

From CNN's Eryn Mathewson

At 44, Abdi Abdirahman is the oldest American runner to make an Olympic marathon. And like many athletes competing at Tokyo 2020, his journey to the Games hasn’t been easy. 

The Team USA runner has escaped a civil war, thrived in a country he wasn’t born in, and managed to qualify for his fifth Olympics -- while also navigating a global pandemic. 

But he’ll tell you that it was all worth it.

“It's been a difficult time … I'm just going to go out there and give it my best. I'm just going to worry about what I can control,” Abdirahman previously told CNN.

Scheduled for the last day of the Games on August 8, the 26.2-mile course runs through Sapporo -- a city that sits about 500 miles north of Tokyo, near the tip of Japan. It was chosen to host the marathon over Tokyo because its temperatures are slightly cooler than than the capital.

Just a few months earlier, Abdirahman spoke of potentially going for a sixth Olympics in 2024. But as Tokyo approaches, his tone has changed a little.

“It’s been a great ride. Everything good has to come to an end at some point.”

No matter where Abdirahman places in Sapporo, he’s already accomplished something few people ever will. Read more about it HERE.