August 5 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results | CNN

August 5 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

CNN was given exclusive access to the Ogawa Gymnastics Arena at Juntendo University, where Team USA gymnast Simone Biles secretly trained over several days last week, to get back on form to compete on the balance beam. She won a bronze medal in the event on Tuesday - her seventh Olympic medal.
CNN gets exclusive look inside Simone Biles' 'secret gym' in Tokyo
2:00 • Source: CNN
CNN was given exclusive access to the Ogawa Gymnastics Arena at Juntendo University, where Team USA gymnast Simone Biles secretly trained over several days last week, to get back on form to compete on the balance beam. She won a bronze medal in the event on Tuesday - her seventh Olympic medal.
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What we're covering here

  • CNN got exclusive access to Simone Biles’ “secret gym” that helped her get back into form to win balance beam bronze.
  • Team USA overturned a 15-point deficit to beat Australia and reach the gold-medal Olympic basketball final.
  • Megan Rapinoe scored a sensational Olimpico goal for the US to win the women’s football bronze 4-3 against Australia.
  • Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases in Japan are increasing at an alarming rate.

Our live coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has moved here.

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Team USA's April Ross and Alix Klineman win gold in women's beach volleyball

American's Alix Klineman and April Ross celebrate after defeating Team Australia on Friday.

Americans April Ross and Alix Klineman have won the gold medal in women’s beach volleyball.

The duo beat Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in two sets, 21-15 and 21-16.

The win gives the US a record-extending fourth Olympic gold medal in the event. Famed duo Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor won gold three times in a row for the US from 2004 to 2012.

After previously winning silver at the 2012 London Games and bronze at Rio 2016, Ross, 39, has now secured her first Olympic gold medal. This was the 31-year-old Klineman’s Olympic debut.

Earlier Friday, Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich defeated Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka in straight sets to win bronze.

At least 387 Covid-19 cases are now linked to the Olympics

Tokyo 2020 organizers reported 29 new Covid-19 cases linked to the Olympics on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded infections from the Games to 387.

The new cases are not among athletes or residents of Tokyo’s Olympic Village.

They were identified as contractors, Games-related personnel, volunteers, and one member of the media.

There have been 33 total cases reported from the village as of Friday.  

On Thursday, Tokyo reported more than 5,000 new cases in a record single-day high. Tokyo 2020 organizers maintain the Games are not related to the rise in cases in Japan’s capital.

Belarusian Olympic officials who allegedly tried to force sprinter onto plane stripped of accreditation

The International Olympic Committee has revoked the accreditation of two Belarusian coaches allegedly involved in trying to force sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya to return home against her will.

Belarus head coach Yuri Moisevich and team official Artur Shumak were removed from the Olympic Village in Tokyo and their Games accreditation canceled, the IOC said in a tweet Friday.

On Sunday, Timanovskaya, 24, said Belarus team officials threatened her, removed her from the Olympic team and forced her to the airport in Tokyo, where she would board a flight back to Belarus after she criticized sporting authorities.

Fearing she would be arrested in Belarus, Timanovskaya refused to get on the flight and on Wednesday fled to Warsaw, Poland, where she has been granted a visa on humanitarian grounds.

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Kristina during a press conference. Kristina Timanovskaya is a Belarusian sprinter who refused to fly back to her country out of fear for her safety after criticizing Belarusian Olympic officials. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister, Marcin Przydacz said, that Poland has already given the athlete a humanitarian visa. The Belarusian Olympic Committee said in a statement that coaches decided to withdraw Tsimanouskaya from the Games on doctors' advice about her "emotional and psychological state." (Photo by Attila Husejnow / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Related article Two Belarusian officials stripped of accreditation and removed from Olympic Village by IOC

Summer is spooky season in Japan

High temperatures during the Tokyo Olympics have been making headlines around the world.

In fact, the event may go down as one of the hottest and most humid in the history of the Games.

Last week, current world No. 2 tennis player Daniil Medvedev said the heat and humidity were “some of the worst” conditions he had played in, even asking who would be responsible if he died.

Elsewhere, athletes have been seen donning ice vests, wet towels and downing water after competing.

But the temperatures and high humidity currently cooking the capital are not unusual. Japanese summers are notoriously sticky and sweaty, and for many Japanese people, spooky.

Friends flock to haunted houses, head to the movies for horror flicks or visit graveyards after dark, all in an attempt to scare themselves into literally getting the chills — in effect forgetting all about the sweltering heat.

Read more:

TOPSHOT - This picture taken on June 15, 2020 shows drive-in haunted house actress Haruna Suzuki, 20, posing for a photo before an interview with AFP at a garage in Tokyo. - A car horn beeps and the horror begins: a bloody murder and rampaging zombies. But this drive-in haunted house in Japan protects against the most terrifying enemy of all -- coronavirus. Inside a car, guests can scream as loudly as they like, with no mask required, as hideous creatures daubed in blood swarm towards them. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY JAPAN-ENTERTAINMENT-HEALTH-VIRUS-HORROR,FOCUS BY HARUMI OZAWA (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Why summer is spooky season in Japan

Poland's Dawid Tomala wins Olympic gold in men's 50 kilometers race walk

Poland's Dawid Tomala celebrates after winning gold in the 50 kilometers race walk on Friday.

Dawid Tomala of Poland has won gold in the men’s 50 kilometers race walk at the Tokyo 2020 Games — potentially the last time this event will ever be held in an Olympics.

Germany’s Jonathan Hilbert took silver, while Evan Dunfee of Canada earned bronze.

This race started with 59 participants. At the time of this post, nine have dropped out, while two have been disqualified.

This event will not be held at the Paris 2024 Games.

Catch up: Here's what happened at the Olympics on Thursday

China's Quan Hongchan competes in the 10-meter platform diving final on August 5. Quan, 14, becomes the second-youngest female ever to win gold in the event.

Another day full of athletic feats and achievements has been etched into history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

If you’re just reading in now, here are some of the highlights and key storylines from Thursday’s Games:

  • India pays tribute: India’s men’s hockey team, the most successful in the history of the Olympics with eight gold medals, dedicated its bronze medal to the doctors and frontline workers of the coronavirus pandemic, team captain Manpreet Singh said. Several players in the team acknowledged the tough times they have been through as they trained in the southern city of Bangalore away from their families.
  • China makes history: China’s Quan Hongchan, who at age 14 is the country’s youngest athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, secured a stunning gold in women’s 10 meter platform diving. The diving sensation produced two perfect-10 dives in a dominant display. Quan becomes the second-youngest female ever to win gold in the event after her compatriot Fu Mingxia took the title at the 1992 Barcelona Games at the age of just 13.
  • Burkina Faso collects some hardware: Hugues Fabrice Zango made history by clinching Burkina Faso’s first-ever Olympic medal and his success came on the same day the country celebrates its independence day, no less. His distance of 17.47 meters was enough to secure bronze in the men’s triple jump, behind Portgual’s Pedro Pichardo in gold and China’s Zhu Yaming in silver.
  • Infections increase: Tokyo reported 5,042 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, its highest-ever daily increase since the pandemic began. This is the capital’s second consecutive day of a record increase, topping Wednesday’s figure of 4,058 new cases.
  • Cycling to victory: Team Great Britain’s Matt Walls won a gripping gold medal in the omnium cycling event. The 23-year-old put in a dominant display in his Olympic debut to claim Britain’s first track cycling gold at Tokyo 2020.
  • Taking home the bronze: The United States Women’s National Team looked more like the squad that won the World Cup in 2019, as it defeated Australia 4-3 to win the bronze medal in the women’s football. Megan Rapinoe scored a spectacular Olimpico goal — a goal straight from a corner kick — in the eighth minute to open the scoring for the US.
  • New Olympic record: Kenya’s Abel Kipsang posted a new Olympic record time in the men’s 1,500 meters semifinals. The 24-year-old ran 3:31.65 in the second semifinal, surpassing the previous record set by compatriot Noah Ngeny in the men’s 1,500 meter final at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
  • Spanish champion: Spain’s Sandra Sánchez won gold in the inaugural women’s karate “kata” competition with victory over Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu. Sánchez, ranked No.1 in the latest women’s kata world rankings, also becomes Spain’s oldest-ever Olympic champion at 39 years and 323 days old.
  • Bahamas takes home the gold: Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas ran a season’s best time of 43.85 seconds to win Olympic gold in the men’s 400 meters. A dominant performance sees the 25-year-old add to his 2019 400-meter World Championship crown.
  • Leaping to victory: American Katie Nageotte overcame her early struggles at the opening height to win gold in the women’s pole vault. Nageotte missed her first two attempts at her opening height of 4.50 meters but cleared it on her third.
  • Big day for Belgium: Belgium won the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Australia. A tense final finished 1-1 in regulation time before Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch earned hero-status, saving three Australian penalties as the Red Lions prevailed 3-2 in the penalty shootout. Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam also became just the second athlete ever to win back-to-back women’s heptathlon titles after securing the gold medal.

Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya hopes to compete at the Olympics in the future

Belarusian Olympic athlete Kristina Timanovskaya, right, and Belarusian opposition politician Pavel Latushko address a press conference on August 5 in Warsaw, Poland.

Kristina Timanovskaya, the Olympic sprinter from Belarus who defected to Poland, said she hopes to compete in “at least two more” Olympics in the future.

During a joint press conference with Belarusian opposition politician Pavel Latushko in Warsaw, Poland today, the 24-year old said she is “very saddened by the fact that I was deprived of my chance to participate in the Olympic Games.”

Timanovskaya could not compete due to Belarusian team officials pulling her from the women’s 200 meter sprint after she criticized the country’s sport authorities on social media. 

Timanovskaya refused to return to Belarus over safety concerns and instead is seeking asylum for herself and her husband in Poland, where she awaits a hearing from the International Olympic Committee.

Regarding the hearing, Latushko said the sprinter’s interests are being represented by a lawyer from Japan and the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation. 

The sprinter received offers of asylum from multiple European countries, but Timanovskaya chose Poland because it is close enough for her parents to visit and she also wishes to continue her athletic career there.

CNN’s Alyssa Kraus, Hannah Ritchie, Jaide Garcia and Katya Krebs contributed to this post.

Women's football gold medal match has been rescheduled due to heat concerns

The International Stadium Yokohama, where the women's gold medal match will now take place, is seen on August 2.

The women’s football final has been moved to a later kick-off time and switched to a different venue due to heat concerns.

The gold medal match between Sweden and Canada had originally been scheduled for 11 a.m. local time on Friday in Tokyo. However, both teams expressed concerns over heat and humidity.

Olympic organizers confirmed today that the match will now take place at 9 p.m. local time in Yokohama, Japan. For US viewers, the match will be broadcast at 8 a.m. ET on Friday.

This change also impacts the men’s bronze medal match between Mexico and Japan, which will now kick off at 6 p.m. local at the Saitama Stadium or 5 a.m. ET.

Sweden hopes to go one step further than the 2016 Olympic Games, where the team lost 2-1 in the final.

Meanwhile, Canadian midfielder Quinn, the first openly trans and non-binary athlete at a Games, will be guaranteed to win a medal at the Tokyo Games.

Defected Belarusian Olympic sprinter hopes to stay in Poland

Belarusian Olympic athlete Kristina Timanovskaya addresses a press conference on August 5 in Warsaw, Poland.

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya, who defected to Poland, told reporters Thursday that she hopes she and her husband will be able to stay.

“Once my husband arrives here today, we should make this decision together. I cannot answer anything without him, but I definitely hope we can stay here, and I can continue my sports career and my husband can find some work,” she said during a press conference in Warsaw.

Timanovskaya was set to compete in the women’s 200m at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. Instead, she says representatives of the Belarus national team tried to forcibly send her home for criticizing sporting authorities on her social media. 

After receiving several offers of asylum from European countries, Timanovskaya said she had chosen Poland because her parents thought it was the easiest place for them to try and visit. 

“We chose Poland because I spoke to my parents who said that perhaps Poland will be the best choice for me because they probably would be able to come to visit me sometimes,” she said Thursday. 

When asked about her last-minute decision not to return to Belarus, Timanovskaya said she was “not thinking about political asylum” and that the decision was motivated by her wish to remain in sport. 

“I was not thinking about political asylum. All I want is to remain in sports and continue my sports career here,” she told reporters. 

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Timanovskaya accused representative of the Belarus national team of taking away her dream by denying her the chance to compete in the women’s 200 meters at the Olympics. 

Timanovskaya said the Belarusian media have already started to slander her in recent days over the incident. 

“My parents have told me that they are already talking about me on TV and saying very bad things. That I did not take the chance to run the Olympics … that I am not a good enough sportswoman and all that. I have been sent photos from Telegram channels where people posted links to my Instagram with requests to write bad things to me,” she explained. 

“Yes, I have received many awful messages. But at that moment, I have been receiving a lot of messages of support from people. I was reading more positive comments than negative,” she added.

Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam makes history as she retains heptathlon title

Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam competes in the women's heptathlon long jump on August 5.

Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam became just the second athlete ever to win back-to-back women’s heptathlon titles after securing the gold medal on Thursday.

With victory in Tokyo to add to her Rio 2016 crown, Thiam joins American Jackie Joyner-Kersee to win two heptathlon titles at the Games with the American having won in 1988 and 1992.

Thiam retained her title with 6,791 points after completing the seven disciplines.

Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands secured silver with a national record of 6,689 points with her Dutch teammate Emma Oosterwegel taking the bronze medal.

Afterwards, Thiam said she was “so emotional, I can’t describe it.”

“The first day was difficult for me. So on day two, I had to really focus. I knew I had to do something really good in the long jump and javelin,” she told the media.

“My coach was so positive and told me he believed in me today. I am really happy I was able to go through that and put my performances together.

“In the 800m, I was hoping to do a bit better, but I think it was a really positive race, and in the end, I got the medal. I am so happy.”

Belgium win men’s hockey gold after dramatic shootout victory over Australia

Belgium's goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch, left, celebrates with teammates after winning the men’s hockey gold medal match on August 5.

Belgium won the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Australia on Thursday.

A tense final finished 1-1 in regulation time before Belgian goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch earned hero-status, saving three Australian penalties as the Red Lions prevailed 3-2 in the penalty shootout.

Thursday’s victory is only Belgium’s second ever Olympic gold medal in a team sport – they had previously won gold in men’s football on home soil at the 1920 Games in Antwerp.

For Australia, the wait for a men’s gold medal goes on – they last claimed the crown at the 2004 Games in Athens.

India took the bronze earlier on Thursday after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany, giving the country its first Olympic medal in the sport since the 1980 Games in Moscow.

Katie Nageotte raises the bar to win gold in women's pole vault

American Katie Nageotte competes in the final of the women's pole vault on Thursday.

American Katie Nageotte overcame her early struggles at the opening height to win gold in the women’s pole vault at Tokyo 2020. 

Nageotte missed her first two attempts at her opening height of 4.50m but cleared it on her third.

She would then clear 4.70m on her second attempt, before cruising through the 4.80m and 4.85m at the first try.

The 30-year-old then cleared the winning height of 4.90m on her second attempt to win the gold. 

The Russian Olympic Committee’s Anzhelika Sidorova cleared 4.85m but failed her final attempt at 4.95m to win the silver medal.

Great Britain’s Holly Bradshaw cleared 4.85m but missed on her attempt at 4.90m to take home the bronze. 

Nageotte joins Jenn Suhr (2012) and Stacy Draglia (2000) as the only American women to win gold in pole vault.

World champion Steven Gardiner becomes Olympic champion with gold in men’s 400 meters

Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, second from left, on his way to men’s 400 meter gold on Thursday.

Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas ran a season’s best time of 43.85 seconds to win Olympic gold in the men’s 400 meters on Thursday.

A dominant performance sees the 25-year-old add to his 2019 400m World Championship crown.

Gardiner becomes just the fourth world champion to win the Olympic gold medal in this event, after Michael Johnson (1996 and 2000), Kirani James (2012) and Wayde van Niekerk (2016).

Colombia’s Anthony José Zambrano collected silver.

With bronze, Kirani James becomes the first man to win three Olympic medals in this event, having won gold in 2012 and silver in 2016.

Spain’s Sandra Sánchez becomes first Olympic champion in women’s kata

Sandra Sánchez of Spain competes in the ranking round of the women's kata on Thursday.

Spain’s Sandra Sánchez won gold in the inaugural women’s karate “kata” competition with victory over Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu on Thursday.

Sánchez, ranked No.1 in the latest women’s kata world rankings, also becomes Spain’s oldest ever Olympic champion at 39 years and 323 days old.

She surpasses Spain’s previous oldest champion – track cyclist Joan Llaneras was 39 years and 91 days old when he won gold in the men’s track cycling points race at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Six-time European champion Sánchez also defeated Shimizu in the women’s kata final at the 2018 world championships in Madrid. The Spaniard won with a score of 28.06 to Shimizu’s 27.88

Hong Kong’s Grace Lau Mo-sheung and Italy’s Viviana Bottaro won the bronze medals.

Abel Kipsang sets new Olympic record during men’s 1,500 meters semifinals

Kenya's Abel Kipsang competes in the men's 1,500 meters semifinals on August 5.

Kenya’s Abel Kipsang posted a new Olympic record time in the men’s 1,500 meters semifinals at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

The 24-year-old ran 3:31.65 in the second semifinal, surpassing the previous record set by compatriot Noah Ngeny in the men’s 1,500m final at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record of 3:26.00, set in Rome in 1998, still remains the time to beat.

World champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya and Norway’s highly rated star Jakob Ingebrigsten were the other notable names to qualify for Saturday’s final.

Olympic marathon events to take place in hot and humid conditions this weekend

The site of the Tokyo Olympic marathon and competitive walking events is pictured in Sapporo, Japan, on August 3.

In an attempt to find cooler temperatures, the men’s and women’s Olympic marathon events are taking place this weekend in Sapporo, roughly 500 miles (800 km) north of Tokyo.

Unfortunately, the high temperatures that are impacting Tokyo are spreading throughout the entire country, even into Hokkaido.  

The women’s marathon takes place Saturday morning while the men race Sunday. This weekend, Sapporo will see morning low temperatures of around 25° C (77° F) and afternoon highs of 32-34° C (90-93° F). These temperatures are 5-7° C (9-13° F) above normal for early August.  

Despite the fact that the races take place in the morning hours, temperatures during both races will likely be between 27-30° C (80-86° F).

In addition to the heat, relative humidity values between 70 and 80% will make it feel even warmer.

A long road: The hosting of the Olympic Games has been a marathon effort for both organizers and competitors, with a myriad of challenges and hurdles to overcome by hosting a global sporting event in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

For 44-year-old long-distance runner Abdihakim “Abdi” Abdirahman, who is competing at his fifth Games, the road’s been even longer.

Although Tokyo could be his final Olympics, the American is hoping to give his best in Sunday’s race.

USWNT edge past Australia in thrilling bronze medal match

USA's forward Carli Lloyd, left, is congratulated by teammates after scoring during the women's bronze medal football match between Australia and the United States on August 5.

The United States Women’s National Team looked more like the squad that won the World Cup in 2019, as it defeated Australia 4-3 to win the bronze medal in the women’s football at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Megan Rapinoe scored a spectacular Olimpico goal – a goal straight from a corner kick – in the eighth minute to open the scoring for the US.

Australia’s Sam Kerr leveled the scores minutes later, but Rapinoe scored her second before the halftime break to put the US ahead.

39-year-old Carli Lloyd scored a brace of her own to give the U.S a three-goal lead. With her two goals, Lloyd passed Abby Wambach to become the all-time leading scorer in USWNT Olympic history.

Caitlin Foord and Emily Gielnik scored in the second half to cut the USWNT’s lead to one but it would be too little, too late.

The bronze medal is the first in USWNT history. They’ve previously won four gold medals in 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012. 

CNN goes inside Simone Biles’ “secret gym” outside Tokyo

The Ogawa Gymnastics Arena is pictured at Juntendo University, where Team USA gymnast Simone Biles secretly trained over several days last week to get back into form to compete on the balance beam. She won a bronze medal in the event on Tuesday - her seventh Olympic medal.

Around an hour’s drive from Tokyo, a university campus surrounded by rice paddies was the unlikely setting behind Simone Biles’ Olympic comeback.

CNN was given exclusive access to the Ogawa Gymnastics Arena at Juntendo University, where the Team USA gymnast secretly trained over several days last week to get back into form to compete on the balance beam.

She won a bronze medal in the event on Tuesday, her seventh Olympic medal.

Biles had earlier pulled out of the all-around team event and the majority of individual events after a shaky performance on the vault, saying she was struggling with mental health issues and “the twisties” – when gymnasts feel lost when they’re flying through the air.

Team USA had contacted the facility via Professor Kazuhiro Aoki of Juntendo University to ask if Biles could train there discreetly away from the capital.

Last week, Biles posted a series of videos on her Instagram account showing her struggling to find her form and crashing into landing pads while practicing dismounts on the uneven bars.

The gymnastics coach at the arena said he tried to help Biles beat what she described as her “demons.”

“It looked like she was suffering,” coach Wataru Kawai said. “I was hoping I could do something to help her.

Coach Wataru Kawai

“She was trying to do things that she wasn’t able to do,” Kawai added. “She was really trying to figure out what was wrong.”

Biles said Wednesday on Twitter she would “forever be thankful” to Juntendo “for allowing me to come train separately to try to get my skills back.”

The Japanese, she wrote in her tweet, “are some of, if not the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”

Simone also left a thank you message on the whiteboard of the Ogawa Gymnastics Arena.

The staff there said they will never wipe it off.

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Britain's Matt Walls wins gripping omnium cycling gold

Matt Walls of Great Britain celebrates after winning the men's track cycling omnium points race on August 5.

Team Great Britain’s Matt Walls won a gripping gold medal in the omnium cycling event.

The 23-year-old put in a dominant display in his Olympic debut to claim Britain’s first track cycling gold at Tokyo 2020.

Walls led the overall rankings heading into the final event, having won the opening scratch race, and finishing third in the tempo race and second in the elimination race.

He eventually finished on a total of 153 points.

New Zealand’s Campbell Stewart took silver with Rio 2016 champion Elia Viviani finishing in bronze.

Walls becomes the third British medal winner in this event, after Ed Clancy won bronze at the 2012 Games in London and Mark Cavendish secured silver at the 2016 Games in Rio.

“I was a little nervous": 14-year-old diving sensation Quan Hongchan on gold medal performance

China's Quan Hongchan competes in the women's 10m platform diving final event on August 5.

The concerns of most 14-year-old’s typically stretch from school to social encounters.

Not for Quan Hongchan though.

The 14-year-old diving sensation – China’s youngest athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – won a stunning gold medal in the women’s 10 meter platform diving on Thursday.

Afterwards, she admitted the nerves of the occasion affected her slightly.

“I was a little nervous, but not very, just a little bit,” she told reporters.

She produced two perfect-10 dives in a dominant display. Quan becomes the second-youngest woman ever to win gold in the event after her compatriot Fu Mingxia took the title at the 1992 Barcelona Games at the age of just 13.

Although when asked about what she thinks when people calls her a “diving prodigy,” Quan said she didn’t agree with that label.

“I don’t think I’m a prodigy. I’m not very bright. I don’t do well in my studies. You ask me all these questions and there’s only a blank in my mind.”

She saw off compatriot Chen Yuxi to finish first and the win extends China’s dominance in women’s diving.

The Asian nation has now claimed gold in all women’s diving events at four successive Games – Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

The last time a non-Chinese woman won an Olympic diving event was when Australia’s Chantelle Newbery secured women’s 10 meter platform gold at the 2004 Games in Athens.

And although she’s not getting ahead of herself about competing at Paris 2024, Quan already has an idea about how she wants to celebrate.

 “I want to eat a lot of delicious things tonight! I feel like eating latiao (a popular Chinese spicy snack) the most.”

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