Our live coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has moved here.
Organizers announced 17 new Covid-19 cases directly linked to the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday – taking the total to 127.
As of Saturday, 14 athletes and 34 “Games-concerned personnel” have tested positive in Tokyo’s Olympic Village, a three-case increase on the previous day.
The remaining new cases were identified as media and contractors.
The names or nationalities of those who tested positive were not revealed, however Dutch rower Finn Florijn said Saturday he will not be competing after testing positive for Covid-19 on Friday.
China’s Yang Qian has won gold in the women’s 10m air rifle, the first medal event of the 2020 Olympic Games. Yang’s 251.8 points is a final Olympic record.
Russian Anastasiia Galashina clinched the silver medal. Russian athletes aren’t competing under their national name at the Olympics due to continuing sanctions over doping. They are officially recognized as members of ROC, an abbreviation of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Switzerland’s Nina Christen earned bronze.
Dutch rower Finn Florijn will not compete in the 2020 Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19 in Japan on Friday, Team Netherlands and the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation said in a joint statement.
“The rower came out of the heats on Friday and would have had a second race on Saturday, but cannot continue in the tournament. He has to be quarantined for 10 days,” the statement read.
According to Team Netherlands, Florjin arrived in Tokyo on July 17 and stayed in a single room in the Olympic village.
“We are speechless,” Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission of the Dutch delegation, said in the statement. “A young athlete was making his Olympic debut this year and has to stop immediately. He will get his revenge in the future.”
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka was picked as the final torchbearer of the 2020 Games to deliver a message of “diversity and inclusion,” the executive producer of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony said at a news conference Saturday.
Osaka, a four-time major champion, lit the Olympic cauldron to officially open the Tokyo 2020 Games on Friday night. Born in Osaka, Japan, the tennis star – who has a Haitian father and Japanese mother – moved to the United States at age 3.
Regarding whether the appearance of Osaka contributed to improving the image of the Games, Takayuki said: “It’s more about the absolute values that Naomi Osaka offers. That’s what we focus on. Of course, for the Games as a whole and also for Japan, she is a jewel, she is a treasure for us, so that is why we selected her.”
In a tweet early Saturday, Osaka said lighting the flame was “undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life.”
Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais posted on Instagram stating that he won’t participate as planned in the Summer Games because of Covid-19.
“Lucky my life has always been filled with obstacles that I’ve overcome one by one, this will be no different. Paris 2024 I’ll be ready! Good luck to my country Portugal, I’ll be there with you in thought!”
On Friday, Portugal’s state news agency, Lusa, reported Morais was “infected by the novel coronavirus,” according to the Portuguese Olympic Committee.
CNN has reached out to Team Portugal for details but has not heard back.
The official Olympics site lists the 29-year-old Morais as a rostered participant in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games but he has no events linked to his name.
The surfing competition begins Sunday in Ichinomiya, Japan.
Journalist Rodrigo Pedroso in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
An Algerian judo athlete, Fethi Nourine, says he chose to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics rather than face an Israeli competitor.
Nourine told Echourouk TV, “I decided to withdraw out of conviction, because this is the very least we can offer the Palestinian cause. This is my duty. My goal in withdrawing is to send a message to the whole world that Israel is an occupation, a lawless country, a country without a flag.”
Nourine was scheduled to face Mohamed Abdalrasool from Sudan in Round 64 of the men’s 73 kg class.
According to Reuters, if Nourine defeated Abdalrasool, the Algerian would have met Israel’s Tohar Butbul in the following round. Butbul had a bye in the Round of 64.
CNN’s Taylor Barnes and Aqeel Najim in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Nepartak has strengthened into a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 65 kph (40 mph) as it tracks northeast at 20 kph (12 mph) over the western Pacific.
The storm remains on track to move north and eventually take a turn to the northwest, heading toward Japan.
The latest forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center has weakened the expected intensity of Nepartak, with winds up to 55-65 kph (35-40 mph) by the time it reaches Japan Monday into Tuesday.
It could impact the Olympics: The main risks from this storm at this time are gusty, tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain in central and northern parts of Tokyo, which could have an impact on the Olympic Games.
With no fans in attendance and a reduced number of athletes joining the parade, the Tokyo Olympics’ Opening Ceremony officially kicked off the Summer Games on Friday as tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron.
The ceremony drew to a close around midnight in Japan as a spectacular firework display illuminated the Tokyo night sky.
The surreal circumstances of the Games’ curtain raiser — unlike any other previous opening ceremony — provided a glimpse of what is to come over the next 16 days with the coronavirus pandemic set to loom large over proceedings.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened at the Opening Ceremony:
The attendance: According to Tokyo 2020 organizers, 950 people attended the opening ceremony — only a handful in a venue with a capacity of 68,000 — as the 206 delegations competing were officially welcomed to the Games. US first lady Jill Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the event. With athletes expected to arrive in the Olympic Village five days prior to their competition and depart a maximum of two days after, fewer took part in the parade of nations compared to previous Olympics. Team USA, for example, had more than 200 athletes walking through the stadium out of a team that is over 600 strong, while 63 of Australia’s 472 athletes took part.
Tongan Pita Taufatofua made a return: Taufatofua first caught the attention of Olympic spectators in Rio five years ago when he appeared shirtless wearing traditional Tongan dress and covered in oil. He then repeated the act at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics two years later. However, Taufatofua had competition this time around, with Vanuatu’s flag-bearer, rower Riilio Rii, also coming out shirtless and oiled.
Athletes remained socially distant: Many of the athletes remained socially distant as they walked through the stadium, but others — such as Argentina and Portugal — were exuberant, breaking into cheering and dancing. The procession began with Greece, the first nation to host the modern Olympic Games, whose athletes were followed by those from the 29-strong Refugee Olympic Team, which debuted at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It concluded with the US and France — the two countries hosting the next two editions of the Games — and finally Japan.
Covid-19 victims remembered: There were also tributes to those who have lost their lives during the pandemic, as well as to the 11 Israeli athletes killed in a terror attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. How the coronavirus pandemic has affected athletes over the past 18 months was also acknowledged. Japanese boxer and nurse Arisa Tsubata — whose Olympic dreams were dashed when a qualifying event was canceled — was seen running alone on a treadmill in darkness at the start of the opening ceremony.
What to expect next: Starting Saturday, the first medals of the Games will be distributed; after months of challenges and uncertainties, Olympic organizers will finally be able to let sport do the talking.
Read more here.
A new tropical depression has formed over the open waters of the West Pacific, which could impact the Olympic games next week.
Tropical Depression Nepartak has formed about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) southeast of Japan, and currently has maximum sustained winds of 55 kph (35 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
The forecast track from the JTWC brings the storm to mainland Japan by Tuesday, with Tokyo in the forecast cone.
Nepartak is currently classified as a subtropical cyclone and is expected to remain subtropical through its forecast period. This characteristic essentially means the strongest winds won’t be just consolidated near the center of the storm, but rather can extend farther out from the center.
The storm is expected to strengthen over the coming days, reaching tropical storm intensity this weekend. By Sunday night local time, its winds are expected to peak at 95 kph (60 mph) before gradually weakening again.
Nepartak is expected to impact parts of mainland Japan by Tuesday, including the Tokyo area where the Olympics are taking place. Maximum winds are expected to be around 75 kph (45 mph) when it reaches Japan.
There remains a high amount of uncertainty with the forecast by early next week, the JTWC notes in its discussion, in terms of where it affects Japan and the strength of then winds.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics kicked off Friday with the Opening Ceremony — almost a year to the day from their intended start date in July 2020.
In March 2020, the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the Games until 2021 due to concerns over Covid-19. The event was originally set to begin on July 24, 2020 and end on Aug. 9, 2020.
With the postponement, officials decided that the Games — which would take place in 2021 — would still be called the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The decision to push back the event was the first of its kind in Olympics history. The Games have never been postponed, although they have been canceled on three occasions due to World Wars in 1916, 1940 and 1944.
German cyclist Simon Geschke is the latest athlete to test positive for Covid-19 at the Tokyo Olympics. According to the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Geschke tested positive in a hotel outside the Olympic Village and will not participate in the team’s race on Saturday.
Geschke was staying in the hotel with 12 other athletes on the Radsport Straße team, according to Friday’s announcement. All 12 have since tested negative and will be allowed to take part in the race. Geschke’s roommate will still be required to test negative in order to be approved.
As of Friday, at least 110 positive Covid-19 cases have been linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach emphasized the need for more solidarity within and among societies during his speech at the Olympic Opening Ceremony Friday night in Tokyo.
“Without solidarity there is no peace … solidarity means more than just respect or non-discrimination. Solidarity means helping. Sharing. Caring,” Bach said, stating that the Olympic community is “standing in solidarity to make the Olympic Games happen.”
Addressing the year-long delay of the Tokyo 2020 Games due to Covid-19, the IOC president said, “the pandemic forced us apart, to keep our distance from each other, to stay away even from our loved ones. This separation made this tunnel so dark. But today, wherever in the world you may be, we are united in sharing this moment together.”
Bach signaled that Friday’s opening ceremony was “a moment of hope,” and praised the athletes for overcoming challenges to compete at the Olympics.
His speech included thanking the unsung heroes of Japan, including doctors, nurses, and people working to contain the pandemic. A special thanks was given to the thousands of volunteers who he called the “best ambassadors for Japan.”
Bach concluded by reiterating his gratitude to the athletes for their commitment to the new Olympic oath, which includes “solidarity, non-discrimination, sport without doping, inclusion and equality.”
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are officially underway. As the Games ramp up following the opening ceremony, there are several opportunities to watch your favorite events live despite the time difference.
In case you miss the live broadcasts, replays of each sporting event can be found on NBC’s programming schedule.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged receiving an open letter calling for amendments to the IOC rule that threatens to punish athletes for protesting or demonstrating on medal podiums at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The IOC issued a statement saying they are standing by the organization’s recent amendment which loosened previous guidelines to allow some forms of protest expression – but not on medal podiums, ceremonies and during play.
Their full statement reads:
Some background: US hammer thrower Gwen Berry, along with famed 1968 medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, are three of over 150 athletes, human rights and social justice experts, and sports organizations who cosigned an open letter to high-ranking International Olympic Committee members on Thursday, calling for amendments to the IOC rule that threatens to punish athletes for protesting or demonstrating on medal podiums at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The letter calls upon the IOC to, “refrain from imposing sanctions on athletes protesting and demonstrating in accordance with internationally-recognized human rights frameworks… in any Olympic/Paralympic sites, venues or other areas – including the podium” for the Tokyo and Beijing Games.
After a 10-month consultation process with over 3,500 athletes who represent 185 different National Olympic Committees and all 41 Olympic Sports, the IOC decided to uphold the rule 50 ban on protests in April. On July 2, the IOC amended rule 50 by adding section 50.2, which loosened previous guidelines, allowing athletes to express their views in mixed zones, press conferences, during interviews, as well as prior to the start of competition.
You can read more about this here.
The White House released more details of first lady Jill Biden’s schedule at the 2020 Tokyo Games Saturday.
Here’s a look the Team USA games and races she will be attending, according to the White House:
After that busy day, she’ll depart for Honolulu, where she’ll visit a vaccination clinic and greet military families.
Today, the first lady attended the Opening Ceremony that officially kicked off Tokyo 2020. Biden is leading the US delegation at the the Games, and was one of just 950 VIPs to attend the ceremony.
This is not Biden’s first time at the Olympics in support of America’s athletes. As second lady in 2010, she and then-Vice President Joe Biden attended the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
CNN’s Kate Bennett contributed reporting in this post.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is competing for Japan in the Games, lit the cauldron at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The relay to the cauldron, the Olympic torch’s final destination, has been largely spectator-free in isolated events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cauldron stays lit during the entire Games.
More on Osaka: Born in Osaka, Japan, to a Japanese mother and Haitian-American father, the four-time Grand Slam tennis champion moved to the United States at age 3.
Tennis journalist Akatsuki Uchida has called her “an icon of a new generation in Japan, which is more diverse.”
In May, Osaka withdrew from the French Open, citing her mental health. She revealed she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018.
Osaka was fined $15,000 for not participating in any news conferences there.
In an essay for TIME magazine, she said the press conference format between journalists and athletes is “out of date.”
“I feel uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health as it’s still so new to me and I don’t have all the answers. I do hope that people can relate and understand it’s OK to not be OK, and it’s OK to talk about it,” she wrote.
The Olympics torch was lit after the Games were declared open and the flag was raised.
Arriving from Greece, it is designed in the shape of a Sakura, or a cherry blossom.
After Japan’s Emperor Naruhito declared the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games open, the Olympic flag was raised next to Japan’s flag.
After athletes from around the globe paraded at the Opening Ceremony, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito declared the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games open.
The Games are slated to go on until Sunday, Aug 8, 2021.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, used his remarks during the Opening Ceremony to welcome the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
According to the IOC website, 29 athletes will compete for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“These athletes will act as a symbol of hope for refugees worldwide and bring global attention to the magnitude of the refugee crisis. The athletes were named to the team by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee,” the website says.
Bach also acknowledged the challenges of the pandemic, and praised the global athletes for their perseverance in training to compete at the Games.
