OLY-Tokyo Olympics Digest

APTOPIX Tokyo Olympics Swimming (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Here are AP’s Olympic coverage plans. All times are Eastern. For questions, please email Shelley Acoca at sacoca@ap.org. Find the latest Olympics coverage plans on Coverage Plan. For expanded content, visit AP’s Olympics hub on AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477.

______

TOP STORIES

OLY-GYM-BILES-OUT - Simone Biles has withdrawn from the all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being. The decision comes a day after the American gymnastics superstar removed herself from the team final following one rotation because she felt she wasn’t mentally ready. Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles’ place in the all-around. By AP Sports Writer Will Graves. SENT: 150 words, photos.

OLY-SWM-SWIMMING - Katie Ledecky bounced back from the worst finish of her brilliant Olympic career to take the first-ever gold medal in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. Earlier, she was blown away by Australia’s Terminator Ariarne Titmus, who made it 2-for-2 in their rivalry with a victory in the 200 free. Britain, meanwhile, captured its first gold medal in the men’s 4x200 freestyle relay since 1908. By AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry. SENT: 1200 words, photos.

OLY--TEN-TENNIS - Daniil Medvedev was struggling so much with the suffocating heat and humidity in the Olympic tennis tournament that at one point the chair umpire asked him if he could continue playing. Medvedev replied that he could finish the match but said “I can die” and added “are you going to be responsible?” But Medvedev produced a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Fabio Fognini of Italy to reach the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games. By AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf. SENT: 600 words, photos.

OLY--VOL-SMITH’S DISABILITY - U.S. men’s volleyball star David Smith was born nearly completely deaf. That was a challenge as he tried to integrate with other kids at school or on the playground. But whatever Smith may have lacked in hearing was more than made up with empathy, compassion, and most of all athletic ability. Smith has overcome his lack of hearing to become an elite athlete competing in his third Olympics for the U.S. men’s volleyball team. By AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 770 words, photos.

OLY--WRE-ADELINE GRAY - American wrestler Adeline Gray has done everything except win an Olympic gold medal during her outstanding career. The five-time world champion is one of the most dominant competitors ever in women’s freestyle wrestling. She finished a disappointing seventh in the 75-kilogram class at the 2016 Games while fighting through neck, shoulder and back injuries. She has won two more world titles since healing up. She’s now focused on finally getting an Olympic gold. She heads into the Tokyo Games as the No. 1 seed at 76kg. By Cliff Brunt: SENT: 750 words, photos.

OLY-TIM-DAHLBERG-BILES - Not only was Simone Biles supposed to lead her team to gold, but to jump-start an Olympics that is being largely ignored at home. She was facing the pressure of Olympic history and tasked with bringing eyeballs to prime-time Tuesday night TV to help salvage the billion dollars or so that NBC spent to land the Games. AP Sports Columnist Tim Dahlberg says that she failed before she even started was as stunning as it was dispiriting. Biles always made it seem easy, but big Olympic moments are never as easy as they look. By AP Sports Columnist Tim Dahlberg. SENT: 816 words, photos.

OLY--BKL-US-TAURASI - Diana Taurasi had a big smile on her face when she stepped on the court against Nigeria for her record 33rd Olympic game. The five-time Olympian was playing in her first contest since injuring her hip three weeks ago while practicing with the Phoenix Mercury. She had said during the Americans’ training camp in Las Vegas that she’d be “fine and ready to go for the Tokyo Games.” She was a woman of her word on Tuesday. By AP Baskteball Writer Doug Feinberg. SENT: 475 words, photos.

OLY-SWM-ALASKA-CHAMPION’S-HOMETOWN - An Olympic buzz permeates the Alaska coastal community of Seward, nearly a full day after Lydia Jacoby scored a major upset to bring home gold in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Tokyo Games. The 17-year-old was the first Alaskan to ever qualify for the Olympics in swimming. She will return for her senior year of high school in Seward. Sarah Spanos volunteers with the small swim club that Jacoby belongs t. She said they were hoping for a medal, but gold was beyond expectations. And she says everyone in the town of about 2,700 people is beaming with pride. By Mark Thiessen. SENT: 720 words, photos.

OLY--ROW—ROWING - Australia swept the men’s and women’s fours in the first rowing finals of the Tokyo Games, as windy conditions at the Sea Forest Parkway helped the boats set world or Olympic records in all six races. By AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno. SENT: 155 words, photos.

OLY-CYC-WOMEN’S-TIME-TRIAL - Annemiek van Vleuten roared to an emphatic victory in the women’s time trial at the Tokyo Olympics. The Dutch rider exacted a measure of revenge for some miscommunication that may have cost her gold in the road race last weekend. Van Vleuten put the hammer down to finish in 30 minutes, 13.49 seconds at Fuji International Speedway. By AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 590 words, photos.

OLY--RGU-RUGBY - Defending champion Fiji to meet New Zealand in 7s final. SENT: 550 words, photos.

______

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

OLY--CYC-ORGANIZER MISHAPS - Officials at Fuji International Speedway have apologized to the Dutch team after world time trial champion Anna van der Breggen was pulled from her bike by security during a recon of the Olympic course for Wednesday’s race against the clock. The guard apparently did not know that van der Breggen was a competing athlete. She wound up falling in the incident but was not injured. On Monday, former BMX world champion Niek Kimmann collided at full speed with a race steward who had wandered onto the course during a training run. Both of them went down in a heap. Kimmann is one of the favorites to win a medal when competition takes place later this week. He said he hurt his knee. By AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 630 words, photos.

OLY-GLIMPSES-THE-DETAILS - It’s easy to think of the Olympics as epic. We often see them as a collection of significant moments stitched into a grand and thrilling narrative. And the Games are often certainly that. But sometimes the genius is in the details and the tiny things that happen in passing. In Associated Press photographer David Goldman’s case, the wet foot of Britain’s Jessica Learmonth tells its own story as she transitions in the rain from the biking leg of the women’s individual triathlon to running. For AP photojournalist Dita Alangkara, the act of reaching for a shuttlecock reveals a fleeting interaction with badminton gear that captures the larger whole.

OLY--BVL-PARTNER SWAPPING - Beach volleyball partnerships are more like a marriage than a business, with pairs spending most of the year together traveling, eating at a table for two and trying to work in harmony on the court. Like marriages, some don’t work out, and each breakup has a trickle-down effect, as the newly-divorced teammates scramble to find new partners. “It’s like high school dating,” American Phil Dalhausser said. By Jimmy Golen. SENT: 800 words, photos.

______

EXPLAINERS

OLY-BBI-EXPLAINER-BASEBALL-DIFFERENCES - If the Colorado Rockies were in the Olympics, they’d have had some shorter nights. Olympic baseball, which started Wednesday, has some notable differences from Major League Baseball. A game is over when a team is losing by at least 10 runs after seven innings. MLB Statcast isn’t installed, so there is no scrunity of spin rates, exit velocity and launch angle. Runners are placed on first AND second in extra innings. Rosters are 24, and a 20-second pitch clock is used with no runners on base. By AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. SENT: 762 words, photos.

______

DAILY FIXTURES

— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2000 Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the 2020 pandemic-delayed Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.

— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day's gold medals.

______

GRAPHICS

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL COUNT — Keep track of who’s ahead in the medal race with our nation-by-nation medal tabulation.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s medals at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

______

FEATURED IMAGES

OLYMB114 - Katie Ledecky reacts after winning the women’s 1500-meters freestyle final.

OLYPS127 - Ugo Humbert serves during the third round of the men’s tennis competition.

OSWM538 - Guilherme Costa spits water before a heat of the men’s 800-meter freestyle.

OSWM807 - United States’ Caeleb Dressel swims in a 100-meter freestyle semifinal.

OLYMR185 - Japan’s Yukiko Ueno and Yu Yamamoto celebrates after a softball game against the United States.