Tokyo Olympics LIVE updates Matildas draw with US Opals upset by Belgium

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Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of the team finals due to a “medical issue”.

USA Gymnastics said Biles would be “assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions”.

The Associated Press reports Biles apparently suffered an injury during the vault. But the Olympic broadcaster in the US, NBC, reported that it had been told Biles’ departure was related to her mental health and not a physical injury, but did not cite any sources.

The 24-year-old US star, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor.

Simone Biles, regarded as the greatest ever gymnast, is out of the team finals.Credit:AP

Biles returned several minutes later with her right leg wrapped. She took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants.

The Americans will finish the rest of the competition without her, severely hampering their bid to claim a third straight Olympic title.

The US began finals on vault, with Biles going last. She was supposed to do an “Amanar,” a vault that begins with a roundoff back handspring onto the table followed by 2 1/2 twists. She seemed to change her mind in mid-air, doing just 1 1/2 twists instead.

She walked off the podium and was tended to by team doctor Marcia Faustin before making her way out of the arena.

Biles arrived in Tokyo as the unquestioned star of the Games but struggled, at least by her high standards, during qualifying. In a social media post on Monday, she admitted she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and that the Olympics “were no joke”.

Click here for the story.

AP

Malcolm Knox reports on Simone Biles: She’d also done several practice vaults and flew about half a metre higher than anyone else.

She did her final practice vault a few seconds after they said the practice time was finished….but I don’t expect there was anything unusual in that.

Simone Biles is comforted by coach Cecile Landi.Credit:Getty Images

When she left the arena, it was after consulting with the physio but not with the physio. She went alone.

Aside from that, she couldn’t do a thing without three TV cameras in her face, but I guess she’s used to that.

G’day everyone. It’s Roy Ward and I’m making a little cameo to finish tonight’s session on the Olympics blog.

Big thanks to Daniel Cherny for another exceptional late shift.

There is still plenty of things going on chiefly the shock withdrawal of Simone Biles from tonight’s gymnastics.

Let’s hope she is cleared to return in the days to come.

More on that to come.

Jack McLoughlin is through to the 800m freestyle fina. He is the sixth fastest qualifier with a time of 7.46.94 after the heats.

“I was just trying to keep myself in the mix to be honest,” McLoughlin told Channel Seven.

“I knew I could have a strong last 100, plus 50. And same with the 400, trying to make sure you get through. We are lucky that we get an extra day now. So my goal there was just make it through and I knew that if Greg was around me, then I would be able to be up there, and yeah, I was a bit tighter than I hoped but I got through to the next stage. Looking forward to the final now.”

Australia have produced an upset in the water polo, beating 2016 silver medallists Croatia 11-8.

Things really unravelled for Croatia in the final quarter.

Australia celebrate against Croatia.Credit:Getty

While Australia’s goalkeeper Anthony Hrysanthos did not give Croatia a single break; it was goal after goal for the Sharks.

Croatian wing Luka Bukic landed two successful shots on goal but it wasn’t enough. Hrysanthos and the Australian defensive play was just too good.

This marks Australia’s first victory at Tokyo so far. Spain are currently on top of the leaderboard with two wins, while the Sharks are locked up with Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, who have all won once.

On Thursday, Australia face off against Serbia at 8.50pm. Serbia are one of the best teams in the competition but if this game is anything to go by, the Sharks love a challenge.

Australian Opals coach Sandy Brondello says a lack of games in lead-up has hurt her side and their 15-point loss to Belgium could cost them when it comes time for the quarter-finals draw.

The Opals have only played two full games since they qualified for Tokyo in February 2020 as COVID-19 travel restrictions cost them any chance of bringing in touring opposition or playing games overseas.

Australia’s Tess Madgen (7) drives up court past Belgium’s Hanne Mestdagh (22).Credit:AP

The Opals finally returned to the court with an impressive win over Team USA in Las Vegas earlier this month and a closed-doors game against Nigeria.

But they slowed noticeably and struggled with turnovers against a fired up Belgium with the world number six pushing out the margin in the final term behind 32 points from WNBA star Emma Meesseman.

“No, we just haven’t spent much time together,” Brondello said.

“We’ve had two games since February 2020; I think that was the problem.

“But we live in a COVID world and Australia has lockdown rules; it’s unfortunate but no excuse ... we know we can play better.“

The top-two teams in the three groups plus the best two third-place sides will make the quarter-finals draw in basketball under a new finals system.

The three group winners and best second place side will go into the first pot and other four in the second pot with quarter-final match-ups drawn at random between pot 1 and pot 2.

If the Opals can’t run up big scores in their remaining group games against Puerto Rico and China they may miss out on that first pot and face another medal contender in the knockout quarter-finals.

“We weren’t crisp, our screening wasn’t good, we got a little fatigued,” she said.

“That fourth quarter may come back to haunt us.”

There have been a lot of dead heats so far in swimming heats. Ian Thorpe was asked on Channel Seven if there is an issue with the touchpad technology. This was his response:

“What people have to realise with the touchpad itself, that is not actually the end of the race. You have to touch the touchpad in to actually touch the wall,” Thorpe said.

But he added that had Emma McKeon’s dead heat in her 100-metre butterfly heat been a final, it would have led to a dispute.

Emma McKeon has starred in the pool so far at these Olympics.Credit:Getty

“So that’s where the finish is. There’s a photo of Michael Phelps where he is at the Olympics and it looks like he is behind, all of those things, and we’ve seen what happened with Emma McKeon, when it looked like she was home in the 100. And I thought she was home, I thought she’d won that by 0.2 of a second.

“I don’t think the equipment is messed up. There may have been a fault, but they’re saying there is no fault in the equipment, they’ve tested them. They test those things every session. So there’s someone that’s actually measuring the lanes making sure they’re working effectively and as they should be.

“We would dispute Emma McKeon if that was a final.”

Australia leading 9-6 in the final quarter and on the cusp of a serious boilover against Croatia.

Reigning Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is out of the team finals due to a “medical issue”.

USA Gymnastics said Biles would be “assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions”.

The Associated Press reports Biles apparently suffered an injury during the vault. But the Olympic broadcaster in the US, NBC, reported that it had been told Biles’ departure was related to her mental health and not a physical injury, but did not cite any sources.

The 24-year-old US star, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, huddled with a trainer after landing her vault. She then exited the competition floor with the team doctor.

Simone Biles, regarded as the greatest ever gymnast, is out of the team finals.Credit:AP

Biles returned several minutes later with her right leg wrapped. She took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Grace McCallum, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles before putting on a jacket and sweatpants.

The Americans will finish the rest of the competition without her, severely hampering their bid to claim a third straight Olympic title.

The US began finals on vault, with Biles going last. She was supposed to do an “Amanar,” a vault that begins with a roundoff back handspring onto the table followed by 2 1/2 twists. She seemed to change her mind in mid-air, doing just 1 1/2 twists instead.

She walked off the podium and was tended to by team doctor Marcia Faustin before making her way out of the arena.

Biles arrived in Tokyo as the unquestioned star of the Games but struggled, at least by her high standards, during qualifying. In a social media post on Monday, she admitted she felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and that the Olympics “were no joke”.

Click here for the story.

AP

The cameras have shown Simone Biles walking back onto the arena but she was later than her teammates so that could suggest she needed some treatment.

Let’s see how the superstar goes when her turn comes around next.

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