The pool brimmed with American gold when American Katie Ledecky bagged the first gold medal of her Tokyo 2020 Olympics campaign in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle. It was her first competition in the category.
This gold medal performance was sort of a comeback for Ledecky after she had finished fifth place in the women's 200-meter freestyle race. Though just 70 minutes after this race, Ledecky seemed to be more determined to win and showed no signs of fatigue.
After taking control of the 1,500-meter race right from the word go, she swam to the gold win in just 15:37.34. The silver medal went to a fellow American who finished four seconds later. Sarah Kohler from Germany took the bronze.
Simon Biles opts to exit over mental health woes
The Tokyo Olympics venue is going through a different kind of hassle. And it has nothing to do with the competition sports categories in its itinerary. The world has been talking about deteriorating mental health among players. As reported by CNN, Naomi Osaka, the tennis superstar from Japan, and ace American gymnast Simone Biles are the ones who this ailment has hit.
While Naomi Osaka had to bundle out her tennis medal hope after her loss, Simone Biles dramatically withdrew from the team final, citing mental health issues. According to the report, Biles decided to exit the final after a dull performance.
The mental health concerns are being discussed on and off the Olympics venue at the moment. The good thing is that both the athletes have been brave enough to open up about their mental health, which had been considered a taboo in the competitive sporting arena.
While CNN quoted Osaka as saying that she felt that her "attitude wasn't that great because I don't know how to cope with that pressure so that's the best that I could have done in this situation," Biles said: "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being."
Support flowed in for Biles after her exit from former U.S.
gymnast Kerri Strug and former U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. An advocate for better mental health, Phelps said that Olympic athletes need someone who they can trust and that it has to be somebody that can let athletes be themselves, let them be vulnerable, and someone who is not going to try and fix them.
Team USA is glad to see winning action in men's basketball
Meanwhile, the U.S. saw its men's basketball team make a comeback after an opening loss to rush past Iran and post its first victory of the Tokyo Olympics. The team beat Iran 120-66.
According to NBA.com, this win came about as a significant win that could help in this win silencing criticisms that have been dumped on the team since the beginning of its summer after it had dropped its first two exhibition games.
The Iranians were not a high-caliber opponent, but the US men played some quality basketball to remain in the medal race.
Japanese medal tally continues to grow
Even as Ledecky based in Olympic glory for the United States, hosts Japan bagged a couple of medals on Wednesday. While Yui Ohashi won gold in the women's 200m individual medley, Tomoru Honda won the silver medal in the men's 200m butterfly.
According to a CNN report, Osahi became the first Japanese woman to ever win two gold medals in a single Olympics after winning the top prize in Sunday's 400m individual medley. Japan thereby continued to surge ahead in the Olympic medal tally.