The women's 100-meter breaststroke saw Lydia Jacoby surging ahead of teammate and defending Olympic champion Lilly King to win the gold. Her 1 minute, 4.95 seconds feat has given a bagful of confidence to the team in the pool.
There have been upsets for the U.S., the prominent one being the defeat of Katie Ledecky when the 20-year-old Ariarne Titmus, the Australian swimmer nicknamed Terminator, beat her to win the 400-meter freestyle event in Tokyo. An ESPN news report on the 400-meter freestyle race said that Ledecky's dethroning by Titmus in 3:56.39, an incredible 0.67 seconds ahead of her, came as a big shock to Team America, which is way up on the total medal tally.
Ledecky was overtaken by Titmus in a fascinating competition, thereby pushing her off the golden podium. Titmus, for the record, is four years her junior and had been in awe of Ledecky's swimming pursuits all these years.
U.S. men rule 4x100 freestyle relay
Meanwhile, in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay, the team from the United States clinched the gold. This win brought the fifth gold medal for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The U.S. men completed the task clocking a winning time of 3:08.97. The second place went to Italy (3:10.11), while Australia won the bronze, clocking 3:10.22 at the finish.
Hancock, Amber win skeet shooting gold
Meanwhile, skeet shooters Vincent Hancock and Amber English won the gold medal to post new Olympic records.
While Hancock scored an Olympic record with 59 points, missing just one shot, Denmark's Jesper Hansen got the silver, and Kuwait's Abdullah Alrashidi bagged the bronze medal. The American skeet shooter had gold medals in Beijing 2008 and in London 2012.
Meanwhile, first-timer Amber English pocketed gold with 56 points. In the process, she defeated Italy's Diana Bacosi.
The bronze went to China's Wei Meng, the report added.
Great Britain gets first-ever Mountain Bike cross-country gold
Even as the medal tally continued to move upward for the U.S., Great Britain bagged its first-ever mountain bike cross-country gold. This win incidentally was Great Britain's third gold medal in Tokyo.
Twenty-one-year-old Tom Pidcock stayed in the lead for most of the race and bagged the top slot with a time of 1:25:14.
This win came about as fascinating for Pidcock as he was involved in a June road accident. Pidcock's return to form was terrific, and he beat Swiss contender Matthias Flückiger by 20 seconds. Spain's David Valero Serrano won the bronze.
Japan's 13-year-old Momiji scripts Olympic history
A 13-year-old created history at the Tokyo Olympics venue, helping her stand stall among the stalwarts in dignified glory. Japanese skateboarder Nishiya Momiji scripted a record by becoming one of the youngest gold medal winners ever in Olympics history. Just a few months older than the record holder American diver Marjorie Gestring (13 years and 267 days), who won the gold at the Berlin Games in 1936.
Skateboarding, in the meanwhile, continued to favor the Japanese after the IOC ushered the new sport into the Olympic itinerary.
Momiji's won her gold just a day after fellow Japanese skater Yuto Horigome bagged the first-ever Olympic gold medal in skateboarding in the men's street competition.
Another 13-year-old, Brazilian star Rayssa Leal bagged the silver while 16-year-old Funa Nakayama of Japan got the bronze.
Masks off for 30 seconds
Even as the winners from various nations added to their nations' medal tally, the Tokyo Olympic Games arena continued to be shaken by the coronavirus spread. This situation had made it imperative for athletes to wear masks while stepping on the podium.
Japan Times reported that a new decision has been made known, and this allows the athletes to take off their masks for 30 seconds for photos to be clicked.
This decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is seen as an adjustment to the IOC norms. It would help athletes and winning nations shoot a few pictures for the Olympics album, it added.
