TOKYO -- American swimmer Lilly King doubled down on criticism of Russian athletes hours after the president of the Russian Olympic Committee said his teams' medals are the "best answer" to critics who questioned why the country is allowed to compete following doping scandals.

"There are a lot of people here that should not be here," said King, who won a silver and a bronze medal in Tokyo.

King made her statements seated next to Ryan Murphy, another U.S. swimmer who seemed to take aim this week at a country that has repeatedly run afoul of doping rules.

Murphy later said his comments weren't aimed at the Russians specifically. King was more direct.

"I wasn't racing anyone from a country who should have been banned and instead got a slap on the wrist and rebranded their national flag," she said. "So, I personally wasn't as affected. But Ryan was."

Her comments came hours after ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said critics "supposed that as a matter of fact our athletes can't compete without doping," but that Russian athletes in Tokyo "proved the opposite not just with words but with their deeds and results."

Russia was revealed to have launched a massive, state-sponsored program to elude testers ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. It has sent depleted squads to the last two Olympics as punishment.

The country's name, flag and anthem have been banned from the Olympics and other major sports events following a legal battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency. After competing under the moniker OAR -- Olympic Athletes from Russia -- at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, it has competed as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in Japan.

Russian athletes have won 40 medals in Tokyo, 11 of them gold.

Murphy bemoaned Friday that his races were "probably not clean" after taking the silver medal behind Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov in the 200-meter backstroke. That came three days after he finished behind Rylov and another Russian, Kliment Kolesnikov, in the 100 back.

He said Saturday the comment wasn't targeted at Rylov but was instead intended to address suspicions of doping throughout the sport.

"I think things were definitely, they were definitely taken a little bit differently than what the question I was asked intended," he said. "I was asked a question about doping and swimming and I answered honestly. I do think there's doping in swimming."

TOKYO -- Sunisa Lee came to Japan to win a gold medal. And she did. Just not the one she really, really wanted.

The 18-year-old from Minnesota is a revelation on uneven bars, where her routines are an intricate series of connections and releases completed with so much ease it looks like she's making it all up on the fly.

Only she isn't. Her mastery is the result of years of hard work. She's one of the best in the world on it, and she showed it during the all-around final, where her electric set helped her edge Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and become the fifth straight American woman to claim the Olympic title.

Three days and a crush of fame later, she wasn't quite right. Admitting she'd become distracted by the attention surrounding her triumph, connections that typically come so easily were labored during Sunday's event finals, if they came at all. The result was a bronze-medal finish that left her disappointed.

Yes, the all-around title is great. She'll carry it with her for the rest of her life. But the bars are her jam. Only her long-anticipated showdown with Belgium star Nina Derwael never materialized. Leading off while wearing a dazzling crystal-laden blue leotard in the eight-woman final, Lee knew in the middle of her routine it wasn't going to be good enough to top the podium long before her 14.500 flashed across the scoreboard.

"Bars is something I really cherish," Lee said while wearing shoes borrowed from American teammate Jade Carey because she forgot the ones that come with the U.S. uniform back at the hotel. "So when I mess it up, it really sucks."

Even if Lee's definition of "mess it up" is different than most others. The bronze gave her a full rainbow of Olympic bling to go with the all-around gold and the silver she claimed in the team competition.

It's impressive by any stretch. It's also not quite what she came here for.

"It's really cool," Lee said. "I just wish the bronze medal was a (balance) beam medal, not bars."

Lee will get a chance to add to her stash in the beam final on Tuesday. A medal there would be a bit of a surprise. One on bars was almost a given. Though she earned one, she didn't put on a show while doing it. She thinks her inability to put down her phone the last few days had a little to do with it.

Her popularity has exploded in the 10 days since the Games began. She's added 950,000 followers on Instagram, a stunning 390% increase, including 365,000 since last Thursday.

It typically comes with the territory when you find yourself atop the podium after one of the marquee events at the Olympics. She just wasn't expecting it. She figured she would be vying for silver behind teammate Simone Biles. Then the 2016 Olympic champion pulled out of the all-around final to focus on her mental health, opening a door that Lee stepped through with a performance both graceful and gritty.

The two-plus days since her victory have been a whirlwind of interviews and social media mentions. It's a lot. At the moment, it's probably too much. Lee thinks she might delete Twitter until the competition is over.

Derwael gave Belgium its first-ever gold medal in women's gymnastics, the last bit of history on a night full of it.

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel gave his country only its second-ever gold in the Summer Games with a victory on pommel horse. Andrade - runner-up to Lee in the all-around - provided the first gymnastics gold for Brazil. Lee Chih-Kai's silver on pommel horse was the first for Taiwan after finishing behind two-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock of Britain.

Andrade's spectacular display on vault is all the more jarring considering she's already endured three reconstructive knee surgeries and didn't even qualify for the Games until early June. She gets so much air time from her block off the vaulting table it seems as if she's being dropped from the catwalk hanging above the podium at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.

"I don't really know what to say, I couldn't imagine myself up there on the podium," the 22-year-old Andrade said. "I think I matured a lot. I got better from the injuries."

Andrade's 15.083 average put her just ahead of MyKayla Skinner. The 24-year-old American didn't know if she would compete in the finals until Saturday afternoon after Biles opted out. She drilled both her Cheng and her Amanar then said goodbye to the sport from the medal stand. Already married, Skinner is retiring.

What a way to go out. Two years ago she re-entered the elite world after spending three years competing collegiately at Utah. She dealt with both COVID-19 and pneumonia during the pandemic and thought she was heading home early last week after failing to automatically qualify into any finals. Then Biles told her to stick around because she wasn't sure she was going to compete.

Skinner heard Biles' voice above the din during the finals, urging Skinner to a podium finish only she may have seen when she made her comeback official at the 2019 U.S. Championships.

"I think it's so cool to show that age is just a number and that anything is possible if you work hard and dream for it," Skinner said. "So I'm just so honored that I never gave up and have kept pushing for my dreams to get here."

San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane on Sunday vehemently denied allegations made by his wife that he bet on his own games and has intentionally tried to lose for gambling profit -- claims that are being investigated by the NHL.

Kane responded Sunday morning to allegations made the previous day from the Instagram account of his wife, Anna.

"I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,'' Kane wrote on Twitter. "The facts are I personally had my best season of the my career last year and was the most consistent I've been throughout any season, I'm proud of that. I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league's investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season."

The NHL said Saturday night on Twitter that it was made aware of the social media posts from Anna Kane and plans to conduct a full investigation.

An Instagram account, appearing to belong to Kane's wife, Anna, posted in a story: "How does the NHL let a compulsive gambling addict still play when he's obviously throwing games to win money? Hmm maybe someone needs to address this."

She added: "Can someone ask [commissioner] Gary Bettman how they let a player gamble on his own games? Bet and win with bookies on his own games?"

In a separate story post, Anna Kane accused her husband of spending lavishly partying in Europe while asking her to sell her wedding ring to survive and wrote about not being able to afford baby formula for their child.

Evander Kane said the two are in the process of getting a divorce and called Anna Kane "mentally unwell.''

"I love my daughter,'' he wrote. "I will and always have taken care of my daughter in every way possible. I have always made sure her mother has had everything she's needed and more. I have tried to de-escalate our divorce issues and be as civil and calm as anyone in this position could. I have tried to set up FaceTime calls but not every day as I would like to because of being restricted by her mom. She has refused me to see her and had unfortunately tried to use my daughter as leverage. I will continue to always take care of my family, that goes without question.''

The NHL said: "The integrity of our game is paramount and the League takes these allegations very seriously.''

A Sharks team spokesman wrote in an email to The Associated Press that: "The San Jose Sharks have been in contact today with the National Hockey League about the serious allegations made against Evander Kane. We support a full and transparent investigation into the situation to maintain the integrity of the game and consistency with our team values.''

Kane's gambling history and finances have been public knowledge for some time. A Las Vegas Strip casino sued Kane in 2019, alleging he failed to repay a $500,000 gambling debt racked up during a playoff series against the Golden Knights.

Since the Supreme Court paved the way for legalized sports gambling in the U.S. and more states have adopted it, the NHL has embraced the possibilities and made several partnerships with sportsbooks and other betting organizations.

Reached by email before the league's announcement, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said only a statement would be coming. The league said it would not make any further comments at this time.

Kane, 29, is three seasons into a $49 million, seven-year contract. He's with his third organization after being drafted by and debuting with Atlanta/Winnipeg and a stint in Buffalo. According to Capfriendly, which charts hockey salaries, he has made just under $56 million during his NHL career.

Last season, he had 22 goals and 27 assists in 56 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TOKYO -- Usain Bolt would not recognize what went down on the Olympic track he used to own.

On the night of the 100-meter gold medal race that once belonged to the Jamaican superstar, a Texas-born Italian with a deeper history in long jumping than outdoor sprints won the race that has long defined Olympic royalty.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Lamont Marcell Jacobs is The World's Fastest Man.

The Italian crossed the line in 9.8 seconds Sunday night, the first medal ever for the country in the 100 meters. Pietro Mennea won the 200 in 1980 and Livio Berruti won that race at the 1960 Games in Rome.

Even in a race with no clear favorites -- American Ronnie Baker was a candidate and China's Su Bingtain ran a shocking 9.83 in the semis -- Jacobs was a surprise.

Jacobs topped America's Fred Kerley and Canada's Andre DeGrasse to take the spot Bolt had commandeered since 2008.

"I really don't know anything about him," Kerley said of the new gold medalist. "He did a fantastic job."

Jacobs' victory came only moments after his countryman, Gianmarco Tamberi, tied Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim for gold in the high jump.

Tamberi, writhing on the ground, kicking his feet up in jubilation after his crazy win, was a man in need of someone to hug.

He found him when Jacobs, of all people, crossed the line first, and celebrated by jumping into the broad-chested sprinter's arms and curling his own arm around Jacobs' bald head.

They weren't the only once celebrating the unexpected.

Earlier, Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela broke a 26-year-old world record in the triple jump with a leap of 51 feet, 5 inches (15.67 meters).

The day's other gold medal went to Gong Lijao of China, who bested American Raven Saunders of the United States. Saunders, who is Black and gay, wears an "Incredible Hulk" mask when she competes, closed out the medals ceremony by lifting her arms above her head and forming an "X" with her wrists.

"It's the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet," she explained.

The Jacobs victory came later and left everyone outside Italy -- and maybe some in the country, as well -- letting out a collective "Who?"

He was born in El Paso, Texas - the son of an American father and an Italian mother. He moved to Italy as a young boy when the U.S. military transferred his dad to South Korea. He was a long-jump specialist for years, and his biggest major running success came in an indoor 60-meter title at European champions earlier this year.

His personal best was an Italian record, 9.95 seconds, set in May. It was the first time he'd broken 10 seconds.

Now, he's on the list with Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Bolt -- an Olympic 100-meter champion.

His path was made that much easier when American Trayvon Bromell, who came into Tokyo with the world's leading time and as the odds-on favorite, didn't even make the final.

Bromell ran his semifinal heat in 9.996 seconds to finish third, and said "I'm not really sure what I could've done better, but the race went the way the race went."

SAITAMA, Japan -- The U.S. and Spain played for Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, then faced each other in the semifinals in 2016.

And at the Tokyo Games, the top teams in the FIBA world rankings will meet again -- just earlier than has been the norm.

The three-time reigning Olympic champion Americans will play reigning World Cup champion Spain in the quarterfinals of the men's tournament at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, a matchup of teams that finished second in their respective groups at the Olympics.

Spain fell outside of the seeded pool and knew it was subject to a potential matchup with the U.S. by losing the group-play finale to Slovenia on Sunday. And about an hour later, when FIBA held the Olympic draw, the matchup was set.

"If you're going to get that gold medal, you're going to beat everybody," Spain center Marc Gasol said. "At that point, it doesn't matter, the order."

The U.S. is 16-2 against Spain in Olympic or World Cup competition -- yet recent matchups haven't exactly been runaways. The Americans won 82-76 in the 2016 Olympic semifinals, 107-100 in the 2012 gold-medal game at London, and 118-107 in the gold-medal matchup at Beijing in 2008.

"This Olympics is just going to get better as far as basketball is concerned, because the teams are all pretty passionate and very talented and have a lot of individual players that people will enjoy on TV," Team USA coach Gregg Popovich said.

The other quarterfinals: Group A winner France (3-0) will face Italy (2-1, second place in Group B), Group B winner Australia (3-0) plays Argentina (1-2, third place in Group C), and Group C winner Slovenia (3-0) drew a matchup with Germany (1-2, second place in Group B).

FIBA later announced that Slovenia-Germany is the first game Tuesday (10 a.m. Tokyo, 9 p.m. Monday in Eastern time), followed by the U.S.-Spain game (1:40 p.m. Tokyo, 12:40 a.m. ET), Italy-France (5:20 p.m. Tokyo, 4:20 a.m. ET) and Australia-Argentina (9 p.m. Tokyo, 8 a.m. ET).

The Italy-France winner will play the Slovenia-Germany winner in one semifinal, and the U.S.-Spain winner plays the Australia-Argentina winner in the other. The quarterfinals are win-or-go-home; a victory means teams are assured of two more games -- the semifinals followed by a gold- or bronze-medal contest -- before leaving Tokyo.

"Everybody knows that there are no easy opponents, especially USA, Australia, France, those kind of teams," Slovenia guard Zoran Dragic said. "That's why everybody wanted to be first in their group."

The U.S., which lost to France in the Olympic opener, got into the seeded pot of the draw by finishing as the top second-place team. That meant it couldn't face any of the group winners in the quarterfinals, but also had to play another second-place finisher -- in this case, either Italy or Spain.

Once Italy was drawn to play France, the matchup was clear: The U.S. and Spain would meet again.

And in terms of the world rankings, the brackets for the Olympic quarterfinals are unusual: No. 1 plays No. 2 in the USA-Spain contest, and No. 3 Australia plays No. 4 Argentina. The other matchups, by world ranking, are No. 7 France against No. 10 Italy and No. 16 Slovenia against No. 17 Germany.

France and Italy have gone 14-14 against one another in FIBA and Olympic play. Slovenia is 4-3 against Germany and Australia and Argentina have split six previous meetings.

In Sunday's game, Luka Doncic just missed the first triple-double in the Olympics in nine years as the Slovenians edged Spain 95-87 to give them the top seed from their group.

"I think we're ready for everything,'' said Doncic, who has a 16-0 record in international competiton for Slovenia. "It's the quarterfinals. If you lose you home and we're going to come out 100 percent.''

Doncic had foul trouble early and shooting struggles all night but finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, one shy of the first triple-double since LeBron James had one for the U.S. in 2012.

Ricky Rubio scored 18 points for Spain, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it at 90 before Slovenia finished it out.

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Israel had just routed Mexico for its first Olympic baseball victory, riding a loud three-run homer by Danny Valencia that helped it jump to a six-run lead, and Nick Rickles wanted to check the reaction.

"I don't think it's so much about beating Mexico." he said after Monday's 12-5 win. "I think it's a lot to just raise awareness for baseball in Israel. For me, I was just taking in the moment and seeing after the game the amount of love that we received from people back in Israel. We had messages on top of messages from people just saying thank you."

Valencia went deep against a Double-A pitcher playing in his 15th consecutive minor league season, Rickles had three RBIs and Israel pounded relievers Fernando Salas and Oliver Perez in a six-run seventh inning to reach the tournament's double-elimination phase.

Israel (1-2) plays South Korea (2-1) on Tuesday with the chance to advance to a matchup against the United States or Japan on Wednesday that will determine a berth in the gold-medal game.

Rickles has been with the national team program for a decade and played a role in the Olympic buildup. Israel won its group at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and beat Cuba in the second round, then won a two-continent Olympic qualifying tournament and beat out the Netherlands for one of the six Olympic berths. It lost its opener to South Korea 6-5 in 10 innings.

"I don't think there was a lot of expectations coming into Israel playing baseball at all," said Rickles, a 31-year-old catcher who retired from Philadelphia's minor league system during spring training in 2019 to become a Milwaukee minor league coach.

With pitchers such as Julio Urias, Luis Cessa and Jose Urquidy unavailable because Major League Baseball doesn't allow 40-man roster players to participate, Mexico started Manny Barreda (0-1), a 32-year-old right-hander drafted by the New York Yankees in 2007 and released seven years later.

He gave up six runs, four hits and three walks in two-plus innings.

"He is a great pitcher in Mexico. Last year in the winter, he even pitched a complete nine-inning game," manager Benji Gil said through an interpreter. "Today just wasn't his day. He didn't have a lot of dominance. He had several balls he was missing the location."

Mexico (0-3), the first country eliminated, was outscored 20-9.

"I'm in shock," Gil said. "Not even in my worst nightmares did I think that this would be the result."

Mexico lost right-hander Hector Velázquez and left-hander Sammy Solís just before the Olympics when they contracted COVID-19. Adrian Gonzalez, a 39-year-old, five-time All-Star who made his last big league appearance in 2018, finished 3 for 11 with an RBI and Joey Meneses went 6 for 12 with four RBI.

Zack Weiss (1-0), who allowed four runs and got no outs for Cincinnati in his only big league appearance on April 12, 2018, got the win by allowing one run in two innings in relief of starter Josh Zeid. Israel had 12 hits and set a tournament high for runs.

On a 91-degree Fahrenheit (32.7 Celsius) afternoon with blistering sun, Mexico clawed back to 6-5 before Salas, a 36-year-old right-hander, allowed Ian Kinsler's leadoff double in the seventh and Valencia's single.

Perez relieved and the 39-year-old left-hander gave up Blake Gailen's RBI single, two-run singles by Mitch Glasser and Zack Penprase, and Scotty Burcham's RBI double.

Ryan Lavarnway, 5 for 13 in the Olympics, doubled up the left-center gap in the first, and Rickles hit an RBI single with two outs. Lavarnway, who played four games for Cleveland in June when Austin Hedges went on the concussion injured list, tried to score from second on Rickles' hit and was thrown out by left fielder Meneses.

Barreda walked his first two batters in the the third and Valencia, exactly a week shy of the third anniversary of his last big league at-bat, rocketed an armpit-high fastball 10 rows deep into the left-field seats. Rickles greeted reliever Sasagi Sanchez with a two-run single.

"I hammered it, to be honest. I crushed that ball," Valencia said. "The team needed it. It got the momentum going."

SOUTH KOREA 4, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3

Kim Hyun-soo capped a three-run rally in the ninth inning with his fourth hit, a two-out single over Julio Rodriguez off Arizona minor leaguer Luis Castillo, and South Korea (2-1) got its second walk-off win.

Park Hae-Min hit a run-scoring single and Lee Jung-Hoo a tying double.

Former St. Louis Cardinals closer Oh Seunghwan (1-0) relieved with a runner on in the top half and got three straight groundouts.

Juan Francisco, seven years removed from his last major league at-bat, hit a two-run homer halfway up the center-field scoreboard, the ball bouncing off the figures indicating the pitch was 148 kph (91 mph). The 34-year-old Francisco stood at the plate, raised his bat in his right hand and pointed at the scoreboard with his left, then did a quick dance as he watched the fourth-inning drive off Lee Eui-lee.

Raul Valdes, a 43-year-old left-hander whose last big league appearance was with Houston in 2014, allowed one run -- on Yang Eui-ji's first-inning sacrifice fly -- and seven hits in 5⅓ innings.

The Dominicans (1-2), who scored their first run on a wild pitch, play an elimination game Tuesday against the Israel-South Korea loser.

Sprint hurdler sizzles in her semi-final as we bring you a round-up of qualifying results from Sunday night in Tokyo

Five years ago Jasmine Camacho-Quinn crashed out of her sprint hurdles semi-final at the Rio Olympics after hitting a barrier. The Puerto Rico athlete was still a teenager back then, though, whereas now, aged 24, she is favourite going into Monday morning’s final in Tokyo after a scintillating semi-final run.

With 12.26 (-0.2) she set an Olympic record and looks like she could go close to Keni Harrison’s world record of 12.20 in the final.

The performance lifted Camacho-Quinn from seventh to No.4 on the world all-time rankings and she looked on total control as she glided over the barriers.

“Honestly, the main thing was just to make it through,” said Camacho-Quinn. “Five years ago I didn’t make it through so I just wanted to have the speed to get to the final.

“I just take it step by step. Don’t overthink it, don’t panic and everything will happen. That’s what you just saw right there.”

Harrison, of the United States, also qualified with 12.51 (0.0) but she was runner-up to Jamaican talent Britany Anderson, who ran a PB of 12.40 (0.0), in a semi-final that featured three false starts.

“Everyone hopes to bring their A game and I will give it everything I’ve got,” said Harrison ahead of the final.

Tobi Amusan of Nigerian, Megan Tapper of Jamaica, Nadine Visser of Netherlands, Devynne Charlton of Bahamas and Gabriele Cunningham of the United States also qualified for the final.

But British duo Cindy Sember and Tiffany Porter went out. Sember was seventh in 12.76 Camacho-Quinn’s semi, whereas Porter was fifth in 12.86 in Anderson’s and Harrison’s race.

Porter, 33, said: “It was definitely a blessing having my sister here and to be able to experience this one last time with her. Obviously I would have preferred for things to go differently but that’s sport and I’m definitely going to hold my head up high every day knowing that every day of my career I put my best foot forward and I did it with integrity, so I can definitely rest on that.”

Younger sister Sember added: “It was fast, but to be fair I didn’t feel like myself and execute the race as I have been all season, so that’s a bit unfortunate, but to be in such a quick race and go against so many competitive girls was a blessing and to be here with my sister again is just amazing, so I’m very grateful.”

One-lap hurdles excitement builds

The men’s 400m hurdles final on Tuesday looks set to be one of the races of the Games.

Karsten Warholm came into the Olympics fresh from setting a world record of 46.70 and he won his semi-final on Sunday morning in Tokyo. But American rival Rai Benjamin pushed him close as the pair were separated by seven hundredths of a second.

Warholm ran 47.30 with Benjamin, who was running on his inside and leading into the home straight, clocking 47.37. The Norwegian edged ahead in the final metres to secure the best possible lane for the final and possibly to prove a point too.

Behind, Yasmani Copello of Turkey clocked 47.88 in third while Ireland’s Thomas Barr ran 48.26 in fourth, missing out on a place in the final in what was a stacked race.

Alison dos Santos of Brazil will be a feature in the final too. He has been in great form this year and ran 47.31 to win his semi-final ahead of a resurgent Abderrahman Samba – the Qatari clocking 47.47.

The final heat was not as fast with Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands taking the win in 48.26 from Rasmus Magi’s Estonian record of 48.36.

Drama in men’s 800m semi-finals

These were probably the most competitive 800m semi-finals in history as just 0.8 of a second covered the fastest 13 athletes and less than second for the top 16.

The two British representatives were among that very close time span but both just missed out in frustrating fashion.

The first semi-final was a tight affair. American Bryce Hoppel led through 400m in 52.12 and then at 600m the Belgian Elliott Crestan put a big burst in and powered around the bend into a clear lead. However he began to tie up and left a gap on the inside which European indoor champion Patryk Dobek used to his advantage and a strong kick took the Pole to victory in 1:44.60.

It was close for second with Emmanuel Korir, who had seemingly got himself deliberately disqualified from the 400m heats earlier in the day, having too much speed for Mexican Jesus Lopez as the pair ran 1:44.74 and 1:44.77.

Marco Arop started the second semi at a much faster pace as he bounded through 400m in 50.94 and reached 600m in 1:17.33.

He faded in the straight though has Australian Peter Bol won and improved his Oceania record to 1:44.11.

USA’s Olympic bronze medallist and trials winner Clayton Murphy was lucky to find gaps all the way up the finishing straight and being badly boxed and nipped second in 1:44.18.

France’s Gabriel Tual was a shock third in a PB 1:44.28 and Spain’s Adrian Ben also put himself in the fastest losers spot with 1:44.30. Dan Rowden, who had stayed well off the pace back in sixth at 600m, looked like he had more there but just couldn’t find the gaps that Murphy did and finished a close fifth in 1:44.35 – which ultimately left him just 0.05 from making the final as a fastest loser.

In the final semi, no one looked interested in taking the pace and so Elliot Giles took it on and was ahead at 400m in a controlled 51.43 and he kept the pressure on to lead through 600m in 1:17.33 which was 1:43 pace.

Following him closely was double world medallist Amel Tuka, who has been way off form in 2021 with an average of seventh in last five races.

On the last bend Ferguson Rotich, who ran the fastest Olympic qualifier in history the day before, sped by on the outside to move into a challenging position just as world leader and 2012 Olympic silver medallist Nijel Amos was looking to extricate himself from the pack and the Botswanan caught the heels of Isaiah Jewett and both fell heavily to the ground.

Up ahead, Giles led into the straight but the Kenyan sprinted past easily to win in 1:44.04 – the fastest of the day and his last 200m was just 25.8.

In the battle to the line, Giles could not get clear of Tuka, who eased by to take second in a season’s best 1:44.53. Giles tied up a little in the last 50 metres and his 1:44.74 meant his last 200m of 27.11 was simply just not quick enough to get that fastest losers’ spot.

There was a big gap to fourth and Moroccan Oussama Nabil’s 1:46.42. Former world champion Pierre-Ambroise Bosse was also affected by the fall and he finished sixth in 1:48.62.

Jewett and Amos finally got to their feet and ambled across the line together in 2:38.12 and 2:38.49, although Amos was later added by officials to create a nine-man final on Wednesday night.

Giles said: “I ran a good race until the last 50 metres and then my legs fell off and I couldn’t hold it any more. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Venezuelan promised she was “on fire” going into the Olympics and she delivered in style with a monster leap of 15.67m in the last round

Going into these Olympic Games you would struggle to find a hotter favourite than Yulimar Rojas. The triple jumper has been a class apart in her event lately, with the world record looking increasingly likely.

Inessa Kravets’ mark of 15.50m has stood since the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In Tokyo on Sunday (August 1) Rojas effectively sealed gold with 15.41m in the first round and then jumped out to 15.67m (0.7) in the sixth round to finally beat the Ukrainian’s record.

The athletics world will applaud the fact Kravets’ mark is now consigned to history. In 1993 she was suspended for taking stimulants and then received a two-year ban in 2000 for a steroid positive.

On the eve of the Games, Rojas promised the record would be hers soon. “Estoy en llamas” – or “I am on fire” – she told the Latin American media.

She also predicts she will be the first woman to break the 16-metre barrier too. Maybe she would have got closer if the Olympic Stadium had been packed with people and noise.

During her attempts she tried to rally the small number of onlookers in the arena by urging them to clap for her as she charged down the runway. She is a natural entertainer and relished the stage. At one point in the third round she sailed way beyond Kravets’ world record and began to celebrate, only to realise it was a foul.

In the battle for minor medals, Rojas’ competitors were more than half a metre adrift, but Patricia Mamona rose to the occasion with a Portuguese record of 15.01m for silver. In third, Ana Peleteiro jumped a Spanish record of 14.87m to take bronze just 3cm ahead of Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica.

Outside of the records, Rojas won Venezuela’s first Olympic gold in athletics. It was also just the third gold in history at the Games following a men’s boxing title in 1968 and men’s fencing victory in 2012.

Five years ago in Rio she took Olympic silver behind fellow South American, Caterine Ibargüen of Colombia. Back then, Rojas described herself as “a novice” and an “emerging athlete”.

But she has been a growing force since, taking the world titles in London 2017 and Doha 2019 and becoming increasingly consistent in the 15-metre-plus zone. Ibargüen, meanwhile, is now aged 37 and was 10th in Tokyo with just 14.25m.

Rojas set the world indoor record with 15.43m earlier this year in Spain, where she is based most of the year. When AW interviewed British triple jump legend Ashia Hansen recently the former world indoor record-holder suggested the event had not moved on much since her retirement. Well, it has now.

Not only is Rojas a tremendous athlete but she is a fascinating character. With a chameleon-like appearance, she regularly dyes her hair different colours and in Tokyo was sporting white with a tinge of pink. “It transmits hope and strength,” she says.

She is coached by Iván Pedroso, the Olympic and four-time world long jump champion from Cuba. Outside athletics she is a member of the LGBT community.

“I am lost for words, I can’t describe this feeling and this moment,” said Rojas. “Gold medal winner, with an Olympic record, and a world record … Wow. It is a fantastic night.

“I was looking for it, I knew we had that distance in my legs to get it today. I was failing a bit in the technical aspect, but the last jump was one to give everything, and it was like that.

“I focused on giving my best, enjoying… and it came out. It makes me happy. I have to enjoy it now and live the experience.”

Michael Thorbjornsen’s hot summer continues.

After his record-setting performance to win his home state amateur two weeks ago, the Stanford sophomore from Wellesley, Massachusetts, captured the 119^th Western Amateur title Saturday at Glen View Club in Glenview, Illinois.

Thorbjornsen defeated incoming Vanderbilt freshman Gordon Sargent, 4 and 3, in the 18-hole final to cap another impressive week. Not only did Thorbjornsen fired a course-record 62 en route to the stroke-play medal, and then he took down a list of heavy-hitters in match play: Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan, the recent runaway Southern Amateur winner; Florida standout and Walker Cupper Ricky Castillo; North Carolina’s Austin Greaser, a popular breakout candidate entering the new college season; and then Sargent, who was riding high after a win over defending champion Pierceson Coody on Saturday morning.

The 71st-ranked amateur in the world, Thorbjornsen won four of the first six holes against Sargent and later used a three-hole run, winning Nos. 11-13, to seal the deal.

“He was locked in early,” said Drew Cohen, Thorbjornsen's best friend and caddie. “I could tell something special was going to happen. Even though we had that big lead, we didn’t want to overlook [Sargent] or get overconfident. But I will say Michael is very intimidating to play against.”

For the first time since Norman Xiong in 2017, the medalist also successfully navigated the match-play bracket.

Entering the Western, considered one of the most grueling amateur tournaments in the world with eight rounds in five days, Thorbjornsen notched top-11 finishes at the Sunnehanna and Northeast amateurs before topping mid-amateur Matt Parziale, 8 and 6, in the 36-hole Mass State Amateur final, where he tallied a whopping 18 birdies in 30 holes.

Now, he joins a prestigious list of Western Amateur champions, one that includes Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Francis Oiumet.

 “I was not aware of the select company I’m in now,” said Thorbjornsen, who also earned an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour's 2022 Evans Scholars Invitational.

Next up, assuming Saturday's big win bumps him into the WAGR top 50 (which it should): Thorbjornsen’s momentum has him rolling into Oakmont for the U.S. Amateur in two weeks.