Organizers report 19 new COVID cases
TOKYO, JAPAN
The Tokyo Olympics are set to go off in full force, with the opening ceremony less than a day away. Several events have already begun, and the United States softball team has already demonstrated its worth with a 2–0 start to the first Olympic softball tournament since 2008. Meanwhile, the United States women’s soccer team lost 3–0 to Sweden in their first encounter and will seek to bounce back against New Zealand on Saturday.
COVID-19 is a major worry as thousands of athletes prepare to compete at the Games. Follow along with our reporters on the ground in Tokyo for competition updates, COVID-19 updates, and more throughout the Games.
The greatest single-day total of COVID cases has been reported by Olympic organisers.
On Friday, just as the Games were ready to officially begin with the opening ceremony Friday evening, Olympic officials announced their highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases (morning in U.S.).
Three athletes and three Olympic Village residents are among the 19 new cases reported by Tokyo organisers. Four of the instances involve Japanese residents, while the other 15 include non-residents.
Three contractors, ten game-related people, and three media made up the total.
Non-residents are all subject to a 14-day quarantine.
Since July 1, there have been 106 occurrences, according to the most recent data.
The Olympics begin on Friday, and at least eight athletes have been ruled out due to positive drug tests in Japan.
Women from the United States are ranked sixth in the world in archery.
Mackenzie Brown, Casey Kaufhold, and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez, all of whom are Americans, were among the top 25 in a group of 64 athletes who establish a bracket for individual elimination bouts.
An San of Korea shot a world-record 680 in the Olympic ranking round, shattering a record that had stood since 1996. Jang Minhee (677) and Kang Chaeyoung (678) were her teammates (675). Their combined score of 2,032 was also an Olympic ranking round record.
At the opening ceremony, flagbearers will make history.
On Friday, British rower Mohamed Sbihi will create history. The 2016 Olympic gold winner from Rio de Janeiro will be the first Muslim to carry the British flag at an opening ceremony.
Sbihi told The Guardian, “It’s such an honour.” “Within the Olympic movement, it is an iconic moment – people remember those images.”
Sbihi was the first practising Muslim to compete in the 2016 Olympics for Great Britain. Along with sailor Hannah Mills, he will carry the flag.
Laurel Hubbard is another historical figure. The weightlifter from New Zealand is thought to be the first openly transgender woman to compete in an Olympic individual event.
According to the International Weightlifting Federation, Hubbard is rated 15th in the world in the super heavyweight 87 kilogram-plus division.
Since 2004, transgender athletes have been allowed to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, but Hubbard is the first in an individual event to qualify.
Transgender advocate and triathlete Chris Mosier wrote on Twitter, “Laurel Hubbard becoming the first transgender athlete in the Olympics will be meaningful – to the trans community as a whole, but to me specifically, as I’ve spent the last decade of my life trying to lay the groundwork for this moment.” “I am ecstatically proud of her.”
