Sports

Olympics 2021 live updates – Caeleb Dressel takes 100 freestyle gold, Bobby Finke wins 800 free, golf tees off, plus more from Tokyo

July 29, 2021
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Are the Olympics a fifth major? Depends on whom you ask. Either way, golf — which came back to the Games in 2016 after a 112-year absence — started in Tokyo tonight.

American and newly minted Open champion Collin Morikawa teed off at 9:25 p.m. ET. Also in the field is reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who will try to add a gold medal for the host country. Not in the field are a few big names, including U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, both out after testing positive for COVID-19.

In the pool, Team USA resumed its quest for all the hardware, with Caeleb Dressel winning the 100-meter freestyle, his second gold medal of the Olympics, and Bobby Finke delivering one of the finest finishing kicks in American swimming history to triumph in the 800-meter free. Not to mention, the U.S. women’s 4×200-meter free relay team earned silver in the fastest women’s 4×200 race in the history of the sport.

From golf to rowing, you already know we got you covered with all the action:

American swimmer Caeleb Dressel earned his first individual Olympic gold medal after a close finish in the 100-meter freestyle at 47.02 seconds, an Olympic record. He beat 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers by six-hundredths of a second.

“Right now, I am just kind of hurt. It’s a really tough year,” an emotional Dressel said in poolside interview afterward. “It’s really hard. To have the results show up — I am happy.” — Aishwarya Kumar

The first-ever Olympic men’s 800-meter freestyle event will be remembered for a long time, as the United States’ Bobby Finke, who was not in the top three in the final turn, sprinted the last 25 meters to take the gold at 7:41.87. He became the first American man to win a distance freestyle gold since 1984. — Aishwarya Kumar

China sets world record, USA second in fastest women’s 4×200 relay ever

Katie Ledecky anchored Team USA to a silver in a stunning women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay race in which all three medalists broke the previous world record. China won the gold medal by four-tenths of a second over the United States with a time of 7:40.33 to the Americans’ 7:40.73. Australia, the favorite going into the race, took bronze. — Aishwarya Kumar

Syncing up

The United States men’s synchronized springboard diving duo of Andrew Capobianco and Michael Hixon were in sync in a way that would make Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass & Co. proud, as they showed out to grab silver.

Claes, Sponcil roll to victory

The United States beach volleyball duo of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil didn’t waste much time taking out Kenya’s Brackcides Khadambi and Gaudencia Makokha, cruising to a 21-8, 21-6 victory to move to 2-0 in Pool D play.

Matsuyama announces his presence

The first round of Olympic men’s golf has teed off in Tokyo, and Japan’s favorite son, reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, is going for gold in his home country. And it seems like he’s ready to roll.

Meanwhile, the Team USA contingent has a superfan, one who has won a gold or two in the past.

Sing it loud, sing it proud

The Fiji men’s rugby team is pretty darn good at what it does, as it proved by beating New Zealand 27-12 in the rugby sevens gold-medal match. But the Flying Fijians have versatility, as they busted out in song to celebrate their gold. Seriously, they could book a gig at the next Catalina Wine Mixer.

Meanwhile, cool, technological things are going on in the world of Olympic women’s rugby. Don’t ask, just enjoy.

Do you even lift, bro?

China’s Shi Zhiyong certainly does. Zhiyong, who competed in the 73-kilogram class, broke his own world record with a lift of 364 kilograms (802.48 pounds) en route to winning the gold. Not only that, Shi added some flair to his lift.

Thrill of victory

Who says there’s no emotion in badminton? Not us, and certainly not Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon, who gave us a perfect display of what the Olympics means with this reaction to upsetting Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long.


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