August 1 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

By Ben Morse, Joshua Berlinger and Adam Renton, CNN

Updated 5:34 a.m. ET, October 11, 2021
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11:52 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021

A historic final day of swimming in Tokyo

Australian swimmer Emma McKeon dives into the pool at the start of the 50-meter freestyle final on August 1. She won her third gold in Tokyo and set an Olympic record time of 23.81 seconds.
Australian swimmer Emma McKeon dives into the pool at the start of the 50-meter freestyle final on August 1. She won her third gold in Tokyo and set an Olympic record time of 23.81 seconds. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)

Olympic swimming wrapped Sunday with five thrilling races, all of which were dominated by either the United States or Australia. Here's how it went down:

Dressel dominates from start: American Caeleb Dressel set the tone early for Team USA, winning the men's 50 meter freestyle race to net his fourth gold medal of Tokyo 2020 — and it wouldn't be his last. France's Florent Manaudou, who won the event in Rio in 2016, came second.

McKeon adds to her haul: Next up was the women's 50 meter freestyle, which Australian star Emma McKeon won by setting an Olympic record. She had previously won the 100 meter freestyle and, by this point, had earned six medals in Tokyo. She'd win one more by the end of the morning.

Finke's fantastic finish: American Bobby Finke capped his dominant performance in long-distance events by winning the men's 1500 meter freestyle, just days after taking gold in the men's 800 meter freestyle. Finke's win Sunday and swimming superstar Katie Ledecky's victories in the women's races gave the Americans a clean sweep of the long distances.

Another Aussie record: Australia set an Olympic record to win the women's 4x100 meter medley relay — and give McKeon her second gold medal of the day. She ended Tokyo 2020 with seven medals overall, including three golds.

Before her, Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya was the only woman to have previously won seven medals at a single Olympics, according to NBC.

Closing with history: The Americans closed out Tokyo 2020's swimming competitions by winning gold and setting a world record in the men's 4x100 meter medley relay. Caeleb Dressel swam butterfly in the race and, with the win, will leave the Japanese capital with five gold medals.

11:18 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021

Simone Biles drops out of individual floor competition

US gymnast Simone Biles wears her warm-up gear after she pulled out of the team all-around competition on Tuesday, July 27.
US gymnast Simone Biles wears her warm-up gear after she pulled out of the team all-around competition on Tuesday, July 27. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final floor competition, USA Gymnastics said on Twitter.

Biles, arguably the world's greatest gymnast, has pulled back from Olympic competition in Tokyo to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old explained in a series of Instagram posts that she has the "twisties," a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their positioning midair.

USA Gymnastics said yesterday that Biles would be withdrawing from two other individual disciplines, vault and uneven bars.

She will make a decision about the final event, beam, "later this week."

The women's vault and bars finals are scheduled for Sunday, the women's floor final is Monday, and the beam final is Tuesday.

10:35 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021

Japanese fans flock to the Olympic Rings in Tokyo despite Covid state of emergency

From CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo

People take photos with the Olympic rings near the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.
People take photos with the Olympic rings near the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday. (Kyodo News/Getty Images)

People swarmed Olympic monuments in Tokyo to snap selfies on Saturday, despite the surging number of Covid-19 cases in the Japanese capital.

Tokyo remains under a state of emergency due to the pandemic, and the metropolitan government reported on Saturday that they had identified a new single-day record of more than 4,000 cases.

But that spike in infections has not dampened the mood for many Olympic fans around the new National Stadium, especially among eager fans lining up by the Olympic Rings monument to take pictures.

“I’ve been watching the Olympic competitions on TV from home because the events in Tokyo can’t have spectators. But I wanted to get a feel for the Olympic spirit, so came here (to the Olympic Rings),” one Tokyo resident told CNN. “My friends were also posting photos on Instagram of themselves by the Olympic rings, so I wanted to take some too.”
Fans pose for photos near the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.
Fans pose for photos near the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday. (Emiko Jozuka/CNN)

Going into the Games, polls showed the Japanese public largely opposed holding the Olympics in the middle of the pandemic. But some Tokyo residents told CNN Japan’s recent gold rush at the Games had shifted their opinions around the Olympics. 

“At first, I wondered how Japan would pull off the Olympics, but once they started, Japan started winning lots of gold medals,” another resident said. “It made me feel like Japan was going head-to-head with other nations and doing well. It made me want to cheer on my country.”
7:51 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021

How much are Olympic medals worth?

From CNN's Jack Guy

Olympians taking part in Tokyo 2020 are competing for a chance to write a page in the history books — and hopefully bring home a medal.

If you do win a medal — be it gold, silver or bronze — they're pretty much priceless.

Former British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, who won a bronze in heptathlon at Athens 2004 and another for the 4 x 400-meter relay at Beijing 2008, told CNN Sport that her medals are a reminder of how her hard work and effort paid off.

"I would never sell my medals," Sotherton told CNN Sport on Friday. "They mean a lot."

Sotherton said she keeps her medals accessible rather than putting them up in a frame.

"I think it's nice to sometimes put them on," she added.

The design of the medals changes for each games, and this time around they are the work of Junichi Kawanishi.

Each of the gold, silver and bronze medals are 85 millimeters in diameter and range in thickness from 7.7 mm to 12.1 mm.

The gold medal is in fact made from gold-plated pure silver, with around 6 grams of gold out of a total weight of 556 grams.

The silver medal is made from pure silver and weighs around 550 grams, while the bronze medal weighs approximately 450 grams and is in fact made from 95% copper and 5% zinc.

At today's prices that means the gold medal would be worth around $800 if you melted it down, while the silver would be worth about $450 and the bronze around $5.

Earlier this month a winner's medal from the 1896 Athens Olympics sold for $180,000 at auction, Cuban shooter Leuris Pupo's gold medal from the London 2012 Olympics fetched $73,200, and his compatriot Iván Pedroso's long jump gold medal from Sydney 2000 went for $71,335. All three were sold by Boston-based RR Auction.

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9:20 p.m. ET, July 31, 2021

For years, female athletes have had their clothing policed. Now, they're fighting back

From CNN's Amy Woodyatt

Olivia Breen said this month she was left "speechless" when an official at the English Championships told her that her sprint briefs were "too short and inappropriate."
Olivia Breen said this month she was left "speechless" when an official at the English Championships told her that her sprint briefs were "too short and inappropriate." (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are well underway after being postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic — and while the Games are only a year behind, you might be forgiven for thinking professional sport is stuck in a far more severe time warp.

In the month building up to the world's most anticipated sporting event, female athletes have drawn attention to numerous incidents they say left them feeling shamed or sexualized.

Double Paralympic world champion Olivia Breen said this month she was left "speechless" when an official at the English Championships told her that her sprint briefs were "too short and inappropriate."

"It's just wrong -- we're not living in the 18th century, we're living in 2021," Breen said in an interview via video chat. "For me personally, I want to be as light as possible so I can jump out, run faster."

In a statement posted to Twitter, Breen questioned whether a male competitor would be similarly criticized. The female official's comment, "really shocks me and makes me really cross," Breen wrote. "I just thought, that needs to change."

Breen told CNN she planned to make an official complaint. The incident not only angered her, it was also concerning, she said, as behavior like that could put women and girls off sport.

"For a girl with low confidence or low self esteem, it may make them feel rubbish."

A confusing double standard: Experiences like Breen's are nothing new for female athletes, who regularly find themselves rebuked for wearing too little — or too much — clothing.

Just this month, Norway's women's beach handball team was fined 1,500 euros ($1,766) for "improper clothing" after players opted to wear shorts instead of bikini briefs during a European championship game in Bulgaria.

According to International Handball Federation (IHF) regulations, female athletes must wear bikini bottoms with a maximum side width of 10 centimeters (3.9 inches), a "close fit" and "cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg" — though the dress code allows male athletes to wear shorts that are "not too baggy" and 10 centimeters above the kneecap.

"We have no idea why those rules are as they are," said Julie Aspelund Berg, a defender with Norway's beach handball team, during a phone call. "Why can't we just wear shorts (when) we can manage the job just as good as in bikinis?"

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