TOKYO (AP) — Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd each scored a pair of goals and the United States won the bronze medal in women’s soccer at the Tokyo Olympics with a 4-3 victory over Australia.
It was arguably the best the Americans had looked during the course of a rocky tournament that opened with an uncharacteristic 3-0 loss to Sweden. Rapinoe set the tone early with a goal scored directly from a corner kick.
The loss spoiled the Australians’ first-ever trip to the medal round at the Olympics. No Australian soccer team, men or women, has ever won a medal.
Also in Tokyo:
— The American “A-Team” has advanced to the gold medal match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament. April Ross and Alix Klineman beat Switzerland at Shiokaze Park to clinch at least a silver medal. It will be the third medal for Ross, who won silver in London and bronze in Rio de Janeiro. Klineman is a first-time Olympian.
— Maddie Musselman and the U.S. beat the Russian Olympic Committee 15-11 to advance to the women’s water polo final, continuing the team’s bid for a third consecutive gold medal. The U.S. beat the Russian team 18-5 last week, but the ROC was much more engaged in the semifinal meeting. The U.S. had to rally after it trailed 7-4 with 48 seconds left in the first half. Musselman scored five times, and captain Maggie Steffens had three goals.
— Marcell Jacobs will carry Italy’s flag at Sunday’s closing ceremony after succeeding Usain Bolt as 100-meter champion at the Olympics. Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò made the announcement shortly after Jacobs helped the Azzurri qualify for the final of the 4×100 relay. The Texas-born sprinter was the surprise winner of the biggest race of the Olympics last weekend.
— The International Olympic Committee says it’s not aware of any plans to change the schedule for the women’s soccer final between Canada and Sweden. Both teams asked to avoid kicking off in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo’s heat and humidity at 11 a.m. Friday. That’s an almost unprecedented early start for soccer at any time of year. The forecast temperature at kickoff is around 91 degrees (31 Celsius). IOC spokesman Mark Adams says he “can’t shed any more light” on the process of moving the game. Changes to the Olympic schedule involve the IOC, Tokyo officials, sports bodies like soccer’s FIFA and broadcasters.
— Ryan Crouser has broken his own Olympic record on his way to defending his shot put title. On his last attempt, Crouser went 23.30 meters to earn the first track and field gold for the American men at the Tokyo Games. U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs finished second. Crouser is already the world-record holder after breaking a 31-year-old mark on June 18 at the U.S. Olympic trials. In the heat at Olympic Stadium, Crouser took the lead on his first attempt and saved his best for his final one.
— A slow exchange left the American 4×100-meter relay team out of medal contention at the Olympics. The team of Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie finished sixth in their qualifying heat to extend a quarter-century of misery for the country that brings the deepest track team to the Games. The United States hasn’t won the Olympic 4×100 since 2000 and hasn’t made it cleanly to the finish line in a final since taking a silver medal in 2012. But they gave that one back because of a doping ban against Tyson Gay. The U.S. got DQ’d for another bad pass in the medal race in 2016.
— Germany’s Florian Wellbrock has added a gold medal in marathon swimming to his bronze medal at the pool, romping to a dominating win in the men’s 10-kilometer race at Tokyo Bay. Wellbrock raced out to an early lead and was up front most of the way on another sweltering morning. At the end, the 23-year-old blew the field away to win by a staggering 25.3 seconds. Two swimmers failed to finish in the sweltering conditions. France’s David Aubry was carried away on a stretcher.
— BMX rider Connor Fields was released from St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo on Thursday. That’s five days after a horrific crash in his semifinal race at the Tokyo Olympics left him with a brain bleed and other injuries. He will be able to return to his home in Henderson, Nevada, in the coming days to begin his rehabilitation.
— IOC investigators are “setting up the interviews” with the Belarus team suspected of trying to forcibly remove one of its sprinters from the Olympics. IOC spokesman Mark Adams says the disciplinary process that formally opened Tuesday is “determining who needs to be heard.” Two Belarus officials have been linked by the IOC to taking Krystsina Tsimanouskaya in a car to the airport Sunday to put her on a plane to Belarus. It is unclear if the two officials retain Olympic accreditation and can contact other Belarus athletes.
— For the first time, the United States is sending a full rhythmic Olympic gymnastics team, two individual performers and a five-woman group, to compete this weekend. The gymnasts hope their increased presence could mark a turning point back home, where they are often dismissed as ribbon twirlers and hula hoopers. In rhythmic gymnastics, gymnasts dance as they throw and catch items including hoops, balls, ribbons and clubs.
