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US softball gets silver medal

The Associated Press

TOKYO — Japan won its second straight Olympic softball gold medal, beating the United States 2-0 in an emotional repeat of their 2008 victory in Beijing that again left the Americans in tears on Tuesday.

Yukiko Ueno took a one-hitter into the sixth inning five days after her 39th birthday, and Japan snuffed out an American rally attempt with an acrobatic double play in the sixth inning.

“It stings,” Cat Osterman of the US would say more than two hours later. “I’ve never been on a team that had so much fight.”

No. 9 batter Mana Atsumi had a run-scoring infield hit in the fourth inning and Yamato Fujita lined an RBI single off Monica Abbott in the fifth in building a 2-0 lead.

“I challenge the IOC to instate softball as a women’s sport into the Olympic docket on a regular basis,” said Monica Abbott of the US, who pitched a night before her 36th birthday. “It’s been proven that we attract viewers, we’re active on social media. It’s a worldwide sport. It’s played really well in multiple continents and areas of the world, and I think it’s really difficult when you’re in an Olympics and then out of an Olympics, you’re in one and you’re out of one, to continue to build that momentum and engagement for this sport to continue to grow.”

ALASKA GOLD

Seventeen-year-old Lydia Jacoby of Alaska pulled off a stunning victory in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, upsetting American teammate and defending champion Lilly King.

“I was definitely racing for a medal. I knew I had it in me,” said Jacoby, who hails from the tiny town of Seward, which has a population of 2,733. “I wasn’t really expecting a gold medal, so when I looked up and saw the scoreboard it was insane.”

Only a handful of Alaska swimmers had even qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials. Jacoby was the first to ever make the team.

STREAK SNAPPED

The streak of 12 straight gold medals for the U.S. men in the individual backstroke ended when a pair of Russians beat out defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy in the 100-meter race.

Evgeny Rylov won the gold medal in 51.98 and teammate Kliment Kolesnikov took the silver in 52.00. Murphy settled for the bronze in 52.19.

It was the first backstroke defeat for the U.S. men at the Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

They won 12 straight golds over the past six Olympics, including Murphy’s sweep of the 100 and 200 back at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

“Winning an Olympic gold medal means you’re the best in the world,” Murphy said. “Being third in the world is no slouch.”

STREAK EXTENDED

The U.S. women’s basketball team opened play with an 81-72 win over Nigeria that extended the Americans’ win streak at the Olympics to 50 games.

A’ja Wilson scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut.

The U.S. came to Tokyo coming off two rare exhibition losses in Las Vegas earlier this month. The Americans also beat Nigeria by 31 points in that game.

This game was much closer and marked the first time that a team had come within single digits of the U.S. since Russia lost by four points in the semifinals of 2004 Athens Games.

MOVING ON

The United States made it through to the quarterfinals of the women’s Olympic soccer competition after a 0-0 draw with Australia.

The Americans are looking to win a fifth Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. They are also vying to become the first team to win at the Olympics following a World Cup title.

But they’ve made it hard on themselves at the Tokyo Games. The U.S. team lost to Sweden 3-0 in its opening match — snapping a 44-game unbeaten streak — before rebounding with a 6-1 victory over New Zealand.

HISTORIC FIRST

Flora Duffy has won the Olympic women’s triathlon, earning Bermuda’s first gold medal ever and first medal of any kind since 1976.

Duffy is a two-time former world triathlon series champion. She’s competing in her fourth Olympics and is one of just two athletes representing Bermuda in Tokyo.

The start of the race was delayed 15 minutes because of storm conditions around Tokyo Bay. Duffy pumped her arms over her head as she finished the swimming, cycling and running course in 1 hour, 55:36 minutes.

No Osaka

“Masaka” — or, in English, “No way.” That’s how an incredulous Japan reacted Tuesday to the unexpectedly early loss of tennis star Naomi Osaka at the Tokyo Olympics, erasing her chances for gold.

And people quickly turned to an outpouring of sympathy.

“Watching you gave me courage. You don’t have to win a medal. Watching you play is enough for all your fans,” said Yuji Taida, a novelist.

The stock of Japanese tennis racket maker Yonex, one of her major corporate sponsors, plunged Tuesday, just as she lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round. The stock recouped some of the losses but ended down 1.8%.

The disappointment came just four days after Osaka left the nation teary-eyed by running up a Mount Fuji-like set at the National Stadium and lighting the Olympic cauldron with her torch to open the Olympics.

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