Tokyo Olympic Games 2020: men’s road race, first gold won, boxing, swimming and more – live! | Sport

Cycling – It’s beginning to heat up in the men’s road race as the peloton descends Mt Fuji. That’s two of the three climbs done now, but the last is the steepest. The breakaway group has almost been reeled in as we reach the 158km mark, roughly two-thirds race distance.

China make it two from two today with weightlifter Hou Zhihui dominating in the women’s 49kg category. She set a new Olympic record in the snatch, then again in the clean and jerk, raising the benchmark for the overall total.

India’s Chanu Mirabai took silver, bronze went to Windy Aisah of Indonesia.

Weightlifting – Just three lifters remaining in the women’s 49kg final. We’re into the second half of that discipline with the clean and jerk. The second medal of the day will be awarded in just a few minutes.

By the way, weightlifting is one of the easiest sports to get into as an outsider. Easy to follow format, moves quickly, excellent English language commentary. One to enjoy during this opening week.

Cycling – Approaching the summit of the second and highest of the three climbs in the men’s roads race, the peloton is now just eight minutes behind the breakaway leaders. 96km to go.

Tennis – Barty and Sanders have cruised through the opening round of the women’s doubles in under an hour.

Weightlifting – China’s Hou Zhihui has taken a stranglehold on the women’s 49kg category, as expected. She has just broken the Olympic record with a snatch of 94kg (2kg shy of the world record she set in April). There’s daylight to second and a bunched pack of contenders scrapping for silver and bronze in the clean and jerk portion of the final.

Cycling – There are just over 100km left to ride in the men’s road race. The breakaway five now lead by 13 minutes as the peloton gradually reels them in at the start of the second and highest climb of the course.

“Hello Jonathan,” hi Kári Tulinius. “The qualification round of the Men’s 10m Air Pistol is over. My rooting interest, Iceland’s Ásgeir Sigurgeirsson, didn’t make the cut for the final. Before he started qualifying for Olympics, I’m not sure I was even aware that there were air pistol competitions at the Olympics. Being from a country with a small population can sometimes be unexpectedly educational.”

It’s part of the joy of the Games, isn’t it? Learning about new events, finding out you have an interest in something unexpected, maybe becoming drawn to a competitor you’d never heard of previously.

Sigurgeirsson finished 28th of 36 contenders in those aforementioned heats. India’s Saurabh Chaudhary qualified in first place, the only shooter to register a score of 100 during the qualifier.

Tennis – Women’s world No.1 Ash Barty is on court alongside Storm Sanders in the women’s doubles. The sixth seeds are taking on Japanese pair Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya.

Weightlifting – There’s a chance the next medal handed out won’t in fact be the men’s road race, but the women’s 49kg weightlifting. We’re in the early stages of the snatch portion of the final.

Cycling – The expert commentators covering the men’s road race have informed viewers that the peloton now means business, approaching halfway. The breakaway group has splintered and the five remaining riders are beginning to be reeled in as the course flattens out following the first descent.

If you’re just dipping into the blog for the first time, here’s a rundown of some of the action so far this Saturday.

• Yang Qian won the first gold medal of the Games, the Chinese shooter triumphing in the women’s 10m air rifle.
• An Algerian judoka has been sent home from the Olympics after refusing to compete against Israeli
• Andy Murray’s Olympic campaign has started in style with a doubles victory alongside Joe Salisbury against second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert
• Australia’s Kookaburras defeated hosts Japan 5-3 in their opening hockey clash.
• The next medal up for grabs is in the men’s road race. The cyclists are not far from halfway but British medal hope Geraint Thomas is up against it after crashing early.

Tennis – Muraay and Salisbury have done it!

Tennis – Sam Stosur didn’t last long in the women’s singles. The Australian was *bundled out* in straight sets by rising Kazakh Elena Rybakina.

I’ve always been more a Cracklin’ Rosie or I am… I said guy, but each to their own.

Time for a commercial indie break while I pop the kettle on.

Tennis – Great Britain’s Heather Watson is out of the women’s singles. She lost in straight sets to Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Cycling – CRASH! Geraint Thomas, one of the great hopes of Team GB is down in the men’s road race. Another British rider is on the deck too.

It’s still early in a slow race, so they can still get back into the mix, but that’s far from ideal. Thomas is a magnet for bingles.

Cycling – 77km, or around one third race distance, into the men’s road race and the leaders are heading towards the summit of the first climb. That breakaway bunch is down to seven, but they continue to extend their lead, which is now over 18 minutes from the peloton.

Those leading seven are: DLAMINI (RSA), KUKRLE (CZE), SAGAN Juraj (SVK), GROSU (ROU), TZORTZAKIS (GRE) AULAR SANABRIA (VEN), DAUMONT (BUR).

Tennis – Sir Andrew Barron Murray, a legend of Olympic tennis, is on court in the men’s doubles alongside Joe Salisbury – and he’s just served out the first set in the opening round clash against Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The Frenchmen have five grand slam doubles titles as a duo, so this would be some scalp for the Brits if they can see it home. At the very least, let’s hope Murray’s bionic hip holds out.

Spot quiz time:

Repechage is one of those words thrown around a lot in rowing coverage, but in the four years between Games its meaning fades into the ether. The word itself comes from the French verb repêch which translates directly as “fish out”, but in common usage means to provide a second chance.

In rowing (and other Olympic sports) it’s a means by which crews who did not finish first past the post are entered into a secondary race to allow them to qualify for the next round. It’s a way of attempting to make the draw fairer in case a competitive boat is dropped into a heat with a crew that blows them out of the water. Other events achieve the same result through seeding or taking fastest heat times for competitors outside the automatic qualifying places.

Tennis – Iga Swiatek is a serious medal chance in the women’s singles and the sixth seed Pole is underway with a routine 6-2 6-2 victory over Mona Barthel. Swiatek is in Naomi Osaka’s quarter of the draw.

Badminton: Team GB’s Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith are ranked eighth in the world in mixed doubles, and they began their Olympic campaign confidently earlier today.

Cycling – 46km into this race, another 188km to go, and the men’s road race is beginning the long ascent to the first of three peaks. There is still a massive gap from the peloton to the breakaway group of eight unfancied riders.

DLAMINI (RSA), KUKRLE (CZE), SAGAN Juraj (SVK), GROSU (ROU), TZORTZAKIS (GRE) AULAR SANABRIA (VEN) WANG (CHN) ASADOV (AZE).

What are the sports you get sucked into during the Games? I’m always drawn to volleyball – both indoor and beach. I used to play a bit in my youth, and now I can only marvel at the athleticism of those repeat jumps on sand. My calves ache just watching. There’s been plenty of beach action already today, highlighted by Brazil doing the double over fierce rivals Argentina.

Softball – Quick update for our Australian readers, and it isn’t a good one. Canada are cruising 7-1 in the seventh inning. The Aussies are heading for their second heavy defeat in their opening three matches. Their group stage concludes with fixtures against the unbeaten USA tomorrow and winless Mexico on Monday.

The first reviews of Australia’s Olympic coverage are in:

Cycling – With 206km to go in the men’s road race the breakaway group are now eight minutes ahead of the peloton. The favourites have been unperturbed so far, happy to fuel up, take on water, but now they’re stepping on the gas.