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      Tokyo 2020: Dina Asher-Smith carrying British track & field hopes on her shoulders – but she is NOT feeling the heat

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      SHE WILL single-handedly carry the hopes of a British track-and-field gold at these Olympics.But as Dina Asher-Smith prepares to start her Tokyo campaign, there is little sign of the 25-year-old Londoner feeling the heat.
      Dina Asher-Smith isn’t feeling the pressure to deliver a medal at the Tokyo OlympicsCredit: AFP
      Asher-Smith won a gold medal at the 2019 World championships in Doha in the 200mCredit: Getty
      Crowned Britain’s first female world sprint champion in Doha in 2019, Asher-Smith’s smile belies an ice-cold temperament.
      She is a heavy sleeper who loves a lie-in and is a self-styled ‘championship performer’, who rises to the big occasions.
      Stages do not come any grander than an Olympics and as the Tokyo Games heads into its centre-piece athletics meeting, all British eyes will be on Asher-Smith.
      With Britain’s only other current world athletics champion, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, still suffering the after-effects of a ruptured Achilles, Asher-Smith stands alone as a serious gold medal contender.
      During the London Olympics, the ‘Inspire a Generation’ motto often sounded overblown.
      But Asher-Smith, a schoolgirl kit-carrier on the night Britain won three athletics golds on Super Saturday, is proof of the effectiveness of that slogan.
      There is no chance of a similar British track-and-field gold rush this time around, with Mo Farah the last of the class of 2012 to bow out of contention and British athletics at a low ebb.
      But nine years after that Olympic work experience stint in her hometown, Asher-Smith kicks off her 100 metres campaign in the heats in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
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      She said: “I volunteered to do kit carrying in London and I was fortunate to be given that Saturday, which obviously I didn’t know was going to end up being Super Saturday.
      “I remember being kind of disappointed that I wasn’t going to see Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m final, but when I got there and witnessed probably one of the greatest nights in British athletics history I felt incredibly lucky.
      “To describe the atmosphere that night to somebody who wasn’t there is incredibly difficult. The closest word is probably ‘euphoric’.”
      While she must compete in silence at these behind-closed-doors games, Asher-Smith has a burning ambition to repeat, or even better, her Doha campaign, which brought a 200m gold as well as silvers in the 100m and the sprint relay.
      If she lands gold, it will be a truly historic achievement.
      No female British sprinter has ever won an Olympic title and none have landed an individual medal since Dorothy Hyman way back in 1960. 
      Neither has any British man won individual sprint gold since Linford Christie in 1992, nor any medal since Darren Campbell in Sydney 21 years ago.
      Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is favourite to win the 100m but Asher-Smith is first among equals in an open 200m.

      American Gabby Thomas ran the second-fastest time ever earlier this year to send shockwaves through the field.
      But as Asher-Smith said: “To me it’s immaterial what people run because a championship is a completely different ball game.
      “The reason why we all love championships is because you honestly don’t know what’s going to happen.”
      The sense of calm about Asher-Smith is helped by the fact that she has only ever had one coach since she started running aged eight — John Blackie of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers.
      And he admitted he would have quit years ago had it not been for his star pupil.
      Blackie said: “I would have given it up some while ago if not for her but she is an inspiration, not just for athletes but also for us coaches.

      “It was around the age of 14 that things started to look very positive for Dina.
      “You still didn’t know she would end up as 200m world champion but you knew she was capable of some really spectacular achievements.
      “There is definitely more to come from her.”
      Four-time European champion Asher-Smith is looking to become Britain’s first female 100m or 200m winner at the OlympicsCredit: Instagram / @dinaashersmith
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      Olympic swimming star Adam Peaty says Games should ditch ‘gimmicks’ and stay with core sports only

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      OLYMPIC star Adam Peaty has a longterm vision for the Olympics.
      Britain’s foremost swimmer is gunning for gold again, after starring at Rio 2016.

      Adam Peaty won the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics in the 100m breast-stroke eventCredit: Dave Pinegar – The Sun
      And now, Peaty’s mind seems to work as rapidly as his whirring arms as he outlines arguments for a more slimline, sustainable Games without gimmicky new sports or facilities destined to become white elephants, while also arguing that drug cheats should be imprisoned.
      With climbing, surfing, skateboarding, baseball and karate all having been added to the schedule for the Tokyo Games, Peaty fears the profile of core Olympic sports will suffer.
      He said: “It’s not just swimming, it’s athletics, too. No disrespect to the other sports but we’re adding more sports at an unparalleled pace and that just dilutes the Olympics.
      “We need to go back to the heritage of the main Olympic sports instead of trying to find something else that could be an Olympic sport.
      “Because, eventually, if they keep following the money, we’re going to have e-sports included.
      “That might be a sport mentally but the Olympics is all supposed to be about physical prowess.
      “I think the way it’s going, the IOC will have competition from private investors for rival events that will give people what they actually want to watch.
      Peaty, 26, won three gold medals at the 2019 Wold Aquatics Championships in South KoreaCredit: PA:Press Association
      We need to go back to the heritage of the main Olympic sports instead of trying to find something else that could be an Olympic sport.”Adam Peaty
      “We’ve got to have a hard think about what is going to be popular and successful in, say, 12 years’ time. It’s getting harder and harder.”
      With the coronavirus pandemic taking hold and the Games delayed, future Olympics may have to look at a more sustainable model, says Peaty.
      And the 26-year-old is concerned about the environmental impact of building new stadia and facilities in each Olympic host city.
      He said: “As the climate-change movement goes ahead, is it sustainable to build a whole athletes’ village and all of the facilities every four years? Absolutely not — just the amount of concrete that’s required alone.
      “And in most Olympic cities the legacy isn’t there — so is it worth all the expense and resources? As climate change progresses, you’ve got to change the way you stage the Olympics.”
      With one of swimming’s greatest global stars, China’s three-time Olympic champion Sun Yang, receiving an eight-year ban for a second doping offence, Peaty believes the menace of doping can only be countered by prison sentences.
      He added: “The biggest fish has been caught. And in life you’ll always have cheats.
      Peaty proudly poses next to SunSport’s Chief Sports Reporter David KiddCredit: Dave Pinegar – The Sun
      “You’ll have mechanical dopers in cycling. You’ll have people who are going to try and get that edge and bend the rules. Unless we start treating this cheating as criminal fraud, where you could actually go to prison, then we are never going to stop people cheating.
      “If they can make a few million quid from cheating and get away with it for six years, they don’t care.
      “But if they are criminalised and given prison time and have to pay back money to sponsors then they will think twice.”
      Peaty’s status as an almost invincible world-record holder has seen him targeted by groundless allegations of drug abuse on social media.
      He said: “You get tweeted it all the time — ‘He’s so far ahead, he must be on drugs’. But you follow me for a f*****g year and you’ll see why not!
      “I was having two drug tests a week for a long while. But are the people I’m competing against having two a week? It’s never a fair playing field.
      “In a lot of countries the problem doesn’t stem from the athletes — it is how much they are taken advantage of.
      “I can understand if you’re not from a very affluent country and someone tells you to put these substances inside you . . . they don’t care as long as their family is being fed. That’s survival instinct.
      The Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemicCredit: Alamy Live News
      Peaty believes that the Olympics should stick to its core sportsCredit: EPA
      “But it doesn’t belong in this sport. These cheats are creating an environment where kids are looking up to them and thinking, ‘I might as well cheat because it’s easier’.”
      Like many elite swimmers, Peaty is frustrated at the relative inactivity of the sport’s global governing body, Fina.
      And he believes the International Swimming League — funded by Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Grigorishin and staged for the first time last year — represents the future.
      He explained: “With swimming you get a massive profile every four years and not much in between. So the ISL is the future of swimming from a marketing perspective.
      “You do have a massive fanbase, a big audience — it’s the second most-watched sport at an Olympics. Commercially, football has chewed up a lot of sports and swimming hasn’t been brought into the 21st Century.
      “But I think ISL will be successful. It’s over two hours for two days — people will come along, have a beer, enjoy it and potentially gamble on it.
      “There’s a massive gambling opportunity for swimming — fortunately or unfortunately depending on what side you’re on — but I think that can inject cash into the sport.
      “I think Fina have a few hundred million in the bank but they don’t redistribute it. I’ve got good management but how do we make more of our commercial opportunities? I’m only desirable for the time that I’m successful.
      “Fina need to get the sport on TV more. Apparently the TV rights figures they wanted from the BBC were extortionate and they could only show highlights.
      “I don’t understand why they can’t see that the more people watch it, the more the sport grows and then the more money they’ll make.
      “It just seems to be about short-term gain. I don’t know what their strategy is. But thankfully this league is here, run by a billionaire who is very clued up.”
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      Tokyo 2020: Team GB’s Aimee Willmott fails to secure first Olympic medal with seventh-place finish in individual medley

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      AIMEE WILLMOTT’S hopes of crowning her career with an Olympic medal were shattered as she failed to deliver at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.The 28-year-old from Middlesbrough had been the second fastest qualifier for the 400m individual medley final.
      Team GB star Aimee Willmott finished seventh in her 400m individual medley finalCredit: PA
      But the exertions of Sunday night’s sessions too a heavy toll as Willmott faded to finish seventh behind home heroine Yui Ohashi, who became Japan’s second gold medal winner of the Games.
      Willmott’s final time of 4:38.30 was three seconds slower than her qualification swim.
      Americans Emma Weyant and Hali Flickinger took silver and bronze.
      She said: “I shocked myself in the heat but it was always going to be tough toi back that up and I didn’t have the time.
      “It seems to be seventh is where I’m at, after doing the same in Rio. But I’m happy with my career.”
      Her disappointment came after Max Litchfield just missed out on an unlikely medal in a humdinger of a 400m individual medley.
      Yorkshire’s Litchfield, whose younger brother Joe is also on Team GB, waa the slowest qualifier and only seventh after the butterfly leg.
      But as American Chase Kalisz went away from the field on the breaststroke leg to claim gold ahead of compatriot Jay Livingston, Litchfield made his move.
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      An excellent freestyle effort saw the 26-year-old close the gap but fall just short of bronze medallist Brendon Smith of Australia.
      Litchfield finished joint fourth in 4:10.59, just two tenths of a second behind Smith.
      Kalisz won in 4:09.42, more than five seconds outside Michael Phelps’ 2008 Olympic and world record.
      There was a major shock in the men’s 400m as Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnoui, the slowest qualifier, shocked the field with a stunning second half of the race.
      The 18-year-old was still second behind Aussie Jack McLoughlin with 50m to go but finished like a train to take gold in 3:43.36, with Kieran Smith of the USA third.
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      Bryson DeChambeau OUT of Tokyo 2020 golf tournament after testing positive for Covid before leaving USA for the Olympics

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      AMERICAN golfer Bryson DeChambeau is OUT of the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for coronavirus.The 27-year-old has been replaced by Patrick Reed for Team USA ahead of the first round in Japan on Thursday.
      Bryson DeChambeau will not be competing for Team USA in Tokyo after testing positive for coronavirusCredit: Reuters
      DeChambeau has contracted Covid back in his homeland as part of the final testing before departing for Asia.
      And he has spoken of his disappointment at missing out on his first Olympic Games.
      He said: “I am deeply disappointed not to be able to compete in the Olympics for Team USA.
      “Representing my country means the world to me and it is was a tremendous honour to make this team.
      “I wish Team USA the best of luck next week in Tokyo.
      “I will now focus on getting healthy, and I look forward to returning to competition once I am cleared to do so.”
      Reed, who finished 11th at Rio 2016, is now undergoing his testing protocol before linking up with Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.
      Commenting on his call-up, he remarked: “I am so excited to have the opportunity to represent our country and be a part of Team USA in Tokyo.
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      “I wish Bryson nothing but the best, and I know how disappointed he is to not be able to compete, and I will do my best to play my best and represent our country.”
      USA Golf Executive Director Andy Levinson added: “We’re obviously disappointed for Bryson, as we know how much he was looking forward to representing the United States in his first Olympics.
      “But we’re thrilled that Patrick Reed is excited to play for his country when he is called upon, even with the strenuous testing protocols and he is set to arrive just in time to compete – on a golf course he will have never seen prior to the start of competition.
      “It really illustrates the importance of the Olympics and the value Patrick places on playing for Team USA and for his country.
      “We’re excited to welcome him to Tokyo soon and know he’ll be a formidable competitor for Team USA.”
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      Tokyo 2020: Team GB’s European 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith out of Olympics on ‘medical grounds’ – but NOT Covid

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      TEAM GB’s European 400m king Matthew Hudson-Smith is out of the Olympics on medical grounds NOT related to Covid-19.The Wolverhampton sprinter, 26, has been replaced in the 4x400m relay squad by 21-year-old Welshman Joe Brier.
      Matthew Hudson-Smith is coming to terms with his Tokyo 2020 dream ending before it properly started, due to a medical problemCredit: Getty – Contributor
      West-Midlander Matthew Hudson-Smith won gold at the European Championships in 2018 but has pulled out of the OlympicsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Team GB confirmed Hudson-Smith’s withdrawal from Tokyo 2020 and Brier’s promotion from travelling reserve.
      Hudson-Smith was earmarked for superstardom when he won European 400m silver in 2014 aged 19 and made the Olympic final at Rio two years later.
      He then won gold at the European Championships in Berlin three years ago, plus silver in the 4x400m relay. 
      Just last month he told the BBC Sport was “never plain sailing for anyone”.
      He said: “I don’t want to be one of those athletes who looks back in their career and says they could have done more.

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      “I want to feel I have done everything in my power. That is what drives me.
      “It is never plain sailing for anyone in sport. Everyone goes through it.
      “You almost have to rediscover your passion and goals every day.”
      He had been spending his fourth season training in the USA, with Olympic 400m champions Wayde van Niekerk and Shaunae Miller-Uibo.

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      Tokyo 2020: Youngest Olympics competitor Hend Zaza, 12, loses to table tennis opponent 27 years older

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      THE Olympics’ youngest competitor has crashed out of the Tokyo Games in the preliminary round of the women’s table tennis event.Team Syria star Hend Zaza, 12, lost in straight sets against Austrian opponent Liu Jia who is 27 years her senior.
      Syrian star Hend Zaza, 12, is out of the Olympics after losing to Austria’s Liu JiaCredit: Getty
      Veteran table tennis player Jia won 4-0 in straight sets against Zaza in TokyoCredit: Reuters
      Chinese-born athlete Jia, 39, won 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 to secure her place in the first round.
      But Zaza, who is the youngest Olympian since Spanish rower Carlos Front in 1992, more than held her own.
      She was even leading 6-2 in the second set, only for the veteran player to show her class.
      Speaking after her Olympics debut, Zaza said: “It was very tough to mentally be prepared for (the Olympics).
      “But I think I somehow managed to overcome this, and this is the part that I think I did the best during the match.
      “The main lesson was the loss of this match, especially in the first match.
      “So next time, I will be working hard to pass the first, second, third round, because I want to play more in this competition.”
      Zaza – the fifth-youngest person to compete in the Olympics in the modern era – secured her entry at Tokyo after winning West Asia Olympic qualification tournament in Jordan last year.
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      Her coach Adham Jamaan has stated she has only been able to play up to three external games a year due to the Syrian Civil War.
      Commenting on her upbringing, Zaza remarked: “For the last five years, I’ve been through many different experiences.
      “Especially with the war happening around the country and the postponement of the funding for the Olympics.
      “It was very tough, but I had to fight for it. And this is my message to everyone who is in the same situation — fight for your dream.
      “Try hard regardless of the difficulties that you’re having and you will reach your hope.”
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      First Tokyo 2020 Olympic cancellation due to Covid as women’s beach volleyball game scrapped after player tests positive

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      THE opening match of the women’s beach volleyball event at the Tokyo Olympics was cancelled due to coronavirus.Czech Republic star Marketa Slukova tested positive for Covid earlier this year – which knocked her and partner Barbora Hermannova out of the Games.
      Czech Republic women’s beach volleyball pair Marketa Slukova and Barbora Hermannova are out of the Olympics due to coronavirusCredit: Reuters
      Their game on Saturday became the first event of the Tokyo Games to be called off due to Covid.
      As a result, Japan’s pair of Megumi Murakami and Miki Ishii have been handed a 2-0 victory.
      So far there have been six confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Czech Republic Olympic team, including Slukova’s husband and coach Simon Nausch.
      Men’s beach volleyball ace Ondrej Perusic has also tested positive, along with table tennis player Pavel Sirucek and cyclist Michal Schlegel.
      Slukova has spoken of her dismay at being unable to compete in the Olympics as she claimed she was reduced to tears.
      She remarked: “It’s awfully sad for me, that Barbora and me, we had to quit this way.”
      Before adding: “We cried, then we swore, then we cried again.
      “I am just hoping that no other athletes will follow us.
      “Because I think that something like this is a nightmare for any athlete, for any Olympian, who gets this far, this close to the Olympic competition.”
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      All of those in the Czech team that tested positive arrived in Tokyo in the same charter plane, prompting the country’s Olympic Committee to launch an investigation.
      The Committee said: “The investigation will focus on whether all safety measures against COVID-19 spread were upheld before, during, and after the flight and whether some individuals have neglected their duties.”
      A total of 14 athletes were on the plane from Prague to Tokyo, with the other people on the flight testing negative on their PCR tests.
      Commenting on the cases, Czech team doctor Martin Doktor declared: “The situation is serious.
      “We have done our best to stop spreading the virus. Unfortunately, we didn’t avoid sport tragedies. I’m deeply sorry.”
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      Tokyo 2020 gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals made entirely from mobile phones and recycled electronics

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      TOKYO 2020 medallists will become the first in the history of the Olympics and Paralympics to win medals made out of recycled electrical goods.And the precious prizes have been crafted from more than SIX MILLION reused mobile phone parts.
      Nearly 80,000 tonnes of recycled electrical goods were used to make Tokyo 2020 Olympic medalsCredit: AFP
      The parts of more than six million used mobile phones were also used to make gold, silver and bronze medalsCredit: Getty
      The creation of the environmentally-friendly gold, silver and bronze awards are all part of an effort by organisers to make this year’s competition as eco-conscious as possible. 
      The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games, which is this year’s biggest sporting event, takes place today. 
      It is the second time the capital city of Japan has hosted the Olympics with the first being back in 1964. 
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      It is reported a whopping 79,000 tonnes of small electrical goods – including 6.21million used phones – were reconstructed into medals ahead of the contest. 
      The items – which took two years to gather – have been turned into 5000 gold, silver and bronze medals. 
      And two-time Olympic decathlete champion Ashton Eaton, 33, is among the sports aces backing recycled goods being awarded to athletes. 
      The American, who is the heptathlon indoor world record holder, said: “I have always been a fan of people who do things differently – of those who try to move the needle in a positive way.
      “The weight of a medal around your neck is always a good weight,” 
      “And when an athlete at Tokyo wins a medal, the weight of it will not be from the gold, silver or bronze; it will be the weight of a nation.”
      Yuki Arata, the Tokyo Games director of sustainability added: “We hope that the approach we are taking for these Olympics, for example utilising timber to make benches for public facilities for local areas will remain in (people’s) minds as a good memory of these Olympics to be passed on to the next generation.”
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      Other recycled inventions include Olympic uniforms produced entirely from reused plastic bottles. 
      The iconic torch used to light the flame to mark the start of the Tokyo Games is among the items made from reused products. 
      The Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch has been crafted from recycled aluminium used for earthquake sheltersCredit: Alamy

      Aluminium waste from homes built as temporary shelters following a major earthquake in Japan in 2011 was used to construct the torch. 
      And competitors staying in the Athletes Village will be sleeping in recyclable cardboard beds.  
      At least 18,000 of these beds have been provided for athletes staying in the Village located at Tokyo Bay.
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