Athletics

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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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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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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RUSSIAN archer Svetland Gomboeva lost consciousness during a qualifying Olympic round after collapsing in the brutal Tokyo heat.The 23-year-old was checking her final scores before she fainted in the blistering 33 degrees Celsius sun, with medics and team-mates rushing to her aid.
Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva collapsed in the blistering Tokyo heat on FridayCredit: Reuters
Gomboeva quickly regained consciousness after passing out while checking her final scoresCredit: Getty
Gomboeva, who qualified 45th of 64 archers in the women’s event on Friday, had to be taken out of the arena on a stretcher.
Ice bags were given to the female athlete in an attempt to cool her down, with Gomboeva quickly regaining consciousness.
She is said to now be recovering well, with the 2021 Archery World Cup recurve gold medallist to compete in the individual and team events later in the Games.
The Tokyo heatwave forced coaches and staff to huddle under trees for shade.
And Gomboeva’s coach Stanislav Popov declared that the unbearable temperature was too much for her.
In quotes published by the Russian Olympic Committee, he said: “We hope that she will be okay.
“It turns out that she couldn’t stand a whole day out in the heat.
“This is the first time I remember this happening. In Vladivostok, where we were training before this, the weather was similar. But humidity played a role here.”
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻Желаем здоровья и скорейшего выздоровления Светлане ГомбоевойВо время олимпийской квалификации в стрельбе из лука нашей спортсменке стало плохо😔#КомандаОКР #ROCTeam #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/ZYpHTGsfKZ— Olympic Russia (@Olympic_Russia) July 23, 2021

Gomboeva’s team-mate Ksenia Perova added: “It’s probably heatstroke.
“It’s very hot here and the asphalt is really baking. Of course there are also nerves, but the main reason is still the weather.”
South Korea’s Kang Chae-young, who came third in the individual ranking rounds, said she had not experienced anything like Tokyo’s heatwave conditions in other recent events.
Meanwhile Australia’s Alice Ingley has offered some simple advice for her fellow competitors on how to beat the heat.
She told Reuters: “Cooling vest, slushies, fans, umbrellas, just all that, just try to keep out of the heat as much as possible.
“And drink water as much as possible.” 
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