Karsten Warholm revelled in the "wow" factor of his astonishing 400 metres hurdles triumph as the world record was obliterated at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 25-year-old Norwegian ran 45.94 seconds, breaking the record for a second time in five weeks, after Kevin Young previously held the global mark for 29 years.
"I didn't touch one hurdle. I was even able to find another gear coming home, so 'wow'," Warholm said.
"It's just so big. It's almost like history here. It was the only thing missing from my collection. I had a World Championships [gold medal]. I had European Championships, I had the world record, the European record.
"The Olympic gold medal is what everybody talks about. I knew this race was going to be the toughest of my life, but I was ready."
The top three in the race all went under 47 seconds and beat the previous Olympic record, with silver for American Rai Benjamin in 46.17 and bronze going to Brazilian Alison dos Santos in 46.72.
Warholm ran 46.70 in Oslo at the start of July to slash 0.08 seconds off Young's long-standing record, which was set at the Barcelona Olympics.
There were many ways to dissect the magnitude of this latest record, and one was to look at how the world record shifted by just 0.75 seconds from Ed Moses running 47.45 in 1977 until Warholm's 46.70 in July.
To now scythe a further 0.76 seconds off the all-time mark represented a staggering achievement.
"I mean, man it’s so crazy. It’s by far the biggest moment of my life," Warholm said.
"It defines everything, all the hours I put in, everything that my coach has been working for.
"I dream about it like a maniac, I tell you. I sleep all night on it. I spend all my time thinking about this, so just getting this last medal into my collection, it’s complete.
"I can't sleep. I've spent thousands of hours thinking about this.
"I had this special feeling in my chest, you know when you are nervous. I was just thinking this is the feeling that I had when I was six years old. I've never had that feeling since I got older, but yesterday I had it."
Warholm had a healthy lead heading into the final 150 metres but came under pressure from Benjamin over the final two barriers, the gap closing.
The 25-year-old from Ulsteinvik held his nerve and maintained his rhythm, though, sprinting away to post a record that could stand for many years to come.
Some even compared it to Bob Beamon's 1968 long jump world record in Mexico City, which stood for 23 years and remains the second longest leap of all time.
Benjamin was reduced to tears after the race, having delivered the performance of his life but still finished on the second step of the podium
"Knowing that you want to be the best, this is what it costs. It's hard. It hurts. But it is what it is," Benjamin said.
"I always give myself 24 hours to process things. Right now I am just full of emotion. I have worked so hard. This is what matters. I got a medal but it just hurts to lose."
He added: "I'm a dog. I'm a fighter. It's my first Olympics. I made some mistakes that cost me, but it's all right. I'll fix it."
Ninth seed Alison Riske defeated former top 10 player CoCo Vanderweghe in the opening round of the Silicon Valley Classic in straight sets on Monday.
Riske, who made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2019 and is currently ranked 37th in the world, won 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 28 minutes.
In a match which saw eight breaks converted, Riske's ability to win on her first serve proved the difference.
Vanderweghe, who made the Silicon Valley Classic finals in 2012 and 2017, was broken five times and won 58.1 per cent of first serve points.
Croatian sixth seed Petra Martic eased into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Anastasija Sevastova.
Martic will face Magda Linette next, after the Pole accounted for Dutch qualifier Lesley Kerkhove 6-3 6-3.
Ana Konjuh defeated Marie Bouzkova in a three-set epic which last two hours and 41 minutes, winning 7-5 3-6 7-5.
China's Zhang Shuai won over Emma Raducanu in straight sets, along with Carolina Garcia who defeated Emina Bektas.
Karsten Warholm set a massive world record in the men's 400 metres hurdles as the Norwegian landed gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
He became the first man to dip under 46 seconds, setting a startling time of 45.94 seconds as he fended off American Rai Benjamin, who clocked 46.17.
The top three in the race all went under 47 seconds and beat the previous Olympic record, with bronze going to Brazilian Alison dos Santos in 46.72.
Warholm was already the world record holder, setting a time of 46.70secs in Oslo at the start of July to break the previous best of 46.78 that had been held by Kevin Young since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics..
Now he has demolished his own mark, helped by being pushed all the way by Benjamin.
Warholm had a healthy lead heading into the final 150 metres but then came under pressure from the USA star over the final two barriers, the gap closing.
The 25-year-old from Ulsteinvik held his nerve and maintained his rhythm, though, sprinting away to post a record that could stand for many years to come.
All three medallists went under the previous Olympic record.
Gold in the women's long jump went to Germany's Malaika Mihambo, whose final-round effort of 7.00 metres saw her edge ahead of America Brittney Reese and NIgerian Ese Brume, the silver and bronze medallists, who both posted best leaps of 6.97m.
Young American Jenson Brooksby claimed some revenge for last month's Hall of Fame Open final defeat to Kevin Anderson by beating the South African 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in the Citi Open first round on Monday.
Brooksby, who received a wildcard for the draw, triumphed in one hour and 49 mnutes against the former world number five.
The 20-year-old American saved a set point at 5-6 in the first set, before winning in a tiebreaker off the back of winning six consecutive points having trailed 1-4.
Former City Open finalist Anderson, who sent down 10-1 aces, had defeated Brooksby to win the Hall of Fame Open last month.
World number 130 Brooksby, who had started the season outside the top 300, claimed the crucial break in the eighth game of the second set.
Brooksby advances to take on American Francis Tiafoe, fresh from competing at Tokyo 2020, as numerous big names enter the draw for the second round.
Kei Nishikori, who won in Washington in 2015, got past American Sam Querrey 6-4 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Kazakhstani ninth seed Alexander Bublik.
American Jack Sock will take on top seed Rafael Nadal in the second round after he got past Yoshihito Nishioka in a walkover 6-7 (3-7) 4-0.
Former top 20 player Andreas Seppi triumphed in three sets against Yasutaka Uchiyama while Canadian tour veteran Vasek Pospisil got past Emilio Gomez in three.
Ilya Ivashka, Marcos Giron, Ricardas Berankas and Daniel Galan were the other first round winners on Monday.
Jamaica’s Shadae Lawrence expressed satisfaction with her performance, despite not making it to the medal podium in the final of the Women’s Discus on Monday.
Lawrence made history by becoming the first-ever Jamaican woman to make an Olympic discus final.
She threw a distance of 62.27 metres in group A of the qualifying round to finish third and advance to the final. During the final, Lawrence fell just below her qualifying mark to throw 62.12 metres. That throw landed her a top-eight spot as she finished 7th.
The 25-year-old took to Instagram to share her gratitude and emotion. She posted a photo of her in the throwing circle along with a caption saying, “I want to thank God for bringing me this far. The journey was rough but he didn’t give me more than I could bear. The aim for this season was to make a top 8 finish at the Olympic Games. On the journey I found out I could do much more. A 7th place finish is what I’m blessed with and I am grateful”.
The second time Olympian went on to thank her coach, Julian Robison, whom she said believed in her from the start and never doubted her talent. She also thanked the University of South Florida where she attends school, for their support along her journey. Lawrence ended her caption by thanking her family for their support over the years and sent a special shout-out to her sister and mother.
The women’s discus was won by the USA’s Valarie Allman with a throw of 68.98. Silver went to Germany’s Kristen Pudenz and Cuba’s Yaime Perez gained bronze.
Kyle Lowry is set to leave the Toronto Raptors to join the Miami Heat after the 35-year-old point guard revealed the free agency move on social media.
The six-time NBA All-Star, who has been with the Raptors since 2012, will reportedly join the Heat on a three-year deal. The deal marks the start of the NBA free agency period.
Lowry announced the deal on Twitter, posting "Miami Heat x Kyle Lowry Let's goo!!"
ESPN claims the deal is worth approximately $90 million, completing via a sign-and-trade with the Raptors.
Lowry holds records for most assists, most three-point field goals and three-point attempts for Raptors and is widely viewed as the best player in franchise history. He was part of the Toronto side which won the 2019 NBA title.
The veteran played in 601 games after joining Toronto in July 2012, behind only DeMar DeRozan (675) on their all-time list.
Lowry averaged 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season.
The Heat reached the NBA postseason in 2020-21 but fell in the first round 4-0 to eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Roma have completed the signing of Eldor Shomurodov from Serie A rivals Genoa.
The Uzbekistan forward has made the move to the Stadio Olimpico on a five-year deal, with Roma paying Genoa an initial fee of €17.5 million.
As part of the transfer, Genoa have retained the right to a percentage of any profit made from a future sale of Shomurodov.
"Joining Roma represents a huge step forward in my career – I will do everything I can to show I deserve this opportunity and to demonstrate what I can do at one of the biggest clubs in the world," Shomurodov told Roma's official website.
"The speed in which this deal was agreed is testament to my desire to be able to join up with the coach and my new team-mates and get to work as soon as possible.”
Shomurodov scored eight goals in 31 league appearances for Genoa last season, outperforming his expected goals (xG) of 5.8 from 39 shots.
He also created 20 chances but only one of those led to an assist.
Roma will begin their first Serie A campaign under Jose Mourinho with a home game against Fiorentina on August 22.
Monaco have confirmed the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Jean Lucas from fellow Ligue 1 side Lyon.
The 23-year-old has signed a five-year deal at the Stade Louis II and is reported to have cost Monaco €11million.
Jean Lucas spent two seasons with Lyon but made just 25 appearances for Les Gones in all competitions and was loaned to Brest for the second half of last season.
He has 67 top-flight games under his belt in Brazil and France, having also previously played for Flamengo and Santos, scoring three goals and assisting five more across those matches.
Monaco announced the signing on their official website on Monday and Jean Lucas said: "I am proud to join AS Monaco, one of the biggest clubs in Ligue 1.
"The club had a great season and will be fighting for a place in the Champions League group stage. I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute to this sort of growth."
Monaco begin their 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday with the first leg of their Champions League third-qualifying round tie against Sparta Prague.
Giorgio Chiellini is convinced Massimiliano Allegri is the right man to reclaim the Scudetto for Juventus following the failed Andrea Pirlo experiment.
Celebrated former midfielder Pirlo failed to guide the Bianconeri to a 10th successive Serie A title last season and was sacked in May, before the halfway point of a two-year deal.
Allegri was named as Pirlo's successor on the same day for a second spell in charge, having previously guided Juve to five league titles, four Coppas Italia and two Champions League finals.
Juve amassed 142 wins in their 190 league games under Allegri – only Giovanni Trapattoni has overseen more matches – giving him a win percentage of 74.74, clear of second-placed Antonio Conte (72.81), who managed 83 triumphs from 114 matches.
During his five seasons with Juve, Allegri suffered just 20 league defeats, with his team scoring 380 goals and conceding 125 in return, averaging 2.39 points per game.
Allegri is responsible for three of the seven Juventus seasons during which they have netted 100 goals or more, meanwhile, alongside Pirlo, Conte and Jesse Carver.
Chiellini was a part of that successful period at the club and will likely play a key role in this latest new era for Juventus after penning a two-year contract extension on Monday.
Allegri's immediate aim is to win back the title from Inter, while also seeing off competition from the likes of Milan and Atalanta, and experienced centre-back Chiellini is ready to do his bit.
"I am happy to see him again," Chiellini told Juventus TV. "He gave me and everyone a great deal.
"I've kept in contact with the lads, and they've told me he's really fired up for the start of the season. I'm convinced he is the right man to take this team back to the top and create a new cycle.
"I am here to give my contribution, above all on the field, but off it too."
Chiellini has made 535 appearances for Juventus since joining in 2004 but has played just 21 times in Serie A since the start of 2019-20, partly due to injury.
He showed his quality at Euro 2020 as he helped Italy to their first continental crown in 53 years, starting five of the Azzurri's seven matches in the tournament.
The Livorno product produced six clearances, which was four more than any other Italy player, while also leading the way for interceptions (three) and aerial duels (seven).
After putting an end to potential retirement talk by putting pen to paper with Juve, Chiellini is now eyeing up a place in Italy's World Cup squad for Qatar 2022.
"The World Cup is just over a year away, so we'll see," he said. "I always want to enjoy every moment and to think of the present.
"If I am fortunate enough to be in good shape and able to participate in the World Cup, then I'll be happy. If I don't, then I'll be happy anyway.
"I've learned over the last few years that the only secret is to live in the moment and without thinking of faraway objectives.
"Now we need to get the engine going again after these few weeks when I needed time to recover, then we'll take it one week at a time, game by game, and see where we end up."
Max Whitlock is already looking to Paris and potentially beyond after becoming a three-time Olympic champion by defending his pommel horse gold at Tokyo 2020.
The Team GB gymnast was up first and produced an outstanding performance, scoring 15.583 and ensuring the pressure was on his rivals at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Lee Chih-kai of Chinese Taipei fell short with a score of 15.400, while home favourite Kazuma Kaya secured the bronze.
This marks Whitlock's third Games, with his first at London 2012 yielding two bronze medals before he won two golds and a bronze in Rio five years ago.
The postponement of these Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic means there are only three years until Paris 2024. Whitlock believes that will ultimately play into his favour, while he has not fully ruled out competing in Los Angeles in seven years' time.
"I was thinking that [about competing in Paris] before Tokyo even started. I would really, really love to make it four Olympic Games," he told a round-table of journalists.
"I feel very proud to have done my third and you obviously get the results to go with it, the three-year cycle helps me out – I'm 28 years old now, every year that goes by it gets harder and harder, there's no doubt about that.
"But a three-year cycle can help me out a lot. Competitions will come around in no time, I know that, and Paris will be here before we know it.
"Hopefully, I'd love to look towards that, then who knows? At that point in my career, being completely honest, I'd have to look how the British team is faring up and see if there's an opening for me to give LA a shot. We'll see how the team is looking."
As part of his preparations for Tokyo, Whitlock would train in empty gyms back at home to prepare for the absence of spectators.
While he was disappointed for fans not to be present, Whitlock insists the rush of winning was just as big as it was in Rio.
"I mean it's a huge shame no fans were there, there's no doubt about that, I think every athlete would agree," he added.
"But there was still atmosphere which is incredible. It was quieter, obviously, but the feeling was no different to what it would have been with fans because it's the result that means so much to you, with the routine and the performance - I still got that amazing feeling which is incredible.
"But yeah there's no doubt it would have been a dream to have a fully packed audience in there especially being in Japan with gymnastics, they love the sport, and the Japanese getting on the pommel podium as well and doing what they've done this whole time, I feel like this atmosphere would have been incredible. But there's no doubt it was still amazing."
Whitlock has been away from his wife Leah and daughter Willow for around a month, due to pre-Games preparations and training camps.
He said his family help to keep things in perspective when the pressure of competition mounts.
"I've spoken to them all, they're massively proud. They can't believe it as much as me," he said. "It's been a bit of a surreal moment and a crazy journey to get to this point, it really has been.
"To go and do that I feel like the pressure was massively, massively on this time. It's probably the most nervous I've felt before any competition I've ever done in my whole life. To pull it off I'm really, really pleased. I literally cannot wait to get home and see everybody.
"I think it puts a lot of things into perspective. One of the things I spoke to Leah about before I went out to compete, she could kind of tell I was massively nervous. She said, 'Remember, it's gymnastics'.
"I think that's what it does, I think it puts a lot of things into perspective, facetiming my whole family and Willow running around playing with her cousins, which is amazing.
"It makes me feel 10 times more chilled, and it's kind of another thing I can think about, whether you have a good competition or don't have a good competition, I actually still look forward to going home massively.
"We were talking about it earlier, and thanks to the NHS because I'm double jabbed I can literally go back straight away, no quarantine, spend time with my family, spend time with the people who helped me get to this point straight away, which is an incredible feeling.
"They've massively helped me put a lot of things into perspective because sport can be intense and can be hard at times. I think having your mind in the right place before you compete is massively important."
South Africa's director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is to face a misconduct hearing after publicly criticising the match officials following their first Test defeat to the British and Irish Lions.
Erasmus accused the Lions of "reckless and dangerous" play in their 22-17 win last month and hit out at the standard of refereeing from Nic Berry.
The 48-year-old made the claims in a 62-minute clip posted on social media as he highlighted what he felt were a number of calls that went against South Africa.
He also retweeted clips from an anonymous Twitter user, alleged to be one of his own accounts, highlighting "questionable calls" made by the tourists.
World Rugby has now cited Erasmus for his comments and he, along with South African Rugby, will face a judicial hearing.
"Match officials are the backbone of the sport, and without them there is no game," a statement from the rugby governing body read on Monday.
"World Rugby condemns any public criticism of their selection, performance or integrity which undermines their role, the well established and trust-based coach-officials feedback process, and more importantly, the values that are at the heart of the sport.
"Having conducted a full review of all the available information, World Rugby is concerned that individuals from both teams have commented on the selection and/or performance of match officials.
"However, the extensive and direct nature of the comments made by Rassie Erasmus within a video address, in particular, meets the threshold to be considered a breach of World Rugby regulation 18 (misconduct and code of conduct) and will now be considered by an independent disciplinary panel.
"World Rugby has reminded the management of both teams of the importance of this area and their obligations regarding the values of the sport."
In response, SA Rugby posted a brief statement on Twitter, which read: "SA Rugby has noted the charges brought by World Rugby and will respond through the designated channels. There will be no further comment from SA Rugby until the process is complete."
South Africa defeated the Lions 27-9 in a fiery encounter at the weekend to level the three-match series at 1-1 and set up a decider in Cape Town on Saturday.
Erasmus, who has doubled up as a water carrier, may still be present for that showdown as a hearing date has not yet been set by World Rugby.
George Russell will get behind the wheel of a Mercedes this week as speculation around a Formula One promotion persists.
Russell is widely considered to be vying with current Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas for a seat next season.
And the Williams man will get the opportunity to join the team in Hungary on Tuesday to test the 18-inch tyres that will be used in 2022.
Russell was part of Mercedes' junior driver programme before getting his F1 opportunity with Williams and has tested for the Silver Arrows previously.
The 23-year-old even stood in for Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when the world champion had tested positive for coronavirus.
A pit-stop mix-up cost Russell the victory on that occasion, but a ninth-placed finish secured his first points.
The Bottas rivalry will draw extra attention to Russell's performance this week, though, coming straight after his best ever result at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Russell finished eighth, earning points with Williams for the first time.
Bottas had started from second after a record-equalling 80th qualifying one-two for Mercedes, but he crashed on lap one in a chaotic start.
China have a commanding lead at the top of the Tokyo 2020 medal table following another hugely successful day at the Olympics.
Five gold medals on day 10 took China's tally for the Games to 29.
Two of those came in weightlifting as Wang Zhouyu prevailed in the women's 87kg category and Li Wenwen set an Olympic record in the +87kg division.
Zhang Changhong won the men's 50m air rifle three positions, China's women took team sprint gold in the velodrome and Liu Yang beat compatriot You Hao in the men's rings final.
It means China are seven golds ahead of the United States, with two more Americans becoming Olympic champions on Monday.
Jade Carey was triumphant in the women's floor exercise final and Valarie Allman took gold in the discus throw.
Japan are third in the table after a day in which they failed to add any golds to their tally of 17.
Australia (14 golds) and the Russian Olympic Committee (12 golds) are fourth and fifth having also been kept off the top step of the podium.
Breathing down the neck of the Russian Olympic Committee are Great Britain, their tally of golds increased to 11 with victory in team eventing.
Soufiane El Bakkali ended Kenya's dominance in the men's 3000m steeplechase by claiming a first Olympic gold medal for Morocco in any sport since 2004.
The Kenyans have set the standard in this event in recent times, winning gold at each of the previous nine Games.
But El Bakkali put paid to that streak, claiming victory ahead of Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma as Benjamin Kigen collected a bronze for Kenya.
The last Moroccan to claim prevail sport was Hicham El Guerrouj, who won the men's 1500m and 5000m in Athens 17 years ago.
"I am so used to seeing Kenyans win, it's a big accomplishment for me," El Bakkali said.
"I have been aiming for this for years and this was my opportunity to show that Morocco is capable of winning this prize in front of the Kenyans.
"I have tried so many times to compare myself with the Kenyans and Ethiopians to see whether I could reach this gold, and I did."
HASSAN HAT-TRICK BID ON TRACK
Sifan Hassan is aiming to become the first athlete to win a 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m treble at a single Olympic Games.
The Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman, who recovered from a fall to get through her 1500m heat earlier in the day, got her bid off to an outstanding start with victory in the 5000m on Monday.
"After I fell down, it cost me a lot of energy, I went home and I wanted to sleep," said Hassan, who claimed the Netherlands' first Olympic gold in athletics since 1992.
"Many people think I am crazy. I think also I am crazy. Many people think this is crazy and I am not even going to get one medal.
"Life is not about the gold, the winner; it's also about following your heart."
CANADA END TEAM USA HOODOO TO REACH FINAL
Canada sensationally ended a 36-game winless run against the United States, Jessie Fleming's penalty securing a place in the women's football final.
The Canadians had not beaten Team USA – four-time Olympic gold medallists – since March 11, 2001.
However, their luck changed with Fleming's 74th-minute penalty settling the semi-final after VAR ruled that Tierna Davidson had fouled Deanne Rose.
Canada's reward is a gold-medal showdown with Sweden, who beat Australia 1-0 thanks to Fridolina Rolfo's second-half strike.
On a brighter note for the United States away from football, it was announced Simone Biles will take part in Tuesday's balance beam final.
FOUR-MIDABLE LOPEZ
Mijain Lopez became the first male Greco-Roman wrestler to win four gold medals at the Olympics after defeating Georgia's Iakobi Kajaia in the 130kg final.
His success saw him receive a congratulatory call from Cuba president Miguel Diaz-Canel, while he did not rule out carrying on through to Paris 2024 either.
"I feel happy, proud to be the best in the world and make history," Lopez said.
"I've had a long career, working hard to make these goals and break this record.
"I've been working so hard to get to this point. Being able to break this record today for me is a great achievement, because I've faced the best and I can be proud."
DEJA VU IN THE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Having contested the 2016 final in Rio, Great Britain and the Netherlands will face off again at the Games - this time in a mouth-watering last-four showdown.
Team GB required a shoot-out to see off Spain following a 2-2 draw, with Hannah Martin and Sarah Jones scoring their efforts while goalkeeper Maddie Hinch produced heroics to seal a 2-0 success.
Martin said: "It's a huge moment for us to get to those medal matches. We're just over the moon.
"Maddie was absolutely exceptional in there. We knew she had it and the feeling was utter elation. I couldn't get to her quick enough."
As for the Netherlands, they enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win over New Zealand.
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