Siya Kolisi was relieved to reach the end of "the toughest week I've ever had to face" as South Africa beat the British and Irish Lions on Saturday.
Tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am and 17 points from Handre Pollard settled the second Test 27-9 in the Springboks' favour, setting up a decider.
Focus returned to the pitch after a week in which Rassie Erasmus and Kolisi had been open in criticism of first Test referee Nic Berry.
The South Africa captain had said he felt "disrespected" by the manner of communication with the official.
Ben O'Keeffe, who showed two yellow cards and awarded Am's try in slightly contentious circumstances, was more popular with Kolisi.
"Today was better," he told Sky Sports. "I've worked with Ben before and it was great working with him."
Reflecting on the build-up to the match in Cape Town, Kolisi said: "It's been a week and a half. Honestly, for me, personally, as a leader, it was the toughest week I've ever had to face, with everything happening.
"But fortunately the coaches around made sure we focused on the things that we could fix.
"We know we made a lot of mistakes out there last week – especially in the maul and everything. We put all the focus on the game and what we could fix.
"And having our families, to be honest, was one of the things that helped me a lot. Have a tough day at training and you come home and the wives are waiting and the kids are waiting, that's been really special."
Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones – winning his 11th Lions cap, the outright fifth-most – was offered the opportunity to attribute a disappointing performance to the war of words between the sides.
But Jones made no excuses after his side's biggest defeat since the third Test against New Zealand in 2005.
The second half was especially disappointing, as the Lions were held scoreless for the first time since a 9-0 defeat to the All Blacks in 1983.
"Look, our focus was on what happens on the field – and it still is," Jones said. "We'll obviously go back and review where we can go right. That's our focus.
"Straight after the game, it's disappointing. We didn't want to take it to a third Test, but we have. We're fortunate we've got another opportunity next week."
It is at least familiar ground for the Lions, who have been taken to a decider in each of coach Warren Gatland's three series, but the Springboks now have some momentum.
Kolisi added: "It's game on. We're going to go again, nothing different, and we're going to try to do what we did today even harder."
Alvaro Odriozola has become the latest Real Madrid player to test positive for coronavirus.
The 25-year-old is the third member of the Madrid squad to contract the illness in the past eight days after Karim Benzema and new signing David Alaba also returned positive tests.
Odriozola played the full 90 minutes of Los Blancos' 2-1 friendly defeat to Rangers in Glasgow last week but will now self-isolate.
Madrid confirmed the news in a short statement on their official website on Saturday, though they did not clarify whether the four-cap Spain international was asymptomatic.
Real Sociedad academy product Odriozola featured 16 times for Madrid in all competitions season, including nine starts in LaLiga.
With Dani Carvajal still on the comeback trail from a hamstring injury, Odriozola was in contention to start the season at right-back for Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have one more pre-season friendly to play – against Milan in Austria on August 8 – before beginning their LaLiga campaign against Alaves the following week.
South Africa outclassed the British and Irish Lions 27-9 in an ill-tempered second Test to level the series in Cape Town and set up a decider.
The world champions had come up just short in a controversial opening loss but controlled proceedings on Saturday after another scrappy start.
Indeed, at the end of a week dominated by Rassie Erasmus' criticism of the officiating, referee Ben O'Keeffe took centre stage in the second try-less first half of the series.
But a pair of incisive kicks from Handre Pollard and Faf de Klerk then teed up scores for Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am to deal the Lions their first defeat in four Tests.
The nature of Am's try could be considered contentious, however, and it might be Warren Gatland's turn to take issue with an under-the-spotlight official whose early warnings scarcely checked a frantic encounter.
Penalties provided the best opportunities for points, with Pollard opening the scoring after three minutes and Dan Biggar twice responding with his boot.
Pollard pulled a second effort wide to the left and the Springboks were dealt a blow as Pieter-Steph du Toit departed with an apparent shoulder injury before tempers flared.
Duhan van der Merwe made for the sin bin when his attempted kick instead caught Cheslin Kolbe, who soon followed his opponent for tackling Conor Murray in the air. A subsequent melee went unpunished.
Pollard found his range again, only for Biggar to keep the Lions three points ahead at half-time – albeit after the tourists passed up an opening when Robbie Henshaw could not ground the ball beyond the try line.
The quality that had been missing was immediately evident in the second period, however, as Pollard's kick picked out Mapimpi to thunder over on the left.
Pollard missed the conversion, which would have allowed Biggar to kick the Lions back in front had his fourth penalty not bounced away off the post.
Gatland's men struggled to put the Springboks under any extended pressure and they were instead forced back, with De Klerk picking out Am, who appeared to control the ball with his forearm, rather than his palm.
Pollard found the target this time and another kick made absolutely sure. As a one-sided second half concluded in Lions territory, there was time for him to add one more, too, finishing with 17 points.
MAPIMPI MAKES HIS MARK
Kolbe's ineffective first Test display was a talking point, with the highly talented wing restricted to three carries and failing to beat a defender. He improved only marginally to four carries on Saturday and struggled to impact the game beyond his yellow card.
Fortunately for the Springboks, their other wing stepped up. Mapimpi's try provided a belated moment of real class. He beat two defenders but also got involved in the action in a defensive sense, making five tackles and winning two turnovers.
CONTENTED COACH?
Just enough decisions went South Africa's way to ensure a war of words around the standard of refereeing is unlikely to subside. Erasmus will now be the happier of the two coaches.
O'Keeffe was a little lenient with both sides in the first half and then found in favour of the Springboks when Am looked to lose control of the ball. However, the final penalty count – 15-10 in the hosts' favour – was more due to their dominance than any officiating calls.
Kevin Durant believes Jayson Tatum will eventually claim the Team USA points record he just took from Carmelo Anthony.
In scoring 23 points in the United States' 119-84 win over the Czech Republic – a victory that secured their progression to the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020 – Durant reached 354 in Olympic play.
He is now past Anthony (336) and will expect to stretch his advantage in pursuit of a third Games gold.
The three-pointer that took Durant to new heights gave Team USA their first lead midway through the second quarter, with the Brooklyn Nets forward leading his country's recovery from a slow start.
Tatum took control thereafter, though, finishing on a game-high 27 points.
The 23-year-old is appearing at his first Games but has 50 points through three appearances, prompting Durant to make a bold claim.
Appearing alongside Tatum in a post-game interview, Durant said: "This guy to the left, I think he's going to be the next one to break that record."
Tatum boosted his total with five-for-10 three-point shooting, as the United States made 20 shots from deep – tied for their third-most in an Olympic game.
Coach Gregg Popovich said of Tatum: "Obviously he's more confident but he makes better choices, decision-making wise.
"He attacks for himself and for a team-mate at the same time, and he didn't do that in the very beginning in the league; he was just a scorer.
"But now he's valuable because he does the other things. He's starting to rebound better. We're telling him that it's important, we're not that big and we do need him on the boards."
In the same news conference, Durant was asked again about his achievement in surpassing Anthony.
"You just think about all the players that played in this programme and [it is] pretty cool to be among names like that," he said.
"Carmelo is a guy that I played on two Olympic teams with and I've seen his approach to these games and I try to steal some of his techniques and approach.
"It's still pretty weird for me to do stuff like this because I play a team sport and I try my hardest to make it about the group.
"But it is special to do something like that and scoring is something that I've worked on my whole career and something that I've expanded my whole career, and to consistently do it is pretty cool."
Jamaica completed a one-two-three clean sweep in the women's 100m sprint race in Tokyo, with gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah setting an Olympic record.
Thompson-Herah defended the title she won in Rio and became the second-fastest woman in history in the process, recording a time of 10.61 seconds.
Reigning world champion and compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce claimed silver, just .02 seconds ahead of Shericka Jackson as Jamaica completed a clean sweep which was celebrated on Twitter by Usain Bolt.
Legendary sprinter Bolt – an eight-time gold medallist – retired in 2017, and the men's preliminary rounds struggled for big names in his absence.
Jamaica will have another chance of a medal in athletics, with 2019 world champion long jumper Tajay Gayle overcoming injury to make Monday's final with a leap of 8.14m.
Sweden sealed a one-two in the men's discus – Daniel Stahl taking gold and Simon Pettersson silver – while Poland won their second Olympic gold medal in a relay event in athletics, their mixed team succeeding in the same city in which their women had tasted victory in 1964.
NO LUCK FOR NOVAK
Djokovic's Golden Slam hopes were ended on Friday, and on Saturday, his medal hopes crumbled.
The world number one lost to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, who won 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in the bronze medal match in the men's singles.
For Djokovic, it was a defeat which represented the end of his campaign.
He would have had another shot at bronze in the mixed doubles alongside Nina Stojanovic, but withdrew from that match, handing the medal to Ash Barty and John Peers of Australia in the process.
"The exhaustion, both physical and mental, got to me and it's unfortunate that in the most important matches I just didn't deliver, but I gave it all," said Djokovic, whose attention will now turn to winning the US Open to complete a calendar Grand Slam.
BLACK FERNS RIGHT RIO WRONGS
New Zealand's women clinched gold in the rugby sevens on Saturday, overcoming France 26-12.
The Black Ferns cruised to the final in 2016, but slumped to a defeat to rivals Australia. Co-captain Portia Woodman was pictured in tears on the field in Brazil, yet her team made no such mistake this time around.
"Crying underneath the posts was one that I looked back on, but now it's gone," Woodman said. "Not when I look at this," she added, gesturing to the gold medal around her neck.
"Yeah, we've got titles and we've won things, but I want our group to be good people and show the world that you can be a good, genuine person and still have success," Woodman's fellow co-captain Sarah Hirini said.
"Our programme allowed that. Things like this happen because you're able to be who you are."
In the bronze medal match, Fiji defeated Great Britain 21-12.
"We are totally gutted. We really thought we could come here and get a medal, but we just weren't good enough," conceded Team GB's Hannah Smith. "Fiji really brought it to us today, so fair play to them."
DEBUT BRONZE FOR WILSON, CHINA TAKE WINDSURFING GOLD
There was joy for Britain out on the water, however, as Emma Wilson – an Olympic debutant – won bronze in the women's windsurfing.
Wilson was already guaranteed a medal due to winning four races in the lead up to the final. The 22-year-old missed out on silver as Lu Yunxiu of China kept within a boat's length to claim the gold.
Charline Picon took silver to follow up her win in Rio five years ago.
"It's amazing. I tried so hard in that race - I just kept going and going," said Wilson. "I just want to win, but any medal is amazing. I'm super happy and I just gave it everything I had."
CHINESE TAIPEI WIN MAIDEN BADMINTON GOLD
Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin took home Chinese Taipei's first badminton gold on Saturday with a victory over Liu Yu Chen and Li Jun Hui of two-time reigning champions China in the men's doubles final.
Their victory brought up the seventh Olympic gold for Chinese Taipei – the previous six having been split across weightlifting (four) and taekwondo (two).
Malaysia claimed their first medal in Tokyo thanks to Wooi Yik Soh and Aaron Chia triumphing in the bronze medal match.
In total, Malaysia have claimed 12 medals in their Olympic history, but are yet to clinch gold in any event.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce fell just short of winning a third Olympic gold medal in the women's 100m but is proud to have left behind a legacy on the grandest stage as she reiterated her intention to retire next year.
The reigning world champion, seeking to become the first woman to win the same athletics event at three different Games following her success at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, finished marginally behind compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Jamaica's Fraser-Pryce previously announced she intends to bow out of athletics in 2022 and will push ahead with those plans after adding to those two previous golds and the bronze collected at Rio 2016.
"The Paris Games are some way off, and I did say this would be my last Olympic appearance," said Fraser-Pryce, who missed more than a year of action around the birth of her son in 2017.
"As I said previously, I'm just happy to be competing at my fourth Games, doing it as a mum at 34 when people believe you're at the end of your career. To do what I'm doing now is a gift from God.
"I haven't had my best moment yet. I definitely believe something else is there. This is my final Olympics, but I'm looking forward to the World Championships next year and that will definitely be my final season."
Fraser-Pryce posted the fastest time in qualifying for Saturday's final, which saw six of the eight competitors finish under 11 seconds in what was the quickest women's final of all time.
Thompson-Herah's Olympic record time of 10.61s saw her take a second successive gold in the event and Shericka Jackson completed a Jamaican one-two-three with a personal best of 10.76s.
"I have respect for both of those ladies," Fraser-Pryce said. "Of course I'm disappointed – that was my first reaction. If you're an athlete and didn't run the race you wanted, you still have to be grateful for the opportunity and be happy for those who won.
"If it wasn't for the pandemic I can only imagine what would be happening in Jamaica right now. Just speaking about the legacy that we have back home, all those athletes young and old, they are all inspired by something that happened tonight."
POLAND MAKE HISTORY
The women's 100m race was one of three medal events on Saturday, with Poland earlier pulling off an upset by winning the Games' first ever 4x400m mixed relay.
Poland's team, comprised of Karol Zalewski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Kajetan Duszynski, posted the fastest time in the heats and produced another great display in the final with a winning time of 3:09.87.
It is the second Olympic gold medal Poland have won in a relay event in athletics following their success in the women's 4x400m at the Tokyo Games in 1964.
United States are the world champions and entered the event as favourites, but they had tough time of things in qualifying – initially being disqualified before being reinstated – and finished third with 3:10.22.
Despite being pipped to gold by Poland and silver by the Dominican Republic, USA competitor Kendall Ellis was pleased to simply be on the podium.
"It feels great," she said. "It is so exciting to come here and run the first mixed relay at the Olympic Games, and to come out with a medal feels great. It feels like a win for us."
SWEDISH ONE-TWO IN MEN'S DISCUS
Sweden's Daniel Stahl lived up to his reputation of world champion by coming out on top in the men's discus to win gold, while compatriot Simon Pettersson took silver.
Stahl was the strong favourite coming into the event and registered a distance of 68.90m on his second attempt to finish ahead of Pettersson (67.39m) and Lukas Weishaidinger (67.07m) of Austria.
The last time Sweden took gold and silver in an event at a summer Games was in the men's 10,000m walk race at London 1948.
Australia's Matthew Denny sent the discus soaring a personal best 67.02m on his final attempt, but that was not enough for a medal.
"It's amazing. I am very happy," said Stahl, who became the first Swedish athlete to win an Olympic title in athletics since 2004. "There was a lot of hard work and fun on the way. I am extremely proud.
"My training partner [Pettersson] has been working hard. We have had a lot of fun together for many years. I am very proud of my coach too for believing in us and having faith."
POST-BOLT ERA BEGINS IN TOKYO
Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt won three straight men's 100m titles between 2008 and 2016, but he announced his retirement four years ago and the discipline is now wide open.
The preliminary rounds kicked off on Saturday, with the headline act being Dorian Keletela – competing at the Games as part of the Olympic Refugee team – advancing to Sunday's semi-final with a personal best of 10.33s.
In Saturday's other qualifying rounds, Cuba's Juan Miguel Echevarria spearheaded a group of 12 athletes to progress to Monday's final in the men's long jump with a leap of 8.50m.
2019 world champion Tajay Gayle, representing Jamaica, had to have a bandage applied to his left knee after struggling in his first two attempts, though he still advanced with a jump of 8.14m.
There were no surprises in the men's 800m heats, with all the favourites still in contention to take the title off David Rudisha, who is not competing at this year's Games due to injury.
Belinda Bencic won the women's singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics after a bruising final against Marketa Vondrousova.
The ninth seed needed two and a half hours to overcome the 2019 French Open finalist 7-5 2-6 6-3 on Saturday.
Switzerland have now won five tennis medals in Olympics history, including three golds: Marc Rosset previously won the men's singles title in 1992, with Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka teaming up for the men's doubles in 2008.
There were four breaks of serve in the opening six games of the contest, Bencic eventually capitalising on a first set point.
Vondrousova began to find her rhythm in the second, raining down 14 winners to Bencic's four to level the match before breaking again at the start of the third.
Bencic responded by winning the next three games and picked up another crucial break to move 5-3 ahead, dropping to her knees in disbelief after taking the win on her second match point for her first title since 2019.
She could yet complete a remarkable double as she prepares for the women's doubles final on Sunday.
Svitolina rallies for historic bronze
Elena Svitolina had to dig deep to win an enthralling bronze medal match against Elena Rybakina.
The world number six lost a one-sided first set and faced a 4-1 deficit in the decider before prevailing 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Svitolina has made something of a habit of doing things the hard way in Tokyo, with four of her six matches going to a decider and more than 13 hours spent on court.
By contrast, world number 20 Rybakina had not dropped a set before losing in the semi-finals and looked to be in control as she raced through the opener.
Svitolina responded to take a tight second set and once more found the answer in the third when it seemed victory was slipping away, eventually winning Ukraine's first ever tennis medal after a gruelling two hours and 24 minutes.
"To win such a big battle for the bronze medal definitely means the world to me," she said, as per the ITF website. "Everyone in Ukraine is watching – we don't win so many medals, you know – so for sure, it's very special for me and for Ukraine.
"I was upset in the beginning, but I got back, pulled myself together. This was a hell of a match for me, but fighting for a bronze medal meant a lot to me and I was focused on that."
Brilliant bronze for Brazil
There was another first in the women's doubles match as Brazil ended their long wait for a tennis medal thanks to Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani.
The pair saved four consecutive match points in the deciding tie-break as they beat Wimbledon finalists Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina 4-6 6-4 (11-9).
"Words can't express what this medal means," Pigossi said. "It's a dream. I always wanted this medal, I always wanted this. I'm over the moon and speechless.
"Everything I've done, everything I've given up to get here, I always thought it was worth it, but now I have a medal to prove it. And we know that everyone in Brazil was behind us."
Lewis Hamilton told an angry Hungarian Grand Prix crowd their jeers "fuelled" him as he took pole position at the start of a potentially historic weekend.
The Mercedes superstar was at the centre of controversy two weeks earlier at Silverstone as his crash saw Max Verstappen ruled out on the first lap.
Hamilton recovered from a 10-second penalty to win the race and close the gap significantly in the title race.
That was the defending champion's 99th Formula One victory and he now has a clear sight of the century, albeit only after another Red Bull flashpoint.
Having already secured provisional pole with a time of one minute and 15.419 seconds, which would ultimately prove enough, Hamilton crept in front of the chequered flag to make a second run, delaying Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, who was unable to get through in time.
It left Hamilton fighting only against Verstappen, who lacked the pace of previous races and has work to do from third on Sunday.
Hamilton's first win as a Mercedes driver came in Hungary and he could be the first driver to win the same event nine times this week, but he was not popular among the locals as he took the microphone.
Greeted with loud boos, the Briton said: "I appreciate the great support I have here.
"Honestly, I've never felt so great with the booing. If anything, it just fuels me. I don't really mind it. It's alright."
Mercedes had gone six grands prix without pole position, their second-longest barren run in the hybrid era.
But Valtteri Bottas followed Hamilton in second place for the Silver Arrows' 80th qualifying one-two, a joint-record alongside Ferrari.
"It was an amazing qualifying lap," Hamilton said having claimed his 101st pole. "I think it's been amazing teamwork from everyone this weekend, Valtteri included.
"Trying to push the car forwards, developing constantly, the guys back at the factory have not left a stone unturned. It's been amazing to see everyone coming together, rallying and pushing forwards."
Verstappen, using the same Honda power unit from his Silverstone crash, was given a far warmer greeting by the Hungarian fans after coming in 0.421 seconds behind Hamilton.
"It's difficult to say the gap, but clearly the whole weekend so far we've been a bit behind," the Red Bull star said. "It showed again in qualifying.
"Of course it's not what we want, but we're still there in P3 and we'll see what we can do. So far, it's not what I want."
Verstappen will start on soft tyres having switched in Q2 to be sure of his place in the final session, one place ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
Q2 had briefly been halted due to a crash for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, with Mick Schumacher also earlier hitting the barriers in FP3 and unable to enter qualifying.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:15.419
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.315secs
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.421s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +1.002s
5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.064s
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.070s
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.077s
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1.234s
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.296s
10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.331s
Elaine Thompson-Herah insists she did not have any record in mind after her stunning victory in the women's 100 metres final at Tokyo 2020.
The Jamaican defended the title she won at Rio 2016 in sensational fashion, sprinting home in an Olympic-record time of 10.61 seconds to deny Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce becoming the first woman to win the same athletics event at three different Games.
It was the first time Thompson-Herah, who has endured a frustrating time with Achilles injuries since her crowning moment in Rio five years ago, had run below 10.7s.
But the 29-year-old was focused only on winning and believes her benchmark will too eventually be broken.
"Going into the final I didn't have a time in my head, I was just trying to execute the best race and I had the best race tonight because I got the PB," she told a post-race news conference.
"I wasn't looking at any record or any time as I said. But eventually those times will erase, even if it takes four or five years they will [be] erased [by] somebody.
"Other women are coming up, rising, so to run this Olympic record tonight sends out a message anything is possible."
Fraser-Pryce had been the favourite to win the 100m for a third time in her decorated career but had to settle for silver, while Shericka Jackson completed a Jamaica one, two, three.
Thompson-Herah hailed Fraser-Pryce, who said this will be her final Olympics, as a benchmark in the sport.
"I wasn't checking the stats [of my races against Fraser-Pryce] I wasn't even counting," she added.
"She's a talented and a great athlete of course. She set the barrier for us younger generation coming through. As for a mum, she's soon to walk away from the sport, she's left her mark."
On the race itself, which saw Fraser-Pryce tense up over the last 30m with her rival right on her shoulder, Thompson-Herah confessed she had some nerves at the starting block.
"I've not seen the race as yet, I was super nervous but I had to control it. I knew all eight ladies were nervous," she said.
"We had done everything we could have done there is nothing else I could change. I think I had the best race tonight, I don't know if there is more to come but [I have] a PB and Olympic record so therefore tonight is the best race."
American Keyshawn Davis accused Olympic boxing organisers of disrespect after flooring lightweight favourite Sofiane Oumiha and said he now had "no choice" but to win Olympic gold.
The 22-year-old from Norfolk, Virginia, who fought on the undercard of the big Arlington showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders in May, is away to a flying start in his Tokyo 2020 campaign.
Frenchman Oumiha won silver at Rio five years ago and the 26-year-old was the top seed at these Games, but he lost by second-round knockout as Davis pulled out a big shot that booked him a quarter-final place.
The USA last won an Olympic boxing gold medal at the 2004 Games, but Davis may have a shot of ending that barren run and he will not be found wanting for confidence.
"I feel like this is my opportunity. I feel like I can't let no competitor beat me or even come close to that," Davis said after his second win in Japan's capital.
"I'm just making sure throughout every fight that I'm putting on a good performance, I'm putting on a show, but I'm also having fun in the ring.
"My confidence has already been high, but looking at my opponents right here, I don't feel like they’re as good [as Oumiha].
"I've got no choice but to get gold. I'm getting gold, and that's what I'm shooting for is getting gold."
Davis then questioned why he should get such a tough opening fight at the match-up with Oumiha.
"They've given me these tougher opponents early. I feel kind of disrespected," he said, "like they're trying to get me out of the tournament early, or that's just how I take it to motivate myself to go into each one of these fights.
"But I don't care if you gave me [world champion] Andy Cruz the first day, I was going to beat him and move onto the next day, and that's how I felt coming into this tournament."
Russian Olympic Committee's Gabil Mamedov is next for Davis, with Cruz on the opposite side of the draw.
GOLDEN CHANCE FOR JAPANESE YOUNGSTER
Japan's Sena Irie will fight for gold on Tuesday in the first final of the Tokyo boxing programme, a thrill for the 20-year-old home boxer.
Featherweight Irie won silver in the Asian and Oceanian Olympic qualifying event, held in Jordan almost 18 months ago. She also finished fifth at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships.
Now she could deliver an Olympic title for the hosts after edging out Great Britain's Karriss Artingstall on a split (3:2) points decision in their semi-final.
Irie said: "It was a very close match but if I had lost in the third round I probably would have regretted it for the rest of my life. I honestly did not think I would be going to the finals. Now that I have, I want to get the gold."
She will face reigning world champion Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines who beat Irma Testa, also by split decision (4:1) with the judges. Petecio has been regarded as the title favourite.
Petecio said: "This means so much to me as not only it is my dream, it is my father's dream. It's not for me, it's for my family, my country and for all the people from the Philippines who have prayed for me."
WORTH THE WEIGHT?
Japan's Ryomei Tanaka is fighting in the flyweight division and going great guns, reaching the quarter-finals on Saturday with a points win over China's Jianguan Hu.
But making the 48-52kg class is a strain, Tanaka admits, and the sooner these Games are over, the happier the 27-year-old will be on a personal basis.
"It is not easy getting to the weight to compete. I want to meet up with my friends to drink and eat," he said.
His life in recent times has been built around the objective of success at the Kokugikan Arena, however, and those social treats can wait a little longer.
"I have been preparing for several years for this chance. I don't care about who my opponent is or what he can do. I just think about my style," Tanaka said.
"The next round is for a medal, but I want the gold. But more important than my performance, I just like to knock out my opponent. I sometimes care more about that than the result."
The Czech Republic were no match for the United States as Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant starred in a 119-84 romp.
Team USA's emphatic victory sealed their place in the quarter-finals as the second-placed side in Group A and ensured they will not face one of the pool winners.
Durant put up 23 points and six assists, overturning an early deficit, while Tatum led the team with 27 points, including five three-pointers.
Team USA's 20 threes represented the fourth time they have managed as many in an Olympic game, also doing so against Argentina in 2012 (20), Lithuania in 2004 (21) and Nigeria in 2012 (29).
Due to the margin of defeat, the Czechs – who threatened an upset before falling away dramatically – will not progress into the next round as one of the best third-placed sides.
ROTATION GAME
France were able to rest some star names as they progressed. Les Bleus had won their opening two games and completed a clean sweep in Group A with a 79-62 victory over Iran.
Only one player – Timothe Luwawu Cabarrot – played more than 20 minutes, with star men Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert given limited game time.
Nando De Colo enjoyed a highly efficient cameo in his 15 minutes on court, scoring 10 points on 100 per cent shooting while adding five rebounds and five assists.
Iran talisman Hamed Haddadi finished off his Olympic campaign with an 18-point showing, but it was not enough to keep his team in the tournament.
France have already beaten the United States, but Fournier dismissed the suggestion they are gold medal favourites.
"To be honest, I'm not even focused on the gold medal, just the quarter-finals," he said. "Any team that we are going to play there will have its strengths and weaknesses, but I can't tell you who I would prefer there because we don't even know who's going to be there."
AUSTRALIA CLAIM TOP SPOT
Patty Mills scored five threes in a haul of 24 points as he led Australia to an 89-76 victory over Germany.
The Boomers needed victory to secure first place in Group B and they did so with a 13-point margin to ensure they will be seeded in the quarter-final draw on Sunday.
Despite defeat, Germany will go through as one of the best third-placed teams.
Mills is heading into unrestricted free agency in the NBA, but his sole focus is on propelling Australia towards a medal.
"This is a lifetime of work in a matter of a couple of weeks. I'm making sure there are no distractions for me or my team-mates," he said.
MANNION SEALS FOURTH-QUARTER FIGHTBACK
Italy clinched a spot in the last eight by overturning an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to beat Nigeria 80-71 in Group B.
Nico Mannion scored 14 points in 16 minutes, including a vital late effort from deep to help seal Italy's comeback success as Nigeria ended winless following a 24-8 fourth quarter.
"I think everybody is surprised with the way he's playing, he's showing everybody that he's a great player. Also, he's only 20 years old," Achille Polonara said of Golden State Warriors guard Mannion.
"I hope that he can help us like this in the next game, too. He's a great guy, he's very happy to stay with us, and we're very happy to have him."
Spain reached the semi-finals of the men's football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics after surviving an almighty scare against the Ivory Coast.
Manchester United defender Eric Bailly was a surprising opening goalscorer but Dani Olmo levelled before half-time at Miyagi Stadium.
Spain were the dominant force on the ball without finding a breakthrough, and it looked as though they were staring at a shock quarter-final exit when Max Gradel's deflected effort gave Ivory Coast the lead in injury time.
Incredibly, substitute Rafa Mir forced extra time two minutes later, scoring just 58 seconds after coming off the bench.
Spain at last went ahead when Oyarzabal swept home from the penalty spot, Bailly having been penalised for handball after a long VAR review.
Mir completed his hat-trick with two goals in the final three minutes to secure a 5-2 win and send Spain into the final four.
JAPAN STILL DREAMING
Spain will now meet Japan after the hosts battled past New Zealand in Kashima.
There was little to split the sides over 120 minutes, Japan out-shooting their opponents 21 to eight but unable to find a breakthrough.
At the other end, captain Maya Yoshida was the inspiration, posting the highest figures for duel success rate (80 per cent), aerial success rate (71.4 per cent) and blocks (three) of any starting player.
Fittingly, it was Yoshida who converted the final penalty after Liberato Cacace and Clayton Lewis had failed to score, giving Japan a 4-2 win in the shoot-out.
MEXICO WIN CLASSIC TO SET UP BRAZIL CLASH
Brazil's quest to defend the gold medal they won on home soil in 2016 will continue in a semi-final against Mexico.
A solitary goal from Matheus Cunha settled the quarter-final contest with Egypt in Saitama.
If that encounter was cagey, the showdown between Mexico and South Korea was anything but, as a nine-goal thriller was played out in Yokohama.
Mexico led 3-1 at half-time through goals from Henry Martin, Luis Romo and Sebastian Cordova, with Lee Dong-gyeong grabbing a lifeline.
A frenetic contest continued after the break as Lee made it 3-2 only for Martin and Cordova to score their second goals and stretch Mexico's advantage.
Substitute Eduardo Aguirre netted the sixth with six minutes of normal time remaining, Hwang Ui-jo scoring an injury-time consolation.
"I think my journey hasn't fully started yet."
For a double Olympic champion to say that may seem strange. But in the case of Elaine Thompson-Herah, who made such a claim in an interview with the Olympic Channel last September, it makes sense.
Five years ago in Rio, Thompson-Herah had toppled the great Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the two-time defending 100 metres women's champion at that point, who had struggled for form having contended with a painful toe injury.
When she followed up with 200m glory she became the first Jamaican to do the sprint double at the same Games. She was only the second from any nation in history do it.
It was as though a ceremonial torch had been passed from Fraser-Pryce, whose rise to stardom had coincided so beautifully with Usain Bolt's in a glorious era for Jamaican sprinting, to Thompson-Herah.
Only the path in sports is never quite so straightforward, and so it proved for Thompson-Herah.
Just a year later, while Fraser-Pryce was absent having gone into labour with her first child, she placed fifth in the 100m final at the 2017 World Championships in London and did not even compete in the 200m.
Two years later, in Doha, disappointment struck again. Fraser-Pryce had returned to the top of the 100m food chain to reclaim gold. Thompson-Herah placed outside the medals in fourth. In the 200m, she was forced to pull out prior to the semi-finals with a nagging Achilles injury that had plagued her since 2018.
Those injuries were never used as an excuse. Instead it only fuelled a fire inside to return to the top.
"Disappointments do come, but I have to continue to work hard because no athlete goes into a championship to lose. I didn't go to a championship to lose. It was beyond my control," she said in the aforementioned Olympics Channel interview.
"Because sometimes when you have pain you don't want to share it on social media and share it with everybody. When you have pain, you think you can still do your best. I always tell myself that even if I am having pain, I am going to give my 100 per cent, even if it's not going to be 100 per cent, I know I am going to do my best."
Then, as it did for every athlete whether for better or worse, fate intervened. The coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the Games. For some, opportunity was denied. For others, there was a chance to hit the reset button.
Thompson-Herah was frustrated that the chance to defend her titles had been delayed but, having started training late in 2020, the extra time proved a blessing.
It has been a very competitive year in the women's 100m. Eight women had clocked a time under 10.90 seconds this season prior to these Games. Jamaicans Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson, the trio who ultimately occupied the podium in the Japanese capital, had gone below 10.80.
The injury niggles continued to trouble Thompson-Herah and forced her to miss a Diamond League Meeting in Gateshead. It also left her fearing she may not be able to compete at the Jamaican trials in June, where she placed third behind Fraser-Pryce and Jackson.
But just earlier this month she ran a 10.71 in Hungary, her fastest since 2017 and just outside her previous personal best of 10.70.
The confidence was growing and yet the spotlight was largely still on Fraser-Pryce, who was attempting to make history as the first woman to win a single athletics event three times.
But Thompson-Herah has now emulated her great compatriot by going back-to-back in the 100m – something Fraser-Pryce achieved at Beijing in 2008 and London 2012.
What is even more impressive is the way she did it. A final tipped to thrill lived up to its billing at a time when Tokyo 2020 needs its marquee events to deliver the goods.
Fraser-Pryce got off to a flier but from 60m onwards there was only ever winner. A time of 10.61 marks a new Olympic record, and the second fastest ever run in the women's 100m. There could have been no more perfect moment to pull the performance of a lifetime out of the bag.
Her victory in an event dubbed the "Race of the Games" completes an emotional return to the pinnacle. From bursting onto the scene, through the injury troubles, peaking at the right time – all have culminated in Thompson-Herah once more scaling the mountain.
This was the moment her journey began again.
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