Team Usa

Biles took her overall Olympics tally to seven gold medals as she recorded an average score of 15.300.

The 27-year-old, who withdrew from several events, including the vault, at Tokyo 2020, is now the third most decorated female gymnast in the history of the Olympics, with 10 medals to her name.

She will take part in the floor and beam finals on Monday, meaning she could overtake Vera Caslavska's tally of 11, won between 1960 and 1968. 

Larisa Latynina, with 18 golds, is the most successful female gymnast in Olympic history.

Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago, claimed silver, while Biles' team-mate Jade Carey took bronze.

Curry shot 8-of-13 from 3-point range in a late masterclass as Team USA held off a late charge from France, sinking four of those after Victor Wembanyama had narrowed their lead to just three points.

It was the USA's fifth straight Olympic gold medal, though Curry's first as he shone on his debut at the Paris Games, and he is cherishing the victory.

"I've been blessed," Curry told NBC after the game. "This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief in getting to the finish line.

"I knew if I got to my spot [to make those late jumps] I could knock it down."

Wembanyama finished with a game-high 26 points for France, while Guerschon Yabusele also had 20, with 15 of those coming in the first half.

Despite falling just short in their late comeback, Wembanyama was in high spirits after claiming silver, though he already has his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"I never dreamed of this moment," said Wembanyama. "It is incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better team, better coaches.

"The games were really high intensity, and we could have lost by 20 points, but we kept fighting. I will be going for gold in four years' time."

Serbia entered the fourth quarter of the game with a 13-point lead, but a stunning late comeback from the USA, who have won gold in each of the last four Olympics, instead saw them prevail 95-91.

Curry starred for Team USA, scoring 36 points, the second-highest scoring game by an individual in the team's Olympic history, and his two free throws in the dying seconds ensured Serbia were unable to force any more drama.

And Curry explained how the lure of a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal spurred them to avoid the shock defeat.

"We talked about it the whole way, all summer," he said. "No matter how it looked, we were going to be challenged at some point.

"Outside of the exhibition series we had a pretty smooth road. Serbia are tough. They're a great team.

"Playing them three times, it's always hard to beat a team that many times, so to come back the way we did was amazing.

"We have no quit, and we know how much this means to win a gold medal with this group and the moment we have in front of us.

"Obviously, I hit the big three, but our defence carried us. Defence wins games in any league, especially in FIBA, so it was pretty special."

Serbia at one point held a 17-point lead in the first half, with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic getting 17 points and 11 assists, though they floundered in the closing stages.

While Curry took most of the headlines, LeBron James made his mark too, tying the game at 84-84 with four minutes remaining.

He got 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to finish with a triple-double, becoming the first player ever to complete the feat twice at the Olympics.

He echoed Curry's sentiments on Serbia's strength, noting how that helped to get the best out of the USA.

"Give a lot of credit to Serbia," James said. "They gave us everything they had.

"It's a great team. They played exceptionally well. They tested us and we needed that."

The USA will face hosts France in the gold-medal match on Saturday.

The 35-year-old became the USA's all-time leading scorer at the Olympics during their 122-87 victory over Brazil, surpassing Lisa Leslie's tally of 488.

Despite such an achievement, Durant played down its enormity, stating that another player will likely surpass it in the future and another gold medal is what he is truly focused on.

"Records are meant to be broken, so somebody will come along and do the same to me," Durant said.

"My focus is on trying to win this gold."

LeBron James was full of praise for Durant, and the NBA's record points-scorer believes there is more still to come.

"He's incredible. He was born to play ball and he's simply incredible," James said.

"I'm happy for him. Congratulations to him. I'm super proud of him. And he's got more to go."

James had to go off to receive treatment during the third quarter after he took an elbow to the face from Georginho De Paula but he eased any concerns after the match, stating that he was fine and will be ready for the semi-final.

He said: "I'm all right. Got hit with an inadvertent elbow around the eye."

Meanwhile, despite Team USA being on the cusp of a fourth straight gold, Jayson Tatum, a champion in Tokyo, warned that the one-off nature of the knockout competition meant there was no room for complacency or easing up. 

Tatum said: "Everybody expects us to win. But you don't take things for granted, right? Canada lost earlier. It's a different game. It's not like the playoffs, where it's a series.

"We've got one game and a lot of (stuff) can happen in one game, especially over here."

Team USA will face Nikola Jokic's Serbia in the semi-finals, a side they have already beaten in the group stages. 

He added 11 points for Team USA in just 21 minutes, surpassing Lisa Leslie's tally of 488 to make him the top-scorer of any American basketball player, male or female, at the Games.

Joel Embiid, greeted by a chorus of boos from the French fans after passing on the chance to play for their national team, was the star though, as he got 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half to set the USA on their way to victory.

LeBron James also orchestrated the game, for 12 minutes at least, making snapshot passes as he piled up nine assists and 12 points. However, his game came to an early end when he took an elbow to the face from Georginho De Paula.

Devin Booker top scored for the USA with 18 points as they shared the load, and though Bruno Caboclo got 24 points for Brazil, he could not inspire a shock upset against the reigning champions.

Steve Kerr's team are chasing a fifth consecutive gold medal but will have to face Serbia, who they beat in their competition opener, for a place in the final.

The American stayed below the world-record pace throughout the entire race and finished the race in an outstanding 14 minutes 30.67 seconds, beating Chinese swimmer Yang Sun's time of 14:31.02 from London 2012.

His triumph also ensured a 124-year record stayed intact for the United States, continuing their run of having an individual male swimming champion at the Olympic Games.

Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri finished in second, while race-favourite Daniel Wiffen of Ireland earned a bronze, failing to secure a second gold after winning the 800m freestyle on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old became the first athlete from Team Ireland to win more than one medal in the Games in 28 years, bringing their tally up to six medals, equalling their best-ever haul from 2012.

Meanwhile, in the women's 4x100m relay, Team USA set another world record by winning gold in 3:49.63, breaking the record of 3:50.40 set by the United States at the 2019 World Championships.

The men's 4x100m relay team, however, were aiming to win an 11th-consecutive gold medal in the medley but were beaten to the wall by China, ending a 64-year unbeaten streak in the process.

The United States team is taking shape as they prepare to defend their gold medal at the delayed 2021 Olympics.

Reports at the weekend detailed the expectation Durant would join the team after the Nets exited the NBA playoffs.

Durant was on the victorious USA teams in 2012 and 2016 and this year averaged 26.9 points per game in the regular season and 34.3 in the postseason – the 25th-best mark of all time.

The 2014 MVP will not be the only Brooklyn player on the Olympic team, according to The Athletic.

A hamstring injury limited Harden to 36 regular season games for the Nets following his trade from the Houston Rockets, before he played nine times in the playoffs, scoring an underwhelming 20.2 points per game.

Harden went to London in 2012 after his final season as a bench scorer for the Oklahoma City Thunder but not to Brazil four years later having established himself in Houston.

Golden State Warriors great Stephen Curry was involved on neither occasion – although he won the World Cup in 2010 and 2014 – and will not make his Olympic bow this year either, the report added.

Curry almost single-handedly carried the undermanned Warriors to the brink of the playoffs this year, taking the NBA scoring title with 32.0 points per game.

Donovan Mitchell, who struggled with an injury as the Utah Jazz lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, has also declined an invite, ESPN revealed.

Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat center, will join the 12-man roster, though, aiming to bounce back from a playoff sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in which he scored just nine points on four-of-15 shooting in Game 1.

The 27-year-old, who dropped down from 400m to 100m last year, powered past Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell late on to claim gold in a time of 9.86 seconds.

With Bracy-Williams and Bromell taking silver and bronze respectively, it is the first time any nation has won all three medals in the world 100m since USA themselves in 1991.

After adding to the 100m Olympic silver won in Tokyo last year and the 400m world bronze from 2019, Kerley believes there is still more to come.

"I know today opened up many doors for me," he said. "The future is bright for me.

"It's amazing to be among the greats. They did it in 1991, we did in 2022. It's history. To be part of something that has only happened three times just means the world to me."

 Bracy-Williams and Bromell clocked a time of 9.88 in Oregon to finish just behind Kerley in front of a full crowd in the first World Championships held in the USA.

"It's a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep," Kerley added. "I feel we can dominate again at next year's World Championships [in Budapest].

"We all put the work in, come back home and return again next year. This win means I can do 100m, 200m and 400m. I've got a medal in 400m and 100m."

Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.

Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.

The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.

“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.

"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'

"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."

Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.

"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.

After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.

A star-studded USA side have won all their games in Paris so far, but now the pressure is on in the knockout stage.

Brazil are their quarter-final opponents on Tuesday, and while Curry is confident the USA's attack is good enough to beat any team, he knows each player has to be 100% ready for clutch moments.

"That's how we can overwhelm teams," he said.

"It's just everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is."

For coach Steve Kerr, meanwhile, it is a case of the USA sticking to an identity and gameplan.

"It's important to focus on keeping that identity now that you're playing the best teams," Kerr said.

"We know what wins a FIBA game.

"We are just completely focused on our defense and then the beauty of our team and the talent, the depth of our talent is that from one game to the next, we've got lots of guys who have the ability to get rolling."

Team USA have had a far-from-ideal Olympics preparation, defeated by Nigeria and Australia in exhibition games last week and losing Kevin Love to injury and Bradley Beal due to health and safety protocols.

Gregg Popovich's side bounced back by beating Argentina on Tuesday and finished off their Las Vegas camp against the Spanish on Sunday.

Damian Lillard top scored with 19 points with six assists for Team USA, while Kevin Durant had 14 points, two assists, two rebounds and two blocks.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine pulled off a series of dunks to put an exclamation mark on the performance.

Team USA are set to fly out for Tokyo on Monday, ahead of their Olympics opener against France on Sunday.

USA are grouped with France, Iran and the Czech Republic in men's basketball at the Tokyo Olympics where they are gold medal favourites.

In the women's USA defeated Nigeria 93-62 on Sunday to conclude their Olympic preparations, heading in as gold medal favourites too.

Love joins Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who has entered health and safety protocols, in dropping out of USA's original 12-man roster.

USA Basketball (USAB) announced on Friday that Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee and San Antonio Spurs small forward Keldon Johnson have replaced the duo.

USAB said Love's withdrawal was due to "his ongoing injury recovery", having been returning from a right calf injury during the camp in Las Vegas where he did participate in exhibition games.

"I am incredibly disappointed to not be heading to Tokyo with Team USA," Love said in a statement released by Schwartz.

"But you need to be at absolute peak performance to compete at the Olympic level and I am just not there yet."

McGee averaged 7.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, shooting at 51.1 per cent from the field in the 2020-21 NBA season for the Nuggets.

Johnson, 21, averaged 12.8 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game in the 2002-21 season for the Spurs.

Team USA are due to fly out for Tokyo on Monday, with their Olympics opener against France on July 25.

Tatum, a star of the NBA last season with the all-conquering Boston Celtics, had to settle for a bench role at the Paris Games.

He played 11 minutes in Saturday's gold medal game as Team USA saw off hosts France to take the Olympic crown for a fifth straight time.

Tatum did not play at all in two of the USA's games – the group-stage and semi-final meetings with Nikola Jokic's Serbia.

But that does not necessarily mean he would not want to feature for Team USA at the Los Angeles Games in four years.

"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision off [of] emotions.

"If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028, it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that.

"So I'm not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.

"A lot of people text me and reached out and said 'Make sure this fuels you,' which I appreciate. There's a lot of people that care about me.

"I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human.

"I've sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So in the moment it is tough. You're not necessarily worried about fuelling for November or [whenever] the [NBA] season is, but like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience.

"It's definitely challenging and humbling at the same time."

Success in the men's basketball was one of 40 golds Team USA scooped at the Paris Games, as they topped the medal table with 126 overall (44 silver, 42 bronze).

China placed second overall, matching Team USA's tally of golds but collecting just 27 silver and 24 bronze. 

France might have fallen short in the basketball but they enjoyed a brilliant Games overall to finish fifth.

USA Basketball announced that a player had enter the protocols although they did not identify who, although he has widely been reported as Beal.

The Wizards guard played 30 minutes in Tuesday's 108-80 win over Argentina and was joint top scorer with 17 points, while he started both defeats to Australia and Nigeria.

“A member of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team has been placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols,” the federation wrote in Wednesday's statement.

Beal could still be replaced in Team USA's final 12-member team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Kipchoge crossed the line one minute and 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Abdi Nageeye to become the third athlete to win the event at back-to-back Games.

In doing so, the 36-year-old – who previously took 5,000 metre silver in 2008 and bronze in London four years later – believes he has inspired a generation of runners.

"It means a lot to me, especially at this hard time," he said. "Last year was postponed, and now it has happened.

"I think I fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time. That's my total happiness, my inspiration for the next generation."

The final day of action at the 2020 Games ultimately belonged to the United States, though, as they collected three golds to finish above China at the top of the medal table.

USA TRUMP CHINA

Team USA trailed China by two gold medals heading into Sunday's events, but triumphs in basketball, volleyball and track cycling saw them top the standings.

USA's victory in the women's basketball would have come as little surprise given it is their seventh straight success in the competition.

Brittney Griner racked up 30 points and Breanna Stewart also impressed in the 90-75 win over Japan with 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi each picked up their fifth gold medals, while for Japan the silver was their first medal of any sort in the sport.

"The only thing about getting older, you know all the bad stuff that can happen," Bird said. "We lost in the 2006 World Cup. We tasted that and that's always been the driver. 

"So, when we actually have the medal around our necks, it just feels so good. It's a sense of relief in a lot of ways."

While success in the women's basketball is par for the course, overcoming Brazil in the volleyball final provided USA with their first gold medal in the event.

After finishing runners-up to Brazil in the 2008 and 2012 Games, USA exacted some revenge with a 25-21 25-20 25-14 victory in Sunday's final.

Jennifer Valente completed the hat-trick for the Americans in the women's cycling omnium, the 26-year-old delivering her country's first track cycling gold since 2000.

She led from start to finish, despite crashing in the final points race, with home favourite Yumi Kajihara taking silver.

"There were some bumps. It was actually quite a short day as far as omnium goes," Valente said. "That was something that was very much on my mind, that we played into.

"Crashing in the point races is never ideal. I was just trying to get back on my bike, make sure I was okay, and get back in the race as soon as possible."

BRITAIN RULE THE TRACK

Kelsey Mitchell won the women's sprint for Canada by beating Ukraine's Olena Starikova 2-0 in the best-of-three final.

But it was a familiar outcome in the men's keirin as Jason Kenny finished 0.763 seconds ahead of Azizulhasni Awang of Malaysia to win his seventh Olympic gold medal.

That makes Kenny Great Britain's most decorated Olympian and ensured Team GB finished top of the cycling medals table with six golds, four silver and two bronze.

"It's a bit of shock, I think," Kenny said of his latest medal success. "I really wanted to cross the finish line. I am absolutely buzzing. 

"Going into the final I didn't expect anything other than a five, really. I was hoping to kind of get stuck in, and hopefully come away with some silverware. 

"To win at the corner on my own like that is absolutely buzzing."

AMERICA'S BOXING WAIT GOES ON

The final four boxing gold medals were up for grabs on Sunday and plenty of focus was on the super-heavyweight bout between Bakhodir Jalolov and the USA's Richard Torrez. 

Twenty-two-year-old Torrez started strongly with a ferocious assault in the first round, but Uzbekistani boxer Jalolov recovered and won unanimously.

Torrez's compatriot Keyshawn Davis earlier lost his men's lightweight clash with Cuba's Andy Cruz, meaning USA's wait for an Olympic men's boxing gold will reach 20 years come Paris 2024.

"I've never felt this much pressure in fights a day in my life," Davis said. "I'm glad I got to experience this because it did make me a better fighter.

"I'm not cool with winning silver, but it's something I've got to live with and I'm okay with that. I'm gonna live with it and we're just gonna take it to the next level."

In the female categories, Kellie Anne Harrington beat Brazil's Beatriz Ferreira in the lightweight final to earn Ireland their second gold of the Games, while GB's Lauren Price outclassed Li Qian to win the middleweight final on points.

Team USA have not won the event in 21 years and though they entered Thursday's heat as one of the favourites, they failed to qualify for the final.

It is the first time Team USA have failed to reach the Olympic final since 2008, though they have hardly had much fortune in the event since their success in Sydney.

Indeed, they have only once made it to the finish line cleanly, without any mistakes, when they claimed silver at London 2012. That medal, however, was conceded in the wake of Tyson Gay's doping ban.

This time around, a team including three of the fastest men in the world over 100m in 2021, fared little better.

Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie finished sixth in the heat with a time of 38.10 seconds.

"We just didn't get the job done today," Kerley said. "That's all."

Sprinting great Lewis, who won two golds in the 4x100m relay, hit out at what he labelled a "clown show".

"The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay," Lewis wrote on Twitter. "The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership. It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU kids I saw."

He then expanded on his criticism in an interview with USA Today.

"This was a football coach taking a team to the Super Bowl and losing 99-0 because they were completely ill-prepared," Lewis said.

"It's unacceptable. It's so disheartening to see this because it’s people's lives. We're just playing games with people's lives. That's why I’m so upset. It's totally avoidable.

"America is sitting there rooting for the United States and then they have this clown show. I can't take it anymore. It's just unacceptable. It is not hard to do the relay."

HISTORY MADE BY SPAIN

Sport climbing and karate were two of the sports introduced for the Tokyo Games, and the first medals in each were won by Spanish athletes.

At the age of 39 years and 323 days, Sandra Sanchez became Spain's oldest Olympic champion as she triumphed in the women's kata, breaking the record set by Joan Llaneras in the velodrome in 2008.

Sanchez also became the first Spanish woman to clinch gold in martial arts since judoka Isabel Fernandez did so in 2000.

Her triumph was followed up by golds for France's Steven da Costa and Bulgaria's Ivet Goranova in the men's and women's kumite respectively.

At the opposite end of the spectrum to Sanchez, 18-year-old Alberto Gines Lopez became the youngest male Spanish athlete to strike gold at the Games as he pipped Nathaniel Coleman and Jakob Schubert in the sport climbing men's combined final.

"I think it will help the sport to grow, and for it to get more support. We need good installations in order to help the sport, and I think this will bring more support to the sport," the teenager said, before revealing his plans of celebration: "I'm going to break my diet. And then call my family and friends."

FOURNIER PREPPED FOR 'THE MOST COMPLICATED MATCH'

Team USA and France will meet in the final of the men's basketball competition, as the two favourites go head-to-head for gold.

Luka Doncic's shooting was off as Slovenia fell to an agonising 90-89 defeat to France, who beat the USA in the pool stage.

The European Champions, who also defeated the USA in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, now face a rematch against a side that has scored over 90 points in the last four games.

Evan Fournier, whose 23 points was second behind only team-mate Nando de Colo, knows what is in store.

"It represents a real step towards a dream, and the dream is to win the Olympics against the United States," said Fournier, who has just swapped the Boston Celtics for the New York Knicks.

"We have to rest and not let our minds wander, and prepare as much as possible, because there's a team waiting for us. They've prepared for us for two years, apparently, and because we beat them in the pool it will be worse, so it will be the most complicated match of the competition for us without any doubt."

SHOOT-OUT GLORY FOR BELGIUM

Beaten finalists in 2016, Belgium claimed their first hockey gold, and only their second in an Olympic team sport, after their men beat Australia 3-2 in a shoot-out.

Goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch was the hero in dramatic circumstances.

He made two saves before then denying Jacob Whetton, only for Belgium's celebrations to be cut short by a referral. However, Vanasch stood firm for a second time.

The shoot-out drama followed a 1-1 draw, with Tom Wickham having cancelled out Florent van Aubel's opener.

"What a feeling. You become Olympic champion, but twice [because of the referral] It's unusual," Vanasch said. "We had to calm down and go again. We knew that.

"I'm like a musician, it's a rehearsal and then you come to the concert and it comes naturally. That's how I come on the pitch. I'm composed, but also I trust myself, I trust my reflexes."

Australia have now won seven men's hockey medals across the last eight Games, while Belgium won their first gold in a team event since the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, when their men's football team triumphed.

World number one Barty was stunned in the first round of the women's singles on Sunday by Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo but teamed up with Storm Sanders in the doubles, with the Australian pair reaching the quarter-finals.

However, Krejcikova and Siniakova proved too strong in a three-set thriller, winning 3-6 6-4 10-7.

"You never quite have their measure,” Barty said. "It's disappointing but there's only a couple of points in that match, here and there and it's a different result.

"We did everything right today but just weren't able to win those big points when it mattered most."

Barty's medal hopes are now entirely focused on the mixed doubles, where she has partnered with John Peers.

Andy Murray's bid to become the first male to win four Olympic tennis medals ended with defeat to Croatia's Marin Cilic and Ivan Dogic in the men's doubles.

Murray, teaming up with Joe Salisbury, went down in two hours and 18 minutes after also winning the first set. The Croatian pair won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 10-7.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist had withdrawn from the men's singles on Sunday due to a right quad injury, preferring to focus on playing doubles. TeamGB have not fielded a mixed doubles team.

TITMUS DOUBLES UP, LEDECKY LIFTS FOR GOLD

Ariarne Titmus backed up her women's 400m freestyle gold medal from Monday with another triumph, getting the better of rival Katie Ledecky to win the 200m free.

The 20-year-old Australian won the final ahead of Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey and Canada's Penny Oleksiak, while Ledecky finished back in fifth.

Ledecky would claim her sixth Olympic gold medal, triumphing in the women's 1500m free, with the US claiming a rare one-two as Erica Sullivan grabbed the silver ahead of Germany's Sarah Kohler.

After being beaten twice by Titmus earlier in the meet, Ledecky said: "I approach each race with a belief in myself. It's the attitude I've always had that's why I've been so successful. Anything can happen, [the attitude I go in with is] I can beat the world record in this race. 

Japan's Yui Ohashi won the women's 200m individual medley, Hungarian favourite Kristof Milak powered to victory in the men's 200m butterfly and Great Britain triumphed in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

STEERING ERROR COSTS GB IN ROWING

Australia claimed two gold medals in the rowing at Sea Forest Waterway as Great Britain were left to lament a wayward finish in the men's four final.

Australian quartet Alexander Purnell, Spencer Turrin, Jack Hargreaves and Alexander Hill won in 5:42:76 ahead of Romania and Italy who claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Italy's late charge almost saw a collision with Great Britain, who finished in fourth, after veering towards the neighbouring Italian boat, narrowly avoiding a clash of oars.

GB's Oliver Cook, who steered the men's coxless four, told BBC Sport: "I do (have the steering). I need to diagnose it but I feel I screwed up a bit and as I was closing in at the end and taking big strokes at the end going for the line I forgot the steering and that’s what cost us to be honest, cost us a medal."

Australia also won the women's four narrowly ahead of the Netherlands by 0:34 seconds, with Ireland claiming the bronze more than five seconds back.

Romania secured its first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics by winning the women's double sculls final, while France triumphed in the men's equivalent.

The Netherlands and China triumphed in the men's and women's quadruple sculls finals respectively.

RADRADRA DREAMING OF FIJI SEVENS GOLD

New Zealand will take on 2016 gold medalists Fiji in the final of the men's rugby sevens on Wednesday evening.

Fiji went through to the gold medal match with a 26-14 triumph over Argentina, who will take on Great Britain for bronze.

New Zealand were too strong for the British, winning 29-7 in their semi-final, with two tries each to captain Scott Curry and Regan Ware.

Former NRL star Semi Radradra, who plays for Fiji after switching codes in 2017 and scored a try against Argentina, said: "Playing in the Olympics is a blessing for me. I never knew I would be here.

"I think it is everyone's highlight to win a gold medal in the Olympics. That is our aim and we try to give back to our people at home."

USA RESTORES CONFIDENCE IN BASKETBALL

Team USA restored some confidence following their first-up loss to France with a comprehensive 120-66 thrashing of Iran in men's basketball.

USA played fast throughout, wasting no time in offense, with Damian Lillard top scoring with 21 points, all from beyond the arc.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine had eight assists along with his 13 points while Devin Booker, who played in the NBA Finals last week, scored 16 points and had five rebounds and three steals.

USA head coach Gregg Popovich rotated his roster on and off the court, sharing minutes, as hos team piled on 38 points in the last quarter to round out a comprehensive victory.

In Group B, Germany defeated Nigeria 99-92 despite Jordan Nowra's 33-point haul.

Team USA have won gold in the last three Games, but they saw a 25-game winning streak in the tournament come to an end on Sunday against an inspired France side.

Les Blues, who also beat a much-fancied USA in the World Cup quarter-finals in 2019, are ranked seventh in the FIBA rankings but proved too strong for the world's top team with an 83-76 win at the Saitama Super Arena.

Despite his side's long unbeaten run in the competition coming to an end, Popovich – taking charge at his first Games – was quick to put the loss into some perspective.

"People shouldn't be surprised that we lost to the French team or the Australian team or the Spanish team or the Lithuanian team," he told reporters. 

"It doesn't matter who it is – the gap in talent shrinks every year, as there are more and more great players all over the world. 

"And you need to give the French team credit for playing well. They were more consistent than we were at both ends of the court. It's as simple as that."

STARS ALIGN FOR HISTORY-MAKING ZOLOTIC

Sunday was a positive day on the whole for Team USA – especially compared to Saturday, when they failed to win a medal on the opening day of a Games for the first time since Munich 1972 – as they picked up four gold, two silver and four bronze.

That haul includes a maiden gold in the women's taekwondo thanks to teenager Anastasija Zolotic, who beat Tatiana Minina of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in the final of the -57kg weight category event. 

"My eight-year-old self was running around the schoolyard saying I was going to be Olympic champion but she could never have imagined what this moment is like," Zolotic said. 

"It's unbelievable. It really hasn't sunk in yet. I can't believe it. I'm in a bit of shock. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. It feels wonderful. I came here confident and ready to take the gold. The stars were aligned."

Zolotic's win came on the back of two-time Olympic champion Jade Jones suffering a shock elimination to Refugee Olympic Team member Kimia Alizadeh in the last 16, denying the Team GB athlete a shot of winning a historic third gold.

BILES BOUNCES BACK, CHUSOVITINA WAVES GOODBYE

A lot of focus has been on Simone Biles heading into the Games, though she had a rare off day as the USA finished behind ROC in the women's gymnastics qualifying.

Biles, who won four golds and a bronze in Rio, was penalised on both floor and vault but still scored a respectable 14.166 to book a spot in the final.

While Biles still has time on her side, both in Tokyo and in the long term, the 2020 Games will be the last for Uzbekistan's Oksana Chusovitina, who bowed out on Sunday after a record-setting eighth appearance at the Olympics.

Chusovitina, at the age of 46, just missed out on qualifying for the vault event and was given a standing ovation by the small number of people inside the arena.

To put Chusovitina's remarkable run of appearances into perspective, she made her debut at the Games in 1992, some five years before Biles was born.

"It was really nice. I cried tears of happiness because so many people have supported me for a long time," she said. "I didn't look at the results, but I feel very proud and happy. I'm saying goodbye to sports. It's kind of mixed feelings.

"I'm alive, I'm happy, I'm here without any injuries, and I can stand on my own."

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

Japanese pair Uta and Hifumi Abe made Olympic history as they became the first siblings to win gold medals on the same day of a Games in an individual sport, both enjoying success in judo on day two in Tokyo.

Uta won the women’s 52kg competition, defeating France's Amandine Buchard. A closely contested bout went to a golden score, with Abe crucially claiming ippon to settle the final in her favour.

The two-time world champion cried tears of joy in the aftermath, admitting: "I don't know, maybe it may not have been appropriate but I couldn't hold myself back."

Older brother Hifumi made it a family double, overcoming Vazha Margvelashvili of Georgia to triumph in the men's 66kg final.

"This has turned out to be the greatest day ever," he said. "I don't think we, as brother and sister, could shine any brighter on this stage known as the Tokyo Olympics. I'm so happy."

The Americans scored a 97-78 victory at the Saitama Super Arena, putting a fourth successive gold medal at the Games within reach.

But at one stage in the second quarter Durant and co trailed 41-26, with the Australian Boomers making a fast and purposeful start to the semi-final that they could not maintain.

It was at the point the USA side fell 15 points behind that they took a timeout, and from that stage onwards they dominated, Durant leading the team with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Australia shot just 25 of 61 – 41 per cent – from the field, whereas USA managed 38 of 74 and dominated the boards 44-29 in what became a convincing victory.

"We've been down 15 in games before and came back," Durant said. "It doesn't matter what level it was at, or where it's at. A lot of guys have been in that position before. We know how to handle ourselves.

"We kept our composure and we knew that we could get back into the game pretty fast, if we got stops and got out and ran. So we've got to give credit to Australia because they came out and hit us with a nice haymaker, but we were able to get back up and get that lead back."

It came as no surprise to Durant that Australia began as they did.

"We knew Australia would come out fast and hit us with a nice punch. We know that teams want to get us down early, see how we respond," said the Brooklyn Nets star.

"A lot of these guys got continuity for years and years, so they know how to play with each other. I feel like a lot of teams are expecting us to fold early.

"We stuck with it, stuck with our principles, made a couple of switches on defence, and we were able to get some momentum going into the half. Guys came out with that intensity, making shots as well."

The 32-year-old Durant is chasing a third gold medal of his Olympic career, having played on the London 2012 and Rio 2016 teams.

For Jrue Holiday, who is coming off an NBA championship-winning season with the Milwaukee Bucks, this is a first Olympic experience.

Like Durant, he saw no need for panic after Australia began Thursday's semi-final so strongly.

By half-time, Australia's lead had been cut to just 45-42, and a 32-10 third quarter for the USA showed their firepower.

"I think we played the game long enough to know that there's always a chance," Holiday said. "So we took that six minutes in the second quarter and kind of ramped it up, and went into half-time in the position that we liked."

Australia have finished fourth in Olympic men's basketball four times, never going further and claiming a medal.

They will have a bronze-medal game to come in Tokyo and must pick themselves up to go again.

Jock Landale scored 11 points against the USA, and the Melbourne United star accepted it was tough for Australia to keep up their early high level.

"It's hard. It's really hard. They're great basketball players, they're smart basketball players," Landale said.

"They figure out what you're doing and they just find ways to exploit it. I think we started turning the ball over in that third quarter and they were just living in transition, and that's tough to beat. They're the most athletic guys in the world, so I think that's probably where we lost them."

A game-high haul of 29 points from Brooklyn Nets superstar Durant saw the United States to a victory that avenged their opening group-stage loss to France.

It meant the USA kept up their strong recent record on the Olympic stage, with Durant securing a third gold medal of his career.

Jayson Tatum weighed in with 19 points, while France had five players in double figures but nobody in their ranks scored more than the 16 points managed by both Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.

The USA led by 11 points at 71-57 in the third quarter, but an impressive France cut that advantage to three points at 73-70 with 5:42 remaining of the fourth after Frank Ntilikina drained a three-pointer

France again reined in a double-digit lead to get back to 85-82 in arrears with 10 seconds remaining, but a foul by Gobert on Durant gave the USA's star man the chance to put the game away, which he seized by making both his free throws.