2018 Commonwealth Games steeplechase champion, Aisha Praught Leer, has revealed via social media that she injured her left knee in training on Sunday, which later turned out to be a torn meniscus.
The athlete will, however, still attempt to compete at the Games after taking an injection to the joint.
"I will line up in Tokyo. When I arrive I will get fluid drained from my knee and take a cortisone injection (this is legal, and my surgeon understands and supports me in this)
The unfortunate injury occurred during what she described as one of the ‘best workouts’ of her life. The athlete explained that she felt excruciating pain as if something had torn.
“I tore my meniscus (a complete, off the bone root tear) on Sunday at training—a freak, shocking accident. I heard and felt a painful pop doing a drill but then proceeded to do one of the best workouts of my life. On Wednesday I got an MRI, then sat in quiet disbelief with Joe Bosshard as the doctor told us I need surgery ASAP.”
The always-smiling athlete is scheduled to compete in the 1500m that is set to get underway on Sunday, at 7:35 pm. Naturally, she is heartbroken because she will not be able to compete at her maximum ability.
“I want to keep believing in the possibility of achieving the wild dreams I store deep in my heart. The reality is they will not happen in Tokyo—running to my ability is simply not possible on a knee without stability. This is the most challenging reality I have faced in my career,” Praught Leer said.
“We did nothing wrong. As I said, this was a freak accident. But now all of my silent work, the beautiful, hard-earned fitness, does not have a chance to see the light of day. The triumph I have visualized so vividly is—poof—gone in one step,” Leer lamented.
Although she understands that unexpected injuries are a part of sports, it is still a tough reality for her to accept.
“I understand this is sport—just sport. I know the truth that I am more than an athlete. But this sport means everything to me. This is my life’s work, my purpose, and my first true love. I am heartbroken.”
The athlete, who created history, being the first Jamaican to win gold in the steeplechase event at the Commonwealth Games, insists she will be proud to represent the country despite not being in top shape.
“You will see me smiling in Tokyo with Jamaica on my chest because the honour of representing my country is one of the greatest I’ve had in my little life.”
On Thursday, news broke that gymnast Danusia Francis had suffered an injury to her left knee, which later turned out to be a torn ACL. Francis will not be able to compete in her events. She will, however, symbolically take part in the Uneven Bars event but will not attempt a dismount.
Four judges scored the fight in favour of Kumar and one scored it for the Jamaican.
Brown, popularly known as ‘Big 12,’ had a slow start, losing the first round on all the judges’ scorecards and never really recovered from there.
He showed more intent and tried to pick up the pace in rounds 2 and 3 but ultimately didn’t do any significant damage as Kumar, who fought a more technical fight, was able to come away with the win.
Kumar, a two-time Asian Championships bronze medalist, was cut on the forehead after an accidental clash of heads in the 3rd round but kept his composure, and avoided some potentially devastating right hands from Brown, to seal victory and advance to the quarterfinals, one step closer to an opportunity at a medal.
He will next face reigning world and Asian Champion Bakhodir Jalovov of Uzbekistan on Saturday.
Brown, 31, was a bronze medalist at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, and was seeking to become Jamaica’s 1st boxing medallist at the Olympics.
The 31-years-old Praught-Leer is Jamaica’s record holder in the 3000m Steeplechase event and represented the country at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships, as well as the 2016 Olympics, where she qualified for the final.
In addition, the athlete also captured gold in the event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Praught-Leer has, however, contemplated switching events to try her hand at competing in the 1500m.
The athlete had hoped to make her 1500m Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games but like many others had to set aside those plans as the event was postponed due to the onslaught of the coronavirus. She has already begun her quest to qualify for this summer's Games by targeting three events, the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 1500m. She currently has personal best times of 15:07.50 in the 5000m, 9:14.09 seconds in the 3000m steeplechase, and 4:05.52 in the 1500 metres.
Praught-Leer previously represented Under Armour after signing a contract with that brand in 2017, earlier this month, however, she announced via social media that her contract with the company had come to an end.
It was, however, the way in which Jackson saw her bid for another individual medal slip away that left onlookers slack-jawed. Competing in heat 5, the athlete, one of the fastest women in the event this year, seemed well in control of the race early on but began to cruise closer to the line.
The Jamaican was passed by Portugal’s Lorène Bazolo and also Italy’s Dalia Kaddari at the finish. Kaddari finished third in 23.26, the same time as Jackson but advanced when the times were rounded down further. With the heat being one of the slower events Jackson was also unable to advance as one of the fastest losers. Jackson’s heat was won by the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan.
There was no such trouble for Jackson’s compatriot, defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah who advanced from heat 6 after finishing in third position. The heat was won by Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel with Great Britain’s Beth Dobbin second.
100m silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also advanced in comfortable fashion after winning heat 2 in 22.22. Namibia’s Beatrice Masilingi was second in 22.63, with the Netherland’s Dafne Schippers also securing qualification with her third-place finish of 23.13.
The women’s semi-finals will take place on Monday at 5:25 am.
Tracey did not start in heat 1 of the event, this morning, leaving many fans to wonder why.
The 28-year-old took to his personal Instagram page to provide some clarity on the situation.
“A few days ago, while training, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg while running from the blocks," Tracey explained.
“The pain was enough for me to have to stop training for the evening," he said.
After doing an ultrasound, Tracey was under the impression that the injury was not serious. However, whilst getting ready for this morning’s heat, the sprinter said that the pain worsened. His injury was kept quiet in hopes that he would be ready to compete in round 1 but he did not recover in time.
Heat 1 was eventually won by the USA’s Ronnie Baker in a time of 10.03 seconds. It is not yet known whether he will be fit in time for the men’s 4x100 metre relay.
He ended his Instagram post by saying, “To everyone who supported me, just want to say thanks and I will make it up to everyone including myself. Nuff love and respect!”
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.
Le Clos should have been competing in the final day of the South African National Swimming Championships on Thursday, but instead he was in lockdown at home with his family.
South Africa's most decorated Olympian, Le Clos felt ready to strike gold in Japan until the Games were called off just four months before they were scheduled to start.
The Durban native is hungrier than ever for Olympic glory after returning from Rio four years ago with two silver medals, one of which he hopes will be changed to gold after Sun Yang - winner of the 200-metre freestyle final - was given an eight-year ban for breaching anti-doping rules.
Le Clos, crowned Olympic 200m butterfly champion at London 2012, vowed to ensure he is at the peak of his powers back on the big stage next year.
He told Stats Perform: "Obviously it was a shame that the Olympics were called off, but it was something you cannot control.
"I'm ready to go again next year, I'm in good shape. I have an extra 12 years to be even better.
"I feel like I'm getting better, I feel like I was in the best shape of my life a couple of weeks ago. I'm confident I can come back, hopefully be better than I was in London and Rio and will be in the best shape possible next year."
Le Clos, who turns 28 on Sunday, is hopeful he will also head to the Paris 2024 Olympics in search of adding to his medal haul.
He added: "I think I can get to two more [Olympics], I think I'll be very competitive in the next one for sure.
"Again in 2024, we'll see what happens, it's a long way away but I'm just happy to be in the position that I'm in.
"I'm comfortable with where I'm at, we train really well and I'm very motivated. I lost my motivation after London, but I'm back to where I was now. I'm hungrier and I really want to be successful at the Olympics, I want to win again."
The two-time Olympic Champion released a statement on Instagram after winning the silver medal behind teammate Elaine Thompson-Herah in the Women’s 100 Metres at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of this historic moment. Gracing the podium in a 1-2-3 sweep for Jamaica on two separate occasions is a tremendous blessing,” Fraser-Pryce said.
The trio of Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson repeated the feat of herself, Sherone Simpson, and Kerron Stewart in Beijing 13 years ago, the only difference being on that occasion Simpson and Stewart shared the silver medal.
After thanking her friends, family, coach, and sponsors, Fraser-Pryce assured her fans that the job is not yet complete.
“I continue to keep my head in the game because there is still work to do.”
The multiple-time World Champion also offered some perspective on what legacy means to her.
“Legacy isn’t just about winning, it’s also about gracefully watching others shine too.”
Fraser-Pryce ended her statement by encouraging her fans to keep their spirits high for the 200 metres.
The heats of the women’s 200 metres begin on Sunday.
Antigua’s Joella Lloyd is one such athlete. She competed in the women’s 100 metres where she comfortably won heat 3 of the preliminary round in a time of 11.55 seconds. She then went on to finish 7th in heat1 with a slightly improved time of 11.54 seconds. That heat was won by the USA’s Teahna Daniels while Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith came second and Murielle Ahoure from the Ivory Coast finished third.
Via her Instagram account, she posted a photo of herself waving at the start of her race with the caption, “Walking out and lining up for the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics was everything I dreamt it would be.”
She then expressed gratitude to all those who supported her throughout the season.
The caption ended, “All the love and encouragement has not gone unnoticed and I’m extremely grateful for it. It was a pleasure representing Antigua and the Vols on the big stage. Antigua, I love y’all plenty plenty and we’ll be back at it next year!”
Farah, who won gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m races at both the 2012 and 2016 Games, needed to beat a time of 27 minutes 28 seconds to qualify.
Despite winning the 10,000m race on day one of the British Championships, Farah clocked a time of 27:47:04 – a stadium record at Manchester Regional Arena but not enough for Olympic qualification.
Farah had been struggling with an ankle injury that hindered his attempts in an Olympic trial in Birmingham earlier this month, though it had reportedly cleared up ahead of the Manchester event.
"I have had a wonderful career," he said when asked if it could mark the end of his track career.
"It is a tough one – if I can't compete with the best, I am not going there to just finish a final. It wasn't good enough tonight.
"It was quite windy. I tried to push and push. I knew I was on my own.
"It was amazing to have a crowd once more. That's all you can do as a human being: you give it your all.
"I've been lucky enough to have had the long career I've had. I'm very grateful but that's all I had today."
Farah has been concentrating on road racing for the past three years, though had hoped to return to the track for the Olympics.
At 34, Fraser-Pryce will be one of the oldest women lined up to face the starter's gun, should the event eventually be staged in Tokyo later this year. The 32nd Olympiad was initially slated to be staged last summer but was postponed due to the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The postponement of the quadrennial event has meant another year of training and preparation for some legendary athletes facing another race, the one against time. The situation will not be an entirely new one for nine-time World champion and two-time Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce. In 2019, at the age of 32, she became the oldest female sprinter to win a 100m world title. In that event, by comparison, silver medalist, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith was nine years her junior. Showing herself to be very much at the top of her game in 2020, however, despite the havoc the global pandemic wrought on the international schedule, Fraser-Pryce is clearly in the mood to defy the odds yet again.
“Yes, I’m 33, but if I can come back from having my son and be able to stand on the podium, my age is not going to stop me. I’m still going to work hard. I’m still going to be committed and I’m grateful for the years of experience I’ve had,” Fraser-Pryce told the BBC.
"I'm probably older than most of the women in the race but so what? I'm just focusing on getting the job done and being happy."
Brazil's Olympics head coach Andre Jardine confirmed the squad on Thursday, with 38-year-old Sao Paulo full-back Alves one of three over-age players, along with Sevilla's Diego Carlos and Athletico PR goalkeeper Santos.
Former Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain star Alves, who has 118 international caps, was set to be part of Brazil's Copa America campaign but missed the showpiece CONMEBOL tournament due to a knee injury and will instead captain the Olympic side.
PSG star Neymar's absence is notable given he previously indicated he had wanted to be part of the Tokyo Games.
Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, Lyon's Bruno Guimaraes and Flamengo's Pedro have also been selected to represent Brazil.
Brazil won Olympic gold on home turf at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, with Neymar scoring the decisive penalty in a 5-4 shoot-out victory over Germany.
Jardine's side are grouped alongside Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia in Group D for the Tokyo Olympics.
Brazil will face Germany in their opening game in Yokohama scheduled for July 22.
Brazil squad for Tokyo Olympics:
Santos (Athletico PR), Brenno (Gremio); Dani Alves (Sao Paulo), Gabriel Menino (Palmeiras), Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal), Nino (Fluminense), Diego Carlos (Sevilla); Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Bruno Guimaraes (Lyon), Gerson (Flamengo), Claudinho (Red Bull Bragantino), Matheus Henrique (Gremio); Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin), Malcom (Zenit), Antony (Ajax), Paulinho (Bayer Leverkusen), Pedro (Flamengo).
The Athletics Integrity Unit said Okagbare tested positive in an out-of-competition test on July 19. The AIU says it was only informed of the finding on Friday, after Okagbare had already run in the 100-meter heats at the Tokyo Games.
The AIU informed Okagbare of the finding and her provisional suspension on Saturday morning.
Okagbare won her heat in 11.05 seconds at the Olympic Stadium to progress to the semis.
The rescheduled Games are set to get under way on July 23, a whole calendar year after the original starting date, despite concerns over rising COVID-19 cases in host country Japan.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will decide on Thursday whether to implement a new state of emergency in Tokyo amid growing calls to take action, which could again put the Olympics in jeopardy.
IOC chief Pound, the organisation's longest-serving member, believes the best way of ensuring it goes ahead is to vaccinate all athletes beforehand.
"In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 athletes - to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level - I don't think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that," Pound told Sky News.
"It's a decision for each country to make and there will be people saying they are jumping the queue but I think that is the most realistic way of it going ahead."
Costs for the Olympics have already increased by $2.8billion (£2.1bn) due to measures being put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The decision was taken following a meeting between organisers for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, plus the Japanese government.
It was announced Tokyo will once more enter a state of emergency, which will run until at least August 22, amid rising coronavirus cases.
Japan's Olympics minister Tamayo Marukawa is quoted as saying: "We reached an agreement on no spectators at venues in Tokyo."
Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said it is "regrettable", while adding: "A very heavy judgement was made...[but we] no choice but to hold the Games in a limited way."
The decision was widely expected but marks a fresh blow for the Games, which were postponed by a year because of the global pandemic.
Many residents of Japan have expressed opposition to the Games due to the hordes of athletes, officials and media arriving from overseas.
While avoiding the huge numbers of infection rates seen in other nations, Japan has registered over 800,000 cases and 14,800 deaths, while 920 new daily cases were reported on Wednesday. There have also been concerns about the speed of the country's COVID-19 vaccine programme.
Despite the vocal opposition, the government has pressed ahead with plans for the Games, which organisers stated in December would cost a staggering $15.4billion.
The Olympic Games officially get under way on July 23 with the opening ceremony, although softball and football start two days earlier, and run until August 8. Following that, the Paralympics are set to take place between August 24 and September 5.
Osaka has not played since withdrawing from the French Open after revealing she would skip press conferences at Roland Garros as "people have no regard for athletes' mental health".
The four-time grand slam champion from Japan revealed she had suffered "long bouts of depression" since winning the US Open in 2018.
Osaka says she has not changed her stance on press conferences and feels she had been unfairly scrutinised.
The world number two wrote in Time magazine: "I communicated that I wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. I stand by that.
"Athletes are humans. Tennis is our privileged profession, and of course there are commitments off the court that coincide. But I can't imagine another profession where a consistent attendance record [I have missed one press conference in my seven years on tour] would be so harshly scrutinised.
"Perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions.
"In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it's not habitual. You wouldn't have to divulge your most personal symptoms to your employer; there would likely be HR measures protecting at least some level of privacy.
"In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms - frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones.
"I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again. So I ask the press for some level of privacy and empathy next time we meet."
Osaka is feeling the benefits of a break and is relishing representing her country in the Olympics on home soil in Tokyo.
"After taking the past few weeks to recharge and spend time with my loved ones, I have had the time to reflect, but also to look forward," the 23-year-old said.
"I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo. An Olympic Games itself is special, but to have the opportunity to play in front of the Japanese fans is a dream come true. I hope I can make them proud."
In 2019, Russia was handed a four-year ban from major international sporting events by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA declared the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) non-compliant over inconsistencies in anti-doping data discovered during an investigation.
At the time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reiterated its support for Russia's ban, which meant athletes would be unable to compete under the Russian flag at the 2020 Olympics or the 2022 Winter Games.
In a landmark move on Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed Russia would be banned, albeit with the time frame cut from four years to two.
That will still discount Russia from participating in the Tokyo Olympics – pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic – plus the Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, and the next World Cup.
Russia will, however, be able to compete at the Euro 2020 football finals, which is also scheduled to take place next year, having been another event impacted by COVID-19.
This is because WADA's international standard for code compliance by signatories does not list UEFA as a "major event organisation".
Russian athletes wishing to compete at the Tokyo and Beijing Games will be able to do so, but only under a neutral banner.
CAS stated in its announcement: "This panel has imposed consequences to reflect the nature and seriousness of the non-compliance [to the WADC] and to ensure that the integrity of sport against the scourge of doping is maintained.
"The consequences which the panel has decided to impose are not as extensive as those sought by WADA. This should not, however, be read as any validation of the conduct of RUSADA or the Russian authorities."
CAS also said that its ruling aims to "effect cultural change and encourage the next generation of Russian athletes to participate in clean international sport".
In order to be reinstated at the end of the two-year ban, it was also ruled that RUSADA must pay a contribution of $1.27million to WADA, in respect of the costs incurred in investigating the authenticity of the data retrieved from the Moscow laboratory in January 2019.
RUSADA, under supervision from WADA or the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), was told it must conduct investigations into any cases impacted by the deletions or alterations of the Moscow laboratory data.
The Russian organisation must also provide any other support requested by WADA to assist in determining whether athletes whose samples are listed in the Moscow laboratory database have a case to answer.
The 29-year-old won 800m gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games but athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, has introduced rules that mean Semenya and other athletes with differences of sexual development must either take testosterone-reducing medication to compete at track events from 400m to the mile, or switch to another distance.
Semenya disputed the implementation of those rules but lost a challenge in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and then in an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.
Now, four months out from the Olympics, Semenya has revealed she will bid to make it to the Games in Japan as a 200m athlete.
"Ever since I saw the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on television, I have known that I want to compete on the Olympic stage," the South African said in an Instagram post.
"My first international 800m medal came as a junior at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in India, and over the next 11 years I have won gold at every major international competition including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Diamond League and African Championships.
"However, as you are all aware, I am unable to compete in the 800m and defend my title at the Tokyo Olympic Games later this year.
"My dream has always been, and will continue to be, to compete at the highest level of sport, and so in order to pursue my goals and dreams, I have decided to change events, and compete in the 200m.
"This decision has not been an easy one, but as always, I look forward to the challenge, and will work hard, doing all I can to qualify for Tokyo and compete to the best of my ability for South Africa.
"Thank you to my team who have supported me over the past few months, and thank you to all South Africans who believe in me and stand behind me."
The qualifying time to reach the 200m in Tokyo is 22.80 seconds, with Semenya's current personal best over that distance 24.26s.
The 32-year-old runner finished just outside of the medal places in Tokyo, after being caught and passed close to the finish line by USA legend Alisson Felix who captured the final podium spot. The race was won in dominant fashion by the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo with second place going to the Dominica Republic’s Marileidy Paulino.
McPherson’s finishing time of 49.61 was much slower than her season-best of 49.34, which had been recorded in the event's semi-final. The athlete collapsed violently sobbing after the event. Francis admits that the athlete’s time in the final was a bit of a surprise but believes she is poised to recover and post exceptional performances in the upcoming season.
“It was disappointing because I thought she would have run 48 high in the 400m (Olympic final),” Francis told Sportsmax.Tv in a recent interview.
“She is, however, young enough and determined enough that she will be able to try again,” he added.
McPherson, the event’s reigning national champion, returned to training with the majority of the club’s athletes earlier this week.
The fastest woman alive Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce seems assured of her spot at a fourth Olympic Games, and she seems certain to be joined by reigning champion Elaine Thompson-Herah by the time the women's 100m is complete at the National Stadium in a few hours time.
Who will win the battle to claim the rest of the spots is, however, anyone’s guess. The likes of world junior champions Briana William, in-form NCAA sprinter Kemba Nelson, World Championships relay gold medallist Natasha Morrison and 400m specialist Shericka Jackson will all be part of a quality, competitive pack.
Jamaica sprint king Usain Bolt has now long retired, and it seems an almost impossible task for the current generation to fill his shoes. The likes of World Champion Yohan Blake once thought to be his natural successor will be looking to make a statement when he touches the track tonight.
