Women’s 4x400 Metres

 Cuba and Jamaica both advanced to the final.

The Cuban team of Zurian Hechevarria, Rose Mary Almanza, Sahily Diago and Lisneidy Veitia ran 3:24.04 to finish second in heat 1.

Junelle Bromfield, Roniesha McGregor, Janieve Russell and Stacey Ann Williams formed the Jamaican quartet that finished second in heat 2 to advance with 3:21.95.

The Bahamas quartet of Doneisha Anderson

Megan Moss, Brianne Bethel and Anthonique Strachan also competed in heat 1 but did not finish the race.

 Men’s 400 Metres

The Caribbean secured two more medals in the men’s 400 metres.

Bahamian Steven Gardiner won gold in a time of 43.85 and Grenada’s Kirani James secured bronze in 44.19.

 This is Gardiner’s second straight global gold medal after winning at the 2019 Doha World Championships.

James has now won 400 metres medals at the last three Olympics after winning gold in London in 2012 and silver in Rio 2016.

Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor was also in the final and finished sixth in a new personal best 44.79.

Women’s 400 Metres

 Five Caribbean women advanced to the final.

Marileidy Paulino of The Dominican Republic won semi-final 1 in a national record of 49.38 to advance.

Jamaica’s Candice McLeod and Cuba’s Roxana Gomez also progressed from semi-final 1.

McLeod ran a personal best of 49.51 to finish second and advance automatically while Gomez finished third in a personal best 49.71 and advanced in a fastest loser spot.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo advanced by running 49.60 to win the second semi-final.

Jamaica’s Roniesha McGregor and Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams were also in semi-final 2 but failed to advance, finishing third in 50.34 and seventh in 51.46 respectively.

Stephenie Ann McPherson won semi-final 3 in a personal best 49.34 to qualify.

Sada Williams finished third in that race in a national record of 50.11 but that wasn’t enough to get her into the final.

Men’s 200 Metres

 Canadian Andre DeGrasse ran a Canadian record 19.62 to take gold.

DeGrasse, silver medalist behind Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio games, will be joined on the podium by Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles.

Bednarek ran a personal best 19.68 for silver and Lyles ran a season’s best 19.74 for bronze.

Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer finished 7^th in 20.21 and Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago finished 8^th in 20.39.

Women’s High Jump

 St. Lucian Levern Spencer finished 22^nd in qualifying.

Women’s 4x100 Metres Relay

 The Jamaican team consisting of Briana Williams, Natasha Morrison, Remona Burchell and Shericka Jackson ran 42.15 to finish third in heat 1 and advance to the final.

Men’s 4x100 Metres Relay

 Jamaica qualified for the final after running the fastest time in the heats.

The team of Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville ran a time of 37.82 to win heat 1.

Trinidad & Tobago were also in heat 1 and finished 6^th with a time of 38.63.

Their team consisted of Kion Benjamin, Eric Harrison, Akanni Hislop and Richard Thompson, silver medalist from the 2008 Beijing games.

Men’s 110 Metres Hurdles

 Jamaica secured two medals in the final of the men’s 110 metres hurdles.

Hansle Parchment, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, ran a season’s best of 13.04 to win gold ahead of the prohibitive favourite, Grant Holloway of the USA, who took silver in 13.09.

 Ronald Levy ran 13.10 for bronze, his first Olympic medal.

Jamaica’s national champion, Daniel Thomas-Dodd, could not throw her way into the finals of the Women’s Shot Put, and unfortunately failed to advance from the group stages.

The Indoor World Champion silver medalist threw a distance of 18.37m, in group B action of the qualifying round, but it was only good enough for sixth in her group.

Despite not achieving the qualifying mark, however, the athlete is delighted she was able to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games any at all.

For the 28-year-old a major goal had already been ticked off just by making it to the Games to showcase her talent, and she hopes it will pave the way for other young aspiring Jamaican athletes.

“I came to the 2020 Olympic Games to showcase my talent and also show the younger Jamaicans that they can do it too, they can do whatever they believe in. Unfortunately, I was unable to advance to the finals of the women's shot put. I have so much to be thankful for,” Thomas-Dodd shared via social media.

The second time Olympian reflected that she was close to stepping away from the circle for good a few years ago, but because of the strong support of her husband, now coach, she decided to stay with the sport. She revealed that the season was particularly challenging but that she has taken away a lot from it and it would only make her stronger.

"At this time a few years ago, I was so ready to hang up my throwing shoes but with the nudge and support of my husband now coach I continued and to this day he is my biggest support and motivation.

It has definitely been an up and down and unpredictable season which I have learned so much from. I am no doubt disappointed, however, I am also very grateful for this experience a second time around and If you know me you know that this will only make me stronger.”

The Commonwealth Champion ended by saying that her performance at the Games is not the best of what she can do and that she is not done yet.

China’s Lijiao Gong won the finals of the Women’s Shot Put with a distance of 20.58m, a new personal best. She was the only athlete that went over the 19m mark, Raven Saunders of the United States of America and Valerie Adams of New Zealand were second and third respectively.

Many athletes have expressed their joy after competing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. They have done so through their social media pages and interviews.

 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!”    

Decorated sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce insists she has plenty more left to give, despite heading toward an age that most runners are already retired.

Fraser-Pryce, now 34, entered the Tokyo Olympics as favourite for the 100m title but had to settle for second behind compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.  In the 200m event, she finished just outside the medals in the fourth position behind Thompson-Herah, Namibia’s Christine Mboma, and the United States’ Gabrielle Thomas.

Despite admitting to some amount of disappointment, Fraser-Pryce who turns 35 at the end of the year expects to press on, for now.

“A lot of persons believe that you’ve reached a certain age, you’ve achieved so much, why do more?” Fraser Pryce said.

In Tokyo, the athlete won her fifth Olympic individual medal, two of which have been gold.  In addition, she has five individual World Championship gold medals.

“I believe there’s more to give.  As you can see, I ran 21.9, I ran 21.7 earlier at the Jamaica National Champions.  I ran 10.6, I’m still running 10.7s.  It just shows the power of God and the gift and the talent that I have been given.  When I’m ready when it’s time I’m hoping that someone along the way has been inspired."

The athlete has repeatedly said that she expects next year’s IAAF World Championships in Oregon to be her final major Games appearance.

Jamaica’s Shadae Lawrence expressed satisfaction with her performance, despite not making it to the medal podium in the final of the Women’s Discus on Monday.

Lawrence made history by becoming the first-ever Jamaican woman to make an Olympic discus final.

She threw a distance of 62.27 metres in group A of the qualifying round to finish third and advance to the final. During the final, Lawrence fell just below her qualifying mark to throw 62.12 metres. That throw landed her a top-eight spot as she finished 7th.

The 25-year-old took to Instagram to share her gratitude and emotion. She posted a photo of her in the throwing circle along with a caption saying, “I want to thank God for bringing me this far. The journey was rough but he didn’t give me more than I could bear. The aim for this season was to make a top 8 finish at the Olympic Games. On the journey I found out I could do much more. A 7th place finish is what I’m blessed with and I am grateful”.

The second time Olympian went on to thank her coach, Julian Robison, whom she said believed in her from the start and never doubted her talent. She also thanked the University of South Florida where she attends school, for their support along her journey. Lawrence ended her caption by thanking her family for their support over the years and sent a special shout-out to her sister and mother.

The women’s discus was won by the USA’s Valarie Allman with a throw of 68.98. Silver went to Germany’s Kristen Pudenz and Cuba’s Yaime Perez gained bronze.

The Belarusian sprinter who refused to board a flight home from Japan after allegedly being taken to the airport against her will is "safe" and being protected at a hotel, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, was in Tokyo to contest the women's 200 metres and 4x400m relay events but was told to pack her things after publicly criticising her team's organisation on social media.

She claimed a Belarusian coach entered her for the relay despite her never racing in the event before, which she suggested was a result of members of the team being considered ineligible due to not completing enough doping tests.

The Belarus National Olympic Committee (NOC) said her withdrawal from competition was due to her "emotional, psychological state", but Tsimanouskaya insisted she was being forced to leave Tokyo "without my consent".

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation indicated Tsimanouskaya feared for her life upon returning to Minsk. The country is under the authoritarian leadership of president Alexander Lukashenko, whose son Viktor heads the NOC.

Last December, IOC president Thomas Bach banned both men from attending the Games, declaring: "The IOC has come to the conclusion that it appears that the current leadership has not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member federations or the sports movement."

Tsimanouskaya managed to alert police at the airport, and IOC spokesman Mark Adams later said at a news conference: "She assured us and has assured us that she feels safe and secure. She spent the night at an airport hotel in a safe and secure environment.

"The IOC and Tokyo 2020 will continue their conversations with her and the Japanese authorities to determine the next step in the upcoming days."

Tsimanouskaya has already been offered a visa by Poland.

Jamaica’s bold ambitions of chasing a double sprint sweep evaporated in unexpected fashion after 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson failed to advance from the heats.

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.

After the high of winning three straight titles, Jamaica did not contest the final of the Olympic men’s 100m for the first time in two decades, as the event culminated on Sunday.

In the end, history was made as the title went to Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, which was the first time that country was winning the title.  At the starter blocks, however, the famous black, green, and gold gear, which has become synonymous with speed, particularly over the last decade, was nowhere to be seen.

The country’s two representatives in the event Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville exited the competition at the semi-final stage.  Seville failed to advance after finishing fourth in semi-final two, with a time of 10.09.  Blake saw his bid come to an end after finishing a disappointing 6^th in semi-final 1, with a time of 10.14.  The country’s other entrant Tyquendo Tracey, Jamaica's national champion, pulled out of the competition before the heats after sustaining an injury.

It was a particularly disappointing end for Blake, likely to be in his final Olympics. For several years he was considered the heir apparent to compatriot Usain Bolt, who dominated the event for the last three editions, the first man in history to do so.  Blake has the second-fastest time ever run over the event (9.69) and finished just behind the great sprinter at the 2012 edition of the Games in London.

Since sustaining devastating hamstring injuries in 2013 and 2014, however, Blake has not come close to rediscovering his best form.  At the previous edition of the event in Rio 2016, he finished just outside the medals behind Canada's Andre De Grasse, the USA’s Justin Gatlin, and Bolt.

Decorated track and field icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce called being a part of a Jamaican clean sweep of the medals, for the second time at the Olympics, a blessing.

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.

Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah defended her Olympic title in emphatic fashion, as the country made a clean sweep of the medals in the Women’s 100m on Saturday.

In a superb display of sprinting, the Jamaican powered to the line in a time of 10.61, the fastest in the world this year, and now the second-fastest in history.  Fraser-Pryce, the world champion, who had gone into the event as favourite, was second with a time of 10.74, with Jackson, previously a 400m athlete who stepped down to the sprints earlier this year, third in 10.76.

Heading into the Games, it was Fraser-Pryce who had received all of the headlines, as the 34-year-old looked to be in prime position to secure a historic third Olympic gold medal in the event.  She had run the fastest time in the world at 10.63 and netted a win over both her compatriots at the Jamaica National Championships.

Thompson-Herah had, however, looked in superb form since and sent warning signs when she effortlessly coasted to win in 10.82 to open the competition.  She then followed that up with another fast 10.76 clocking, in the semi-final, run in a manner that suggested she plenty left in the tank.  She clearly did.

Thompson-Herah’s time also broke the Olympic record set by American Florence Griffith Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“Disappointed, hurt, and entirely confused”. That is how Jamaican national champion Tyquendo Tracey described his emotions following the first round of the men’s 100 metres on Saturday.

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!”

The Caribbean made a big wave in the pool at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games earlier today.

It all started with Vincentian Shane Cadogan winning heat 4 of the Men’s 50m Freestyle in a time of 24.71 seconds. He finished ahead of Nigeria’s Alassane Seydou Lancina (24.75) and Bangladesh’s Ariful Islam (24.81).

Trinidad’s Dylan Carter and Cayman’s Brett Fraser tied for second in heat 6 of the same event. Their times were faster than Cadogan’s, finishing in 22.46 seconds. Renzo Tjon-a-joe of Suriname was also in that heat. He finished 6th in a time of 22.56 seconds. Serbia’s Andrej Barna won the heat in 22.29 seconds.  

Meanwhile, Aleka Persaud finished second in heat 4 in the women’s equivalent. The Guyanese swam a time of 27.76 seconds. St.Vincent’s Mya de Freitas also swam in heat 4, finishing 4th in a time of 28.57 seconds. The heat was won by Papau New Guinea’s Judith Meauri in a time of 27.56 seconds. More Caribbean swimmers turned out in the following heat. St. Lucian Mikali Charlamagne (26.99) and Antigua’s Samantha Roberts (27.63) finished 2nd and 6th respectively. Cameroon’s Norah Milanesi finished 1st in a time of 26.41 seconds. Elinah Phillip from the British Virgin Islands swam well for second place in heat 6. She finished behind Ecuador’s Anicka Delgado (25.36) in a time of 25.74 seconds.

None of these competitors were able to advance to the semifinals of their event. The semifinals of the men’s and women’s 50m Freestyle will take place tomorrow.