TOKYO, Japan — It was an eventful day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday... and Tuesday is already off to a fast start. All eyes were on Simone Biles as she made her return to the gym.
Check out the major events of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics:
Simone Biles sticks landing, wins Bronze in beam finals
Simone Biles stuck the landing.
The American gymnastics superstar won bronze during the balance beam final on Tuesday, a week after she took herself out of several competitions to focus on her mental health.
Biles earned her seventh career Olympic medal — tied with Shannon Miller for the most by an American in gymnastics — by drilling a slightly watered-down version of her usual routine in front of a crowd that included IOC President Thomas Bach.
Biles, using a double-pike dismount — no twisting required — posted a score of 14.000. That was good enough for bronze behind the Chinese duo of gold medalist Guan Chenchen (14.633) and Tang Xijing (14.233).
Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee of the United States finished fifth. The 18-year-old Lee won three medals in Tokyo, including silver in the team final and bronze on uneven bars.
Georgia athletes shine, but Malone comes up short in gymnastics finals
Former University of Georgia athlete Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who represents the Bahamas, competed in the women's 400m preliminaries overnight. She finished in second place behind Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic, securing her place in the semifinals on Wednesday at 6:38 a.m.
Rai Benjamin competed in the men's 400m hurdles finals and finished with a silver medal. Benjamin finished in 46.17, a mark that also beat the record set last month by Karsten Warholm of Norway. His family lives in Georgia and has been cheering his Olympic journey.
As the final events of gymnastics wrapped up, Georgia's-own Brody Malone competed in the men's high bar finals. Malone placed in fourth, just shy of a bronze medal.
Atlanta-born Daniel Roberts secured a spot in the men's 110m hurdles semifinals with a time of 13.41. He placed second in his race and 11 overall.
400-meter hurdles world record shattered
Karsten Warholm of Norway obliterated his own world record in the Olympic 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 45.94 to crack the old mark by .76.
One of the most anticipated races on the program more than lived up to the hype. Second-place finisher Rai Benjamin of the United States finished in 46.17, a mark that also beat the record Warholm set last month. This time, it was good for only second. Warholm flashed that trademark look of amazement when he crossed the line first. Alison dos Santos of Brazil finished third and six of the eight runners broke either a world, continental or national record.
US wins gold in women's floor exercise
American gymnast Jade Carey has won the gold medal on floor exercise.
The 21-year-old from Arizona bounced back from a frightening stumble during the vault final on Sunday to claim the top spot on the floor with a score of 14.366. The medal is the fifth claimed by the U.S. women’s gymnastics team in Tokyo, even with star Simone Biles sitting out four finals to focus on her mental health.
Italian Vanessa Ferrari, fourth at both the 2008 and 2016 Olympics, claimed silver. The 30-year-old’s dramatic performance drew a roar from the various federations inside the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Angelina Melnikova of the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee and Mai Murakami of Japan tied for bronze with a score of 14.166. The gymnasts had both the same difficulty score and execution score in their routines.
Women's basketball continues winning streak
The Americans have won 52 consecutive Olympic contests dating back to the bronze medal game of the 1992 Olympics. They went undefeated in group play — albeit not in the dominant fashion the team is used to.
On Monday the team beat France 93-82. The next challenge for the U.S. is its rival Australia in the quarterfinals of the women's basketball tournament.
The Opals beat the Americans in an exhibition last month in Las Vegas. And since play began at the Tokyo Games, the U.S. has continued to be tested unlike any other time during its run of six consecutive Olympic gold medals.
The other quarterfinal matchups on Wednesday include: Group A winner Spain against France, Group C winner China versus Serbia, Group C second-place finisher Belgium takes on Japan.
USWNT knocked out of medal competition
Jessie Feming scored on a penalty kick in the 74th minute and Canada knocked the United States out of gold medal contention in the Olympic women’s soccer competition with a 1-0 semifinal victory.
Canada will face the winner of the late semifinal in Yokohama between Sweden and Australia. The gold medal match is set for Friday at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
It was the second time the United States has been knocked out of medal contention at the Olympics. At the 2016 Games, it was defeated by Sweden in the quarterfinals.
Canada had not won against the United States since 2001.
The U.S. had an uncharacteristically uneven tournament, starting with a 3-0 loss to Sweden that snapped a 44-game unbeaten streak, and a scoreless draw with Australia in the group stage.
US wins first track and field gold
Valarie Allman won the United States' first Tokyo Olympics track and field gold medal on Monday.
No one could pass Allman's discus throw of 68.98 meters (226 feet, 3 inches). After her throw, she waited through an hour-long delay and around 50 throws by her competition.
“To be here, to be in this moment, feels so surreal,” Allman said.
Transgender weightlifter makes history
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard finally got to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. It didn’t last long but it was significant.
Hubbard couldn’t complete any of her first three lifts and that ruled her out of medal contention in the women’s over-87-kilogram division.
The New Zealander made a heart gesture to the audience with her hands before leaving the competition arena. Hubbard is not the only transgender athlete competing at the Tokyo Games, but she has been the focus of attention as a medal contender in weightlifting.
Li Wenwen won the gold medal for China. Emily Campbell of Britain took silver and Sarah Robles of the United States won the bronze.