EXPLAINER: How Biles' withdrawals impact US gymnastics team
Read full article: EXPLAINER: How Biles' withdrawals impact US gymnastics teamAmerican gymnast Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from two key Olympics competitions to focus on her mental well-being changes the landscape somewhat dramatically for the U.S. gymnastics team in coming days.
Russian team topples American powerhouse with Biles out
Read full article: Russian team topples American powerhouse with Biles outThough the history books may mark Tuesday’s victory with an asterisk due to American star Simone Biles’ early withdrawal, the Russian women's gymnastics team's dazzling performance is the result of a concerted transformation since they finished a distant second to the American team at the 2019 World Championship.
Tokyo holds 1-day gym meet to show Olympics may be possible
Read full article: Tokyo holds 1-day gym meet to show Olympics may be possibleAudience members cheer for Wataru Tanigawa of Japan as he competes in the rings during an international gymnastics meet in Tokyo on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)TOKYO – The good news for the Tokyo Olympics is that Japan on Sunday held a one-day exhibition gymnastics meet in front of several thousand fans with 22 athletes participating from Russia, China, and the United States. The non-Japanese entered after a 14-day quarantine at home and were largely kept penned up in their Tokyo hotel in strict isolation. The event is the latest — a Japanese baseball stadium was filled to capacity last week — intended to show that the postponed Tokyo Olympics can open in just under nine months. Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a government audit last year said it was twice that much.
Tokyo hosts 4-country gymnastics meet to test COVID safety
Read full article: Tokyo hosts 4-country gymnastics meet to test COVID safetyWhat’s important is for Japanese government and Olympic officials to show that foreign athletes can enter the country safely and not spread COVID-19. This is another step in attempting to illustrate that Tokyo will be able to hold next year’s Olympics — even without a vaccine — in the midst of a pandemic. “I have no worries with the venue and there are no restrictions inside of the gym. They will involve 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and thousands of staff, judges, officials, media and broadcasters. Two-time defending Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who reported a positive test last week for COVID-19, subsequently tested negative several times.