Simone Biles returns to the beam and the medal podium, KD leads Team USA past Spain, and Athing Mu blows away the competition in the 800M | What You Missed
A jam packed Tuesday in Japan lead to plenty of action from Team USA. Simone Biles returned to competition in the Balance Beam event Final and earned Bronze, Kevin Durant paced the Americans past the Spanish, Athing Mu cruised to the first American Gold in the women’s 800M in over 50 years, and much, much more.
Video transcript
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LIZ LOZA: Good morning, America. It's a new dawn and another stellar day from Team USA. Here's what you might have missed.
We have to start at the Ariake Center, with the return of Simon Biles in the balance beam event final. Biles had been out since the first routine of the team final with what gymnasts called the twisties, but she powered through to give it one more shot before she left Tokyo. And boy, did she deliver. Biles laid down a beautiful routine that was enough to win her the bronze medal. It marks her seventh Olympic medal, tying her with Shannon Miller for the most all time by a Team USA gymnast. Thank you for sharing your greatness with us one more time at these games, Simone.
Over to the hardwood, where the men's basketball team faced off against Spain in the quarterfinals. After a shaky start, Team USA took control in the second half behind 29 points from Kevin Durant. KD was joined by four other Americans in double figures as they dispatched Spain, 95 to 81. Ricky Rubio led Spain with an impressive 38 points, but the Americans just had too much talent. Team USA now advances to play in the semifinals on Thursday.
In the pool, the women's water polo team continued its dominant Olympic run in the quarterfinal against Canada. Goalkeeper Ashley Johnson held it down in net with 14 saves on 17 shots faced, while Team USA cruised to a 16 to 5 victory. We'll take on the ROC in the semifinal this Thursday.
Now we head to Tokyo's Olympic stadium for a ton of action in track and field. Let's start on the track, where Allyson Felix hit the blocks for her fifth Olympics, cruising to first in her 400-meter qualifying heat. We're excited to see more from Felix over the next few days.
In the men's 400 meter hurdles, Rye Benjamin set an American record, earning silver behind Norway's Karsten Warholm, who set a new world record. In the women's 800 meter, it was an American showcase. 19-year-old Athing Mu blew away the competition and grabbed gold, becoming the first American woman to win the 800 in over 50 years. Raven Rogers came in just a second behind Mu to earn the bronze. And finally, in the women's 200 meter, Harvard graduate Gabby Thomas earned a bronze, with a time of 21.87 in the final.
Now to the field events. In the women's long jump, Brittney Reese earned a silver with a jump just 3/100 of a meter behind the gold medal effort. And in men's pole vaulting, Christopher Nilsen snagged the silver medal, while Sweden's Armand Duplantis fell just short of a new world record to take the gold.
Other athletes collecting medals for Team USA include Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who won gold in the freestyle wrestling in the 68 kilogram division, Duke Regan, who earned bronze in men's featherweight boxing, and the women's track cycling team, which earned a bronze of their own in the team pursuit event. Checking in on the medal count, China is still ahead in the gold medal standings, with the US and Japan following behind. Team USA continues to lead the way in the total medal count, however, with China, the ROC, Britain, and Japan rounding out the top five. Be sure to follow Yahoo Sports on Twitter for up-to-the-minute medal updates. That's all we got for you today, but check back in tomorrow for a full recap of all of the action from Tokyo.
