OLY-Tokyo Olympics Digest

APTOPIX Tokyo Olympics Hockey (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Here are AP’s Olympic coverage plans. All times are Eastern. For questions, please email Shelley Acoca at sacoca@ap.org. Find the latest Olympics coverage plans on Coverage Plan. For expanded content, visit AP’s Olympics hub on AP Newsroom. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport@ap.org or call 877-836-9477.

______

TOP STORIES

OLY-SOCIAL MEDIA GAMES: The made-for-television Tokyo Games have become a digitial affair. Spectators aren’t permitted as a pandemic precaution at the Olympics so athletes have taken to social media and NBC used streaming to reach the public in record-smashing and trailblazing ways. Several Olympians from niche sports introduced themselves to America through viral videos, with TikTok the preferred platform. By AP Sports Writer Jenna Fryer. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

OLY-RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS: The often forgotten genre of rhythmic Olympic gymnastics is like combining its more famous cousin, artistic gymnastics, with ballet and a circus. Gymnasts dance as they throw and catch items including hoops, balls, ribbons, clubs. For the first time, the United States is sending a full team. The gymnasts hope their increased presence could mark a turning point back home, where they are often dismissed as ribbon twirlers and hula hoopers. By Claire Galofaro. SENT: 1,300 words, photos.

OLY—VOL-WOMEN-1980: The Japanese-style lanterns hanging in the rooms of the U.S. women’s volleyball players at the Olympics provide much more than light. Those lanterns symbolize the strong bond that has formed between the team that built the foundation for USA Volleyball despite being denied an opportunity to compete at the Olympics and the team that is trying to deliver the first gold ever for the U.S. women. The 1980 U.S. team adopted this year’s squad after seeing similarities from the one-year delay because of the pandemic to the trauma they endured during the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. By Sports Writer Josh Dubow. SENT: 850 words, photos.

OLY-SRF—CARISSA MOORE: Carissa Moore, who won gold in surfing’s Olympic debut, is the only Native Hawaiian surfer at the Games, and her legacy has now become that of Duke Kahanamoku’s realized dream, at once the symbol of the sport’s very best and also a validating force for an Indigenous community that still struggles with its complex history. By Sally Ho. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 6 a.m.

OLY—BKO-US-AUSTRALIA: Kevin Durant and the Americans still have their grip on gold and it’s going to take more than a few bad minutes for anyone to take it away from them. Durant scored 23 points, Devin Booker had 20 and the U.S. blew past and eventually blew away Australia 97-78 on Thursday in the Olympic men’s basketball semifinals after falling into a 15-point hole. By Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney. SENT: 762 words, photos.

OLY—BBI-US-SOUTH KOREA: Minnesota prospect Joe Ryan (1-0) starts for the United States against defending champion South Korea, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s Olympic baseball gold medal game against Japan. By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. Starts 6 a.m.

OLY—WRE-WRESTLING: American David Taylor wrestles for gold when he faces Iran’s Hassan Yazdani in the men’s freestyle 86 kilogram class final on Thursday. American Helen Maroulis will wrestle for bronze. Japan’s Risako Kawai will try to join her sister, Yukako, as gold medalists at these Olympics when she wrestles in the women’s 57 kg final against Belarus’ Iryna Kurachkina. By Cliff Brunt. UPCOMING: 750 words, with photos by 10 a.m. WITH: OLY—WRE-CAMARA-GUINEA: Fatoumata Yarie Camara, the only Olympic athlete from Guinea, West Africa, is thankful for her opportunity to wrestle at the Games. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos.

OLY-BKL—WOMEN'S SEMIFNALS PREVIEW: The U.S. women team seems to be peaking at the right time for the Americans, who will be joined in the semifinals Friday by Serbia, France and Japan. Three of the four semifinalists advance from the same group in pool play, the U.S., France and Japan. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. UPCOMING; 700 words, photos by 6 a.m. WITH: BKL-JAPAN-HOVASSE'S JOURNEY: Tom Hovasse talked of Japan playing for gold in women’s basketball at the Tokyo Games against the United States when hired as head coach four years ago. That moment is now one win away from being reality. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by 4 a.m.

OLY--BVL-BEACH VOLLEBALL-WOMEN: The United States pair of April Ross and Alix Klineman will play Australia for the Olympic beach volleyball gold medal. The Americans quickly dispatched Switzerland in the semifinals to reach the championship match. The win assures the U.S. of at least one beach volleyball medal for the seventh straight Olympics. By Sports Writer Jimmy Golen: SENT: 548 words, photos.

OLY—ATH-4X100 RELAY: A slow exchange left the American 4x100-meter relay team in an all-too-familiar spot at the Olympics on Thursday — out of medal contention. And this time, not even racing for one. By Sports Writer Eddie Pells. SENT: 660 words, photos.

OLY—GLF-WOMEN’S GOLF: Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden had a one-shot lead over American Nelly Korda and India’s Aditi Ashok going into the second round at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Adding to the drama is whether a tropical storm in the forecast will reduce the event to 54 holes. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 5 a.m.

OLY—SWM-MARATHON SWIMMING-MEN: Florian Wellbrock of Germany has added a gold medal in men’s marathon swimming to his bronze at the pool. Wellbrock sprinted to an early lead at Tokyo Bay, was up front most of the way, and won by a record 25.3 seconds. SENT: 765 words, photos. WITH: SWM-MARATHON SWIMMING-MELLOULI: Ous Mellouli is already looking ahead after a rough run-up to his sixth Olympics. SENT: 400 words, photos.

OLY-CLB—MEN'S SPORT CLIMBING: Czech climber Adam Ondra is the favorite to claim the first Olympic medal in sport climbing history in the men’s combined event. By John Marshall. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Lead final begins at 9:10 p.m.

______

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

OLY—BELARUS-RUNNER: Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who feared for her safety at home after criticizing her coaches on social media, flew into Warsaw on Wednesday night on a humanitarian visa after leaving the Tokyo Olympics, a Polish diplomat confirmed. By Vladimir Isachenkov and David Keyton. SENT: 995 words, photos.

OLY—VBL-MC-AND-DJ: The Olympic beach volleyball venue in Rio de Janeiro reverberated with the cheers of 12,000 fans, who infused the arena with a samba-dancing spirit that spilled out of the stadium onto Copacabana beach. This time, there is only a master of ceremonies, a disc jockey, and the whir of the cicadas in the nearby trees. By Sports Writer Jimmy Golen. SENT: 796 words, photos.

OLY-UKRAINE-APOLOGY: Tokyo Olympic organizers apologized Thursday after Ukrainian athletes in artistic swimming were announced as Russians at a medal ceremony. By Sports Writer Graham Dunbar. SENT: 344 words, photos.

______

EXPLAINERS

OLY—EXPLAINER-JAPAN EMERGENCY: Japan is playing host to the Tokyo Olympics. But the capital, as well as other populous areas, are in the middle of a government-declared “state of emergency” to curb surging COVID-19 infections. What does that state of emergency mean? How is it enforced? By Yuri Kageyama. SENT: 730 words, photos.

OLY—EXPLAINER-SPORT CLIMBING: Sport climbing has made its Olympic debut, giving the world a chance to see just how physically demanding it can be. A mix of speed, strength and agility, the sport has opened a few eyes through two days of qualifying. It will become even more intense with the finals, starting with the men on Thursday. So how did sport climbing get here, and what exactly is going on? By Sports Writer John Marshall. SENT: 635 words, photos.

______

PHOTO GALLERIES

OLY-MEDAL WORTHY MOTION-PHOTO GALLERY: On the track, in the air, underwater, from the mound — Olympians are built for moving fast. In the briefest flash, much can be revealed. SENT: 140 words, photos.

______

DAILY FIXTURES

— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2000 Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the 2020 pandemic-delayed Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.

— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day's gold medals.

______

GRAPHICS

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL COUNT — Keep track of who’s ahead in the medal race with our nation-by-nation medal tabulation.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s medals at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

______

FEATURED IMAGES

OLYJC154 - India’s Vivek Sagar Prasad, bottom, and Germany’s Tobias Constantin Hauke compete for possession during the men’s field hockey bronze medal match.

OLYVT145 - Steven de Costa of France, right, and Abdel Rahman Almasatfa of Jordan compete in the men’s kumite -67kg elimination round for Karate.

OLYAG174 - Cory Juneau of the United States competes in the men’s park skateboarding prelims.

OLYJJ234 - Lisa Carrington of New Zealand competes in the women’s Kayak single 500m semifinal.

OLYTH123 - Rebekka Haase, of Germany prepares to start a semifinal of the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay.

OLYFLL128 - Perrine Delacour, of France, covers her head with a towel on the first hole during the second round of the women’s golf event.

OLYDL101 - Lois Toulson of Britain competes in women’s diving 10m platform semifinal at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

OLYSH144 - Anastasija Kravcenoka, of Latvia, stretches for the ball a women’s beach volleyball semifinal match against Australia.