Summer Olympics 2021: What to Watch for on Day 5 in Tokyo
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Martin Meissner/Associated Press
Second place.
It has only happened to five-time gold medalist Katie Ledecky once before at the Olympics—in a relay in Rio.
Earlier this week, Ledecky earned her first individual silver when Ariarne Titmus edged her for first place in the 400-meter freestyle.
The two will compete again in the 200-meter freestyle on Day 5. The U.S. men’s basketball team will also be looking to get back on track, and other highlights of the day include the finals of men’s rugby sevens and women’s 3×3 basketball, men’s gymnastics and women’s cycling.
With the tricky time change between North America and Japan, here’s your daily reminder of what’s happening, when. Day 5 events will start on Tuesday evening, run through the night and wrap up Wednesday morning.
Whether you’re a fan of the hardwood or the pool, or want to take in some rugby or gymnastics, we’ve got your covered.
Let’s go! This is your guide to Day 5 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
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Eric Gay/Associated Press
Men’s Basketball
USA vs. Iran: 12:40 a.m. ET Wednesday, NBCSN
Women’s 3×3 Basketball
Gold-medal game: 8:55 a.m. ET Wednesday, NBCOlympics.com
- Replay at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday on NBCSN
Women’s Swimming
200-meter final: 9:41 p.m. ET Tuesday, NBC
Women’s Cycling
Road time trial: 10:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, NBCOlympics.com
Men’s Gymnastics
Individual all-around: 12:15 a.m. ET Wednesday, NBCOlympics.com
- Replay Wednesday during NBC prime time, starting at 8 p.m. ET
Men’s Rugby Sevens
Semifinals and finals begin at 10 p.m. on ET Tuesday, CNBC
- Live medal matches at 3:30 a.m. ET Wednesday on NBCOlympics.com
- Replay: men’s finals, 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on NBCSN
- Replay: men’s medal matches, 1:15 a.m. ET Thursday on NBCSN
Tuesday’s prime-time coverage on NBC kicks off at 8 p.m. ET. It will feature live swimming, as well as replay coverage of the team final in women’s gymnastics.
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Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
After a stunning defeat in their Olympic opener, the U.S. men’s basketball team will have a chance to get back on track when they take on Iran for their second game of group-stage play.
The Iranians opened their tournament with an 84-78 loss to the Czech Republic, while the U.S. watched a seven-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate as they dropped an 83-76 decision to France. Jrue Holiday led the way offensively for Team USA with 18 points.
Against Iran, the Americans will hope for better performances from Khris Middleton and Devin Booker, who suited up in Japan barely four days after playing in the NBA Finals. The full team is now assembled and has had a couple of days to get acclimated. If they want to win a fourth-straight gold medal for their country, it’s time to start building a path to the playoff round.
USA-Iran goes late Tuesday night from Saitama Super Arena, at 12:40 a.m. ET.
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Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
At Aomi Urban Sports Park, the U.S. women will be looking to come out on top in the playoff round of the Olympics’ first 3×3 basketball tournament.
Based off street basketball, the fast-paced games are played on a half court, outdoors, with both teams shooting at a single basket. The winner is the first team to reach 21 points or the team that’s leading at the end of 10 minutes — whichever comes first.
The U.S. team has gone undefeated in its first six games of the tournament, but got a scare from China in a 21-19 nail-biter on Monday morning. Through the first six games, Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces has led her team offensively, averaging seven points a game. That ties her for top spot in tournament scoring.
After wrapping up pool play on Monday night, Team USA has a top-two finish assured. They’ll advance directly to the semifinals, which will be played early Wednesday morning.
The gold-medal game is scheduled for 8:55 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
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Martin Meissner/Associated Press
After 20-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia edged out 24-year-old American Katie Ledecky for the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on Day 3, the 200-meter event has become must-see TV.
But it might not be as simple as a head-to-head battle. They swam in separate semifinals, each posting the fastest time, but Ledecky was actually a little slower than Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, who came second in Titmus’s heat.
Also, overlook Penny Olesiak of Canada at your peril. After winning four medals in Rio, she anchored her team to silver in the 4×100-meter relay for the Canadians’ first medal of these Games.
Ledecky will race in the 200 at 9:40 p.m. ET, then be back in the water barely an hour later. She holds the world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle and set an Olympic record this week when she delivered the fastest time in qualifying. In the 1,500-meter final at 10:54 p.m. ET, she’ll be swimming in Lane 4 next to her teammate Erica Sullivan.
Three other sets of medals will also be handed out on Day 5 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre—in the men’s 200-meter butterfly, the women’s 200-meter individual medley and the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
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Manu Fernandez/Associated Press
After winning a silver medal in the oval in team pursuit at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Chloe Dygert is taking on both road and track disciplines this time around.
Her Games began with a 31st-place finish in the women’s road race, where Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer cruised to gold by building such a big early lead that the rest of the pack forgot she was ahead of them.
Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET, Dygert will mount her bike again in the road time trial. For women, the race covers one lap of the 22.1 km course, which starts and finishes at Fuji International Speedway.
Dygert won this event at the 2019 world championship in England. But she couldn’t defend her title in Italy a year later, where she suffered a nasty crash that left her with a serious laceration on her left leg. She’s back now, and coached by Kristin Armstrong (no relation to Lance). Armstrong is a three-time Olympic gold medalist herself, who won this event in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
American Amber Neben is also set to compete in the event.
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Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press
With the team events complete, the focus at Ariake Gymnastics Centre now shifts to the individual events. First up: the men’s individual all-around.
We’re guaranteed to have a new gold medalist in Tokyo. Uchimura Kohei of Japan, the winner of the all-around in both London and Rio, is competing only in the parallel bars and the high bar this time around.
But Japan is still the team to beat. Kohei’s teammate, Daiki Hashimoto, picked up a silver in the team event and finished first in individual qualifying. He was just ahead of reigning world champion Nikita Nagornyy, who won gold with the Russian Olympic Committee in the team event.
China was the third team on the podium for team event, earning bronze. Their two all-around finalists, Sun Wei and Xiao Ruoteng, qualified with the third- and fourth-best scores, respectively.
The U.S. team finished fifth in the team event. Two athletes qualified for the individual all-around final—three-time Olympian Sam Mikulak and 21-year-old newcomer Brody Malone.
The men’s individual all-around event starts Wednesday at 12:15 a.m. ET.
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Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press
It’s a fast and furious tournament. The matches are just 14 minutes long—about half an hour, in real time. And after getting underway on Sunday, the medals will be handed out in men’s rugby sevens on Wednesday.
Traditionally, the Pacific nations dominate the sport. Fiji won gold when the sport made its Olympic debut in Rio. Great Britain took silver, South Africa earned bronze, and Japan finished fourth.
Through two games of the three-match group stage, Fiji is tied with Great Britain atop Pool B, both opening with 2-0 records. Atop Pool C, South Africa is tied with the United States at 2-0. The U.S. narrowly missed the knockout stage in Rio but is through this time after wins over Kenya and Ireland.
Japan didn’t advance to the knockout stage after losses to both Great Britain and Fiji.
With the group stage and the quarterfinals completed by Tuesday morning, the playoffs begin in earnest Tuesday. The semifinals start at 10 p.m. ET, with the bronze medal match Wednesday morning at 4:30 ET and the gold-medal showdown half an hour later.
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