Today in a nutshell: a dominant marathon display from Eliud Kipchoge, final day gold success for Team GB and for Ireland, the USA’s climb to the top of the medal table, and a closing ceremony that simply said “Thank you”.
Tomorrow’s key moments: that hollow feeling when you put your television on and there’s no Olympics to watch.
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Jason Kenny has become Britain’s most decorated Olympian after winning gold in the men’s keirin on Sunday. Kenny, who conceded he was “struggling” during the men’s sprint earlier this week, took his gold medal tally to seven. He is now the first Briton to win nine Olympic medals, adding keirin gold to the team sprint silver he won on Tuesday alongside Jack Carlin and Ryan Owens.
Kenny might not be finished yet, saying “before today I had all but given up, I was counting my career in days and races as opposed to years, but maybe I have bought myself more time now.”
After arriving in Tokyo as the first Welsh female boxer to even qualify for the Olympic Games, Lauren Price won a gold medal secured by a unanimous victory against Li Qian of China in the women’s middleweight boxing. Afterwards Price said “I can’t really put it into words – it’s a dream come true. I still have to pinch myself”
In total Team GB won two golds, two silver and two bronze in the ring, a record only bettered at these games by Cuba.
Kipchoge furthered his claim to be the greatest distance runner of all time as he retained his Olympic marathon title. Out of a group of four who had formed a chasing group behind the Kenyan, Dutchman Abdi Nageeye took silver, and Belgian Bashir Abdi won bronze. The two are friends and train together, and Nageeye could be seen encouraging the Belgian to attack in the final moments, and force his way past Kenyan Lawrence Chorono.
Kipchoge becomes only the third man to ever retain the title, and in brutal conditions at that, with Sapporo experiencing 27°C heat and 73% humidity. Thirty athletes did not finish, and there were sometimes distressing scenes of elite athletes wobbling, falling and becoming disoriented in the heat. France’s Morhad Amdouni appearing to sabotage the drinks station didn’t help either.
Kipchoge made light of it, winning by 80 seconds and saying afterwards: “I think I have fulfilled the legacy by winning the marathon for the second time, back to back. I hope now to help inspire the next generation. The weather was OK. I can’t complain. We were all on the same frying pan. And today I lived my Olympic dream.”
I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting from the closing ceremony, but the Japanese Paradise Ska Orchestra wasn’t it. Organisers said they were going for a “Sunday evening in the park vibe” and it was all – ska aside – mostly a little bit lacklustre to be honest.
But then we had a weightless saxophone playing La Marseillaise on the International Space Station, BMX bikes across the French capital’s rooftops, breaking at Place de la Concorde, a live party for France’s Tokyo medal-winners and a flypast from the Patrouille de France. There was no world’s biggest flag though – the weather prevented the stunt of using the Eiffel Tower as a flagpole.
After speeches from the bigwigs of the IOC back in Japan, it was time to extinguish the Olympic flame. The cauldron that had burned brightly like the sun since being lit on 23 July, and closed up like the moon, and the Tokyo Olympics were over. ありがとう
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The briefing’s picture of the day
Kellie Harrington won Ireland’s second gold of the Tokyo Games in the women’s lightweight boxing with victory over Beatriz Ferreira of Brazil. She’d been one of the flag-bearers for her nation at the opening ceremony, and has now delivered Ireland’s best gold medal-winning performance at an Olympics since Atlanta in 1996.
“It’s just an amazing feeling, to be getting in there and knowing that two of the best are putting it all on the line, I just think for anyone who steps through the ropes, we’re already champions,” she said. “I said it before I was standing on that podium today, and the four of us are cream. We rose to the top.”
You can see the best images from the final day of action in Tokyo in our gallery.
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 Team GB update
Caroline Dubois writes for us today about the heartbreak she suffered in the boxing in Tokyo, saying:
In my first column for the Guardian, I said I would imagine my 11-year-old self watching me at ringside. It’s hard to know what she would say to me now but I think she would be proud of me. One day I will allow myself to feel proud too.
Maybe we’ve over-estimated the legacy those new sporting additions to the Olympics is going to bring. Tom Wall reports for us that Rush Skatepark in Stroud, which was used by Team GB BMX stars such as Charlotte Worthington and Declan Brooks in the run-up to the Olympics, is due to be evicted from a warehouse owned by the local council at the end of August to make way for a canal-side housing development.
🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 Australia update
Kieran Pender writes for us today about Patty Mills, and how he led the Boomers to an Olympic bronze medal that has been four decades in the making.
Liam Adams was the best placed Australian in the men’s marathon in today’s early action. He was placed 24th, just over seven minutes behind Kipchoge’s historic performance. Brett Robinson was placed 66th and Jack Raynor did not finish.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Team USA update
There was no derailing the women’s basketball team, as the USA delivered a 90-75 rout of host nation Japan in the final, to win their 55th consecutive Olympic contest and their seventh successive gold medal. It was Japan’s first time on the women’s basketball podium.
My biggest regret of the Olympics? I never managed to catch the basketball robot in action.
The USA also took the women’s volleyball title, with victory over Brazil. It is the first time the US have taken gold in the event. Earlier, Rio silver medallists and world champions Serbia overpowered South Korea in straight sets in the bronze match to take their second Olympic medal in volleyball at the Games.
On the cycle track, despite a late crash scare, Jennifer Valente won the women’s omnium with 124 points from Japan’s world champion Yumi Kajihara on 110. Dutch veteran Kirsten Wild, 38, ended with a bronze medal, her first ever Olympic podium despite being an eight-time track world champion. Kelsey Mitchell of Canada won the women’s sprint gold.
The USA had already won more medals than any other nation, and the three gold medals on the final day also allowed USA to leapfrog China to the top of the medal table ranked by golds.
🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 The hosts and beyond
France won the women’s handball gold for the very first time, with a well-deserved 30-25 win over Not Russia. The bronze went to Norway after they beat local rivals Sweden 36-19.
Bulgaria triumphed ahead of the rhythmic gymnasts of the Russian Olympic Committee in the last event at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, the group all-around final. Italy, who have been having an incredibly successful Olympics, took bronze. It was the second disappointment for the Not Russians, who had won both this event and yesterday’s individual all-around at every Olympics going back to Sydney in 2000, but could only take two silvers in Tokyo.
The 339th – well, 340th if you count two golds in the men’s high jump – gold medal of the Games was the last one to be awarded, and it came in the water polo final where Serbia’s fourth-quarter performance finally allowed them to pull 13-10 clear of Greece and retain their title.
Did you know?
Japan have easily exceeded their medal haul from any previous games, including when they previously hosted the summer Games in 1964. The only time they had previously earned more than 40 medals in total was at the Rio Olympics, with 41. Their 2020 total is 58 medals.
Key events for Monday 9 August
Oh. The next thing I’ve got in my diary is the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. That starts at 8pm local time in Tokyo on Tuesday 24 August. I’ll see you there.
As it finished
Here’s how the emoji table stood at the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics:
1 🇺🇸 USA 🥇 39 🥈 41 🥉 33 total: 113
2 🇨🇳 China 🥇 38 🥈 32 🥉 18 total: 88
3 🇯🇵 Japan 🥇 27 🥈 14 🥉 17 total: 58
4 🇬🇧 Great Britain 🥇 22 🥈 21 🥉 22 total: 65
5 ◽️ Not Russia 🥇 20 🥈 28 🥉 23 total: 71
6 🇦🇺 Australia 🥇 17 🥈 7 🥉 22 total: 46
7 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🥇 10 🥈 12 🥉 14 total: 36
8 🇫🇷 France 🥇 10 🥈 12 🥉 11 total: 33
9 🇩🇪 Germany 🥇 10 🥈 11 🥉 16 total: 37
10 🇮🇹 Italy 🥇 10 🥈 10 🥉 20 total: 40
Get in touch
Do continue to get in touch with me at [email protected]. I’ll see you here again same time tomorrow with an email summing what you’ve told me were the best of these Games for you. And don’t despair that it’s over, I’m already looking ahead to the Paralympics. After I’ve had a little break.
The last word
Tonight the curtain falls on a Games of excitement and inspiration. Forged by each athlete who took part. These Games took place in the midst of a severe pandemic, and I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those in medical services, to everyone who supported and contributed to the Games, and to our hosts, the people of Japan. One athlete’s jubilant victory is another’s bitter defeat. And yet in the space of an instant winner and loser come together in the same feeling of acknowledgment and respect. This is the beauty of the Olympic Games. This is the value of the Olympic spirit. Please never forget that sight – Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games