Olympics overnight: Penny Oleksiak swims to Canadian Olympic history, gymnast Ellie Black injured and water polo gets first win since 2004

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2021 (1504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rise and shine, Olympic fans. Here’s what you missed overnight and need to know about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this morning.

For all the Summer Games content, visit our Olympics page here.

Penny has made history.

The Toronto swimmer — at age 21 — has already become Canada’s most decorated Olympian, tying the mark set by Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen. But Oleksiak has a chance to add to an already impressive resume with three more races this week.

After Oleksiak’s record-making splash in the pool, it was a relatively quiet night, medals-wise, for Canadian Olympians at the 2020 Tokyo Games, though gymnast Ellie Black dropped out of the gymnastics final early Wednesday morning after suffering an injury during training.e

The Canadian men’s rugby sevens team finished eighth, cyclist Hugo Houle placed 13th in the men’s individual time trial, men’s volleyball beat Iran and the women’s water polo team claimed their first win at the Games since 2004.

Plus, some words of inspiration from Simone Biles after she dropped out of two finals events over mental health struggles.

Here’s what you missed overnight while you were sleeping:

Bronze Penny: In the women’s 200-metre freestyle last night, Penny Oleksiak led at the first turn, but was fourth at the 150-metre mark, having to power through the last leg of the race to squeak into third place. Australian Ariarne Titmus won gold in a record time of 1:53.5, while Siobhan Bernadette of Hong Kong captured second.

Oleksiak’s reaction after winning bronze? “I saw the lights beside my name, and I honestly didn’t really care,” she said. “I was just like, my legs are killing me.”

It’s Oleksiak’s sixth Olympic medal overall in her young career and she’s now the most decorated Canadian Summer Olympian.

Black sustains injury: Canadian gymnast Ellie Black will not be competing in the all-around final event on Thursday after suffering an injury during training. It wasn’t immediately clear what the injury was, but Black was a medal hopeful for Canada.

Rowers miss podium: Canadians Jessica Sevick and Gabrielle Smith finished in a disappointing sixth in the women’s double sculls rowing final, more than 12 seconds back of the winning boat. Sevick, who suffered a traumatic brain injury 20 years ago, was emotional and, in typical Canadian fashion, apologetic in the post-race interview.

“Sorry, we sucked in the final,” she said.

Simone withdraws from another event: Gymnastics U.S. superstar Simone Biles also dropped out of the all-around final event, a day after suddenly withdrawing from the team gymnastics final for mental health reasons. She may not be walking home with a medal, but her candid words and openness about her struggles has shone a light on the mental pressure many Olympic athletes face.

“I say put mental health first because if you don’t then you’re not going to enjoy your sport and you’re not going to succeed as much as you want to,” Biles told reporters yesterday.

Seventeen years in the making: It might’ve taken 6,188 days, but Canada’s women’s water polo team is back on the winning side at the Olympics after winning their first game since 2004, 21-4 over South Africa. The women are now 1-2 at the tournament and will take on the Netherlands next on Sunday.

More Canadian results

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

• Swimming, individual 200-metre: Sydney Pickrem, Canada, finished sixth, 2:10.05.

• Swimming, individual 100-metre: Penny Oleksiak, Canada, second in her heat with time of 52.95, she will advance to semifinals. Canadian Kayla Sanchez also advances.

• Rugby, men’s sevens: Australia 26, Canada 7. Canada finishes eighth.

• Volleyball, men’s: Canada 3, Iran 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22). It was Canada’s first win at the tournament. They now sit 1-2, with a possible shot at the quarterfinals.

• Cycling, men’s individual time trial: Hugo Houle, Canada, 57:56.46, 13th place.

• Badminton: Michelle Li of Markham defeats Slovakia’s Martina Repiska 21-18, 21-16.

• Tennis: In round of 16 action in mixed doubles, Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece, defeated Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada, 6-3, 6-4.

• Rowing: Canada (Caileigh Filmer; Hillary Janssens), 6:49.46 (FA), third in semifinals; Canada (Kai Langerfeld; Conlin McCabe), 6:19.15 (FA), third in semifinals. Both pairs to row in Thursday’s final.

An update on COVID-19 in Tokyo

Tokyo reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time, days after the start of the Olympics.