Olympics overnight: Canadian mixed archers miss the mark in qualifying round, and more you missed while you were sleeping

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2021 (1582 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 Star-related Summer Games content, visit our Olympics page here.

It’s finally here.

A year late, and still going ahead under a cloud of COVID-19 uncertainty and ptorests, but Friday morning’s — or evening if you’re going by local Japan time — opening ceremony officially kicked off the world’s biggest sporting event. Despite an impressive stadium to show off, there will unfortunately be no spectators, local or foreign, allowed in the stands due to coronavirus restrictions. Miranda Ayim and Nathan Hirayama are Canada’s flag-bearers.

Follow along with our coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony here.

Team sports and ranking rounds began this week, with Canadian archers participating earlier Friday in Tokyo. The action really gets going Friday night and Saturday morning, with medalling set to begin. Canada’s Michael Woods has a shot at the men’s cycling race, set to begin 10 p.m. EDT. and run into the early hours of the morning.

Here’s what you missed overnight:

Mixed archers miss the target: Canada’s mixed team archers Crispin Duenas and Stephanie failed to qualify in the ranking round, just missing the mark by one spot at no. 17.

In the individual ranking rounds, Duenas came 16th out of 64, whereas Barrett placed 46th out of 64. The women’s individual competition is next Friday and the men’s individual event the following day.

Read the Star’s feature on archer Stephanie Barrett, by Joe Callaghan, here.

In women’s archery, South Korea’s An San broke the women’s Olympic archery record with a score of 680 in the qualifying round on a hot and humid day. Her mark topped the score of 673 set by Lina Herasymenko of Ukraine in 1996. An San’s teammates Jang Minhee (677) and Kang Chae Young (675) were second and third.

Russian archer collapses amid intense heat: Russian archer Svetlana Gomboeva lost consciousness during a competition at the Tokyo Olympics in intense heat.

Coach Stanislav Popov says in comments via the Russian Olympic Committee that Gomboeva collapsed shortly after completing the qualifying round Friday.

Popov says “she couldn’t stand it, a whole day in the heat” and adds that humidity made the problem worse. Temperatures in Tokyo were above 30 C.

Rowing to the next round: All three Canadian boats are moving on after qualifying rounds overnight. Trevor Jones place first in his heat in men’s single sculls, Carling Zeeman came second in her women’s sculls heat, while Gabrielle Smith & Jessica Sevick placed second in the women’s double sculls heat.

The Star in Tokyo:

• Dave Feschuk: Canada’s Olympic committee is playing up participation over medals in Tokyo. It’s strange to hear, but hard to blame them

• Rosie DiManno: Social media trolls excavate missteps of Japanese Olympic contributors as virus overshadows Games

• Bruce Arthur: At Tokyo Olympics, many COVID-19 rules just don’t make much sense

The Star in Toronto (covering Tokyo):

• Tokyo Olympics are fun to watch but keep it simple if you want to bet on Canada

COVID report:

As of Friday morning EDT time, Tokyo Olympic organizers have reported 25 new COVID-19 cases. Three of them are athletes that were announced on Thursday.

There are 13 athletes among the 110 Olympic-accredited people that have tested positive in Japan since July 1.

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WHAT’S IN STORE TODAY:

• Cycling, men’s road race final: Canadian Michael Woods has a shot at a medal, with the race starting at 10 p.m. EDT and going overnight.

• Softball: Canada vs. Australia, 9 p.m. EDT. Canada is currently 1-1 in the group stages, beating Mexico in the first game and dropping the second to the U.S.

• Rowing, women’s pairs, heats: Caileigh Filer and Hillary Janssens, 8:50 p.m. ET

• Rowing, men’s pairs, heats: Kai Langerfeld and Conlin McCabe, 9:40 p.m. ET

• Rowing, women’s lightweight double sculls, heats: Jill Moffatt and Jennifer Casson, 10 p.m. ET

• Women’s soccer, group stages: Christine Sinclair and Canada will take on Chile around 3:30 a.m. EDT. Canada tied Japan 1-1 in their first game.

Tweets from the scenes

PHOTO OF THE DAY

For yesterday’s gallery of the best shots, visit here: