Olympics Overnight: Canadian women continue to dominate in Tokyo, adding medals in softball, weightlifting, judo and swimming

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2021 (1553 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.

Team Canada’s women are on fire.

Overnight, Canada’s women softball team secured bronze with a 3-2 win over Mexico, marking the team’s first ever Olympic medal. Maude Charron won gold in women’s weightlifting (64-kg category), while Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard won a bronze in judo (63-kg category). Earlier, Kylie Masse captured silver in the women’s 100-metre backstroke.

By the end of Day 4 in Tokyo, Canada pushed its medal total to eight, all of them won by women.

Canadian divers Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay narrowly missed the podium in the synchronized 10-metre platform, finishing in fourth.

In other news, Simone Biles pulled out of the gymnastics team competition due to a “medical issue,” while Naomi Osaka was eliminated from the women’s singles tournament after losing to Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova in the third round.

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

Canada’s softball team makes history

It has been a long and arduous journey for Canada’s women’s softball team.

After Team Canada finished in fourth in Beijing in 2008, softball was dropped from the Games in 2012 and 2016. Fastforward 13 years later, and the team — which includes four members of the 2008 squad — finally got a taste of Olympic glory, beating Mexico 3-2 amid driving winds and rain at Yokohoma Stadium.

Among the four returning players was Danielle Lawrie, a 34-year-old mother of two who came out of retirement to chase her Olympic dream. Lawrie tossed 2.1 scoreless innings to close out the victory.

Maude Charron becomes the second Canadian Olympic weightlifting champion

The 28-year-old weightlifter from Rimouski, Quebec lifted a total of 236 kg early on Tuesday morning to secure Canada’s second gold medal of Tokyo 2020. Charron is the first Canadian to win gold in weightlifting since Christine Girard at London in 2012.

That’s two medals in judo for Canada

Judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of St-Hubert, Que., won Canada’s second judo medal of the Olympics with a bronze in the women’s under-63-kilogram competition. She defeated Anriqueli Barrios of Venezuela by waza-ari in extra time.

Beauchemin-Pinard forced Barrios on her back just three minutes into the sudden-death period. The Canadian pumped her fist and yelled in triumph from the mat after the winning attack.

The result comes a day after Jessica Klimkait won Canada’s first ever women’s judo Olympic medal with a bronze in the under-57 kg event.

Kylie Masse swims to silver in an ultra-competitive 100-metre backstroke

The reigning world champion from LaSalle, Ont., lost by just over two tenths of a second to Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, with U.S. swimmer Regan Smith taking the bronze.

“I knew it was an incredibly challenging and talented field of backstrokers that have been swimming crazy-fast this whole year, so I knew it was going to be a battle,” Masse said.

Challenging and talented indeed: McKeown set a new Olympic record of 57.47 seconds to secure the gold. Masse’s time was 57.72 seconds.

Read Rosie Dimanno’s column on Masse’s performance here.

A disappointing finish for Canada’s synchronized divers

Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay barely missed the podium in the women’s 10-metre synchronized diving competition, finishing just 0.54 points out of third place. It was a tough finish for the duo, who sat in second place after their third dive, but misfired on the fourth.

And yet it’s an impressive result given the fact that just three weeks ago, McKay twisted her ankle, tearing ligaments along the side of her foot. She continued to compete nonethless, fighting through the pain on each dive.

Canadian women’s soccer team advances to knockout round

Canada conceded a late goal against Great Britain, leading to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday in Kashima, Japan. The draw means Britain finished at the top of Group E, paving a more difficult path for the Canadians, who will take on Brazil in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Simone Biles pulls out of team competition due to medical issue

The American gymnastics superstar pulled out of the team competition on Day 4 in Tokyo, a USA Gymnastics spokesperson confirmed. An official statement says “she will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”

“Physically, I feel good,” Biles told Hoda Kotb on NBC’s “TODAY” show following her withdrawal. “Emotionally, it varies on the time and moment. Coming to the Olympics and being head star isn’t an easy feat.”

Biles has won a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, and is widely considered the most dominant gymnast of all-time.

The U.S. team ended up winning silver in the competition. The Russian Olympic Committee took home the gold.

An early exit for tennis favourite Naomi Osaka

Japanese-American tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron to kick off Tokyo 2020 last week, is heading home. Considered a favourite to win gold, Osaka fell 6-1, 6-4 to No. 42 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the third round of the women’s singles.

In Japan, Osaka’s loss was met with disbelief and an outpouring of sympathy, according to The Associated Press. “Watching you gave me courage. You don’t have to win a medal. Watching you play is enough for all your fans,” said Yuji Taida, a novelist.

Japanese media relayed urgent reports on her loss, with “masaka” — or, in English, “no way” — in the headlines.

Flora Duffy makes Bermuda the smallest country to ever win a Summer Olympic gold

The 33-year-old triathlete dominated the competition in Tokyo, finishing the race in one hour and 55.36 minutes to win Bermuda’s first-ever Olympic gold medal. I think it’s safe to call her a national hero.

Great Britain swimmer overcomes COVID-19 twice on his way to Olympic gold

Tom Dean contracted COVID-19 not once, but twice in the past year. “In January I was coughing and wheezing just walking up stairs,” he told reporters. Dean’s tenacity paid off in Tokyo, winning gold in men’s 200-metre freestyle. Fellow Brit Duncan Scott finished in second.

The reaction from his friends and family speak volumes:

The Top 5 swimming reactions from Tokyo 2020 so far:

PHOTO OF THE DAY

WHAT’S IN STORE TODAY:

Canadian women’s soccer team takes on Britain in must-win game at 7 a.m. ET.

Gabrielle Smith and Jessica Sevick will take part in the rowing, double sculls final at 8:18 p.m. ET.

Penny Oleksiak will swim in the 200-metre freestyle final at 9:41 p.m. ET.

• Sydney Peckham will take part in the 200-individual medley at 10:45 p.m. ET.

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The Star in Tokyo:

Dave Feschuk: Donovan Bailey won the 100 metres in the Olympics 25 years ago despite a devastating injury. His secret? Relax.

Rosi DiManno: Meet the Japanese teen phenom threatening China’s decades-long dominance of table tennis

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The Star in Toronto

Joe Callaghan ‘There’s a tattoo coming:’ Gold medallist Maggie Mac Neil is sure to see her Olympic moment again, on Instagram and in ink

Bruce Arthur: Yes, the Tokyo Olympics could end up being the worst Games ever. It’ll probably come down to the buses

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An update on COVID-19 in Tokyo

Tokyo reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, days after the Olympics began.

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The Japanese capital reported 2,848 new COVID-19 cases, exceeding the earlier record of 2,520 cases on Jan. 7.

It brings Tokyo’s total to more than 200,000 since the pandemic began last year.

Tokyo is under its fourth state of emergency, which is to continue through the Olympics until just before the Paralympics start in late August.

For the latest coronavirus news, visit here.

With files from Star wire services.