‘Hey, did we make it in?’ Cameraman tips off Canadian women’s relay team on their shot in the final

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This article was published 05/08/2021 (1544 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A cameraman got to be the bearer of good news for the Canadian 4×400-metre women’s relay team on Thursday.

The Canadian runners — Alicia Brown, Sage Watson, Madeline Price and Kyra Constantine — secured a spot in the final with a time of 3:24.05. The season-best performance did not land them in the top three for automatic qualification, so they had some anxious moments waiting to learn if they would advance.

As it turned out, they were tipped off about their fate before the news reached the stadium video board.

“The cameraman was down there filming us, so I think we had an idea. Like he was waiting for a reaction,” said Watson, who ran the second leg. “Then I looked at him. I pointed. I was like, ‘Hey, did we make it in?’”

He nodded in reply, Watson said: “I was like, ‘OK, thank you.’”

• Raven grieves: The International Olympic Committee paused its investigation into Raven Saunders’ recent demonstration on the shot put podium following the unexpected death of her mother.

Clarissa Saunders died Tuesday, three days after her daughter won silver. The cause of death was unknown.

Raven Saunders raised her arms to form an X at the end of her medal ceremony, which she said symbolized support for “oppressed people.”

The IOC loosened rules on demonstrations prior to the Games, allowing athletes to protest before competitions. But the existing ban on podium protests was unchanged. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has defended Saunders, pointing out the demonstration did not occur during the ceremony or interfere with the Chinese anthem played for gold medallist Gong Lijiao.

Saunders, who is Black and LGBTQ, wrote in reply to a tweet about her gesture: “Let them try and take this medal. I’m running across the border even though I can’t swim.”

The IOC extended condolences to Saunders in a statement, adding that, “given the circumstances, the (investigation) is fully suspended.”

• Swift reaction: Simone Biles has many famous friends and supporters. She can count singer Taylor Swift among them.

The decorated American gymnast returned to competition this week after withdrawing from a handful of events, citing mental health struggles and twisties, a dangerous phenomenon where gymnasts lose a sense of where they are in the air.

Swift narrated an NBC promo marking Biles’ return, in which she won bronze on the balance beam. The spot was set to Swift’s “This Is Me Trying” from her recent album “Folklore” and touched on the heavy burden of being a hero, praising Biles for her voice and honesty.

Biles responded to the video on Twitter, posting: “I’m crying … how special. I love you @taylorswift13.”

Swift responded in kind: “I cried watching YOU. I feel so lucky to have gotten to watch you all these years, but this week was a lesson in emotional intelligence and resilience. We all learned from you. Thank you.”

• They’re from where? Olympic organizers apologized Thursday after Ukrainian synchronized swimmer Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk were mistakenly introduced as representing the Russian Olympic Committee during their medal ceremony.

Fiedina and Savchuk took bronze in the artistic swimming duet Wednesday, while Russians Svetlana Romashina and Svetlana Kolesnichenko won gold. The mix-up came in the French-language announcement.

“It was purely an operational mistake,” organizing committee spokesperson Masa Tanaka said.

Years-long tensions between the two nations made this an international incident. During the opening ceremony, a Russian TV network cut to commercials just before Ukrainian athletes entered behind their national flag. The broadcaster returned after Ukraine’s team had passed.

• On the mend: American BMX rider Connor Fields was released from a Tokyo hospital Thursday after suffering a brain bleed, broken ribs and a collapsed lung from a crash in his semifinal five days earlier.

Fields, 28, landed hard on a jump and was hit at high speed by two riders. He remained motionless while the race concluded.

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Fields will return to his home in Henderson, Nev., in the coming days to begin his rehabilitation, according to a statement from the U.S. committee.

His mother, Lisa Fields, was overjoyed.

“A few of us have been able to see and speak with Connor on FaceTime and I am relieved to hear his voice, witness him move around and see that his sense of humour and strength are still intact,” she told The Associated Press. “His sly smile says more than any scan, yet those are looking good, too.”

With files from The Associated Press

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy