The Latest: Fans turn up for finish of Olympic road race
TOKYO (AP) - The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year´s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:
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The ban on fans for the Summer Olympics does not extend past Tokyo, and that means thousands of cycling fans have turned up at Fuji International Speedway to await the finish of the men´s road race.
The facility built in the 1960s but extensively renovated over the years has a grandstand capacity of 22,000 people. And with 50 percent capacity limitations due to COVID-19, that means up to 11,000 will be able to see the finish.
Their eagerness to see the Olympics after a year delay was clear by the way fans turned out early Saturday. They showed up nearly seven hours before riders were expected to reach the finishing circuits, and the layout of the speedway meant they would be spending all that time in the sun on a steamy day two hours southwest of Tokyo.
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An official sprays disinfectant on the mats before judo matches at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
MEDAL ALERT
China´s Qian Yang has won the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics in women´s 10-meter air rifle.
Yang overtook Anastasiia Galashina when the Russian missed the center two rings for an 8.9 on her final shot.
Yang had a 9.8 on her final shot and finished with an Olympic record 251.8. Galashina finished at 251.1.
Switzerland´s Nina Christen took bronze.
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An Algerian judo athlete will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after he withdrew from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli opponent.
Fethi Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, told Algerian media they were withdrawing to avoid a possible second-round matchup with Israel´s Tohar Butbul in the men´s 73 kg division on Monday. Nourine was to face Sudan´s Mohamed Abdalrasool in the opening round, with the winner facing Butbul, the fifth seed.
The International Judo Federation´s executive committee has temporarily suspended Nourine and Benikhlef, who are likely to face sanctions beyond the Olympics, which began Saturday. The Algerian Olympic committee then withdrew both men´s accreditation and made plans to send them home.
The IJF said Nourine´s position was "in total opposition to the philosophy of the International Judo Federation. The IJF has a strict non-discrimination policy, promoting solidarity as a key principle, reinforced by the values of judo."
Nourine and Benikhlef attribute their stance to their political support for Palestinians.
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Two Georgian tennis players have been barred from the Tokyo Olympics after officials in their home country told them they were entered for the Games but never actually sent the paperwork.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that it had to turn away doubles players Oksana Kalashnikova and Ekaterine Gorgodze because they were never formally entered for the games, even though Georgia´s Olympic committee "informed the applicants that their application had been submitted."
Without a formal entry for the Olympics, the court ruled that the "consequence, however unfortunate for the two athletes, can only be the dismissal of their petition."
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Australia is without cyclist Rohan Dennis for the men´s Olympic road race, though it´s not because of a positive test for COVID-19.
Dennis chose to skip the race, which is taking place on a brutal course through searing heat that hardly suits his skillset, so that he can focus instead on next week´s time trial.
Dennis, who has won stages in each of the three Grand Tours, is also one of the best in the world in the race against the clock. He´s a two-time time trial world champion, helped Australia win team pursuit silver at the 2012 London Games and is a former world hour-record holder.
He was in medal contention at the Rio Games in the time trial, but he had a mechanical issue that required a bike change and took him out of the running.
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The entire Spanish cycling team has been cleared for the men´s road race hours before the start, ending a stressful period of limbo following a positive COVID-19 test involving a team masseuse.
Alejandro Valverde, Gorka Izagirre, Ion Izagirre, Omar Fraile and Jesus Herrada were considered close contacts of the masseuse, but all returned negative test results that allowed them to make the start at Musashinonomori Park on Saturday.
Spain has one of the strongest teams in the men´s road race, which will finish at Fuji International Speedway. Valverde, Fraile and Ion Izagirre in particular have skillsets that are perfectly suited for the mountainous course.
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The very first match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament has been canceled because a Czech player tested positive for COVID-19.
Markéta Sluková tested positive earlier this week, knocking her and partner Barbora Hermannova out of the Tokyo Games.
The Czechs were supposed to be playing a team from the host country that would have been making its Olympic debut. Instead, the Japanese pair of Megumi Murakami and Miki Ishii earned the victory by default.
Sluková is one of at least three members of the Czech team who have tested positive since their arrival in Japan, including men´s beach volleyball player Ondrej Perusic.
The team has said it´s investigating if the outbreak of COVID-19 is linked to its charter flight to Tokyo.
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German cyclist Simon Geschke has been ruled out of the men´s road race after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The German team says Geschke initially tested positive Friday and his result was confirmed by another test later in the day.
Germany says fellow riders Nikias Arndt and Maximilian Schachmann are cleared to race Saturday. The fourth rider on the team, Emanuel Buchmann, was Geschke´s roommate and was waiting overnight on the result of another PCR test for the virus. Team staff tested negative.
Geschke was a stage winner on the Tour de France in 2015.
The German road race team is living in a hotel and not in the Olympic Village.
Geschke says he followed the hygiene rules at the Olympics. He adds that "I feel fine physically but emotionally it´s a really terrible day for me."
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Players practice on center court at the Ariake Tennis Center ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Workers sweep the area along the women's cycling road race prior to its start, outside the Okunitama Shrine, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Fuchu, Japan. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The sand is empty during first women's beach volleyball match of the 2020 Summer Olympics between Japan and Czech Republic after it was canceled, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The Czech team says beach volleyball player Markéta Sluková has entered a quarantine hotel after testing positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
German Simon Geschke, far right, tries to break away for the peloton during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 169 kilometers (105 miles) with start in Pas de la Case and finish in Saint Gaudens, France, Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Yaxuan Xiong, center, of China, holds her rifle aloft after winning a gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle at the Asaka Shooting Range in the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Anastasiia Galashina, left, of the Russian Olympic Committee, took the silver medal and Nina Christen, of Switzerland took the bronze medal .(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Athletes from France, Spain, Canada, Australia, Portugal and Belgium are seen competing near the start of the men's cycling road race at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Fuchu, Japan. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
