Road race thriller and bounce-back wins: 5 things to know from Saturday in Tokyo

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/07/2021 (1529 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From cyclist Michael Woods narrowly missing a podium finish to bounce-back performances from Canada’s softball and women’s soccer teams, here are five things to know from Saturday’s competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

ROAD RACE THRILLER

Michael Woods was milliseconds away from giving Canada a medal on the first full day of competition of the Games. The Ottawa cyclist led for much of Saturday’s thrilling road race at Fuji International Speedway before finishing in a tight pack that was one minute seven seconds behind winner Richard Carapaz of Ecuador. When the dust settled, Woods ended up fifth behind Belgian heavyweight Wout van Aert, Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and decorated Dutch rider Bauke Mollema.

BEND IT LIKE BECKIE

Janine Beckie made up for a missed penalty with a pair of goals as Canada picked up its first win at the Olympics with a 2-1 victory over Chile in Sapporo. Canada improved to 1-0-1 at the Games and will look to nail down a spot in the quarterfinals when it takes on Britain on Tuesday. The Canadians won bronze at the past two Olympics, but have said their goal is to change the colour of their hardware in Tokyo.

CAIRA COMES THROUGH

Canada’s softball team overcame a slow start before drubbing Australia 7-1 in Yokohama. Jenna Caira of Toronto was outstanding in 4 2/3 innings of relief pitching. She struck out three, gave up just two hits and didn’t walk a batter to get the win as Canada improved to 2-1 at the six-team tournament. Canada bounced back from a tough 1-0 loss to the United States on Thursday and also gained a measure of revenge against the Aussies, who beat out Canada for bronze at the 2008 Olympics.

LEYLAH BEATS THE HEAT

There was little respite from the searing heat at Ariake Tennis Park, while intense sunlight made serving difficult at times. None of that seemed to bother Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old from Laval, Que., downed Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in her Olympic debut. Fernandez will next play eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.

GOLDEN GUN

The first gold medal of the Tokyo Games went to Chinese shooter Yang Qian. She set an Olympic record in 10-metre air rifle with 251.8 points despite a shaky final shot. Yang’s medal kicked off a huge day for China, which took an early lead in the medal standings with three gold and a bronze.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2021.