Reigning champion Connor Fields is "awake and awaiting further medical evaluation" after a sickening crash in the semi-finals of the men's BMX racing at the Tokyo Olympics.
The American 2016 gold medallist was stretchered off the course and taken to hospital after the major crash with Twan van Gendt of the Netherlands and Sylvain Andre of France in the third run of the semi-final heats.
"We can confirm that Connor Fields is awake and awaiting further medical evaluation. We will share additional updates as they become available," a USA team doctor said.
Fields, appearing in his third Olympics, had already qualified for the final but was unable to take his place, given the injuries sustained, with Niek Kimmann from the Netherlands taking out the gold.
Great Britain's Kye Whyte claimed silver with Colombia's Carlos Alberto Ramirez Yepes winning the bronze.
Another gold medal contender, Australia's Saya Sakakibara, also crashed out in the women's BMX racing.
Sakakibara, whose brother Kai suffered life-changing head injuries from a crash in the sport 15 months ago, was carried off the course on a stretcher but later able to perform media interviews.
The Australian had been leading the pack ahead of the last turn in the third run of the semi-finals, before a clash of wheels with USA's Alise Willoughby brought the pair down.
Australia's Olympic team tweeted that Sakakibara had "sustained a few bumps and bruises and will continue to be monitored over the next 24 hours as a precaution".
Sakakibara told Channel 7: "This is so disappointing. I feel like I have let everyone down. I let everyone down, especially my brother."
Great Britain's Bethany Shriever went on to win the gold medal, ahead of Colombia's Mariana Pajon and the Netherlands' Merel Smulders.
SCHOENMAKER SMASHES WORLD RECORD
South African Tatjana Schoenmaker improved on her 100 metres women's breaststroke silver medal with a gold in Friday's 200m, as well as smashing the world record.
Schoenmaker finished in two minutes and 18.95 seconds, breaking Rikke Moller Pedersen's pre-existing mark of 2:19.11, as she beat USA pair Lilly King and Annie Lazor.
"I wasn't expecting that at all," Schoenmaker said about her world record, having appeared visibly stunned upon realising her time. "I was really trying to focus on my own race. [King] definitely pushed me, knowing that her first 100 is so good."
Russia Olympic Committee's Evgeny Rylov swam an Olympic record time to win the men's 200m backstroke, having won gold in the 100m earlier this week.
Rylov, who swam 1:53:27, beat USA's Ryan Murphy and Great Britain's Luke Greenbank.
Australian Emma McKeon also marked an Olympic record as she won gold in the women's 100m freestyle ahead of Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey and countrywoman Cate Campbell.
China's Wang Shun won the men's 200m individual medley from Britain's Duncan Scott and Switzerland's Jeremy Desplanches.
KIWIS DOMINATE THE ROWING
New Zealand picked up a handsome share of the rowing medals at the Sea Forest Waterway, with two golds and a silver from the four events on Friday.
Emma Twigg triumphed with an Olympic-best time of 7:13.97 in the women's single sculls, finishing ahead of Russia Olympic Committee's Hanna Prakatsen and Austria's Magdalena Lobnig.
New Zealand also won in a thrilling finish from Germany and Great Britain in the men's eight final, edging out the Germans by less than a second.
Hamish Bond was part of the New Zealand eight, having won golds in 2012 and 2016 in the coxless pair, before focusing on cycling in 2017, only to revert back to rowing for Tokyo.
Bond said: "The thing about an eight is it doesn't matter what you do as individuals, it's how you can collectively harness that potential."
Canada won the women's equivalent, pipping New Zealand across the line by 0.91 seconds, with China in third.
Greece won their first medal of the Games in style, with Stefanos Ntouskos claiming gold in the men's single sculls from Norway's Kjetil Borch and Croatia's Damir Martin.
WOMEN'S 100M HEATS UP
The track events got under way, with the women's 100m heats the main attraction at the Olympic Stadium, headlined by Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou with the joint fourth quickest legal time ever seen at the Games.
Two-time World Championship silver medallist Ta Lou ran a personal best time of 10.78 seconds.
Jamaican duo Elaine Thompson-Herah – the reigning Olympic champion – and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were the next fastest, with 10:82 and 10:84 respectively.
With the field stacked with quality, Fraser-Pryce said: "There's rivalry with everybody. All female athletes are showing up and you're competing so I don't focus on just one individual."
Alcaraz's pursuit for third straight Madrid Open crown continues
Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.
Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.
The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.
Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Data Debrief
With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.
Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.
Caribbean athletes shine at USATF Bermuda Grand Prix as Noah Lyles takes 100m dash
Caribbean athletes showcased their exceptional talents at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on Sunday, delivering outstanding performances despite challenging conditions marked by heavy winds.
Perhaps, the most impressive of those performances came in the men’s triple jump where Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica delivered a remarkable leap of 17.33m, claiming first place using an unconventional eight-step run.
Jah-Nhai Perinchief from Bermuda secured second place with a jump of 17.13m, and fellow Jamaican Jordan Scott took third place with a jump of 17.05m.
On the track, in the women's 400m, Stacey-Ann Williams of Jamaica surged to victory with a commanding time of 51.71 seconds, outpacing her competitors to claim first place. Behind her, Jessika Gbai from Ivory Coast secured second place in 53.00 seconds, followed closely by Paola Moran of Mexico in third with a time of 53.21 seconds.
The men's 400m event saw Kirani James of Grenada exhibit his prowess with a winning time of 46.00 seconds, leading the charge for Caribbean athletes. Behind him, Alonzo Russell from the Bahamas claimed second place with a time of 47.05 seconds, followed closely by Demish Gaye of Jamaica in third with 47.15 seconds.
Shian Salmon displayed sheer excellence in the 400m hurdles, triumphing with a swift time of 56.59 seconds. Cassandra Tate of the United States secured second place with a time of 57.04 seconds, while Aminat Jamal from Bahrain finished third in 57.94 seconds.
In the men's 200m dash, Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago blazed to victory in 20.39 seconds, showcasing his speed and skill on the track. He was closely followed by Matthew Boling of the USA in second place with a time of 20.42 seconds, while Udodie Onwuzrike from Nigeria secured third place with a time of 20.61 seconds.
In her first 200m run in a year, the USA's Abby Steiner blazed to victory in 22.71. Her countrywoman Kynnedy Flannel took second in 23.01. Ashanti Moore of Jamaica was third in 23.12.
While Caribbean athletes shone brightly, world champion Noah Lyles of the USA stood out in the men's 100m dash, overcoming challenging wind conditions to clock 9.96 seconds and secure first place. Aaron Brown of Canada was the runner-up in 10.09 followed closely by Pjai Austin of the USA who ran 10.10.
Tamari Davis of the USA also impressed in a dominant victory in the women’s 100m. The young American stormed to a time of 11.04. In her wake was compatriot Kortnei Johnson who ran 11.27 just ahead of Jamaica’s Alana Reid (11.29).
Amber Hughes of the USA comfortably win the 100m hurdles in 12.57 with Ebonie Morris of Liberia and Yanique Thompson of Jamaica finishing second and third, in 12.80 and 12.86, respectively.
Monae Nichols of the USA jumped an impressive 6.91m to win the long jump. Jamaica’s Chanice Porter took second place with her effort of 6.62m while Jasmine Moore finished third having jumped 6.60m.
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
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