Tokyo Olympics: USA relay misery, Crouser & Nageotte win gold

Team USA were reeling from an “embarrassing” relay display and a shock defeat for hurdler Grant Holloway on a rollercoaster day in Tokyo – where they also celebrated shot put gold and a guaranteed basketball medal.

Their 4x100m men’s team failed to reach the final, with American sprint great Carl Lewis saying they had done “everything wrong”.

That defeat was followed by world champion and overwhelming favourite Holloway being beaten by Jamaican Hansle Parchment in the men’s 110m hurdles final, while there was no medal for the USA in the men’s 400m, an event they used to dominate but which was won by Bahamas’ Steven Gardiner.

There is a very real chance that the USA may fail to win a gold medal in a men’s individual running event for the first time, not including the 1980 Games that they boycotted.

American spirits were lifted by Ryan Crouser beating his own Olympic record to defend his shot put title, a pole vault title for Katie Nageotte, and news that BMX rider Connor Fields was set to be released from hospital less than a week after a crash that left him with a brain haemorrhage.

The United States are second behind China in the medal table and will add to their tally after the men’s basketball team reached Friday’s final, while Nelly Korda is in a strong position in the women’s golf, where she has a four-stroke lead after two rounds.

Away from the traditional powerhouses, Burkina Faso were celebrating a first-ever Olympic medal when Fabrice Zango took bronze in the triple jump and India ended a 41-year wait for a hockey medal.

And the first-ever gold medal was awarded in karate, where Spain’s Sandra Sanchez Jaime triumphed in the women’s kata, and in sport climbing, where her compatriot Alberto Gines Lopez claimed victory.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s Nafi Thiam retained her heptathlon title and Canadian Damian Warner won the decathlon with an Olympic record score.