Olympics Day 12: French pair sail to bronze in 470 class final

French 470 sailors Aloise Retornaz and Camille Lecointre got the day off to a rousing start for Les Blues in Tokyo, taking bronze behind Great Britain and Poland after a controversial final.

Aloise Retornaz and Camille Lecointre appealed against the result of their 470 final race, claiming that the Great Britain crew had slowed down to allow the Polish boat cross the line first, effectively denying the French pair a silver medal.

The appeal was dismissed.
US runner Sydney McLaughlin obliterated her own world record to win Olympic gold in the women's 400m hurdles.

McLaughlin powered home in 51.46 seconds, with defending champion Dalilah Muhammad claiming silver in 51.58. Bronze medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands finished just outside the 52-second mark.

Local boarders skate to success

Away from the athletics, Sakura Yosozumi won the women's park skateboarding event to stop compatriot Kokona Hiraki and Britain's Sky Brown becoming the Games' youngest-ever gold medallists.

The 19-year-old carved up the Ariake Urban Sports Park with a flowing opening run in the final, and her 60.09 points proved enough for victory ahead of Hiraki and Brown.

World record for Italian bikers

Elsewhere on day 12, the Italian cycle squad broke their own world record to win Olympic gold in the men's team pursuit, beating world champions Denmark.

The Italians shaded a neck-and-neck battle on the track, their blistering time of 3min 42.032sec just enough to hold off Denmark, who crossed the line in 3:42.198.

Biles all smiles

US gymnastics star Simone Biles says she will always "cherish this unique Olympic experience" despite her time in Tokyo being derailed by a psychological condition known as 'the twisties'.

Biles withdrew during last week's team competition, suffering from an inability to orientate herself in mid-air.

She subsequently pulled out of the all-around final, and the first three apparatus finals, returning to claim bronze in Tuesday's closing competition on the balance beam.

Gold for Uganda

Uganda's Peruth Chemutai has won the women's Olympic 3000m steeplechase, taking the gold medal in 9 minutes, 01.45 seconds, ahead of early leader Courtney Frerichs of the United States, and Kenya's Hyvin Kiyeng.

And finally . . .

Spare a thought for the 12 members of the Greek artistic swimming team, all now in isolation after five of them tested positive for coronavirus in the first cluster detected at the Tokyo Games. Get well soon.