Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Jason Kenny becomes most successful British Olympian; boxing and more on final day – live!

Boxing: The first gold medal to be handed out today in the ring is for the women’s light (57-60kg) category. It features Ireland’s Kellie Anne Harrington against Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira.

Niall O’Keefe has emailed in offering Harrington his support.

“Much has been written of her long shifts as a cleaner in a Dublin hospital, and steering clear of drugs in the inner-city of Dublin where plenty were available when she was growing up. But she is a class act who is both respected and liked by her opponents in the ring. And already a hero in Ireland.”

“I doubt I will ever follow the sport but the kids in the skateboard and BMX competitions were seemingly having amazing fun as they did amazing things with their bodies. Maybe it was because they were too young to realize the Olympics are supposed to be life and death battles to the end but they seemed to take pleasure in watching their opponents do well. It was refreshing.” Agreed Mary Walz. I expect there were plenty of sceptics about such “youth” sports entering the Games, but they delivered in spades.

“And since I am an American with Norwegian roots the men’s 1500 race was exciting. The expression on the winner’s face was priceless.”

“Enjoyed most?” asks Ben Tuff: “Probably seeing my son get involved. After the horrible start times of the Euros, it has been great to have something he can watch in real time. He’s enjoyed a bit of everything although gets horribly conflicted about who to support when it is Team GB and China in the same event!”

First Games are great aren’t they? Mine was Seoul 88 and names like Heike Drechsler and Jackie Joyner-Kersee are embedded deep in my brain.

“But was it worth it? Perhaps, but only for the efforts of the athletes who are all incredible and not the egoistic hubris of the IOC and its leadership who I am sure will try to take all credit, leaving an huge and overdue acknowledgement to and of the people of Japan who have hosted in the most horrendous of circumstances. I fear it will not come.” Hear hear.

One thing I head the other day that really resonated was how at these Games the athletes seemed largely to have competed with one another, not against one another. It’s a subtle, but crucial difference, and I think will be one of my main takeaways. Camaraderie has prevailed over rivalry with competitors recognising the oddity of the situation and embracing a more universal spirit that perhaps previously. Clearly events like skateboarding have jollied this vibe along, but beyond that, there has been a level of warmth and grace I can’t recall.

“They said it would never happen but it was a miracle the Tokyo Olympics happened. As Al Michaels said do you believe in miracles? Yes we do.” Thanks Kurt Perleberg. Who knows what the various short-medium-long term implications will be for these Games, Tokyo, and Japan more broadly? And it remains debatable whether the Games should have gone ahead to begin with. But we can look back on a couple of weeks of stunning competition.

Michael Ireton has emailed his thoughts all the way from Canada. “Even though there are so many reasons to hate the Olympics as an institution (countless billions that should be spent on far more pressing matters, environmental impacts, IOC corruption, etc, etc) the people, the events, the stories, and the drama suck me in every time.

Highlights: As a Canadian, I have to be excited at Canada’s record medal total, but also Hassan doing the 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 triple, the men’s high jump, the Japanese brother and sister winning judo gold on the same day, the incredibly young skateboarders – and their joie de vivre and camaraderie, the women’s cycling road race being won by a math PhD in a solo breakaway (even if it was down to a lack of race radio and some confusion). That’s a few. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot!”

Great, isn’t it, how someone’s list can provoke so many terrific memories, and yet only a couple might make your own top ten. Thanks Michael.

Not a lot left to go in Tokyo 2020, but still to come this afternoon we have:

• 1.30pm Volleyball – The women’s final featuring the US and Brazil 🥇
• 1.40pm & 4.30pm Men’s Water polo – Hungary v Spain for bronze, then Greece v Serbia for gold 🥇
• 2pm-3.15pm Boxing – today’s session consists of four finals bouts – women’s and mens light, women’s middle and men’s super heavy to round it off🥇
• 3pm Handball – France v Not Russia in the women’s final 🥇

Mudit Sharma kindly emailed me to let me know those two quick golds to the USA have put them back on top of the overall medal table ahead of China. Both superpowers have 38 golds, but the US lead the overall medal count 110 to 87.

A not unwelcome lull in proceedings. A chance to catch my breath and ask you to tell me what your highlights of the Games have been? Has it defied expectations? Was it worth it? Who or what caught your eye unexpectedly? Are you leaving with a dedication to following or learning a new sport? Send me your thoughts via email or tweet me.

The likeliest gold medal of the games has arrived. The USA have defeated Japan 90-75.

Gold to Bulgaria, silver ROC Nation, bronze Italy. Zero insight to offer, sorry.

Valente (USA) rode an excellent defensive race, recovering from her early fall to win from Kajihara (JPN) – who also survived a dismount – and Wild (NED). Laura Kenny (GBR) claimed a leading 24 points in the final race but had too much ground to make up, and finished sixth.

Women’s omnium – 10 laps to go. Everything has bunched up and slowed down following that 25 or so laps of frenetic chasing.

Valente (USA) leads from Kajihara (JPN) and Wild (NED). Dideriksen (DEN) down to fourth, Kenny (GBR) is still seventh.

AND Kajihara is down! Huge fall. Ran into the back of Wild. Can she recover in time?

One sprint remaining, and it’s worth double.

Women’s omnium – 20 laps to go. Valente (USA) leads from Kajihara (JPN) and Dideriksen (DEN). Kenny (GBR) is up to seventh. It’s becoming very very scrappy and Valente, having fallen, is hanging on.

Women’s omnium -Laura Kenny (GBR) picks up another five points, and at the back of the peloton Jennifer Valente (USA) takes a tumble, colliding with a back marker! She’s back up on her bike but this sets up a wild closing 25 laps.

Women’s omnium – Amalie Dideriksen has made a huge burst, putting daylight between her bike and the peloton to hoover up a stack of points and climb from fifth into third. Kirsten Wild (NED) joins her eventually, dragging the rest of the field with her as the top four begins to bunch up with Jennifer Valente (USA) continuing to lead.

Women’s omnium – Laura Kenny (GBR) picks up the second lot of five points on offer. She’s in ninth, still a long way off bronze. Jennifer Valente (USA) continues to lead. Kirsten Wild (NED) is almost into the medals.

Women’s omnium – Jennifer Valente (USA) takes the first five sprint points on offer to strengthen her grip on gold. Kirsten Wild (NED) took second to add three points to her total and move up to fourth place.

Women’s omnium – This final race is an 80-lap, eight-sprint points race. There are opportunities for riders like Kenny to make up ground, especially later on in the race.

Women’s omnium – The final race of the women’s omnium is underway. The gold and silver look to be between Jennifer Valente (USA) and Yumi Kajihara (JPN). Laura Kenny (GBR) is a long shot for bronze.

Handball – Bronze for Norway’s women. They led throughout and hammered Sweden 36-19. It’s a seventh Olympic medal in eight appearances for Norway’s handball team.

Rhythmic Gymnastics – Bulgaria lead from ROC and Belarus after the first rotation in the final of the Group All-around.

Women’s basketball: The USA are over halfway through their quadrennial gold medal procession. Enjoy the last buckets over here…

Water polo – Croatia have defeated USA 14-11 in the fifth-place schedule filler.

I’m delighted this performance hasn’t been lost to the graveyard shift back in the UK. That was a blistering race. Jason Kenny deserves every accolade for that bravery and his record breaking success. We might be well into the final day of competition at these Games, but that was one of the moments of the Olympics.

Men’s keirin – Seventh gold medal for Kenny.! Awang (MAS) takes silver, Lavreysen (NED) bronze. Glaetzer (AUS) came home fifth.

That was a standout moment of these Games for Team GB and Jason Kenny. Stunning, stunning, ride from a living legend. Most British golds in history (7), most medals in British history (9).

Jason Kenny sprints very very early – with three laps to go! HE HAS DEMOLISHED THE FIELD! What a race! Wow! that was spectacular. What a rider. What a family.

Men’s keirin – We’re into the gold medal race now. Defending champion Jason Kenny goes for Team GB, Matthew Glaetzer for Australia.

Handball – Norway are spanking Sweden in the women’s handball bronze medal match. They’re up 23-10 early in the second half.

Water polo – Croatia are up 11-8 over the USA into the final quarter of their battle for fifth place.

Kelsey Mitchell controlled that final from go to woah. She’s only been riding seriously for four years, now she’s an Olympic champion. Olena Starikova (UKR) has to settle for bronze.

Women’s sprint – Bronze for 34-year-old Wai Sze Lee (HKG). She defeated a pretty flat Emma Hinze (GER) who lacked pep in her final race after missing out on gold.

Women’s omnium – Heading into the final points race Valente (USA) has the overall lead by two points from Yumi Kajihara (JPN). That pair are in a race of their own for gold. Laura Kenny (GBR) is down to ninth and a long shot for bronze.

Women’s omnium – Valente (USA) continues her superb omnium with her third strong result of the event, coming in fourth. Clara Copponi (FRA) held off Yumi Kajihara (JPN) in the final sprint.

Women’s omnium – And now Kenny’s gone! Huge upset for the British Olympic legend. It was tight on the line between her and Stenberg (NOR) but it went against Kenny, and her medal hopes have taken a huge hit. But only two laps later Wild (NED) is out. This is a crazy race. Jennifer Valente (USA) is sitting pretty in the race, and the overall.

Women’s omnium – Disaster for Annette Edmondson (AUS)! Second eliminated and her chances of a medal have been crushed. Such a strong opening race led to hopes of a medal, but two shockers have ended her dreams.

Women’s omnium – Back to the omnium, and leg three, the elimination race. This is where the rider at the back of the field is dropped until there are only two riders remaining.

Women’s sprint – Kelsey Mitchell (CAN) wins the first leg of the gold medal race against Olena Starikova (UKR). Wai Sze Lee (HKG) defeated Emma Hinze (GER) in the first race for Bronze.

Men’s keirin – The second semi was a cracker. Awang (MAS), Levy (GER), and Lavreysen (NED) are all through to the final where Kenny (GBR) and Glatezer (AUS) await.

Men’s keirin – Kenny (GBR) rode a superb race to nick the semi on the line. Glaetzer (AUS) defended his place well throughout to come second. Both progress into the final. Carlin (GBR) misses out in fourth.

Men’s keirin – Semi-final time for the men’s keirin. Up first we have Glaetzer (AUS), Carlin (GBR), and Kenny (GBR) gunning for a spot in the top three in a field of six.

Women’s basketball: The gold medal match between the USA and Japan tips off shortly. Follow all the action here:

Women’s sprint – Kelsey Mitchell (CAN) will race Olena Starikova (UKR) in the final of the women’s sprint. The Canadian defeated Emma Hinze (GER) in their decisive final semi-final race. The German moves on to take on Wai Sze Lee (HKG) in the bronze medal race.

Women’s omnium – Superb comeback from Laura Kenny (GBR)! After falling in the opening sprint race she rode superbly in the tempo to make up plenty of lost ground. She won the most sprint points (7) and was part of the leading group of seven that established lap points. She moves up to fifth overall, chasing Valente (USA) and Wild (NED). Edmondson has dropped back into the pack.

Women’s omnium – Seven riders, including Kenny (GBR), Wild (NED), and Valente (USA) have been awarded 20 lap points. Edmondson (AUS) was in the wrong group and will suffer greatly in the final classification.

Women’s omnium – Leading riders Kirsten Wild (NED) and Jennifer Valente (USA) are both hoovering up points.

Women’s omnium – Annette Edmondson (AUS) is also in the sprint points, backing up her strong finish in the first race.

Women’s omnium – Laura Kenny (GBR) is up and riding after her crash earlier, and she has collected a couple of early sprint points. Hopefully she’s not expending too much energy to disadvantage her later in the race.

Women’s omnium – the second event in the women’s omnium is underway. This is the 30-lap, 26-sprint tempo race.

Water polo – At the end of a gruelling competition, exactly what you want is a battle for seventh place that goes to penalties, isn’t it? Well, that’s what the men of Italy and Montenegro endured, with the Italians coming out on top 4-3 following a 14-14 draw.

USA take on Croatia for fifth, soon.

Women’s sprint – Starikova’s final opponent is yet to be decided. Mitchell (CAN) and Hinze (GER) are locked 1-1 with a deciding race to come.

Women’s sprint – Olena Starikova (UKR) has cruised into the gold medal race with a race to spare following a 2-0 semi-final victory over Wai Sze Lee (HKG).

Men’s keirin – Glaetzer (AUS) controlled the early stages of the third quarter-final from the front, but then he found himself boxed in as the attacks came from the outside, and did well to force his way into fourth position and qualify for the semis.

Men’s keirin – Another Team GB rider, Jack Carlin, is through to the semis.

Matthew Glaetzer (AUS) is up next.