Olympic Update; Track Records Fall Fast

TOKYO (AP) – The American “A-Team” has advanced to the gold medal match of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament. April Ross and Alix Klineman beat Switzerland at Shiokaze Park to clinch at least a silver medal. It will be the third medal for Ross, who won silver in London and bronze in Rio de Janeiro. Klineman is a first-time Olympian.
Also in Tokyo:
– Ryan Crouser has broken his own Olympic record on his way to defending his shot put title. On his last attempt, Crouser went 23.30 meters to earn the first track and field gold for the American men at the Tokyo Games. U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs finished second. Crouser is already the world-record holder after breaking a 31-year-old mark on June 18 at the U.S. Olympic trials. In the heat at Olympic Stadium, Crouser took the lead on his first attempt and saved his best for his final one.
– A slow exchange left the American 4×100-meter relay team out of medal contention at the Olympics. The team of Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie finished sixth in their qualifying heat to extend a quarter-century of misery for the country that brings the deepest track team to the Games. The United States hasn’t won the Olympic 4×100 since 2000 and hasn’t made it cleanly to the finish line in a final since taking a silver medal in 2012. But they gave that one back because of a doping ban against Tyson Gay. The U.S. got DQ’d for another bad pass in the medal race in 2016.