Tokyo Olympics: Djokovic out, Barega wins, doubts over Biles, Russians face backlash

[Animous]

Novak Djokovic's bid for Olympic gold ended and Ethiopia's Selemon Barega was a surprise champion in the 10,000m as the Tokyo Olympics continued to throw up shocks on day seven.

World number one Djokovic had been aiming to complete a 'Golden Slam' but lost to Germany's Alexander Zverev, who told the Serb "you can't win everything".

Another of the pre-Games favourites, Simone Biles, threw further doubt over whether she will compete in the rest of her gymnastics finals, as an Olympics being held in the most unusual of circumstances carried on its theme of uncertainty.

Already being held in a country where many people were reluctant to host the Games during a global pandemic, the local mood was further dampened by a surge in Covid-19 cases that prompted an extension of the state of emergency in Tokyo.

And in the swimming pool, the mood was darkened by questions over whether Russians should even be at the Olympics given their country's doping scandals.

There were worrying scenes at the BMX finals, with American favourite Connor Fields rushed to hospital after a heavy crash in the third run of his semi-final, but he is awake and awaiting checks to determine the extent of his injuries.

But there were joyous scenes on the first day of the athletics, where some of the biggest global names shone in their heats before Barega clinched the only track gold of the day with an electrifying surge on the final lap's back straight to upset world record holder Joshua Cheptegei in the 10,000m.

China ended day seven of competition top of the medal table with 19 golds, while hosts Japan have 17 and the United States have 14.

'You can't win everything'

Djokovic had been aiming to become the first man to complete a 'Golden Slam' - winning Olympic gold and all four Grand Slams in one year.

He had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon but his bid for history was derailed when Zverev came from a set down to win 1-6 6-3 6-1 at the Ariake Tennis Park.

World number five Zverev now has the chance to take the gold medal when he faces Russian Karen Khachanov in Sunday's final.

"I feel sorry for Novak, but he's won 20 Grand Slams... you can't have everything," Zverev said.

Global stars shine bright at Olympic Stadium

The Olympic stadium opened its doors to the first track and field athletes on Friday, with the first medal going Ethiopia's way.

Barega, 21, opted to compete in only the 10,000m despite seeing much of his past success over the shorter 5,000m distance, but the risk paid off.

The part-time policeman won in 27 minutes 43.22 seconds, ahead of world champion Cheptegei and his fellow Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo.

Earlier on Friday, the fastest women in the world got the sprint events going in the 100m heats.

Jamaican duo Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah won their respective heats, with Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare also through to the semi-finals with ease.

Britain's Dina Asher-Smith qualified 11th fastest in a time of 11.07 seconds, behind Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who produced the fastest time of the day - 10.78 seconds.

Russian athletes face backlash from rivals

More than 300 athletes across 30 sports are in Tokyo competing as the Russian Olympic Committee rather than as their country as part of sanctions for doping scandals.

They are fourth in the medal table but their success has not sat well with some of their fellow competitors who believe they should not be at the Games because of the country's doping record.

American swimmer Ryan Murphy said Friday's 200m backstroke final was "probably not clean" after he lost his Olympic title to Russian Evgeny Rylov.

While Murphy later rowed back on his comments, saying he was speaking about doping generally, Rylov said the American was entitled to his thoughts given Russia's doping past.

British swimmer Luke Greenbank, who won bronze in that race, added: "Obviously, there's a lot of media around the Russian federation coming into the Olympics.

"It's frustrating seeing that as an athlete, having known that there is a state-sponsored doping programme going on and more could be done to tackle that."

The Russian Olympic Committee gave a strong response on Twitter, saying its athletes were in Tokyo "absolutely rightfully. Whether someone likes that or not".

"The old hurdy-gurdy [musical instrument] is once again playing the tune about Russian doping," it said. "Someone is diligently turning the handle."

Rowing medals galore for New Zealand on final day on water

ROC's Hanna Prakhatsen and Austrian Magdalena Lobnig hoist Emma Twigg into the air after her fourth attempt at gold

As Great Britain's rowers mustered only two medals at Tokyo's Sea Forest Waterway - the first time since 1980 that they have not won at least one gold - New Zealand had a much more successful Olympic regatta.

Emma Twigg powered to victory in the single sculls and the men's eight won another unexpected gold, taking New Zealand's total to five rowing medals in Tokyo.

Twigg, who had a ninth-place finish in Beijing in 2008, plus fourth places at London 2012 and Rio 2016, said: "The message to those who don't have the results is that if you believe in yourself and keep going and dreaming, this can be the result."

The Kiwi's success was infectious, with the women's eight also collecting their first Olympic medal on Friday, a silver.

They were beaten by an impressive Canadian team, whose victory took the total medals won for the North American nation to 11 - with all of these medals having been won by female athletes.

Meanwhile, Greece's Stefanos Ntouskos upset the favourites in the men's single sculls, winning his nation's first ever gold in rowing.

World record for Schoenmaker

Like so many events at these Games, the swimming has featured a number of surprise wins and on Friday some of the medals again came from countries other than the traditional powerhouses of Australian and the United States.

South African Tatjana Schoenmaker won the women's 200m breaststroke with a world record, while Wang Shun's victory in the 200m medley was China's first men's swimming gold.

Schoenmaker looked completely stunned when she saw the results board before bursting into tears as she was hugged by fellow swimmers at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

"It's still so unreal," she said. "I think my emotions in the pool showed I was pretty shocked."

Will Biles still compete in her other finals?

American gymnast Simone Biles says she is still struggling with the 'twisties', raising doubts over her participation in her remaining Olympic finals.

The 24-year-old withdrew from the team and all-around finals in Tokyo, saying she was prioritising her mental health.

"I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist," she said during a social media Q&A session on Friday.

She is due to compete in all four individual apparatus finals, starting on Sunday.

Gymnasts describe the 'twisties' as a kind of mental block, which can cause them to lose their sense of space and dimension when they are in the air, causing them to lose control of their body and do extra twists or flips that they had not intended.

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