01 August 2021 | Olympics

• Chemutai progressed to the final of the women’s 3000m Steeplechase after finishing 2nd in heat 1
• Gymnasts have called for call for one touch warm-ups at Tokyo Olympics 
• French boxer stages sit-in protest and makes bizarre 'sabotage' claim after disqualification
• taly's Lamont Marcell Jacobs was crowned the world's fastest man 
• Team USA to face Spain in men's basketball quarterfinals at Tokyo Olympics

Ugandan female middle-distance runner Peruth Chemutai has progressed to the final of the women’s 3000m Steeplechase at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Chemutai crossed the finish line second in heat 1, clocking a season best time of 9:12.72 while Bahrain’s Yavi Winfred Mutile emerged winner in 9:10:80 at the Olympic Stadium.

Gymnasts are not allowed to warm up on the equipment they will use during competition in event finals. (They are allowed to warm up during qualifying rounds, team finals and the individual all-around final.) They work out in the practice gym, then wait for some 30 minutes before taking the floor. “I think that rule is so dumb,” said Suni Lee, who won gold in the all-around final, silver in the team final and, on Sunday, bronze in the uneven bar final. “It’s so dangerous.” Her coach, Jess Graba, agreed. “You could really get hurt doing this,” he said. “The routines are too difficult. The skills are too high-level.” He added that he would have felt that way even if Lee had won gold. “Every one of those kids fought,” he said. “They only had one fall, but they all struggled. That wasn’t their normal routine.” Each of the medalists on the vault said they would have preferred the 30-second practice time, also known as a one touch warm-up. “If we had a chance to warm up, I think I would have been less anxious and nervous,” bronze medalist Yeo Seo-jeong, of South Korea, said through an interpreter. “We only had one chance at this.” [SI]

French super-heavyweight Mourad Aliev bizarrely claimed he was the victim of "an act of sabotage" as he staged a sit-down protest after being disqualified from his Olympic quarter-final. Aliev was fighting Great Britain's Frazer Clarke when their tussle was stopped by referee Andrew Mustacchio in the second round at the Kokugikan Arena. He was punished for use of the head but complained that he had not been warned by the referee before the fight was halted. [Sports Max]

Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs was crowned the world's fastest man as he claimed a shock victory in the men's 100m at the Tokyo Olympics. Jacobs set a new European record of 9.80 seconds on Sunday, finishing 0.04 seconds ahead of the USA's Fred Kerley in second and 0.09 seconds ahead of Canada's Andre De Grasse in third. It capped a glorious few minutes for Italy at the Olympic Stadium with Jacobs' victory coming shortly after Gianmarco Tamberi's gold medal in the high jump. [CNN]

The U.S. and Spain played for Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, then faced each other in the semifinals in 2016. And at the Tokyo Games, the top teams in the FIBA world rankings will meet again -- just earlier than has been the norm. The three-time reigning Olympic champion Americans will play reigning World Cup champion Spain in the quarterfinals of the men's tournament at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday, a matchup of teams that finished second in their respective groups at the Olympics. [ESPN]

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