Olympics Latest: US beach volleyball team beats former champ

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic:

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MEDAL ALERT

Balint Kopasz dominated the final 250 meters to pull away and win the gold medal in the canoe sprint men’s kayak 1,000 for a 1-2 finish for Hungary at Sea Forest Waterway.

Hungary’s Adam Varga edged Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta by 0.047 seconds at the finish for the silver medal.

Kopasz came in as the reigning world champion and was locked in a tough battle with Pimenta over the first 750 meters before his final push to the win.

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Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuan gave China a 1-2 finish in the semifinals of men’s 3-meter springboard diving at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Looking for China’s fifth diving gold in six Olympic events, Xie and Wang led a group of 12 qualifiers to the afternoon final.

Xie totaled 543.45 points for six dives, with Wang right behind at 540.50. Britain’s Jack Laugher was the only diver even close to China’s powerhouse duo, taking the third spot with 514.75.

Another British diver, James Heatly, was fourth in 454.85 -- a whopping 88.60 behind the leader.

The lone U.S. diver, Andrew Capobianco, advanced to the final in 10th at 419.60. Teammate Tyler Downs was eliminated in Monday’s preliminaries. Capobianco already won a silver medal with Michael Hixon in the 3-meter synchronized event, one of three diving medals for the Americans.

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MEDAL ALERT

Malaika Mihambo of Germany took the top spot in the women’s long jump with a 7-meter leap on her final attempt and edged U.S. veteran Brittney Reese for the Olympic gold medal.

Mihambo won the world championship title in 2019 and finished just off the podium in fourth place at the 2016 Olympics.

The 34-year-old Reese now has back-to-back Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Games and from Rio de Janeiro after winning the title at London in 2012.

The four-time world champion had the chance to win with the final jump of the competition but couldn’t improve on her best mark of 6.97 meters.

Ese Brume of Nigeria, who led after the first round and was in top spot again after the fourth, also finished on 6.97-meters and took bronze on a countback.

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MEDAL ALERT

Cuba won a surprise gold medal in the men’s canoe double 1,000 meters, ahead of China and Germany.

Germany had won the event at five of the last seven Olympic games and Sebastian Brendel had been in the German boat for gold medals in 2012 and 2016.

But the race developed into a battle between Cuba and China over the final 500 meters. Cuba’s Serguey Torres Madrigal and Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez edged across the line to win by 0.2 seconds.

The Cuban duo had won silver at the world championships in 2019, but Cuba hadn’t medaled in this event at the Olympics since 2000.

Germany won bronze to earn a medal in the events for the seventh consecutive Olympics.

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MEDAL ALERT

New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington blew away the field in winning her third consecutive women’s kayak sprint 200 at the Sea Forest Waterway.

The gold medal could be the first of a potential four medals for Carrington in Tokyo. She’s also in the women’s kayak double 500 later Tuesday and the 500 single and fours later in the week.

Carrington bolted out of the start and had a lead of half a boat length barely 50 meters into the race. She beat Spain’s Teresa Portela of Spain by 0.76 seconds.

Emma Aastrand Jorgensen of Denmark won the bronze medal.

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Allyson Felix won her first-round heat of the 400 meters as she began her Tokyo quest for a 10th Olympic medal.

The 35-year-old Felix, who’s competing at her fifth Olympics, has six gold medals and three silvers on her resume. She’s tied with Jamaican great Merlene Ottey for the most women’s track medals in Olympic history. Felix has a chance to medal in the 400 and may have another shot in the women’s 4x400 this weekend.

Before her race, she was introduced as a legend.

Felix ran in spikes designed by her new company, Saysh. It made the moment more special. The only thing missing was her young daughter, Camryn, who’s back home.

“It’s changed everything,” Felix said of motherhood. “It’s given me a different drive. ... I think it’s even more meaningful to be on this stage as a mom.”

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport says Belarus sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya failed in a legal action to be allowed to run in the 200 meters heats.

The court revealed early Tuesday the legal steps Tsimanouskaya took while she was also seeking a humanitarian visa to avoid returning to Belarus, where she believes her life would be in danger.

CAS says it denied Tsimanouskaya’s request for an interim ruling to overturn Belarus Olympic officials’ refusal to let her race in the 200.

The heats were held Monday morning and semifinals in the evening session at the Olympic Stadium.

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April Ross is the last medalist standing in the Olympic beach volleyball women’s bracket.

The American 2016 bronze medalist and her partner ousted defending champion Laura Ludwig of Germany on Tuesday and advanced to the semifinals at the Shiokaze Park venue. Ross, who also has a silver medal from London, is the last woman remaining who has reached the podium at a previous Summer Games.

This time, Ross is playing with Olympic first-timer Alix Klineman. They beat Ludwig and her new partner Maggie Kozuch 21-19, 21-19.

Ross and Klineman are the U.S.’s last hopes for a beach volleyball medal in Tokyo. The sport’s birthplace has never been shut out in the Olympics.

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