Tokyo Olympics Coverage Advisory

Today is day six of the Tokyo Summer Games. The AP plans coverage from all events. All times bellow are U.S. Eastern.

Find our latest plans in Coverage Plan. For the latest stories, video and photos, visit the Olympics hub in AP Newsoom.

UPCOMING:

OLY---SOC-NEVER-ENDING SEASON - There’s no rest in the pursuit of gold. While most players were straight on vacation after a grueling club season and European Championship, six Spain players flew across the world to Japan for yet another tournament. Men’s Olympics soccer might not be taken seriously by all countries but it is by Spain where clubs have to release players. By Rob Harris. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.

OLY--MENTAL HEALTH DISCUSSION- Mental health has been a discussion in sports the past year but became the topic of these Olympics when gymnast Simone Biles chose self-care over sporting success. From cycling to swimming, and every sport in between, Olympians have spent the past two days coming forward with their own battles while offering support to Biles. By AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. 900 words.

OLY--BOX-WOMEN’S EXPANSION- Nine years after women’s boxing was added to the Olympics, the sport is still climbing to new heights. The size of the women’s field has nearly tripled from Rio, and many of the 100 women fighting in Tokyo fell in love with their sport when they saw its landmark debut at the London Games. By Greg Beacham. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.

OLY--BKL-US-DOMINANT BIGS- The U.S. has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talented post players, possibly the best ever assembled. By Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 11 am.

OLY--FHK-FIELD HOCKEY--TOKYO -- Defending Olympic champion Britain faces No. 1 ranked Netherlands in women’s field hockey on Thursday in a rematch of the 2016 gold medal contest. By Cliff Brunt. UPCOMING: 600 words, with photos. Story by 10 a.m.

OLY--WPO-WATER POLO--TOKYO — The U.S. men’s water polo team takes on world champion Italy, and Croatia meets Montenegro as the focus shifts to positioning for the knockout round. By Jay Cohen. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 7 a.m.

SENT:

OLY--SWM-SWIMMING - Caeleb Dressel claimed the first individual gold medal of his career with a victory in 100-meter freestyle. Capping off the morning, Katie Ledecky and Australian rival Ariarne Titmus got another shot at each other in the 4x200 freestyle relay. But it was China taking the gold, beating both the Americans and the Aussies in a race where all three medalists broke the previous world record. By Paul Newberry. SENT: 1200 words, photos.

PANDEMIC AFRICA-GUINEAN WRESTLER - A West African wrestler’s dream of competing in the Olympics has come down to a plane ticket. Fatoumata Yarie Camara is the only Guinean athlete to qualify for these Games. She was ready for Tokyo, but confusion over travel reigned for weeks. The 25-year-old and her family can’t afford it. Guinean officials promised a ticket, but at the last minute announced a withdrawal from the Olympics over COVID-19 concerns. Camara is used to fighting, but this battle seemed unwinnable. She was ready to accept a crushed Olympic dream. But under international pressure, Guinea reversed its decision. Camara boarded a Tokyo-bound flight. She’s missed the opening ceremony. But she’s set to compete, fulfilling her Olympic dream. By Gerald Imray, Boubacar Diallo and Trisha Thomas. SENT: 1,700 word FULL story, and ABRIDGED of approximately 1000 words, photos, video.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-JAPAN - Japanese officials have sounded the alarm as Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for the third straight day with the Olympics well underway. By Mari Yamaguchi. SENT: 600 words, photos.

OLY-SNEAKING A PEEK - The Olympics this year have no spectators, at least officially. Only a few outlying venues are allowed even 50% of capacity. But the Japanese people of Tokyo and its environs are finding subtle ways of getting a glimpse of the competitions in their midst. They are lining the streets to catch a glimpse of busses, even if they have no idea who is inside. They are finding a perch overlooking the skate park, or peering out windows to see events such as triathlon that take place on the streets. It’s not just fans who are happy for even the smallest chance of seeing an event, either; the athletes also love it. By AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 960 words, photos.

OLY-GLF-RAHM-AT-HOME - Men’s golf began Thursday in the Olympics and Jon Rahm is not there. Rahm says from his home in Arizona that he never could have imagined being knocked out of the Olympics by a positive COVID-19 test. He had the coronavirus just under two months ago. He is fully vaccinated. He passed every test while at the British Open. He needed three straight days of negative results. The last one came back positive. The upside for Rahm is he has a 4-month-old son and a U.S. Open trophy. He says he’ll never call himself unlucky. By AP Gold Writer Doug Ferguson. SENT: 750 words, photos. With: OLY-GLF-MEN’S GOLF

OLY--BKO-FOES TO FRIENDS- Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday have no problem putting the NBA Finals behind them in pursuit of a gold medal with the US Olympic men’s basketball team. The trio flew to Japan after Game 6 of the hard-fought, competitive NBA Finals between the Bucks and Suns and had to quickly go from foes to friends on the court. By Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney. SENT: 750 words, photos.

OLY-CYC-STRUGGLING-USA - The new CEO of USA Cycling made it perfectly clear the Americans were targeting seven medals at the Tokyo Games. But through six events, they’ve yet to win one. They’ve had disappointing rides on the road and the mountain bike course. And now the pressure moves to BMX and track cycling. The Americans are favored to win a medal in both BMX racing and the freestyle competition, which is new to the Olympic program. They also have a shot at gold in the women’s team pursuit next week. But at this point, a medal of any color would be a massive confidence boost. By AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta. SENT: 750 words, photos.

OLY--ATH-VIRUS-TRACK - The fragile nature of an Olympics during the pandemic came into sharp focus when the entire Australian track team spent time in a brief quarantine after American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks pulled out of the Tokyo Games because of a positive COVID-19 test. The news about Kendricks deprived the meet of one of its high-profile athletes and then rippled across the sport. The track field competition is scheduled to open Friday. The two-time world champion was one of dozens of athletes on the training track this week and Australia announced it had put its entire team in isolation and subjected it to testing after three athletes reported having casual contact with Kendricks. SENT: 350 words, photos.

OLY--RGU-RUGBY 7S - The self-described rugby TikToker Ilona Maher finally got a taste of Olympic competition after bringing the world into the athletes village via social media. She has been urging viewers to check it out with posts about life, food and other athletes behind the scenes. The women’s rugby sevens competition got underway with Maher and the U.S. team beating China 28-14 in the morning session. Defending champion Australia started with a 48-0 victory over Japan and top-ranked New Zealand had a 29-7 win over Kenya. The top-ranked New Zealanders are favorites to win gold five years after losing the final to Australia in Rio de Janeiro. By AP Sports Writer John Pye. SENT: 460 words, photos.

OLY-PHILIPPINES-DIAZ - The rewards, the citations and the nationwide parties are going to have to wait for a week or so. Philippine weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has arrived in Manila and was whisked off to a hotel for seven days of quarantine after winning her country’s first Olympic gold medal in nearly a century at the Tokyo Games. “Gold at last!” read a banner at the airport as military personnel waved Philippine flags and applauded when Diaz landed. But not even her historic medal can eclipse coronavirus protocols in a country grappling with continuing virus outbreaks and an economic crisis. SENT: 550 words, photos.

OLY-RGU-RUGBY-SEVENS-FIJI-CELEBRATES - Fiji’s second consecutive Olympic gold medal in rugby sevens has provoked a spontaneous outpouring of joy in the nation’s cities and villages despite the country being under strict curfew because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fireworks flashed in the night sky and daring revelers in the capital Suva flew flags from car windows as they circled among cheering crowds. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said the win “shows that we can achieve greatness no matter what the world may throw our way, even with COVID.” Fiji is battling a severe COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 25,000 cases and 200 deaths among a population of just over 900,000. By AP Sports Writer Steve McMorran. SENT: 570 words, photos.

OLY--ROW-AMERICAN DYNASTY - The U.S. seeks to become the first country to win four consecutive rowing gold medals in the women’s eight. The Americans know that despite their past Olympic dominance they may not be the favorites after an unbeaten run in international events was broken following the Rio de Janeiro Games. The Americans also had to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak in their training camp in 2020. That forced many of the crew to work out from home for months. No country has won four straight golds in the event. Dominant runs by East Germany and Romania ended at three. By AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno. SENT: 650 words, photos.

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EXPLAINERS

OLY-GYM-EXPLAINER-US-GYMNASTICS - American gymnast Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from two key Olympics competitions to focus on her mental well-being changes the landscape somewhat dramatically for the U.S. gymnastics team in coming days. Biles pulled out of the women’s team finals, saying she felt she wasn’t mentally ready. A day later, she withdrew from Thursday’s all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being. Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles’ place in the all-around. Carey initially did not qualify because she was the third-ranking American behind Biles and Sunisa Lee. International Gymnastics Federation rules limit countries to two athletes per event in the finals. SENT: 300 words, photos.

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DAILY FIXTURES

— OLYMPICS ROUNDUP — Highlights of the day from the 2000 Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-THE LATEST — Real-time updates and photos from every venue around the 2020 pandemic-delayed Summer Games.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-WHAT TO WATCH — A guide to key storylines each day. Moves after 1 a.m.

— MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s gold medals.

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GRAPHICS

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL COUNT — Keep track of who’s ahead in the medal race with our nation-by-nation medal tabulation.

— TOKYO OLYMPICS-MEDAL BRIEFS — A roundup of the day’s medals at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

— The AP

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