Day 9 of the Tokyo Olympics -- which is Aug. 1 in Tokyo and from 4 p.m. on July 31 to 7 a.m. on Aug. 1 San Diego time -- is another jam-packed day with some familiar faces. Here are five events to watch at the Tokyo Olympics on July 31, 2021.
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1) Caeleb Dressel leaves Tokyo with two more Olympic gold medals
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The final day in the pool at the Tokyo Olympic Games featured Caeleb Dressel who competed in two more medal events.
The five-time Olympic gold medalist swam in the finals for the men’s 50m freestyle and men’s 4x100m medley relay.
Dressel took home the gold in the men's 50m freestyle, setting a new Olympic record.
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The men's 4x100m medley relay team brought home gold and a world record. The U.S. men have won gold in this race every they've entered it. This win put Dressel's medal count at five, all golds. San Diego local Michael Andrew was also among the men's 4x100 medley relay team.
Dressel became just the second athlete to win five gold medals at a single Olympics since 1992, joining former teammates Michael Phelps. He set the fastest qualifying mark in the 50m freestyle.
The day’s session also featured three more finals: the women’s 50m freestyle, men’s 1500m freestyle and women’s 4x100m medley relay.
American Abbey Weitzel did not medal in the women’s 50m freestyle. Australian favorite Emma McKeon won gold.
After posting the second-fastest time in the heats, Robert Finke took home the gold in the men's 1500m freestyle.
The U.S. women's 4x100m medley relay team earned silver, finishing behind Australia by .13 seconds.
2) Track and Field - Brittney Reese in Long Jump
San Diego County is representing in track & field at the Tokyo Olympics. There were four events Saturday evening featuring San Diego athletes.
Brittney Reese is already one of the greats. She gained a gold medal for her long jump in 2012 and a silver medal for her jump in 2016. But in Tokyo, she'll strive for another gold.
Reese competed in the track & field qualifiers Saturday. She qualified for the long jump and will advance to the finals, happening Monday evening.
Reese will undoubtedly go down in American history alongside Jackie Joyner-Kersee in the long jump, but if she can find the podium one more time at the Olympics, she may just become the GOAT.
And it could be her last attempt. The 34-year-old athlete has already said Tokyo will be her last Olympics, so we'll be rooting for her.
Oh, and not only is she a star on the thrack, but she goes above and beyond off the track, too. Listen to NBC 7's Olympic Dreams podcast to hear how she stepped up to raise her best friend's son as her own and has embraced the role as a single mom while traveling the globe as a professional athlete.
Elsewhere on the track, Vista native Brooke Andersen competed in the Hammer Throw event and qualified Saturday. Michael Norman, who was born in San Diego, qualified for the Men's 400m. Shanieka Ricketts, who went to SDSU and is representing Jamaica, will compete in the Triple Jump finals at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, San Diego time.
https://stream.nbcolympics.com/track-and-field-session-6-integrated-feed?chrcontext=knsd
And watch the Triple Jump finals at 4:15 a.m. here or at the link below.
You can also watch track & field on NBC during primetime at 5 p.m. or on USA Network. Another session of events will take place at 1 a.m. Sunday PDT.
3) Xander Schauffele Hangs Onto Lead in Final Round of Men’s Golf Tournament, Wins Gold
American Xander Schauffele, a San Diego native, entered the men’s golf tournament’s final round with a one-stroke lead over Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama. The two golfers went toe-to-toe at the 2021 Masters before Matsuyama ultimately earned the green jacket.
Schauffele took home the gold for the men's individual golf.
Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood are among the other golfers within striking distance of Schauffele’s 14-under score heading into the final 18 holes. While Schauffelehe is the leader, the rest of Team USA is just about out of contention. Collin Morikawa is tied for 17th place with a 7-under score, while Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are tied for 38th with 4-under scores.
Schauffele and Matsuyama will be grouped with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who is tied for third place. The group will tee off at the first hole at 7:18 p.m. PDT on Saturday. The first group tees off at 3:30 p.m.
Schauffele, a Scripps Ranch High School alumna, entered the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the 5th-ranked golfer in the world but he got his start here in San Diego. After high school, Schauffele stayed local and played for coach Ryan Donovan at San Diego State University.
It didn't take him long to earn his PGA Tour card, and he quickly established himself as one of the game's bright young stars. A win at the 2017 Tour Championship made him the first rookie ever to achieve that feat, and helped his case for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
4) Baseball: Knockout Games, Team USA vs Japan
Baseball, making its long-awaited return to the Olympics, continues to play on July 31 and early Aug. 1 with knockout games. The U.S. will now face host nation Japan in the next stage.
There are two knockout games on Day 9 -- one at 8 p.m. Saturday PDT and one at 3 a.m. Sunday PDT -- but the bracket is still yet to be completed.
Team USA started its quest for a gold medal on Friday morning by knocking off Israel 8-1.
Then, they played South Korea. The United States baseball team won with a 4-2 victory over defending Olympic champions South Korea on Saturday at the Yokohama Stadium in Tokyo.
Both teams entered Saturday's contest with 1-0 records in the Olympics after defeating Israel in their series openers.
The Team USA offense was stifled by South Korean starter Ko Young-pyo through three innings before Boston Red Sox prospect Triston Casas belted a two-run homer to take the lead in the fourth inning.
The Team USA roster blends experience with promise. Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson, Anthony Gose and David Robertson bring MLB experience, while Triston Casas, Simeon Woods Richardson and Shane Baz are promising prospects. Another U.S. star is infielder Eddy Alvarez, who has already been under the Olympic spotlight in Tokyo as one of the American flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony.
The Team USA baseball roster also includes a couple of players with local ties: San Diego native Nick Allen – an alum of Frances Parker High School. Allen, an infielder and one of the Oakland' A's top prospects, was a part of the qualifying team that went a perfect 4-0 to earn a spot in the Tokyo Olympics.
Sue Ogrocki/APThere are also a few players on the Olympic team who have played for (or were connected to) the San Diego Padres in different capacities over the years: Patrick Kivlehan; Tim Federowicz; Edwin Jackson. You can read more about those ties here.
Baseball was a demonstration sport in six Olympics before gaining full-time status in 1992. The sport was then voted off the Olympic program for 2012 and 2016 before being brought back for the 2020 Games. It will be removed from the 2024 slate in Paris, but it could return for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
5) McKayla Skinner Takes Silver in Individual Vault Final
The United States will compete for a number of medals over the course of the next two nights in individual event finals. On Saturday, men will compete on the floor exercise and pommel horse, while the women will compete on vault and uneven bars.
After Simone Biles exited the team final and individual all-around final at the Olympics earlier this week, USA Gymnastics has announced she will withdraw from the event finals for the vault and uneven bars at Tokyo.
MyKayla Skinner, an American who was competing as an individual, earned a silver medal in the individual vault final. Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won gold, the first gymnastics gold for a Brazilian woman, and South Korea's Yeo Seo-jeong won bronze.
Artem Dolgopyat finished first in the men's individual floor exercise final. His 14.933 was enough to wing the second-ever gold medal in Olympic history for Israel. Spain's Rayderley Zapata finished in second, while China's Ruoteng Xiao came in third. American Yul Moldauer finished in sixth with a score of 15.533.
Max Whitlock of Great Britain finished in first in men's pommel horse, but the big story of the pommel horse final was second-place finisher Chih Kai Lee. Lee won the first-ever gymnastics medal for Chinese Tapei with a score of 15.400. Japan's Kazuma Kaya rounded out the podium in third, and American Alec Yoder finished in sixth in the event with a score of 14.566.
