Ten things to know from what happened in the world of sport. July 27-August 3, 2021.
  1. The greatest athletic race ever? Karsten Warholm (NOR) won perhaps the greatest athletic race of all time in August 3, by winning the Men’s 400 meter Hurdle Olympic Final, breaking his own World Record by .76 second -a very large margin- for the first sub-46 second time (45.94). Second-placed Rai Benjamin (USA) was also more than half-a-second faster than the previous World Record and third-placed Alison dos Santos (BRA) was just .02 seconds lower than such time. All three broke their Continental Records and six National Records were broken in the Final. Warholm in unbeaten in this event since 2018.
  2. The Dragon. Ma Long (CHN) became the first male player to ever win a career Double Grand Slam by winning the Olympic individual gold in Men’ Table Tennis. This is his 25th gold between Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cups, more than anyone else in the sport’s history. This is his fourth Olympic gold, his second consecutive in the individual competition.
  3. Multiple swimming medalists. Katie Ledecky (USA) became the first ever gold medalist in the women’s 1500 meter freestyle and became the first women to win the 800 meters for third time in a row. These wins increased her record to 7 Olympic gold medals. Caeleb Dressel won a total of five gold medals, including the Men’s 50 and 100 m freestyle and the World Record-breaking Men’s 100 m butterfly and 4 × 100 meter medley relay. He was just a disappointing 5th in the 4×100 Mixed medley, which were won by Great Britain, with a World Record. Emma McKeon (AUS) won four gold medals with one World Record (Women’s 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay). Kaylee McKeown (AUS) won three.
  4. Also in shooting. Vitalina Batsaráshkina (RUS, ROC) became the first shooter to win three Olympic medals in the same Sumer Games edition, by taking gold in the Women’s 10 m air pistol and 25 m pistol events, plus silver in the Mixed 10 m air pistol. There, she was defeated by the Chinese pair. China also won the Mixed 10 m air rifle event, with Yang Haoran finally taking gold after three attempts, and Yang Qian taking her second gold in these Games.
  5. Cuban wrestlers. Mijaín López (CUB) won a record fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the Men’s Greco-Roman Wrestling heaviest category. Another Cuban, Luis Orta Sánchez pulled a huge upset in the Men’s 60 kg category, by beating Kenichiro Fumita (JPN) in the Final. Tamás Lőrincz (HUN) won gold in the Men’s 77 kg category, after having been silver in London 2012.
  6. French Judo upset. The French Judo team gave a huge upset by beating Japan in the first ever Mixed Team Olympic competition, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Its team members also made history individually: with his team gold, Teddy Riner increased his record for most world-class Judo wins (plus he also won an individual bronze, his fourth individual medal), while Clarisse Agbegnenou increased her record for most World-Class events won in the 63 kg women’s category.
  7. Germany’s 14th. Isabell Werth increased her record for most World-Class Championships in Equestrian, with her 7th Olympic gold medal, by taking the team competition (she was also silver in the individual competition). Jessica von Bredow-Werndl won both golds available. Dorothee Schneider won her second straight gold in the individual competition. This was the 14th gold medal for the German team, extending its record.
  8. Stand up to win. Sifan Hasasn (NED) was the protagonist of one of the best scenes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, after she fell in the 1500 meters Heats and came back just to win. One day later, she won the Women’s 5,000 race. She still has a shot at the triplet: winning the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meter events. Sifan’s story is in itself an example of perseverance. She was sent on a place from Ethiopia to the Netherlands when she was 15 to seek a better life, and she has made her chances good.
  9. Other World Records. There have been other World Records set at the Olympic Games. Yulimar Rojas (VEN) won the Women’s Triple jump event with a World Record. Sydney McLaughlin (USA) won the Women’s 400 metres hurdles (August 4). Track Cycling has also seen sicx World Records fall at the time of this post and Rwoing saw a total of eight World Bests.
  10. Outside of the Olympic Games. Far from Japan, Tia Clair-Toomey (AUS) won the women’s Crossfit Games competition for a fifth time, a women’s record and a record-tying overall record fo wins. She also broke the record for more individual Games won, with 33.