Karsten Warholm wins 'best race in Olympic history' as he breaks 400m hurdles world record

Karsten Warholm wins 'best race in Olympic history' as he breaks 400m hurdles world record

CNN Edition - Sport·2021-08-04 12:04

The Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (CNN)It started the way his races often do -- a slap of the chest, a pump of the fist, and a roar to the camera -- but ended like none have done before.

As Karsten Warholm crossed the finish line of the men's Olympic 400-meter hurdles final and registered the numbers on the stadium clock, his face turned to a mixture of exhaustion, elation and disbelief.

The Norwegian's time of 45.94 seconds in Tokyo on Tuesday is likely to shift perceptions of what is possible in this event as he held off the USA's Rai Benjamin and shattered his own world record by more than half a second.

In a golden era for the men's 400m hurdles, this was the Olympic final the event deserved. Benjamin's time of 46.17 seconds for silver would have comfortably broken the previous record Warholm had set in July, while Brazil's Alison Dos Santos' bronze-medal time of 46.72 was just outside it.

"That was the best race in Olympic history ... everyone in this event should be getting paid big bucks, in all honesty," Benjamin later quipped.

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Warholm reacts after his gold medal and world record in the 400m hurdles final at the Tokyo Olympics.

The forerunner in this event since his world championship title in 2017, Warholm now has an Olympic medal to show for his efforts. He inched ahead of Benjamin after the final hurdle and ripped a huge hole down the middle of his sprint suit after crossing the line.

"The lactic acid is just crazy, I couldn't feel my legs," Warholm told reporters about the end of the race.

"I was just running over the line because I didn't take anything for granted today. All respect to Rai for running 46.17 -- that's just crazy."

Running in lane six, Warholm quickly caught up with Dos Santos and Qatar's Abderrahman Samba in the lanes outside him.

He was leading by the 200-meter mark, but the race was far from won as Benjamin slowly gained ground in the adjacent inside lane.

The pair were practically level at the final hurdle, but Warholm summoned an extra ounce of energy to take the gold.

"I ran sort of scared, but that's something that I always do," Warholm added. "I knew that with my fast opening, I was up on the side of dos Santos and Samba really early in the race.

"That was my tactic today, I think I won on tactics. I really went out hard and tried to get the guys with me ... after that I just ran for my life. I would have died for that gold medal."

Warholm reacts to his 400m hurdles victory.

Kevin Young's 400m hurdles world record from the 1992 Olympics had stood for nearly three decades before Warholm broke it a month ago -- a barrier the 25-year-old has previously likened to the race to get a man on the moon.

But this Olympic final has redefined the discipline.

The three athletes on the podium can lay claim to being the fastest 400m hurdlers ever; Samba, the fifth-fastest on the all-time list behind Young, finished fifth behind the British Virgin Islands' Kyron McMaster in the final.

Fast track, fast times?

For silver medalist Benjamin, there was a mixture of frustration and pride.

"It's a lot to process," he told reporters. "I cried a little bit ... but I am really happy to be a part of history like this and just to show where this event can go.

"I don't think even Usain Bolt's 9.58 (at the World Championships in Berlin) topped that. I mean, three guys pretty much broke the world record."

The Tokyo Olympics have so far yielded fast times on the track, notably Elaine Thompson-Herah's Olympic record in the women's 100m final.

Some have put it down to advancements in shoe technology, while others have credited the favorable track surface.

Warholm and Benjamin jump the final hurdle in the 400m hurdles final.

"It feels like I'm walking on clouds," said US sprinter Ronnie Baker. "It's really smooth out there. It's a beautiful track, one of the nicest I've run on."

Accoring to World Athletics and Mondo, the company that prepared the track ahead of the Games, more than 280 world records had been established on Mondo tracks prior to the Tokyo Olympics.

However, Benjamin said that, in his race at least, the fast times were more about the athletes themselves.

"People say it's the track, it's the shoes. I would wear different shoes and still run fast, it doesn't really matter," he said.

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Ledecky led the field for most of the 1,500-meter freestyle, and she finished the race more than four seconds ahead of silver medalist Erica Sullivan, a fellow American.

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Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto competes during the individual all-around on July 28. Hashimoto won the gold.

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Chinese weightlifter Shi Zhiyong celebrates July 28 after winning gold in the 73-kilogram weight class. He lifted 166 kilograms in the snatch and 198 kilograms in the clean-and-jerk, setting a new world record total of 364 kilograms.

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Japan's baseball players celebrate a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Dominican Republic on July 28. It was the first baseball game of these Olympics.

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Japan's Megumi Murakami competes in a beach volleyball match on July 28.

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A crowd watches equestrian action on July 28.

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Australia's Ariarne Titmus swims her way to gold in the 200-meter freestyle on July 28. She also set a new Olympic record, finishing in 1:53.50. It is her second gold of these Olympics, as she also won the 400-meter freestyle.

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Egyptian fencer Ziad Elsissy celebrates a team sabre win on July 28.

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US gymnast Simone Biles wears her warm-up gear after she pulled out of the team all-around competition on Tuesday, July 27. Biles withdrew after stumbling on the vault, Team USA's first apparatus of the night. She cited mental-health concerns for her withdrawal. "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being," she told reporters.

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A tattoo of the Olympic rings is seen on the back of South African swimmer Brad Tandy on July 27. Many of this year's athletes are sporting a wide range of ink.

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A man sits among rows of empty seats as he watches table tennis at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on July 27.

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US gymnast Simone Biles performs on the vault during the team all-around event on July 27. She stumbled on the landing and withdrew right after that, saying she wasn't in the right frame of mind to compete. "It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head," she told reporters.

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An underwater view shows the United States' Delaney Schnell, left, and Jessica Parratto after a dive in the the synchronized 10-meter platform event on July 27.

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Turkish archer Yasemin Anagoz competes on July 27.

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French slalom canoeist Marie-Zélia Lafont competes in the K-1 semifinal on July 27.

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Japan's softball team celebrates with head coach Reika Utsugi after winning the gold-medal game against the United States on July 27. Japan won 2-0.

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Russian gymnast Viktoria Listunova performs on the balance beam during the team all-around competition on July 27. She won the gold medal along with her teammates Vladislava Urazova, Angelina Melnikova and Lilia Akhaimova. Russian athletes at these Olympics are officially recognized as members of ROC, an abbreviation of the Russian Olympic Committee. That's because in 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from all international sporting competitions, including the Olympics, for doping non-compliance. Russian athletes can't compete under their country's name, flag and national anthem until December 2022.

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German table-tennis player Timo Boll serves during a match on July 27.

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Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun reacts after winning gold in the 59-kilogram category on July 27.

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A man in Yokohama, Japan, walks past the Olympic rings lit up at dusk on July 27.

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The United States' Carissa Moore celebrates after she won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in surfing on July 27.

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American Regan Smith swims the final of the women's 100-meter backstroke on July 27. She won the bronze.

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American Haleigh Washington, left, spikes the ball during a volleyball match against China on July 27. The United States won in straight sets, 29-27, 25-22, 25-21.

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Norway's Helene Naess and Marie Ronningen compete in the 49erFX sailing competition on July 27.

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US diver Jessica Parratto cries after she and teammate Delaney Schnell won a silver medal in the synchronized 10-meter platform event on July 27.

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Estonian fencer Katrina Lehis, left, squares off against Italy's Mara Navarria in the team epée semifinals on July 27.

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Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov wears a cat-themed mask as he waits to receive his gold medal on July 27. Rylov won the 100-meter backstroke.

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Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira competes in the gold-medal final on July 27. He won gold despite his board breaking on his first wave.

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Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka reacts during her third-round loss to the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova on July 27. Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony, had 32 unforced errors in the match. It's the first time she has lost in a hard-court tournament since the 2020 Australian Open.

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Lydia Jacoby, left, is congratulated by fellow American swimmer Lilly King after winning the 100-meter breaststroke on July 27. Jacoby, 17, is the first-ever Olympic swimmer from Alaska, and she was not expected to win the event. King, a race favorite who won the event at the 2016 Olympics, finished with the bronze this time.

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Brazil's Ana Paula Rodrigues Belo attempts to shoot during a handball match against Hungary on July 27.

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Bermuda's Flora Duffy celebrates after she won gold in the triathlon on July 27. It's the first-ever Olympic gold medal for an athlete representing Bermuda.

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From left, Hungary's Katinka Hosszú, the United States' Alex Walsh and China's Yu Yiting take part in a semifinal race for the 200-meter individual medley on July 27. Walsh won the race.

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France's Endy Miyem is defended by Japan's Himawari Akaho during a basketball game on July 27. Japan defeated France 74-70.

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Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov celebrates after winning the 100-meter backstroke on July 27. His countryman Kliment Kolesnikov won the silver.

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Members of the media are pictured in the foreground as Indonesia's Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, bottom left, and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo play a badminton match against Taiwan's Lee Yang, top left, and Wang Chi-lin on July 27.

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South Korean fencer Kang Young-mi, right, is congratulated by her teammates after they defeated the United States in the epée quarterfinals on July 27.

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US water polo player Johnny Hooper takes a shot during the team's 20-3 win over South Africa on July 27.

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From left, Russian gymnasts David Belyavskiy, Artur Dalaloyan, Nikita Nagornyy and Denis Ablyazin react after winning gold in the team all-around on Monday, July 26.

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Japanese table-tennis players Jun Mizutani, left, and Mima Ito celebrate their dramatic victory over China in the mixed-doubles final on July 26. Mizutani and Ito came back from two sets down to win 4-3, clinching the final set 11-6. The win ended years of Chinese dominance in the sport. China had won every Olympic title in table tennis since South Korea's Ryu Seung-min triumphed in the men's singles competition at the 2004 Athens Games.

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The Philippines' Hidilyn Diaz reacts after winning the 55-kilogram weightlifting competition on July 26. It's her country's first-ever Olympic gold medal. Prior to Diaz's gold, the Philippines had claimed three silvers and seven bronzes. Diaz won one of the silvers in the 2016 Olympics.

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The sun sets in Tokyo on July 26 as Belgium plays the Netherlands in a men's 3-on-3 basketball game. The event is making its Olympic debut this year.

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Volunteers sit in mostly empty stands during archery competition on July 26.

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The Czech Republic's Lukas Rohan competes in a canoeing semifinal on July 26.

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Fencers Sofia Pozdniakova and Sofya Velikaya, both representing the Russian Olympic Committee, compete against each other in the individual sabre final on July 26. Pozdniakova, a two-time world champion and daughter of Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdniakov, defeated Velikaya 15-11.

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Spain's Adrian Gavira Collado waits for a serve during a beach volleyball match on July 26.

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Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung looks at his gold medal after beating Italy's Daniele Garozzo in the men's foil final on July 26. It was Hong Kong's first gold at the Summer Olympics in 25 years.

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Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus edges the United States' Katie Ledecky to win the 400-meter freestyle on July 26. It's the first Olympic medal for Titmus, the defending world champion in the event. Ledecky won the event at the 2016 Olympics, where she set a world record that still stands today.

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Three US swimmers — from right, Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni and Bowen Becker — celebrate after winning the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on July 26. Not pictured is teammate Zach Apple, who swam the anchor leg.

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Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya grinds a rail during the women's street competition on July 26. The 13-year-old won gold in the new event, a day after fellow Japanese skateboarder Yuto Horigome won gold on the men's side. She is one of the youngest gold-medal winners in Olympic history. She is just months older than the current female record-holder, American diver Marjorie Gestring, who was 13 years and 267 days old when she won gold at the Berlin Games in 1936.

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Iran's Meisam Salehi spikes the ball during a volleyball match against Venezuela on July 26.

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British divers Tom Daley, left, and Matty Lee compete in the synchronized 10-meter platform event on July 26. They won the gold.

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Norway's Kristian Blummenfelt lies on the ground wrapped in finish-line tape after he won the triathlon on July 26. On the right, silver medalist Alex Yee of Great Britain hugs bronze medalist Hayden Wilde of New Zealand.

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Norway's Richard Andre Ordemann is kicked in the face by Jordan's Saleh Elsharabaty during a taekwondo bout on July 26. Elsharabaty won 5-4.

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The US softball team celebrates its 2-1 win over Japan on July 26. The two teams will meet again in the gold-medal game July 27.

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Eldric Sella Rodriguez, a middleweight boxer with the Refugee Olympic Team, lies on the ground after being knocked down by the Dominican Republic's Euri Cedeno Martinez on July 26. The fight was stopped in the first round, and Cedeno Martinez was declared the winner.

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Athletes dive into the water at the start of the men's triathlon on July 26. A broadcast boat prevented all swimmers from starting, forcing a restart. It was the first-ever call of its kind in an Olympic triathlon.

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Japan's Hifumi Abe celebrates after winning gold in judo on Sunday, July 25.

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The Tokyo 2020 logo is reflected in the backboard as France's Evan Fournier rises for a shot on July 25. France upset the United States 83-76 in what was both teams' opening games. The US team hadn't lost an Olympic game since 2004.

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Chinese weightlifter Chen Lijun celebrates on July 25. He won gold in his 67-kilogram weight class after lifting 187 kilograms — an Olympic record — in the clean-and-jerk. His total lift of 332 kilograms edged Colombia's Luis Javier Mosquera Lozano by one kilogram.

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Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten celebrates after completing the road race on July 25. She thought she had won the gold medal, not realizing that Austria's Anna Kiesenhofer had broken away from the pack and finished first. Cyclists race without earpieces at the Olympics, and that played a part in her confusion, she said. But she was still "really proud" of her silver medal.

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US equestrian Adrienne Lyle rides Salvino in the dressage competition on July 25.

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Great Britain's Adam Peaty competes in a semifinal of the 100-meter breaststroke on July 25. Peaty, the world-record holder in the event, went on to win gold in the final. He also won the event at the 2016 Olympics.

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US gymnast Simone Biles stumbles on a balance beam dismount during the qualification event on July 25. She still qualified for the event finals, and the United States finished second in qualification for the all-around. "Obviously, there are little things we need to work on, so we'll go back and practice and work on that just so we can do our best performance at team finals (on Tuesday), because that's what matters," Biles said.

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American Anastasija Zolotic celebrates after winning gold in taekwondo on July 25. She is the first US woman to win Olympic gold in the event.

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Staff members prepare for judo competition at the Budokan arena in Tokyo.

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Spanish judoka Alberto Gaitero Martin is bandaged during his bout against Ukraine's Georgii Zantaraia on July 25.

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China's Zhang Changning spikes the ball in a preliminary-round volleyball match against Turkey on July 25.

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Mexico's Dallas Escobedo warms up before a softball game against Italy on July 25. Softball is back at the Olympics for the first time since 2008.

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American gymnast Simone Biles performs on the vault during the qualification round on July 25. The team all-around final is Tuesday, and the Americans will look to defend the gold they won at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

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American swimmer Chase Kalisz celebrates after winning gold in the 400-meter individual medley on July 25. It was the first medal for the United States in this year's Olympics.

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Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira rides a wave during an early heat on July 25. This is the first year that surfing is in the Olympics.

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Japan's Naomi Osaka hits a forehand during her first-round match against China's Zheng Saisai on July 25. Osaka won 6-1, 6-4.

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Kimia Alizadeh, a taekwondo athlete representing the Olympic Refugee Team, kicks Iran's Nahid Kiyani Chandeh during her first match on July 25. Alizadeh was born in Iran and became the country's first female athlete to win an Olympic medal when she won bronze at the 2016 Games. But she defected last year amid searing criticism of the regime in Tehran. Alizadeh defeated Chandeh 18-9.

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Marina Nekrasova, a gymnast from Azerbaijan, competes on the uneven bars during the qualification round on July 25.

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Italy's Alessandro Velotto moves the ball during a water polo match against South Africa on July 25.

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Japan's Yuto Horigome competes in street skateboarding on July 25. Horigome went on to win the first-ever Olympic gold medal in skateboarding.

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Hungarian fencer Flora Pasztor, left, competes against Algeria's Meriem Mebarki on July 25.

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Australian tennis star Ashleigh Barty, the world's top-ranked player who won Wimbledon earlier this month, reacts during her first-round lossto Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo on July 25. Sorribes Tormo won 6-4, 6-3.

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Australian swimmers celebrate together after they won gold in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on July 25. They also set a new world record (3:29.69). Clockwise from left are Meg Harris, Emma McKeon, Bronte Campbell and Cate Campbell.

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German beach-volleyball players Julia Sude and Karla Borger play Switzerland's Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich in an empty Shiokaze Park on Saturday, July 24.

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Hend Zaza, the youngest Olympian this summer, competes in table tennis on July 24. The 12-year-old Syrian was knocked out in the preliminary round, losing 4-0 to Austrian Jia Liu.

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Fans wait at the finish of the men's cycling road race on July 24. The Fuji International Speedway, in Oyama, Japan, is one of the five Olympic venues open to fans this year.

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Nigerian gymnast Uche Eke competes on the horizontal bar on July 24.

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Chinese fencer Sun Yiwen celebrates with her coach Hugues Obry after winning gold in the épée on July 24.

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Chinese weightlifter Hou Zhihui competes on July 24. She set an Olympic record in her 49-kilogram weight class, lifting 94 kilograms in the snatch round and 116 kilograms in the clean-and-jerk.

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China's Yang Qian, the first gold-medal winner of these Olympics, celebrates on July 24. She finished first in the 10-meter air rifle.

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Badminton players compete amid rows of empty seats on July 24.

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A staff member picks up the mouthguard of Great Britain's Peter McGrail during a boxing match on July 24.

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Cyclists compete in the men's road race on July 24. Ecuador's Richard Carapaz won the race after breaking away in the final 10 kilometers.

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During a break in his first-round match, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev cools down with a mobile air conditioner and a towel with ice cubes. "It was some of the worst (heat) I've ever had," he said after he beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.

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Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lights the Olympic cauldron at the end of the opening ceremony on Friday, July 23.

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Fireworks go off after Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron.

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An overhead view of Osaka lighting the cauldron. The cauldron was designed in the shape of a cherry blossom.

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The Olympic flag is raised near the end of the opening ceremony.

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Live performers pose as the triathlon pictogram during the opening ceremony. There are 50 sports taking place this year in the Tokyo Olympics, and all of their pictograms were acted out by the performers.

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Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, makes a speech during the opening ceremony. At left is Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.

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Japanese jazz composer Hiromi Uehara plays the piano during the opening ceremony.

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The Olympic flag is carried toward the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony.

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Japan's Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech and formally opens the Olympic Games.

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Members of the Refugee Olympic Team march during the parade of nations.

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Tongan flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua made headlines for going shirtless at the 2016 and 2018 opening ceremonies, and he was at it again in Tokyo. He will be competing in taekwondo.

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Athletes from the United States march during the customary parade of nations.

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During one portion of the opening ceremony, there were 1,800 drones flying over the stadium to form a globe in the night sky. As the glowing drones soared over the stadium, performers sang "Imagine" by John Lennon.

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Athletes from various nations sit during the opening ceremony.

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