Tokyo Olympics: Canada captures its first ever softball medal, bronze

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Latest Olympic highlights

• Softball: Canada has defeated Mexico 3-2 to win the bronze medal in softball at Tokyo. It’s the first time ever a Canadian team has medaled for the event that was dropped from the Olympic schedule in 2016 and 2012.
• Swimming: In a pool brimming with future legends in Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and America’s Regan Smith, Canadian Kylie Masse has won a silver medal with a time of 57.72 behind McKweon’s Olympic record time 57.47. A medal for Masse continues a strong showing by Canada’s women in the pool. On her way to another possible medal, Penny Oleskiak came in 4th in her heat and has advanced to the 200m freestyle final. Meanwhile, Summer Macintosh failed to make the 200m freestyle final, finishing fifth in her semifinal heat. Maggie Mac Neil won her second medal of the games – Canada’s first gold medal – in the 100 m butterfly Monday morning in Tokyo.
• Tennis: In a stunning upset Japan’s Naomi Osaka was defeated by Czech Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets, 6-1 6-4 in the third round of the women’s singles tournament. The Japanese player notched 18 unforced errors throughout the match, triple that of her opponent.

OFF THE FIELD

• Weather: A tropical storm heading toward northeastern Japan is forecast to bring heavy rain, strong winds and high waves to the Tokyo region that could alter the schedule of events. The tropical storm has already affected some Olympic competitions, and some surfing events planned for Wednesday were moved to Tuesday.
• Ratings: Ratings so far have generally been lower than for past Olympics, with the declining broadcast landscape and 13-hour time difference between Tokyo and the Eastern time zone being definite factors. CBC’s audience of 1,010,000 for Friday’s opening ceremony in prime time was down from the 1,254,000 who watched the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games opener and way down from the 3,337,000 viewers for the Rio Summer Games opener in 2016.
• Preparation: The Globe’s Rachel Brady visits the horse stables, where experts use cutting-edge science and old-fashioned love and care to make sure the animals are ready to ride despite the distractions and heat of Olympic competition.
• COVID-19: Two Dutch tennis player and 12 Olympic staff reportedly test positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Dutch rowing team has agreed to isolation measures after one of its athletes, a coach and a staff member have all tested positive for COVID-19. The last official count of COVID-19 cases linked to the Games was 137.

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More Olympic updates for July 26

• Boxing: Montreal’s Caroline Veyre advances to the boxing quarterfinals with a dominant performance Croatia’s Nikolina Cacic. Veyre will take on Italian Irma Testa in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
• Basketball: The Canada women’s basketball team’s fell 72-68 in their first match of the games against Serbia. Canada will play South Korea in the second group stage match on Thursday.
• Beach volleyball: Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan beat the Germans 2-0 after the same result against the Netherlands. They play Switzerland next.

The Olympic experience

Women street skateboarders like Annie Guglia demonstrate the possibility of broader change

The Globe’s Nathan VanderKlippe writes that the introduction of the women’s skateboarding marks a major shift – toward the kind of culturally inclusive environment the IOC says it wants. The original addition of skateboarding to the Games was pioneering for Olympics athletics, and he says women’s skateboarding in particular suggests the possibility of broader change at the Games.

Canada’s Riendeau and Zsombor-Murray end diving partnership on a good note

From an injury that jeopardized Vincent Riendeau’s participation at Monday’s 10-metre synchro event, to the bond he shares with his partner Nathan Zsombor-Murray, there is much that goes on around and beyond the duo’s performance in the pool. Riendeau reflects as he will no longer dive competitively following his and Zsombor-Murray’s fifth-place finish.

Skylar Park planning ahead for next Olympics after elimination from Tokyo Games in Taekwondo

Skylar Park of Winnipeg fell to Taiwan’s Chai-Ling Lo after reaching the women’s taekwondo quarter-final. Park bested Australia’s Stacey Hymer to advance to this stage in the competition. As The Globe’s Rachel Brady writes, the highly-touted 22-year-old from Winnipeg – ranked number three in the world in her 57-kg weight class – spoke through tears on Sunday after losing out in the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.

Tokyo Olympic events to watch tomorrow, July 27

• Swimming: Watch for Penny Oleksiak and Summer McIntosh of Team Canada at the women’s 200-metre freestyle events.
• Gymnastics: It will be a big day for Simone Biles, one of the stars of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, at the women’s team final.

Check the full Olympic schedule for the latest event times and competitors.

The Tokyo Olympics: Essential reads

Read behind-the-scenes moments from our team on the ground at the Tokyo Olympics.

What athletes and teams should Canadians look out for? Consult our guide.

How did Canada’s swimmers use data to get stronger? Grant Robertson and Timothy Moore explain.