Olympic Updates (Aug. 3): End for Mikulak, Start for Willis, Two Quarterfinals
8/3/2021 10:38:00 AM | Olympics
• Tokyo Olympics Site | U-M Olympics Coverage
Men's Gymnastics
Individual Parallel Bars Final
Former Wolverine Sam Mikulak (USA) competed in the men's individual parallel bars final Tuesday (Aug. 3) at Ariake Gymnastics Centre and placed sixth with a mark of 15.000. Competing third in the finals lineup, he hit his routine with only a small error on his peach half skill and a small hop on the dismount. He qualified fifth for the final July 24 with a score of 15.433 during qualification.
China's Jingyuan Zou took the gold medal, scoring a 16.233, the highest score of the Olympic Games for any gymnast on any event. Germany's Lukas Dauser took silver (15.700), and Turkey's Ferhat Arican placed third (15.633).
The result closes out Mikulak's third and, in all likelihood, final Olympic Games. The United States placed fifth in the team competition, while Mikulak placed 12th (83.164) in the all-around final.
• Sam Mikulak: Parallel bars, 6th (15.000)
• Results and Video
Nick Willis (Getty Images)
Men's Track and Field
Nick Willis drew upon his nearly two decades of world-class running experience to run a tactically sound race and advance to the semifinals of the 1,500-meter competition as he kicked off his fifth straight Olympics. New Zealand's 38-year-old two-time Olympic medalist ran his fastest race of the season at 3:36.88, finishing seventh in his heat and 14th overall as he earned the second of six non-automatic qualifying spots to the semifinals.
After running from the front early on, Willis was running sixth at the bell sounding for the last lap -- positioned just inside the six automatic berths into the semifinals -- with several others running right on his heels. Halfway through the final lap, Willis appeared to be going backward as he had dropped to eighth with only the curve and the homestretch to go. He tucked himself along the rail to minimize the distance he would have to cover in the closing stretch, but he was unable to find much space to maneuver in the bunched-up pack and could not climb any higher in the field than seventh.
Willis, a two-time Olympic medalist who has advanced to the 1,500 semifinals in each of his five Olympic appearances, will been seeking his fourth straight final appearance when the semifinals are contested Thursday (Aug. 5) starting at 8 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EDT).
• Nick Willis (1,500-meter Run Round 1): 7th, heat 3 (3:36.88) -- advanced to semifinals
• Results and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
Amy Ridge (Getty Images)
Women's Water Polo
Russian Olympic Committee 9, Australia 8
The Australian women's water polo team was knocked out of contention for a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Tuesday (Aug. 3), falling to the Russian Olympic Committee 9-8 in the quarterfinal round at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre. The Aussies move to the 5th-8th classification bracket to play for a shot at fifth place, starting Thursday (Aug. 5) against Canada at 5:20 a.m. EDT (6:20 p.m. in Tokyo).
The Stingers fell behind early and were never able to fully recover, as ROC scored four goals in the opening quarter to take a 4-2 lead and never looked back. Former Wolverine Amy Ridge helped Australia inch closer during the second quarter, scoring a goal on her only shot of the contest, but the Russians held a two-goal advantage at halftime, 6-4.
The Aussies trailed by three with just under five minutes to play in the game and made a valiant effort at a comeback, scoring a goal with 16 seconds left to cut the deficit to one. The ROC held the ball successfully to run out the clock an end Australia's hopes of gold.
• Abby Andrews: 3 shots
• Amy Ridge: 1 goal, 1 shot
• Results and Video
Moritz Wagner (USATSI)
Men's Basketball
Slovenia 94, Germany 70
Moritz Wagner and the German National team saw their Olympic run come to a conclusion with a 94-70 quarterfinal loss to Slovenia Tuesday morning (Aug. 3) at Saitama Super Arena. Wagner had nine points, a rebound, an assist and 11 minutes played in Germany's final game.
After falling behind 25-14 in the first quarter, the Germans were able to cut into the deficit, winning the second quarter, 23-19, and heading into halftime trailing by seven, 44-37. The Slovenians balanced 38 inside scoring points with 15 three-pointers and posted 50 second-half points to close out the victory.
Slovenia was led by Zoran Dragic (EuroLeague), who had five triples and a game-best 27 points, while teammate Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) nearly had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Germany was led by Maodo Lo, who had 11 points with three three-pointers.
After leading the Germans to the Olympics with a win in their Croatia qualifier, Wagner averaged 11.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his first Olympic experience. He was the first Wolverine to play in the Olympics since Phil Hubbard (United States) in 1976.
• Moritz Wagner (Germany): 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 11 minutes
• Stats and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
