The COVIDLympics: Day 3: And we're starting early...

• Already in the water for the triathlon before 7 AM. 
• RL has stifled most of the day's energy and want to watch the Olympics, but I can still get some stuff in today.
• And as is not usual for this blog, we begin with a very wonderful and positive story.  Maria Belen Perez Maurice finally realized her dream, after a long fencing career, of representing Argentina in the Games.  Unfortunately for her, she was eliminated in the first round of her event.  She did take home gold of another form, though (we think):  Her coach, Lucas Saucedo, was her long-time partner -- and, at a post-competition press conference, he decided to request to make himself more than that, according to Sports Illustrated:

Y después del combate de esgrima le pidieron casamiento a María Belén Pérez Maurice en vivo. pic.twitter.com/wEmGuOW7CB

— Rústico (@lautarojl) July 26, 2021

• She said yes.
• Rock star P!nk has decided to pay the fine for the Norwegian beach handball team for not ridiculously over-sexualizing themselves.
• Abdullah Alrashidi won bronze in the men's skeet event today (USA actually won both skeet gold medals today) -- what makes this unusual for two reasons.  First, he's from Kuwait, a national Olympic Committee which has only won three Olympic medals in it's history, all bronze.  (If you remember, a Kuwaiti actually won gold, but this was when Kuwait was banned, so he won it as an Independent Olympic Athlete.  Alrashadi actually won a bronze in Rio as well.)  All five medals by Kuwaitis, including the two won as Independent, have been in shooting.
• The second reason it's unusual is because he's 57 years old.
• Both skateboarding street gold medals went to the hosts -- Momiji Nishiya won the women's event.  What makes THIS unusual?  She's 13.
• Kosovo is joining Japan as doing very well in the judo.  Their third medal in Olympic history is another gold in the judo, their second in the Games.
• Continued appeals by the IOC to abide by COVID protocols.  Sixteen more confirmed positives in the Olympic community, including three athletes -- only one of the 16 was in the Village at the time.
• Not sure if this new report is included in this list, but another Dutch athlete has tested positive, this one a tennis player.
• A Dominican baseball player has won himself a one-way ticket home due to a cannibis positive.
• Another Muslim refusing to face an Israeli due to politics in judo.
• A tropical storm is going to hit eastern Japan tomorrow and has already shelved at least two outdoor events tomorrow and accelerated the schedule of a third.
• Some discussion of the oversexualization of women in the Games.  Not only is the German gymnastics team wearing fuller outfits as a protest of it, but the Olympic Broadcasting System has come under fire.  You can start by either quitting with effective "bikini volleyball" or abolishing beach volleyball as a sport of the Games.   
• Current figures indicate that 80% of the Japanese people have already watched some portion of the Olympic program.  Contrast this -- and Inside the Games did! -- with the lowest Opening Ceremony ratings since Seoul for the United States.  
• And, in news far more endemic to this blog (at least in that it's bad news):  Less than 24 hours after Tunisia's Ayoub Hafnaoui won a shock gold medal in swimming for the nation, it appears the nation may be about to suffer a coup -- the President has suspended Parliament in the African nation.
• The softball showdown is set.  Though the USA has only scored nine runs in the group phase of the softball, they've only given up two -- hence, with a 2-1 victory over the hosts, they win the right to bat last when the US and Japan do it again whenever the weather will allow (scheduled for Day 4 tomorrow, but...) for the gold.
• Checking on Olympic maidens (first medals/first golds in a nation's history).  Appears to be no full maidens yet, but a gold maiden was broken today.  The Philippines got it's first gold medal in their Olympic history today -- Hidilyn Diaz did one better than her Rio performance in winning the 55kg women's weightlifting division today for the Filipinos' first Olympic gold medal in history.
• In the final medal event of Day 3, Japan bested China for the first mixed-doubles table-tennis gold medal.  It is the first time since 2004 that any country has defeated China for an Olympic gold medal in any table-tennis event.
• And with that, the National Dick-Waving Contest:  China leads the total with 18, USA second with 14, Japan has 13.
• However, Japan leads the gold-medal count (and, hence, official table) with 8 golds.  USA has 7, China 6, the illegal Russian Team 4.
• 23 nations now have gold medals.
• 51 nations now have medals.  It took five days in Rio to get 51 countries to medal -- only three here.
• And we ended late...  Started with the men's triathlon at about 6:30 AM JP time Monday -- ended with a reverse-sweep by World #1 Brazil to turn back Argentina in men's volleyball at 1 AM JP time Tuesday!