The COVIDLympics, Day Eleven

• Suni Lee has been taking abuse on social media for only winning a bronze medal in the uneven bars, her best event.  This is AFTER SHE WON THE GOLD IN THE ALL-AROUND!!  She's probably going to delete her social media accounts as a result.
• One of the five greatest Olympic races took place this (Tuesday) morning in Japan:  The 400 men's hurdles final, where Norway's Karsten Warholm obliterated his old world record by over three-quarters of a second and became the first man to run the race in under 46 seconds.  Continuing the drumbeat of Team USA falling short of expectation was Rai Benjamin for silver -- though he probably couldn't be blamed:  He also broke Warholm's old world record by over a half-second.  In all, all three medalists broke the old Olympic record and SIX national records were either tied or beaten in the race.
• Don't look now:  Spain beating the United States in a men's basketball elimination match by six in the second part of the second quarter...
• Rats:  USA 95 - Spain 81
• Reports from the Village that Australian athletes are trashing their portion of the place...
• Simone Biles takes bronze in her only individual event, the balance beam, and pronounces she did it more for herself than anything.  I have a feeling we are about to get bombshelled regarding that woman.  May take weeks or months, but the "How Dare You" Tour is going to bring something explosive out of the woodwork...   
• Jessica Springsteen was eliminated from the individual jumping equestrian qualifying today.
• Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica has just pulled off the double-double -- 100 and 200 gold medals, both in Rio and in Tokyo.
• The IOC wants words with the Chinese -- over some of their athletes wearing pins saluting Mao Zedung.

Inside The Games material:

• The IOC also wants words with Belarus over their expulsion of the sprinter and the asylum situation which resulted.  The CAS denied her bid to compete in the 200 meters.
• Benik Abramyan of the Republic of Georgia has been expelled from the Games for an out of competition drug test from last weekend.
• The entire Greek artistic swimming team has been quarantined -- three more COVID-19 positives among the now-total 300 Olympic-related cases.
• Japan Airlines is filing a formal complaint against the Australian rugby sevens team -- sounds as if the conduct isn't just related to the Olympic Village.

National Dick-Waving Contest:

• I think it is well and fully safe for me to declare the gold-medal race over and China's.  With just four more days of full competition, and a partial day, left, China now has 32 golds to the USA's 24.  Japan got two today, including the first boxing gold of the Games, for 19 golds.  Australia now fourth with 14, and the Illegal Russian Team and Great Britain tied for fifth with 13.
• Total:  USA leads that with 73, China 69, Illegal Russian Team with 52, Great Britain with 43, Japan with 36, Australia with 33.
• 224 of the 339 events now complete -- just 115 (about a third of the total) remain.
• No further new gold medal nations for these Games -- still 57 for the event.
• 84 nations are now on the table, the same as London and two fewer than Rio -- with four additions today.
• No new maiden-breaks.
• The 24 golds now match their total from Berlin -- they need eight, however, to get to Melbourne and a more normal group of numbers (mid-30s is actually a fairly common USA gold haul).