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The USA Softball Women’s National Team is back on the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics. The 2020 games are Team USA’s fifth Olympic appearance and first since 2008, after the sport was left out of the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. The opening ceremonies for the Tokyo Games are set for Friday, but Team USA began their campaign for softball gold on Tuesday when they defeated Italy, 2-0. They face Canada on Wednesday night.
Olympic softball tournament gold medal Live
The No. 1 ranked United States and No. 2 Japan are the favorites for gold in this year’s six-team Olympic field. The two teams have faced each other in the final of every World Championship dating back to 2002. Team USA hold the overall advantage over Japan with a 5-2 record. Here are the odds entering the tournament via William Hill Sportsbook.
The Olympics are the biggest stage in global sports and attract the most media of any organized competition on the planet. The Games of the XXXII Olympiad return this week and will be held in Tokyo. After the 2020 Games were delayed a year due the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, it was determined that the Olympics would be pushed back no further.
With no fans in attendance, the 2021 Games are being put on purely as a TV show (which is mostly what the Olympics has evolved into over the past 20 years). The coronavirus pandemic will hover over every element, every day, and nearly every moment of the Games due to the state-of-emergency circumstances in Japan. You won’t see fans in the stands, and it’s all too easy, unfortunately, to envision a scenario in which athletes wind up being disqualified due to positive tests
In terms of American Olympians in 2021, Biles is the biggest deal, the most famous athlete, the most dominant competitor and, at the age of 24, already one of the greatest athletes in the world. She’s one of the most impressive athletes in Olympic/American history and owns four gold medals and took a bronze in 2016.
The question used to be not whether or not the men would win, but by how many points. Now it’s an intriguing question: How much danger is the United States men’s team in to not win gold?
As for who is competing this year for the United States on the women’s side, the ageless Allyson Felix is back for her fifth Olympics — an unthinkable achievement for anyone who makes their living sprinting for a living. Felix, 35, will run in the 400 meters, making her the oldest American sprinter to compete in the event.
Jenna Caira took over on the mound for Canada to pitch the fifth. Danielle Lawrie, who was part of the 2008 team that competed in Beijing took over in the sixth. The game was played nearly 250 kilometres away from the heart of the Tokyo Games in Fukushima inside a baseball stadium that had more than 14,000 empty seats due to fans not being allowed to attend. The Canadians were in complete control from start to finish – a dream start to their Olympic journey in Japan.
It’s a quick turnaround for the Canadians. They’re back on the Azuma Baseball Stadium field Thursday morning at 9 a.m ET in Fukushima against the top-ranked United States.
