.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Dressel, Ledecky continue to dominate, while Durant breaks Olympic record
It was another eventful day as the Tokyo Olympics hit Day 8.
The biggest news, though, may have occurred outside of competition, when it was announced that U.S. gymnastics star Simone Biles had withdrawn from the event finals in the vault and uneven bars. The four-time Olympic gold medalist earlier pulled out of the team final, as well as the individual all-around final, citing concerns about her mental health.
Biles, who this year became the first woman since 1992 to reach the final in all six possible events, still could compete in the floor final on Monday and the beam final on Tuesday.
"After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars," USA Gymnastics said in a statement. "She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances."
Within competitions, it was a big day for the Americans. The U.S. had 41 medals heading into Friday night ET/Saturday Tokyo time and finished with 46 (16 gold, 17 silver, 13 bronze), and is now tied with China (46, 21-13-12). In third is the Russian Olympic Committee (37, 11-15-11) in terms of total medals.
The Americans trail only China (21) and Japan (17) in gold medals.
Here are some of the highlights from Day 8.
Katie Ledecky, Swimming
The most decorated female swimmer ever added to her medal collection on Saturday, taking gold in the 800-meter freestyle, her final event of the Tokyo Games. It was her third straight Olympic gold in that event and she now owns the 24 best times ever in the race.
And Ledecky, 24, has no plans of calling it quits.
"Oh, that was not my last swim," she said. "I'm at least going to '24. Maybe '28. I just knew it was going to be my last swim here. You never take anything for granted. You never know if you're going to be at the next Olympics."
Ledecky holds 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold. She also owns 15 World Championship titles and three world records.
Check out her finish in the 800 freestyle.
Caeleb Dressel, Swimming
Dressel not only won the 100-meter butterfly on Saturday, he also broke his own world record in the event, trimming his mark by .05 with a time of 49.45.
It was his second individual gold medal in Tokyo, as he also won the 100 freestyle with an Olympic-record showing.
Think his family and friends were invested?
The 100 fly was the first of three races Dressel was scheduled in on Saturday. He later competed in the 50 free semifinals – winning his heat – and swam in the mixed medley relay final, in which the U.S. finished fifth.
Women's 100-meter final
The women's 100 meters was supposed to be a showcase for American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, but she accepted a one-month ban earlier this month for testing positive for THC, the chemical found in marijuana.
With Richardson out, the event turned into a showcase for three Jamaican sprinters, with Elain Thompson-Herah taking home the gold and breaking the Olympic record in the process.
Team USA, Baseball
Hot off their dismantling of Israel in their debut game on Friday morning ET, the U.S. baseball team took on defending gold medalists South Korea on Saturday morning.
And once again, the USA tasted victory.
After giving up a run in the top of the first, the USA responded with a two-run homer from Triston Casas in the bottom of the fourth.
Then, Nick Allen's solo shot in the bottom of the fifth gave Team USA a 3-1 lead.
The USA is now 2-0 in the Olympic tournament and will take on Japan to close out group play on Monday at 6 a.m. ET.
For an up-to-date tracker of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics medal count, click here to see how every country is doing!
Team USA, Men's Basketball
After a bit of a rocky start – trailing 25-18 after the first quarter and only leading by four at half – Team USA gathered and maintained their momentum in a blowout win over the Czech Republic on Saturday, booking a ticket to the quarterfinals.
The duo of Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant led the way for the U.S., scoring 27 points and 23 points, respectively.
And Durant made a little history on Saturday as well.
With the win, Team USA finished second in Group A, after France defeated the U.S., 83-76, back, on July 25, and went undefeated in group play.
The tournament will now be pared down to eight teams.
Men's tennis
Despite winning the first three grand slams of the year, Novak Djokovic won't add an Olympic medal to his outstanding 2021 campaign.
First, the world's best male tennis player was upset by Germany's Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Friday.
Then, in a quest for the bronze medal on Saturday, Djoker once again came up short, falling to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets, 4-6, 7-6(6), 3-6.
After the defeat, Djokovic withdrew from the mixed doubles bronze medal match, citing a right shoulder injury.
For more up-to-date news on all things Summer Olympics, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
Check back for more updates from all of Team USA's medal-winning action from Day 9!
