Reuters Sports News Summary

France refused to hand an easy win to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), at times closing the gap rapidly as the two teams chased each other across the piste, swiping and jabbing. Olympics-Athletics-America's Mu through to 800m final, keeping alive quest for gold The United States' hopes of a first gold medal in more than half a century in the 800 metres got a boost on Saturday when 19-year old Athing Mu won her semi-final race with a time of one minute and 58.07 seconds, to propel her into medal contention early next week.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Olympics-Baseball-U.S. beat S.Korea to make quarter-finals with Japan

The United States beat South Korea 4-2 to earn a day off before the Tokyo Games baseball quarter-finals, just as Japan did in a 7-4 win over Mexico earlier on Saturday. Both teams now move to double-elimination play. South Korea take on Dominican Republic on Sunday, while the United States face Japan on Monday.

Olympics-Handball-ROC, Sweden book quarter-final berths, Norway stay unbeaten

The Russian Olympic Committee breathed life into their handball title defence by beating France 28-27 in a rematch of their Rio 2016 final clash to reach the quarter-finals of the women's competition on Saturday, while Sweden progressed in style. Ekaterina Ilina scored nine goals from as many shots as the Russians - competing as representatives of the ROC without their flag due to doping sanctions - held their nerve to make it five points from four games ahead of their clash with Spain.

Olympics-Athletics-Thompson-Herah scorches to 100m glory, closes on Flo-Jo

Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah delivered the first seminal moment of the Olympic athletics programme on Saturday when she became the second-fastest woman in history when leading a scorching Jamaican clean sweep of the 100 metres final. There was a surprise gold for Poland in the first 4x400m relay, which delivered the exciting race organisers had hoped for, and a far more predictable one for Swede Daniel Stahl in the men's discus.

TOKYO OLYMPICS: What you need to know right now

Jamaican sprinters swept the podium on Saturday in the highly anticipated women's 100 metres with Elaine Thompson-Herah snatching the gold in an Olympic record time. Here's what you need to know about the Tokyo Games:

Olympics-Athletics-Poland win first 4x400m mixed relay gold

Poland scored an upset win in the inaugural Olympic 4x400 metres mixed relay on Saturday, with Dominican Republic picking up silver and the United States taking bronze. The Polish team, comprised of Karol Zalewski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Kajetan Duszynski, put on a gutsy performance inside the fan-free Olympic Stadium after posting the fastest time in Friday's heats.

Olympics-Jamaica sweep 100m podium, Djokovic leaves with nothing

Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah blazed to 100 metres gold on Saturday, becoming the fastest woman alive as she denied compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce a third Olympic title.

In retaining her title Thompson-Herah added a sparkling flourish to a day which had seen U.S. gymnast Simone Biles withdraw from two more finals https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/gymnastics-american-simone-biles-withdraws-event-finals-vault-uneven-bars-us-2021-07-31 in Tokyo, and a listless Novak Djokovic fail to take bronze in tennis after his dream of a "Golden Slam" was dashed.

Olympics-Fencing-Russians win second consecutive gold in women's team sabre

Russia's women fencers won their second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the team sabre event on Saturday, beating France 45-41 in a tense final. France refused to hand an easy win to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), at times closing the gap rapidly as the two teams chased each other across the piste, swiping and jabbing.

Olympics-Athletics-America's Mu through to 800m final, keeping alive quest for gold

The United States' hopes of a first gold medal in more than half a century in the 800 metres got a boost on Saturday when 19-year old Athing Mu won her semi-final race with a time of one minute and 58.07 seconds, to propel her into medal contention early next week. The absence of South Africa's double champion Caster Semenya, ruled ineligible due to heightened testosterone levels, has opened the field to new contenders.

Olympics-Swiss Bencic beats Vondrousova to win women's singles gold

World number 12 Belinda Bencic dug deep to overpower the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 2-6 6-3 on Saturday and win the Tokyo Games women's singles title, becoming the first Swiss woman to earn an Olympic tennis gold. The 24-year-old Bencic, who prevailed in two hours and 30 minutes, can now complete a set of gold medals when she and Viktorija Golubic face Czech No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the doubles final on Sunday.

Olympics-Basketball-U.S. clinches playoff spot, France and Australia go 3-0

The United States clinched a quarter-final berth in Olympic men's basketball on Saturday as seedings for next week's last- eight showdowns took shape. Kevin Durant led Team USA to a commanding 119-84 victory against the Czech Republic in the final group game at the Saitama Super Arena, north of Tokyo.