Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Olympics-Facebook says it mistakenly blocked sprint queen Thompson-Herah from Instagram

Facebook Inc mistakenly blocked gold medallist sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman in the world, from Instagram, the company said on Wednesday. The Jamaican sprinter had tweeted that she had been blocked for posting videos of her victorious 100 and 200 metres races because she "did not own the right to do so." However, a Facebook spokesperson later said that while the content was removed, the suspension was wrongly applied.

Olympics-Volleyball-U.S. advances to face Serbia in semis, Turkey out

Top-ranked United States crushed the Dominican Republic in straight sets on Wednesday and will face Serbia in the women's Olympic volleyball semi-finals, while South Korea stunned Turkey in a thrilling full-set match, securing a spot in the top four. U.S. opposite Andrea Drews scored 21 points to lead the team to a comprehensive quarter-final victory at Tokyo's Ariake Arena, with the 2016 bronze medallists winning 25-11 25-20 25-19.

TOKYO OLYMPICS: What you need to know right now

A Cold War-style defection loomed large https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/belarus-sprinter-tsimanouskaya-leaves-polish-embassy-tokyo-police-2021-08-03 over the Olympics when a Belarusian sprinter flew out from Tokyo under Poland's diplomatic protection on a plane to Vienna.

Here's what you need to know about the Tokyo Games:

Golf-DeChambeau has no regrets after COVID-19 diagnosis forces Olympics withdrawal

Bryson DeChambeau, who was unable to compete in the men's golf tournament at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, said on Wednesday he has no regrets about not getting vaccinated, according to a Golf Channel report. The 27-year-old American, who is returning to competition on the PGA Tour at this week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee, said in the report he does not want to take the vaccine at the possible expense of others.

Olympics-Biles thanks Japanese gym that helped her regain her form

Simone Biles on Wednesday thanked the Japanese gym she visited in secret to overcome a bout of "the twisties" that threatened to end her Olympic run in Tokyo before she battled back to win a bronze on the balance beam. Biles spent several days out of the spotlight at the training facilities of Juntendo University where she was able to overcome the disorientation she was experiencing while performing her gravity-defying skills, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Olympics-Gymnastics-Many 'twisties' and turns, but Biles exits Games a champion

Simone Biles was always expected to make headlines at the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. gymnast did just that, and more - but not in a way anyone would have ever expected. While Biles did not rewrite the Olympic record book as planned, she did leave an indelible mark on the Tokyo Games, changing the narrative from winning medals to championing athlete mental health and well-being.

Olympics-Swimming-Aussies' dive into 'data lake' brings success in Tokyo pool

Australia's swim team head home from the Tokyo Games with a haul of nine gold medals - their best ever performance at the Olympics, partly thanks to a switch to a new data analytics system aimed at improving athletes' performances. The 'Dolphins' were propelled to unprecedented success thanks to their women's team, led by Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown, who combined bagged eight gold medals, including the 4x100m freestyle and medley relays.

Olympics-Athletics-Gold for De Grasse, another huge 400m hurdles record

Canada's Andre De Grasse added gold to a groaning collection of minor medals with victory in the 200 metres, Kenya went one-two in the men's 800m and Peruth Chemutai made history for Uganda on another scintillating night of Olympic athletics on Wednesday. That followed another huge 400m hurdles world record in the morning when Sydney McLaughlin saw off fellow American Dalilah Muhammad as the super-fast track and new shoe technology continue to make a mockery of historical comparisons.

Olympics-Marathon Swimming-Florian Wellbrock of Germany wins men's marathon swimming gold

Florian Wellbrock of Germany powered to gold in the men's 10km marathon swimming competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, setting the pace early on as he retained a lead throughout the race that took him over the finish line. Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary took silver and Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy claimed bronze.

Olympics-Belarusian sprinter reaches Poland after defying order home

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya took refuge in Poland on Wednesday after refusing to return to her authoritarian homeland from the Tokyo Olympics in a saga reminiscent of Cold War sporting defections. The 24-year-old athlete's case could further isolate Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is under Western sanctions after a crackdown on opponents since last year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)