Tokyo Olympics: Defending silver medalist Andre De Grasse qualifies for 200-metre semifinals

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OLYMPIC EVENTS FOR AUG. 2

• Andre De Grasse moves onto 200-metre semifinals: Both Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown have secured their spots in the men’s 200-metre semifinals in Tokyo. Brown, from Toronto, easily won his heat in 20.38 seconds. De Grasse finished third in his heat in 20.56. Over the weekend, Andre De Grasse secured bronze in the 100-m, becoming the first Canadian man to reach the Tokyo podium against a backdrop of unsettling false starts and a lacklustre atmosphere. With his fourth overall Olympic medal, and with yet still another medal shot to come in the 200-m (where De Grasse is the reigning Olympic silver medalist), De Grasse arguably joins the greats in Canada’s rich sprinting history.
• Canadians advance to women’s soccer final after defeating the United States: Canada’s women’s soccer team has upset the United States, current world champions, 1-0 in the semifinal today. They will play for gold in the final against Sweden on August 5 (10 p.m. ET) and are now guaranteed at least a silver medal — an improvement after winning bronze in the last two Olympics. Today’s faceoff was a rematch of the epic yet controversial 2012 Olympic semifinal where the United States edged Canada 4-3 in extra time — it’s considered to be the greatest game of women’s soccer ever played.

OFF THE FIELD

• Canadian legend Angela Bailey passes away: Angela Bailey, the Canadian women’s record holder in the 100 metres sprint and an Olympic 4x100 relay silver medal winner, has died after battling cancer under complicated conditions. Bailey was 59 years old. Bailey’s 1987 Canadian women’s 100-metre sprint record time of 10.98 seconds still stands today.
• Gymnasts Simone Biles, Ellie Black return: Simone Biles is returning to competition in Tokyo. The 2016 Olympic champion will compete in the balance beam finals on Tuesday, a little over a week after stepping away from the meet to focus on her mental health. Canada’s Ellie Black will also be competing at the same event, marking her return after an ankle injury removed her from participation last week.
• Belarusian athlete refuses to return home: A Belarusian athlete in Japan for the Olympic Games took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday, a day after refusing to board a flight home with her team. Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has been granted a Polish visa and is planning to leave for Poland in the coming days, a Polish deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, said. Additionally, The Court of Arbitration for Sport says Tsimanouskaya has failed in a legal action to be allowed to run in the 200-metre heats.
• Raven Saunders’ podium protest: The standoff over free speech between the International Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic officials continued Tuesday, as the IOC grappled with what to do if the Americans refused to penalize an athlete for violating rules limiting demonstrations on the medal podium. On Sunday night, Raven Saunders, a U.S. shot putter, delivered the first political demonstration on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics when she raised her arms and crossed them in the shape of an X shortly after receiving her silver medal as an act “for oppressed people.”

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More Olympic updates for Aug. 2

• Volleyball: Canada has fallen to the Russian Olympic Committee 3-0 in the Olympic volleyball quarterfinal. Gord Perrin led with 15 points as Canada lost to the Russian Olympic Committee 25-21, 30-28, 25-22.
• Athletics: Toronto’s Matthew Hughes raced to sixth in the men’s 3,000-metre steeplechase in eight minutes 16.03 seconds. In the women’s 5,000-metre final, Andrea Seccafein of Guelph, Ont., finished 15th. Sisters Gabriela Debues-Stafford and Lucia Stafford are through to the semi-finals of the women’s 1,500-metre. Debues-Stafford won her heat to qualify for Wednesday’s semi-final with a time of 4:03.70. Lucia Stafford finished seventh with a personal-best time of 4:03.52.
• Pole Vault: Saskatoon’s Anicka Newell qualified for the final of the women’s pole vault with a successful attempt of 4.55 metres.
• Basketball: Canada women’s basketball team has failed to qualify for the quarterfinals. The dagger came when Australia defeated Puerto Rico 96-69 in Monday’s final game, dropping Canada to ninth in the combined rankings. Australia’s 27-point margin of victory eclipsed the 24 it needed to move on and eliminate Canada.
• Canoe/kayak: It was a good first day on the water for Canada’s canoe/kayak team at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday as three of five boats qualified for the semifinals at the Sea Forest Waterway. Quebec’s Andreanne Langlois and Nova Scotia’s Michelle Russell both advanced to the next round of the women’s 200-metre kayak single semifinals.
• Beach volleyball: Canada has sent its second team to the quarterfinals of the women’s beach volleyball at the Tokyo Olympics. Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes overpowered Spain in their match, defeating the Spaniards in straight sets 21-13, 21-13.

The Olympic experience

Globe visual journalist Melissa Tait is in Tokyo capturing Canada’s athletes as they chase the podium.

From The Globe’s Olympic team

Despite early Tokyo Olympic exit, transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard makes history with her presence

Four years ago, when she returned to weightlifting as a woman, Laurel Hubbard said she was “not here to change the world.” But on Monday, she brought change to the world’s biggest stage, as the first openly transgender woman to step into an Olympic weightlifting final, reports Nathan VanderKlippe.

With a crowd yelling encouragement, Hubbard dropped all three of her snatch lifts. After the 125-kilogram bar came crashing to the ground on her third attempt, she formed her hands into a heart over her chest, mouthing the words “thank you” — to a world deeply divided on whether she should have ever been allowed to be here.

Canada women’s soccer team exacts Tokyo Olympic revenge against the United States after being robbed at London 2012

Most of the time you don’t get your revenge. Things don’t even out in the end. Occasionally, you will get payback in some form, but it’s often cheap and out of context. Very, very rarely in life you will get the full turnaround. That the wrong done to you is visited back on your antagonist. That’s what the Canadian women’s soccer team got on Monday night in Kashima against the United States.

Nine years after one of the great rip-offs in Olympic history, Canada got the benefit of officiating that ran to the letter of the law, while entirely missing the spirit of the game. It directly results in this country heading to a gold-medal game the Canadians were robbed of at the London Games in 2012. Read Cathal Kelly’s ponderances here.

Keep up with the latest behind-the-scenes stories and images from the Olympics in our reporters’ notebook from Tokyo.

Tokyo Olympic events to watch tomorrow, Aug. 3

• Early in the morning: Watch Canadian Tom Ramshaw in the men’s finn medal race (1:33 a.m. ET) and Canada women’s cycling track team in the team pursuit (2:37 a.m. ET) looking for a third straight Olympic podium. Also, Ellie Black and Simone Biles will compete in the women’s beam gymnastics medal event (4:53 a.m. ET).
• Later in the morning: Jacqueline Simoneau and Claudia Holzner compete in the preliminary round of artistic swimming (6:30 a.m. ET) and Camryn Rogers looks for a medal in the women’s hammer throw final (7:35 a.m. ET). Also, catch two pairs of Canadians as they compete in the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals (8:00/9:00 a.m. ET).

Check the full Olympic schedule for the latest event times and competitors.

The Tokyo Olympics: Essential reads

Read a visual explainer on speed climbing, a new addition to the Olympics.

What athletes and teams should Canadians look out for? Consult our guide.

How did Canada’s swimmers use data to get stronger? Grant Robertson and Timothy Moore explain.