Days after lighting the Olympic flame in Tokyo, tennis superstar Naomi Osaka exited the scandal-hit Games she helped rescue, a setback that coincided with a record number of coronavirus cases in the host city on Tuesday.
Osaka's departure left Japan without its best known global sporting figure in the Olympics, one whose multiethnic background contrasts with the image of an insular and male-dominated country that emerged in the run-up to the event.
In another stunning development, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles dropped out of the women's team event after a single vault at the Tokyo Games on Tuesday. The International Gymnastics Federation said Biles would play no further part in the team event, but said she would still receive a medal if the heavily favored U.S. ended up on the podium.