Lauren Price soars into final ahead of a frantic Friday of athletics and track cycling – Tokyo Warm-Up

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 06/08/2021 at 08:45 GMT

It’s bronze for Team GB in the women’s hockey, and at least a silver for Lauren Price in the boxing after a gruelling semi-final win. Elsewhere, on what was a relatively quiet start to Thursday’s Tokyo 2020 action, there’s a mighty look ahead to an athletics bonanza and more golds on offer in the velodrome. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.

FRIDAY’S BIG STORIES

Price into final

Trailing going into the final round, with a one-point deduction seemingly dampening her hopes of reaching the final, Lauren Price bounced back to keep her bid for middleweight gold alive when beating Nouchka Fontijn on a split decision.

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Gold medallist Price crowned Olympian of the Year

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That is everything you expect from a world champion, but the spotlight shines bright at the Olympic Games, and Price – a former football international for Wales – has done remarkably to shoulder the pressure as one of GB’s best boxing hopes to reach the gold-medal bout.

Now only Li Qian of China stands in her way, a bronze medallist at Rio 2016 who won her semi Zenfira Magomedalieva of ROC in a unanimous decision.

The bruising encounter with Fontijn, a rematch of the 2019 worlds final, could yet set up Price perfectly for Sunday’s final – and it may well be a second boxing gold for GB if Galal Yafai can do the business first on Saturday.

Bronze for GB women’s hockey, praise for India

It went this way, then that, before GB eventually sealed women's hockey bronze in a seven-goal thriller against India.

From 2-0 down, India remarkably turned the game on its head to lead 3-2, but their stirring comeback was matched by GB in the 40-degree plus heat, as Hollie Pearne-Webb levelled before Grace Balsdon scored the winner 12 minutes from time.

‘The power!' - Watch Balsdon’s winner as GB edge India in seven-goal thriller to win hockey bronze

It was the third straight medal at an Olympics for the British women’s hockey team, and the scenes at full-time told you bronze was no disappointment after their gold in Rio.

For India, meanwhile, it was a heartbreaking end to a groundbreaking campaign, with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar among the many who congratulated the women’s team for their efforts. “You may have lost the match but you have won our hearts. We are all very proud of you,” he said, with Anil Kumble adding the team “won a billion hearts”.

STILL TO COME

A PACKED afternoon (or evening if you’re in Tokyo) of athletics action, with six track golds up for grabs. After the women’s javelin (12.50pm) there’s the men’s 5000m final.

You’ve then got a tough-to-call women’s 400m final (1.35pm), with all eight finalists – including GB’s JodieWilliams – running below 50 seconds this year and 2016 champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of Bahamas arguably the narrow favourite.

Then you have the women’s 1500m (1.50pm) with Laura Muir aiming to medal as Sifan Hassan chases the second gold of what would be an historic hat-trick.

Finally, the day’s action closes out with a 4x100m relay double – the women are up first at 2.30pm and 20 minutes later it’s the men’s turn. It’s difficult to look past Jamaica gold for the women, particularly after their 1-2-3 in the 100m final, but GB set a national record and will fancy their chances of making the podium.

The men’s, meanwhile, has the makings of a classic. Jamaica’s season’s best is 37.82, Canada and China 37.92, and Italy 37.95. You then have Great Britain at 38.02, Germany at 38.06, Ghana at 38.08 and Japan at 38.16.

In short, just 0.34 seconds separate the eight nations’ best times this year.

In the track cycling, Jack Carlin is in the men’s sprint semi-final (8.10am) against Dutch world champion Harrie Lavreysen, while Laura Kenny goes in the women’s madison (9.15am) and could make history as she aims to become the first British woman to win gold at three Olympics.

Elsewhere, it’s the women’s football final as Canada take on Sweden, while it’s worth marvelling at the sport climbing as the women go for gold from 9.30am.

HEROES AND MORE HEROES

His first Olympics was at Barcelona 1992, and at Tokyo 2020 Jesús Ángel García made history in the race walk as it was his eighth appearance overall – the most-ever for an athlete in the athletics.

He finished 35th in the 50km, and was closest to a medal when coming fourth at Beijing 2008, four years after coming fifth in Athens.

Meanwhile, NellyKorda is flying in the women’s golf at -15 with one round to go… Maybe. And that’s because a tropical storm could see the final round cancelled. Either way, the American is a very strong shout for gold.

OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Finishing the race. It’s a Cool Runnings thing. It’s the very essence of Olympic spirit, and we’ve seen it already at Tokyo 2020 with Adam Gemili and Katarina Johnson-Thompson doing so despite injuries ending their hopes of competing further in the athletics.

‘You've done it!’ – Sobbing final finisher in race walk praised as he crosses line hour after winner

On the streets of Tokyo on Friday, we witnessed such resilience once more when – more than an hour after Poland’s Dawid Tomala crossed the line to win men’s 50km race walk gold – Ecuador’s Claudio Paulino Villanueva Flores finished 47th.

There were a handful of DNF’s, but he was the last of the race walkers to make the distance, some 20 minutes after the 46th did so. Cue the tears and emotional scenes.

RETRO CORNER

To celebrate the fact it’s the 4x100m relays, let’s go for a ‘retro’ (just nine years ago) double and take a look at the moment the US women and then Jamaican men set new WRs at London 2012.

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