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Olympic Breakfast: Kellie Harrington becomes Ireland's latest medalist in Tokyo

Here’s what you missed while you were sleeping…

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A MIXED MORNING on the track but another medal in the bag for the Irish boxing team as Kellie Harrington advanced to the semi-finals of the lightweight division. Welcome to the latest of our overnight updates.  

The Irish Eye

Tuesday’s action got off to a positive start for Team Ireland with Andrew Coscoran finishing strongly in his heat to qualify for Thursday’s semi-finals of the 1500m.

However there was heartbreak for Phil Healy as the 26-year-old narrowly missed out on the semi-finals of the 400m, falling just 0.07 of a second outside the fastest qualifier spots.

The race also saw Healy make history as the first female Irish athlete to compete in three athletics events at the same Olympic Games, having already ran in the 200m and 4x400m mixed relay events. 

phil-healy There was disappointment for Phil Healy this morning. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

In the men’s 200m heats, Marcus Lawler missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals, while Leon Reid did just enough to scrape through. 

Kellie Harrington then delivered the big news of the morning from an Irish perspective as she saw off the challenge of Algeria’s Imane Khelif to book her place in the semi-finals of the lightweight division and secure at least a bronze medal, the fourth medal for Team Ireland at these Games. Her semi-final bout takes place on Thursday morning – mark your diary.

Who else is making headlines?

Norwegian sensation Karsten Warholm delivered one of the great Olympic performances as he stormed to gold in the men’s 400m hurdles final, his time of 45.94 smashing his own previous world record of 46.70. 

karsten-warholm-celebrates-winning Karsten Warholm delivered one of the great Olympic performances. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

Meanwhile Allyson Felix, the golden girl of US track and field, cruised to victory in her opening 400m heat. The 35-year-old is one medal away from becoming the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history.

Your must-see Olympic schedule for today 

A quiet day ahead in terms of Irish action, with Bertram Allen and Pacino Amiro, Darragh Kenny and VDL Cartello and Cian O’Connor and Kilkenny all out in the jumping individual qualifiers at the Equestrian Park venue from 11am.

Meanwhile the return of Simone Biles will be the main event on a busy day of gymnastics. The American star will compete in the women’s balance beam final from 9.50am, with the finals of the men’s parallel bars and the men’s horizontal bar also taking place today.

kellie-harrington-celebrates Kellie Harrington reacts after winning her quarter-final bout. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

The highlight on the track will be the women’s 200m final, where Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah will attempt to complete back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m gold medals.

In cycling, the women’s team pursuit and the men’s team sprint finals start at 9.17am, while the men’s football semi-finals also take place later today, with Mexico v Brazil kicking off at 9am before Spain take on the hosts, Japan, at noon.

Highlight of the night

Kellie Harrington will steal the headlines in Ireland, but Karsten Warholm’s stunning performance in the men’s 400m hurdles final was simply sensational.  

Some further reading 

For The New York Times, Tariq Panja looks at how the springy surface at the Olympic Stadium is helping produce new records

Quote of the day 

“Hakuna matata. It means no worries for the rest of your days, that’s what I say.”

Kellie Harrington is into an Olympic semi-final and is taking it in her stride. 

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