A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021
SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES IN TOKYO
Joanna Mann/Baker City Herald
Artists took to downtown Baker City sidewalks Saturday, July 24, to create chalk art.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times-TNS
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles is consoled after competing on the vault and withdrawing
from competition due to an injury in the women’s team fi nal at the 2020 Tokyo Olym-
pics on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo.
Biles withdraws, won’t
defend all-around title
By Will Graves
AP Sports Writer
TOKYO — Simone Biles
will not defend her Olympic
title.
The American gymnas-
tics superstar withdrew
from Thursday’s all-around
competition to focus on her
mental well-being.
USA Gymnastics said in
a statement on Wednesday,
July 28 that the 24-year-old
is opting to not compete. The
decision comes a day after
Biles removed herself from
the team fi nal following one
rotation because she felt she
wasn’t mentally ready.
Jade Carey, who fi nished
ninth in qualifying, will
take Biles’ place in the all-
around. Carey initially did
not qualify because she was
the third-ranking American
behind Biles and Sunisa
Lee. International Gymnas-
tics Federation rules limit
countries to two athletes per
event in the fi nals.
The organization said Biles
will be evaluated daily before
deciding if she will participate
in next week’s individual
events. Biles qualifi ed for the
fi nals on all four apparatuses,
something she didn’t even do
during her fi ve-medal haul in
Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The 24-year-old came to
Tokyo as arguably the face of
the Games following the re-
tirement of swimmer Michael
Phelps and sprinter Usain
Bolt. She topped qualifying
on Sunday despite piling up
mandatory deductions on
vault, fl oor and beam follow-
ing shaky dismounts.
She posted on social media
on Monday that she felt the
weight of the world on her
shoulders. The weight became
too heavy after vaulting dur-
ing team fi nals. She lost her-
self in mid-air and completed
1 1/2 twists instead of 2 1/2.
She consulted with U.S. team
doctor Marcia Faustin before
walking off the fi eld of play.
When she returned, she
took off her bar grips, hugged
teammates Sunisa Lee, Grace
McCallum and Jordan Chiles
and turned into the team’s
head cheerleader as the U.S.
claimed silver behind the
Russian Olympic Committee.
“Once I came out here
(to compete), I was like, ‘No
mental is, not there so I just
need to let the girls do it
and focus on myself,’” Biles
said following the medal
ceremony.
The decision opens the
door wide open for the all-
around, a title that was long
considered a foregone conclu-
sion. Rebeca Andrade of Bra-
zil fi nished second to Biles
during qualifying, followed by
Lee and Russians Angelina
Melnikova and Vladislava
Urazova. The four were
separated by three-tenths of a
point on Sunday.
U.S. men’s hoops rebounds
by routing Iran, 120-66
By Brian Mahoney
AP Basketball Writer
SAITAMA, Japan — It wasn’t just that the
U.S. had been losing. It was that the level of
play was practically un-American.
Playing passively and passing up open shots
isn’t the way its players became basketball’s
best. And when it resulted in them dropping
their Olympic opener, the Americans decided to
do something about it.
“After that loss we came together,” guard Da-
mian Lillard said. “It was a lot of communica-
tion between then and now where it’s like, ‘All
right. It’s time to start looking like Team USA.’”
Lillard scored 21 points and the Americans
got back to winning — and winning easily —
with their fi rst victory of these Olympics, romp-
ing past Iran 120-66 on Wednesday, July 28.
Devin Booker scored 16 points and Jayson
Tatum had 14 for the Americans, who had their
25-game Olympic winning streak snapped with
an 83-76 loss to France on Sunday.
The U.S. not only bounced back but did it in
a Dream Team-type performance against an
overmatched opponent, racing out for transi-
tion dunks and stepping back to knock down
3-pointers.
“We came out with more freedom as individ-
uals and took the shots that we normally take,”
said Kevin Durant. “And they went in tonight
and we guarded up, so it was a good step.”
The U.S. plays the Czech Republic on Sat-
urday, July 31 to close pool play, with a victory
guaranteeing the Americans a spot in the
single-elimination quarterfi nals.
The Americans are probably through already
thanks to what will be an enormous point dif-
ferential as a result of this rout.
Chalk artists brighten
Baker City sidewalks
year, new mediums such as liquid chalk and
chalk pens were available to make creating
Art lovers gathered outside of Royal Arti- art more accessible to people with different
san Saturday morning, July 24, to brighten skills.
Main Street sidewalks with chalk creations.
The chalk art is displayed in front of
Jessica Dougherty, who has been organiz- nearly every building on Main Street, but
ing “Chalk It Up to Art” for the past three
none of it is permanent. It will fade with
years, said the annual event is just a fun
time or rain — which is in the forecast for
way to bring people together and make
this weekend — but is sure to return next
public art.
summer.
Thanks to a grant from the Cultural
Chalk It Up to Art takes place the week-
Trust, Royal Artisan partnered with the Art end after Miners Jubilee every year. Royal
Guild to put on this free event, with towels, Artisan created some chalk art at Miners
brushes, chalk and wipes included. This
Jubilee to get people excited for the event.
By Joanna Mann
jmann@bakercityherald.com
School board members sworn in
a presentation from Peter
Fargo and Eric Layton, who
Jessica Dougherty and
are members of a group
Travis Cook were sworn in
promoting Baker City apply-
as members of the Baker
ing for a railroad quiet zone,
5J School Board during the
in which freight trains would
board’s July 22 meeting.
not sound their horns except
Dougherty and Cook were in emergencies.
elected in May to four-year
To qualify, the city would
terms.
need to augment the physical
Chris Hawkins was
barriers at railroad crossings
reelected as chair of the
in the city to prevent vehicles
five-member board. Julie
from getting to the tracks
Huntington will serve as vice while a train is passing.
chair for the next year.
The board learned that the
During the July 22
committee overseeing spend-
meeting, the board heard
ing on the $4 million bond
By Joanna Mann
jmann@bakercityherald.com
measure that district voters
approved in May had its first
meeting July 23.
The board learned that
Eagle Cap Innovative High
School will be renamed Eagle
Cap Innovative Junior/Senior
High School to reflect the
seventh- and eighth-grade
students who attend the
school.
The board will meet Aug. 5
at noon, most likely via Zoom,
to discuss COVID-19-related
policies, including mask rules,
for the school year that starts
Aug. 30.
STILL 1
#
IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Ledecky wins another gold
opening race — the fi rst time fi rst fl ip and never climbed
that’s happened in her three any higher than fi fth, which
TOKYO — Katie Ledecky Olympics. To those on the
is where she touched at the
will be the fi rst to concede
outside, a silver medal in the end.
that her standards are almost 400-meter freestyle seemed
But there was another race
impossible to meet, especially like a failure.
to come, the longest on her
at this stage of her stellar
Ledecky returned to the
program, the 1,500 free.
swimming career.
pool for a rematch in the 200
It wasn’t Ledecky’s best
She always wants to go
free with the swimmer who
performance. Her time — 15
faster, faster, faster — a
beat her the fi rst time, the
minutes, 37.34 seconds —
singular vision that has
Australian star known as the was nearly 17 seconds off the
carried her to the pinnacle of Terminator, Ariarne Titmus. world record she set three
her sport. Yet it’s not really a
Titmus pulled away at the summers ago.
reasonable goal when you’ve end for another gold, just as
But she touched ahead of
already done it so many
she did the fi rst time, only it everyone else to claim the
times before.
wasn’t Ledecky she had to
gold, about 4 seconds better
In the space of a little more worry about. The 24-year-old than hard-charging team-
than an hour Wednesday,
American was seventh at the mate Erica Sullivan.
July 28 at the Tokyo Aquatics
Jay & Kristin Wilson, Owners
Centre, Ledecky gained the
2036 Main Street, Baker City
tDDC
sort of perspective that could
serve other Olympians deal-
ing with increasingly weighty
expectations.
First, she experienced a
crushing letdown.
Then, she rallied for an
exhilarating triumph.
Ledecky had already
come up short of gold in her
By Paul Newberry
AP Sports Writer
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L E S S C H WA B WA S R A N K E D # 1 I N C U S T O M E R S AT I S FAC T I O N
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