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Day 6 Olympics roundup: Gymnast gold, soccer longevity and a blue bandanna

There's a whole lot going on every day at the Tokyo Olympics. Here, we'll keep you up-to-date with everything you need to know.

Good as gold

Coming into the Olympics, the general assumption among gymnastics circles was that everyone vying for the individual all-around event — the most prestigious in the entire sport — would be battling for a silver medal. Then Simone Biles withdrew, and the entire competition opened up. It was 18-year-old Sunisa Lee who stepped up, winning gold in dramatic fashion and adding to the long list of American champions: Carly Patterson in 2004, Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglas in 2012 and Biles in 2016. A true American success story, Lee — who's headed to Auburn in the fall — just became one of the faces of the Tokyo Olympics.

And her family's reaction was amazing:

Sunisa Lee won gold on Thursday. (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)
Sunisa Lee won gold on Thursday. (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)

The stubborn brilliance of Carli Lloyd

"There were times when Carli Lloyd would train in secret," writes Henry Bushnell. "Perhaps she’d charge up and down a hotel stairwell. Perhaps, during a U.S. women’s national team camp, she’d pull up Maps on her phone. She’d seek a nearby field, or a quiet street, and she’d sneak out for a run." So begins a fascinating story on how Lloyd, 39 and part of the USWNT, keeps coming back, Olympics after Olympics, at the top of the soccer game. Read the full story.

Watch your mouth

Daniil Medvedev of Russia — sorry, "Russian Olympic Committee" — didn't take kindly to being asked about Russia's state-sponsored doping ring ... the reason why Russia can't be Russia at these Olympics. Granted, the question was a little leading, asking Medvedev whether Russian athletes carry a "stigma of cheating." But Medvedev ripped the questioner, saying, "It’s the first time in my life I’m not gonna answer a question and you should be embarrassed of yourself ... I don’t wanna see you again."

Lucky charm

Caeleb Dressel claimed his first individual gold medal on Thursday, winning the men's 100-meter freestyle. Before and after the race, he clutched an old blue bandanna. It's a lucky charm for the explosive Dressel, but it's also so much more — a memory of a beloved teacher. Here's the full story on the bandanna's meaning in Dressel's life.

Moment of silence

A former Hiroshima official is hoping the Olympics will take a moment to remember the tens of thousands of lives lost during the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. That's not likely to happen — the Olympics tries to keep real-world pain like this outside the arena — but as the anniversary date draws nearer, expect to hear more about that fateful day in Japanese and American history.

Nothing to see here

Japan continues to see spiraling COVID-19 cases, but Tokyo Olympic officials continue to insist that the Olympics aren't at fault. The more contagious delta variant is the culprit, Tokyo officials say, and because of strict protocols and lockdowns, there have been no reported incidences of Olympians spreading the virus to Japanese residents. Still ... not a great situation by any measure.

Photo of the day

(Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP via Getty Images)
(Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP via Getty Images)

When sports become art. This is Angola's Azenaide Carlos during a handball match, a sport most of us neither understand nor could play at all.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

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