Jamaican 110m hurdler Hansle Parchment narrowly avoided embarrassment thanks to a volunteer who gave him money for a taxi after he accidentally traveled to an aquatics arena instead of Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium on the day of his race at the recent Tokyo Olympics.

San Marino, a country with a population of only 34 thousand, Burkina Faso (20.90 million) and Turkmenistan (61.13 million), all three have erased their names from the awkward list of the countries that never won a single Olympic medal. Whereas Bangladesh, a country with 163 million population, are still carrying the tag of the most populous yet unsuccessful nation in the Olympics history, following yet another barren campaign in Tokyo, their tenth overall. 

With the Olympics drawing to a close, many athletes will begin to turn their attention to a crucial yet daunting question: what’s next?

The Tokyo 2020 Games were declared closed on Sunday by IOC chief Thomas Bach, who said it had been the “most challenging Olympic journey” after a year’s pandemic delay and threats of cancellation.

Eliud Kipchoge produced a marathon masterclass and the USA edged China at the top of the Tokyo Olympics medals table as the curtain fell on the biggest sports event since the pandemic on Sunday.

Tokyo handed its Olympic flag to the mayor of Paris on Sunday, setting the stage for the next Games in 2024 at a closing ceremony that featured park scenes of both cities, emphasising human contact even as the pandemic continues.

About 30 kilometres into the men's marathon in Sapporo on Sunday, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge pulled away from the pack and began running his own race, chasing immortality.

Brazil retained their Olympic football title with substitute Malcolm scoring an extra-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Spain in Saturday’s men’s gold medal game.

Neeraj Chopra won the men’s javelin on Saturday with a best throw of 87.58 metres to claim a historic first Olympic athletics gold medal for India.

Brazil retained their Olympic football title with substitute Malcolm scoring an extra-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Spain in Saturday's men's gold medal game.

Neeraj Chopra won the men's javelin on Saturday with a best throw of 87.58 metres, claiming a historic first Olympic gold in athletics for India.

World number one Nelly Korda held her nerve during a delay for a lightning storm to win Olympic gold on Saturday and make it an American golf clean sweep at Tokyo 2020.

Kevin Durant said he is “bonded for life” with his US team-mates after they beat France to win basketball gold Saturday, ensuring the Brooklyn Nets star joined all-time great Carmelo Anthony with a third Olympic title.

A leading Olympic Games health adviser said on Saturday that Tokyo 2020 had shown the COVID-19 pandemic could be beaten and would provide data to help countries around the world battle the coronavirus.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Poland's Dawid Tomala cruised to victory in the Olympic men's 50km race walk with a dominant performance over the second half of the race in Sapporo on Friday, reaching the top of the podium in just his second completed race of the distance.

Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya told Reuters on Thursday she decided to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport because her grandmother told her that it was not safe to return home to Belarus.

April Ross and Alix Klineman won the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in women's beach volleyball since 2012 on Friday, when they beat Australia's Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy at the Tokyo Games, with temperatures on the sand court rising to 45°C (113°F).

Gardiner takes 400m gold

Tokyo Olympics on Thursday