Sports

Texans In Tokyo: Houston's Virginia Fuchs Out Boxed & Foreign-Born Mavs Ball Out In Seeding Games

KERA | By Hady Mawajdeh

Published July 29, 2021 at 9:08 AM CDT

This image is a graphic created by KERA for the 2021 Olympics. The background is dark blue. And it features an animation of a torch with a burning fire.

Japan and China have claimed the most Gold Medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. But the U.S. still leads all countries with 37 total medals.

Athletes with ties to the Lone Star State have represented pretty darn well so far.

Gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, who train near Houston, won silver medals, Dallas Wings star Allisha Gray led her team to gold in the 3x3 Women's basketball competition and Fort Worth's Vincent Hancock became the greatest men’s skeet shooter of all time when he claimed his third gold medal earlier this week.

And now, the Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Dončić is on a scoring run so prolific many are starting to believe he can help lead the Slovenian to a medal. Also, Plano's Connor Fields won his heat in the Men's BMX racing, and the U.S. Women's Volleyball team is on a streak.

Here's what you need to know about the Texans in Tokyo on July 29, 2021:

Archery

The three-time Olympian Mackenzie Brown takes aim at advancing towards medals the medal events tonight at 7:43 p.m. CT.

Baseball

The U.S Men's baseball team plays its first game tomorrow at 7 a.m. CT. They'll play Israel, which features former All-Star and Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler.

Basketball

United States' Stefanie Dolson, top, celebrates with teammates Jacquelyn Young, left, Kelsey Plum and Allisha Gray, right, after defeating Russian Olympic Committee in a women's 3-on-3 gold medal basketball game at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

3x3 basketball made its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, and the U.S. Women's Team won gold on Wednesday. (Recap) The U.S. Men's team didn't qualify, but a Texan still participated. Corsicana's Ira Brown represented Tokyo. Check out this featureby NPR's Leila Fadel to learn more about how Brown made a home in Japan.

Slovenia's Luka Doncic (77) celebrates scoring by a teammate during men's basketball preliminary round game against Argentina at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

The traditional game also has several connections to Texas. First-Team All NBA player Luka Dončić is playing for the Slovenia. They defeated Japan 116-81 in a seeding game. Dončić led all players with 25 points.

Fellow Dallas Mav Josh Green's Australian team also won their seeding game against Italy. The score was 86- 83.

And finally, Duncanville's Ariel Atkins and Houston's Brittney Griner will be playing a seeding game against Japan tonight at 11:40 p.m.

Boxing

Virginia Fuchs, from the United States, ibottom, exchanges punches with Bulgaria's Stoya Zhelyazkova Krasteva during their women's flyweight 51-kg boxing match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

33-year-old Virginia Fuchs made her Olympic debut this year. And she started off really well with a victory against the Russian Olympic Committee. But she was defeated by Bulgaria's Stoyka Krasteva earlier today. The score was 5-0.

Fuchs will not be advancing to the quarterfinals. But still, her ability and efforts have to be celebrated. Especially if you take a minute to read the Sports Illustrated articleabout Fuchs' efforts to handle a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which can be characterized by a fear of contamination.

BMX

From left, Connor Fields of the United States,Alfredo Campo of Ecuador, and David Graf of Switzerland compete in the men's BMX Racing quarterfinals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics are Connor Fields' third games. In 2016, the Plano native brought home gold in BMX racing. And after his first-place finish on Wednesday, it's exciting to start imagining him bringing home a second gold medal.

Fields is racing in a semifinals heat tonight at 8:03 p.m. CT.

Gymnastics

From right to left, silver medallist Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, Gold medallist Sunisa Lee of the Unites States, and bronze medallist Angelina Melnikova, of the Russian Olympic Committee, celebrate during the medal ceremony for the artistic gymnastics women's all-around at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The news surrounding Olympic Gymnastics has circled around Simone Biles and her decision to exit the team and all-around competitions. Still, her teammates helped secure silver in the team event. And this morning, Team USA's Suni Lee won gold in the individual all-around competition.

The 18-year-old edged out Brazil's Rebeca Andrade for the top spot with a total score of 57.433. Andrade's score was 57.298.

Lee is now the sixth American gymnast to win gold in the individual all-around event.

Volleyball

The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team has had a great start. They've defeated Argentina and China in seeding games. And this morning they're challenging Turkey.

Got a tip? Email Hady Mawajdeh at hady@KERA.org. You can follow Hady on Twitter @hadysauce.

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