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Texans In Tokyo: Simone Biles Returns, UT Graduate Tara Davis To Compete In Long Jump Finals & More

Star gymnast Simone Biles is set to return for the balance beam event. Over the weekend, some athletes had a chance to reach the podium but fell short. Still, the U.S. leads the medal count at 64. China is hard on its heels with 62 medals, 29 of which are gold.

Here's a look at everything you need to know about the Texans in Tokyo from the July 31 weekend:

Gymnastics

Simone Biles.
Gregory Bull
/
Associated Press
Simone Biles, of the United States, waiting to perform on the vault during the artistic gymnastics women's final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo.

Simone Biles will compete in Tuesday’s balance beam final after withdrawing from the all-around competition and multiple individual events to focus on her mental health.

USA Gymnastics announced Biles’ return in a tweet on Monday.

The Houston native previously withdrew from competition after experiencing a phenomenon called “the twisties," a sensation of being lost in the air when doing airborne skills.

Golf

Carlos Ortiz.
Matt York
/
Associated Press
Carlos Ortiz of Mexico plays a shot from the 11th fairway during the final round of the men's golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Kawagoe, Japan.

North Texas graduate Carlos Ortiz, who is playing for Mexico, competed for gold on Sunday in the individual event. He finished in fourth place.

Ortiz entered the final round in a tie for third place with Paul Casey at 12-under-par.

Diving

Hailey Hernandez.
Dmitri Lovetsky
/
Associated Press
Hailey Hernandez of the United States' competes in women's diving 3m springboard preliminary at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

Southlake’s Hailey Hernandez didn’t medal on Sunday, finishing in ninth place in the women’s 3-meter springboard final. The teenager finished the preliminary round in sixth place out of 27 competitors.

Hernandez is the youngest in this year’s competition at 18 years old. She's competing in her first Olympic games this year after graduating from Carroll High School in May.

Swimming

Simone Manuel.
Charlie Neibergall
/
Associated Press
Simone Manuel walks on the pool deck after winning the women's 50-meter freestyle final during wave 2 of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Simone Manuel’s time at the Tokyo Olympics ended on Saturday after she failed to make the 50-meter freestyle finals.

In an Instagram post, the two-time Olympian said she was proud “that I didn’t give up.”

Manuel won a bronze medal earlier last week as part of Team USA’s 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle.

Track and Field

Tara Davis.
Charlie Riedel
/
Associated Press
Tara Davis competes during the finals of the women's long jump at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Eugene, Ore.

University of Texas graduate Tara Davis will compete in Tuesday’s long jump finals for a shot at a gold medal.

The first-time Olympian will be competing against American teammate Brittney Reese, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, Malaika Mihambo of Germany and Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk of Ukraine.

Baseball

Shane Baz.
Sue Ogrocki
/
Associated Press
United States pitcher Shane Baz throws in the first inning of a baseball game against Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Yokohama, Japan.

On Monday, Team USA lost to Japan 7-6 in 10 innings in the quarterfinals of the baseball tournament.

Team USA fell behind early, with Japan taking a 2-0 lead in the third inning against American starter Shane Baz, a Cypress native who plays for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The American baseball team will wait for the winner of the Israel and Dominican Republic game on Tuesday. Team USA will play its next game on Tuesday night.

Got a tip? Email Elizabeth Myong at Emyong@KERA.org. You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter @Elizabeth_Myong.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.

Elizabeth Myong is KERA’s Arts Collaborative Reporter. She came to KERA from New York, where she worked as a CNBC fellow covering breaking news and politics. Before that, she freelanced as a features reporter for the Houston Chronicle and a modern arts reporter for Houstonia Magazine.