Axios

When Alix Klineman switched from indoor to beach volleyball in 2017, April Ross had already won two Olympic medals on the sand. In 2018, the two players teamed up, and they've been on a success streak ever since.

The big picture: Their partnership is one driven by past failures and bound by future aspirations. After being left off Olympic rosters for indoor volleyball year after year, Klineman's tenacity matched with her partner's prowess ultimately led to the realization of her Olympic dreams.

Canadian soccer player Quinn made history on Friday, becoming the first openly transgender and nonbinary athlete to not only medal at the Olympic Games, but to win gold.

Driving the news: Canada beat Sweden on Friday and earned its first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's soccer.

Canada beat Sweden on Friday in a thrilling penalty kick shootout to win Olympic gold in the women's soccer final at the Tokyo Olympics.

The big picture: It's Canada's first-ever Olympic gold in women's soccer. It was also the first time a penalty shootout determined a women's soccer Olympic gold medal match.

TOKYO — One of the most beloved Olympic traditions is the collecting and trading of pins emblazoned with Olympic mascots, sponsors and media. This year, Alibaba offered attendees of the Games a modern take with its digital pin.

Why it matters: The NFT craze is one indication of a broad move by the collectibles world to digital. One of the big challenges, though, is creating a physical object that can still be enjoyed.

TOKYO — With each new sport added to the Olympics comes a new challenge: how to time and score the event. For 89 years, that responsibility has fallen to Swiss watchmaker Omega.

The big picture: What was once a job done by hand is an increasingly automated task, handled entirely, or aided by, technology.

U.S. wrestling heavyweight Gable Steveson won the Olympic men’s freestyle 125kg gold medal on Friday in a last-second victory.

Driving the news: Steveson defeated Georgia's Geno Petriashvili 10-8 to claim the gold medal — and celebrate with a backflip.

American men once owned the track, but what looked like a promising week in Tokyo has turned nightmarish in a hurry.

The state of play: In every Summer Games the U.S. has participated in, at least one man has gone home with a track gold medal. Just four events remain in Tokyo to keep that streak alive.

Team USA and France tip-off Friday night for men's basketball gold (10:30pm ET), finally in a time slot that should allow more than just the night owls to tune in live.

The backdrop: The Olympics began with France beating the U.S. by seven — and that came two years after a shocking defeat at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, when the French ended Team USA's 58-game win streak.

The International Olympic Committee said Thursday it canceled and removed the accreditations of two Belarusian coaches over their suspected involvement in trying to send sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya back to Belarus.

Driving the news: The coaches, Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich, were asked to leave the Olympic village immediately "and have done so," the IOC said.

Tokyo -- The U.S. women's basketball squad took an early lead and coasted past Serbia 79-59 on Friday, advancing to Sunday's gold medal game.

Why it matters: The U.S. women will look to capture their seventh straight gold medal when they play the winner of tonight's matchup between France and Japan.

NBA player Enes Kanter said Thursday he would continue to denounce President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over human rights abuse reports in Turkey despite discovering that the Turkish government had issued nine warrants for his arrest.

Driving the news: Kanter is wanted in Turkey for defamation and terrorism offenses, according to documents dated July 12 and obtained by monitoring group, the Nordic Monitor.

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday evening and met with her husband on Thursday, days after refusing national team orders to fly home amid concerns for her safety.

Driving the news: The 24-year-old Olympian received a humanitarian visa from Poland after deciding to defect from her home country when she received a phone call from her grandmother telling her not to return, Reuters reported.