With the Tokyo Olympics being held without spectators in the stands, family and friends of athletes competing at the Games are still finding ways to show their support from home.
The decision by Japan officials to ban fans from abroad and limit crowds inside the venues - including those from the host country - has led to bittersweet and emotional scenes of friends and families cheering for their loved ones and celebrating their accomplishments.
In the small town of Seward, Alaska, friends of 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby held a watch party for the first-time Olympian and first swimmer from the state to ever make the U.S. Olympic swimming team. As the high schooler stunned the world Monday night with a gold medal win in the women's 100m breaststroke, footage from the gathering showed classmates, family and supporters exploding with excitement as the "1" popped up beside her name.
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Swimmer Ryan Murphy, who set the world record in the men’s 100m backstroke at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was looking to defend his title at the Tokyo Games. After coming out first in the semifinals, Murphy missed the gold by .21 seconds and silver by .19 seconds to settle for bronze. Murphy's family gathered in Illinois Monday to watch the tight race on television. Here’s how they reacted:
Similar scenes have been playing out across the country and around the world, and shared on social media for the rest of us to enjoy.
Who can forget Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's reaction to husband, Team Great Britain swimmer Tom Daley, finally winning a gold medal with partner Matty Lee in the 10m synchronized diving?
Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui, 18, stunned the world Sunday with a surprising win from the outside lane in the men's 400m freestyle. But the only thing greater than the fifth gold medal ever for the North African country is Hafnaoui's family reacting to it.
Mirabai Chanu opened India's medal count at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning silver in the women's 49kg weightlifting on July 24. Back in Nongpok Kakching, a village in Manipur state, masked family and neighbors were gathered, nervously watching as she lifted a total of 202kg to take second place, and win India’s first ever silver Olympic medal in weightlifting.
In the tiny fisherman town of Baía Formosa, in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, surfer Italo Ferreira's gold medal win in the sport's Olympic debut sent residents out to the streets to celebrate his historic accomplishment.
Another Brazilian Olympian whose win sparked a frenzy at his hometown recreational club's watch party was swimmer Fernando Scheffer. Scheffer took the bronze in the men's 200m freestyle Monday night, and fellow members of the Minas Tenis Clube couldn't contain their excitement.
No matter what time of day it is, Delaney Spaulding's family will be up cheering for the Southern California softball player. With many of the games taking place overnight, that means tuning in to the championship game at 4 a.m. Spaulding and her teammates earned a silver medal in the finals after losing to Japan, 2-0, on Tuesday.
See some more nail-biting reactions below:
