July 27 Tokyo 2020 Olympics news and results

Great Britain has won the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final, with a tremendous performance that clocked in just shy — .03 seconds — of the world record.

The time is a European record.

The British were favorites to win the event. Relay members Tom Dean and Duncan Scott had already claimed gold and silver in the individual men's 200m freestyle.

Australia finished second, with the Russian Olympic Committee in third. Team USA came fourth after losing steam midway through the race.

This was the final medal event for swimming on Wednesday.

American great Katie Ledecky crushed the first-ever women's 1500m freestyle final to win her first gold medal of Tokyo 2020.

Ledecky was the favorite to win the event and she didn't disappoint.

The US swimming star clocked a time of 15:37.34, leading the field for most of the race and finishing more than four seconds ahead of silver medalist, fellow American Erica Sullivan.

German Sarah Kohler finished third, with a time of 15:42.91.

This is Ledecky's sixth Olympic gold medal and her eighth Olympic medal in total.

It's is her second medal of the Tokyo Games, after she earlier won silver in the 400-meter freestyle. Earlier today, however, she failed to make the podium in the 200-meter freestyle.

Japan's Yui Ohashi has won gold in the women's 200m individual medley, drawing loud cheers in front of her home crowd.

America's Alex Walsh finished second, with Kate Douglass in third.

Ohashi is the second Japanese swimmer to win a medal today in Japan. Tomoru Honda claimed silver in the men's 200m butterfly earlier in the morning.

American silver medalist Sunisa Lee tweeted Wednesday morning that she has "never been prouder" to be part of a team, just hours after she and the rest of the US women's gymnastics team won the silver medal.

The team's biggest star, Simone Biles, withdrew from the event because of mental health concerns.

Here's what Lee tweeted:

Lee said at a news conference after the competition that the team felt a bevy of emotions after Biles withdrew, but that she was "really proud" of her team's ability to "step up to the plate."

"It's very hard to lose a teammate, especially at the Olympic Games," Lee said. "I was really proud of all of us. We were very stressed, (and) put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but we ended up coming back.

After a 13-year hiatus, baseball is returning to the Olympics — although no fans will be there to witness it.

Japan goes head-to-head with the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in Fukushima.

Unlike Tokyo, Fukushima prefecture is not currently under a coronavirus state of emergency, but a decision was still made to host the seven games at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium — six softball and one baseball — without fans present.

That's despite spectators being allowed to attend other sporting events outside the Olympics in the region.

It's particularly disappointing for the city of Fukushima, where the Olympics was supposed to celebrate the region's recovery from a nuclear disaster more than a decade ago.

Over in Koriyama city — about an hour drive from Fukushima city — residents said they felt elated by Japan's victory over the US in women's softball on Tuesday.

And while fans can’t be in the stands for Wednesday' game, some, like local resident Yuko Aikawa, said they were looking forward to watching on TV.

There’s a raucous, palpable excitement inside the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, despite the limited number of people in attendance.

While fans are still effectively banned from the stands, there are plenty of fellow Olympic competitors in the building — occupying almost two tiers of seating on one side of the pool.

The loudest cheers so far came for Japan's Tomoru Honda, who took silver in the men’s 200m butterfly final. Other athletes from the host nation, as well as those from Australia and the United States, are getting most of the support. It sounds like someone’s even brought along a kazoo!

Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak won gold and set a new Olympic record in the men's 200m butterfly.

Milak finished with a time of 1:51.25. He holds the world record in the event, clocking in at 1:50.73 in 2019.

Japan's Tomoru Hunda, 19, finished with silver and Italy's Federico Burdisso won bronze.

Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus has won her second gold medal in the women's 200m freestyle.

Titmus set a new Olympic record, finishing in 1:53.50

Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey won silver, setting a new Asian record with a time of 1:53.92. Canada's Penny Oleksiak took bronze.

American star Katie Ledecky placed fifth, but she was not considered a favorite for the event. She will compete later in the 1500m women's freestyle.

Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, commended Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from the women's team gymnastics final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Tuesday over mental health concerns.

“Simone, you’ve made us so proud. Proud of who you are as a person, teammate and athlete," Hirshland said in a statement.

What we know: Biles withdrew midway through the women's team finals after leaving the field to be attended to. After visiting a trainer, Biles returned to the arena, but did not warm up for uneven bars. Instead, 20-year-old Jordan Chiles took Biles' place.

From the sidelines, Biles supported her teammates — chatting with them and cheering after each routine. Biles was a lively presence, jumping up and down in support of her teammates.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist later explained her decision.

"Whenever you get in a high stress situation, you kind of freak out," the 24-year-old told reporters. "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being."

"It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head," she added.