Tokyo Olympics while you were sleeping: Simone Biles captures bronze and men's 400m hurdles captivates

Simone Biles returned to competition Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics.

After battling the "twisties" – a dangerous issue in the high-flying world of top-flight gymnastics that resulted in her withdrawing from the team competition as well as the all-around and three event finals – Biles took to the balance beam, the last women's event final in Tokyo.

She captured the bronze medal, just like she did at the 2016 Rio Games, with a 14.0. This is Biles' seventh Olympic medal, tying her with Shannon Miller for the most by a U.S. gymnast.

As the third competitor, it was not clear upon the completion of her routine if she would medal at all. But after sticking the landing, smile upon her face, she was already a winner.

WEDNESDAY AT THE OLYMPICS: US women's hoops rolls into semifinals

Here are some of the other notable moments you missed Tuesday in Tokyo while you were sleeping:

'The best race in Olympic history'

The final for the men's 400-meter hurdles was in a word: unreal.

Team USA star Rai Benjamin posted a blistering time of 46.17, which would have been a world record ... had Norway's Karsten Warholm not broken his previous best time in posting a 45.94.

"I think this was probably the best race – (no) that was the best race in Olympic history," Benjamin said. "I don't even think Usain Bolt's 9.5 topped that. I mean, three guys pretty much broke the world record."

Added the silver medalist: "If you would've told me that I was going to run 46.1 and lose, I would probably beat you up and tell you to get out of my room. But I'm happy to be a part of history."

'I’d be the Usain Bolt of long jump'

Who is the best long jumper of all time? "I am. Point blank," 34-year-old Brittney Reese said after securing the silver medal, eclipsed only by Germany's Malaika Mihambo on her final jump.

The Tokyo Olympics mark the fourth and final Games for the Team USA star, who is a three-time Olympic medalist.

But Reese feels her accomplishments have not quite gotten the respect they deserve.

"It just sucks that, you know, if I was on the track side of the sport, I’d be the Usain Bolt of long jump," she said. "But just being on the field-event side, it just doesn’t get that attention that it deserves."

Men's hoops into semifinals

Kevin Durant scored 29 points to help the U.S. men's basketball team overcome a slow start and a red-hot Ricky Rubio in the Olympic quarterfinals.

Rubio scored 38 points and was a key part in Spain taking an early 10-point lead. But the Americans fought back to tie the score by halftime and put the clamps down defensively in the third quarter on the way to a 95-81 win that sends them to the semifinals. It could mark the end of an epic chapter in basketball history.

Other must-read stories from Tuesday:

• 'Hard enough lifting a barbell:' Laurel Hubbard would rather not carry the weight of transgender history

• Jessica and Nelly Korda have each other to lean on for Olympic women's golf tournament

• Born to jump: The story of Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, Jessica Springsteen's equestrian horse

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2021 Olympics update: Simone Biles medals; men's 400m hurdles was epic