UConn in the Olympics: Opening Ceremonies recap; Róisín Upton makes history for Ireland

Let the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin. On Friday, the Opening Ceremonies were held, marking the official start to the XXXII Olympiad.

Sue Bird led the way, not just for the 14 UConn athletes competing but for all of Team USA as the nation’s flag bearer alongside Eddy Alvarez (baseball).

Bird also got a chance to speak with First Lady Jill Biden on behalf of all of the American athletes.

Though the USWNT couldn’t be at the Opening Ceremonies, they held their own. Megan Rapinoe, Bird’s fianceé, pretended to be “bae Sue.”

While Bird garnered much of the attention in Tokyo, her mother’s boyfriend became a viral sensation to viewers back home in the US.

Before the festivities kicked off, all six UConn women’s basketball alums in Tokyo got together for a photo:

The players made sure to celebrate their place in Tokyo with some photos as well.

Are you really an Olympian if you don’t post a video of yourself with the Olympic rings?

First-time Olympian Aaliyah Edwards captured the Canadian delegation singing their national anthem prior to walking out.

Instead of Where’s Waldo, see if you can spot the two Huskies in this photo:

(Edwards is holding the flag on the left while Kia Nurse is in the second row behind the maple leaf).

Róisín Upton: A great athlete with even better taste in music:

Meanwhile, Cecile Pieper checks in:

3x3 basketball begins

The 3x3 basketball competition kicked off on Saturday with Stef Doslon and Team USA jumping out to a 2-0 start with wins over France and Mongolia.

Dolson started out strong with a team-high seven points and six rebounds in a 17-10 win over France followed by a five point, seven rebound effort in a 21-9 beatdown of Mongolia.

Team USA also had a special visitor at its first game: First Lady Jill Biden.

USA 3x3 returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, July 24, for two games against Romania (4:30 a.m. EST) and Russia (8:25 a.m EST).

Róisín Upton makes history

Two years ago, Róisín Upton scored a game-winning penalty shot to send Ireland to its first-ever Olympics. Now in Tokyo, Upton is again blazing the trail for Ireland by scoring the nation’s first Olympic field hockey goal in a 2-0 win over South Africa.

Upton took three shots on the day — all of which came off penalty corners.

Ireland’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, July 25 at 9:00 p.m. against the Netherlands.

Looking ahead

UConn athletes will be competing in three events tonight and tomorrow morning. Cecile Pieper and Germany’s field hockey team will open at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday against Great Britain while USA 3x3 will play two games on Sunday morning against Romania (4:30 a.m. EST) and Russia (8:25 a.m EST).

All three games will be streamed on NBCOlympics.com.