TOKYO — As the first week of the pandemic Games unfolded here, many elite teams, athletes and programs from America struggled relative to typical, outsized expectations. Simone Biles left the gymnastics competition to attend to her mental health. Against Sweden in its opener, the top-ranked U.S. women’s soccer team endured the kind of beating it normally delivers. Katie Ledecky—gasp—did not medal in a race, although, of course, she did in others. Even the U.S. women’s water polo team dropped an Olympic contest for the first time in 13 years.
With that in mind, friends, welcome to the fringe.