Despite a 6.6-level earthquake that was felt in the venue, Chinese pair Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen concentrated on their game and won the first gold medal on the first day of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Diving World Cup in Tokyo on Saturday.

Chang and Chen scored 317.16 points to take victory in the women's 3m springboard synchro event. The win earns them a ticket to the Olympics, although Team China has already qualified for the Games.

Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini Beaulieu came in second with 289.98 points. Italy, Germany, the United States and Britain each sealed Olympic berths.

Successful test runs for the Tokyo Olympics

Diving and volleyball on Saturday became the first Olympic test events to include international athletes since such competitions resumed last month, as both began under close supervision in Tokyo.

The FINA Diving World Cup, also a qualifier for this summer's Games, features more than 200 athletes from 50 countries including powerhouse China.

"We're not allowed out of our rooms, where you have to stay," said U.S. women's diver Sarah Bacon. "No outdoor air, no human interaction. But we've been making it work."

With around 15,000 Olympians and Paralympians expected to compete, organizers are grappling with how to hold the Games safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Olympic torch relay detour

The Tokyo Olympics torch relay will take another detour this weekend when it enters the southern island of Okinawa.

A leg of the relay on Okinawa's resort island of Miyakojima set for Sunday has been canceled altogether with coronavirus cases surging in Japan. Other legs on Okinawa will take place.

A 17-day state of emergency went into effect on April 25 in some areas in Japan, which has shut down department stores and bars in Tokyo and the country's second largest metropolis of Osaka.

"We don't want people from outside the island coming in. Human life is at stake," Hayako Shimizu, a teacher in Miyakojima, told the Associated Press.

The relay, which will involve 10,000 runners from every corner of Japan, started six weeks ago and has been mostly on schedule despite major rerouting in Osaka and in Matsuyama City in nearby Ehime Prefecture.

Organizers on Saturday said that six people helping with traffic control on Tuesday in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima had tested positive. Two were identified as men in their 20s and 30s. No other information was immediately available. This brings the total number of positive tests on the relay to eight, according to organizers.

(With input from agencies)

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