PARIS: Noah Lyles bids to put the United States back on top of the 100m podium for the first time in two decades on Sunday at the Paris Olympics while Novak Djokovic faces Carlos Alcaraz in a mouthwatering tennis final.
On the final day of swimming at La Defense Arena, crowd favourite Leon Marchand targets a remarkable fifth gold in the French capital in the 4x100m medley relay.
In early action on Sunday, Lin Yu-ting, the Taiwanese boxer engulfed in a major gender controversy, guaranteed herself at least bronze after convincingly winning her quarter-final.
Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who is also certain to win a medal, were disqualified from last year’s world championships after failing gender eligibility tests, but were cleared to box in the French capital.
On a compelling ninth full day of Olympic sport, US sprint star Lyles will draw much of the focus, with the Stade de France’s lilac track the setting for what promises to be a memorable men’s 100m showdown.
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The Americans will be smarting after hot favourite Sha’Carri Richardson suffered a surprise defeat to Julien Alfred in the rain-soaked women’s 100m final on Saturday.
Alfred’s gold was the first medal in Olympic history for the tiny Caribbean nation of St Lucia.
No US athlete – man or woman – has won the 100m since Justin Gatlin took gold at the 2004 Athens Games.
Lyles, 27, has long claimed he is the rightful heir to Usain Bolt, the peerless Jamaican whose reign as Olympic sprint king stretched for three Games.
The American, who won the world title last year, has announced he is “ready to transcend the sport”.
He knows he needs to deliver to back up his claims but his unconvincing heat on Saturday, in which he made an atrocious start, might have sounded alarms bells.
Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson looked in ominous form, running 10 seconds flat despite easing down in the final stages.
Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, defending Olympic champion after his stunning win in the Covid-affected Tokyo Olympics, scraped through his heat in 10.05 sec.
The world’s fastest men have to navigate a semi-final at 1805 GMT before returning for the final at 1950 GMT.
In other athletics action, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh goes in the women’s high jump final, having set the world record of 2.10 metres in Paris a few weeks ago.
Her war-torn nation celebrated a first Paris Games gold when their women’s sabre fencing team triumphed on Saturday.
Two-time world champion Shericka Jackson withdrew from heats for the 200m in a blow for Jamaica, so long a sprinting powerhouse.
The withdrawal of Jackson, who had already pulled out of the 100m, follows that of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from the shortest sprint.
Tennis titans
Roland Garros stages a dream final between Djokovic and Alcaraz, with the Serb insisting his younger rival is “favourite” for gold on the clay in the latest instalment of tennis’s generational power grab.
At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988.
At 21, Alcaraz would be the youngest men’s winner of all time.
Victory would also make Djokovic only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors plus an Olympic title.
In golf, Tokyo gold medallist Xander Schauffele heads into Sunday’s final round of the men’s competition tied for the lead with Spain’s Jon Rahm on 14-under par. Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood is a stroke behind.
American Schauffele, the world’s form player after winning maiden major titles at the PGA Championship and the British Open this year, carded a three-under-par 68 in his third round at Le Golf National.
Former Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marin withdrew in tears from her women’s singles semi-final on Sunday after her right knee buckled in distressing scenes.
Marin, who won singles gold at the Rio 2016 Games, was on track to reach the final but collapsed midway through the second game against China’s He Bingjiao.
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