**Paris (AFP)** – Noah Lyles has a chance on Sunday to land the Olympic men’s 100m title and restore pride to US sprinting, while Novak Djokovic faces Carlos Alcaraz in a mouthwatering men’s singles final. On the final day of the swimming programme at La Defense Arena, Leon Marchand goes for a remarkable fifth gold of this Games in the 4x100m medley relay. Marchand has rapidly become the darling of the French crowd, who have turned every one of his swims into a party.
But Lyles will draw much of the focus on the ninth day of full action, as the Stade de France’s lilac track is the setting for what promises to be a memorable men’s 100m showdown. The Americans will be smarting after hot favourite Sha’Carri Richardson suffered a surprise defeat to Julien Alfred in the rainy women’s 100m final on Saturday. Alfred, quietly spoken in contrast to the brash Richardson, won the first medal in Olympic history for the tiny Caribbean nation of St Lucia — and made it gold for good measure.
Lyles, 27, has long claimed he is the rightful heir to Usain Bolt, the peerless Jamaican whose reign as Olympic sprint champion stretched for three Games. Having won the world title last year, Lyles 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 some alarms. Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson looked in ominous form, running 10 seconds flat despite easing down significantly 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 carries the weight of her beleaguered nation’s hopes on her shoulders in the women’s high jump final. Mahuchikh set the world record of 2.10m in Paris a few weeks ago — and some of the pressure was removed from her shoulders when Ukraine’s women’s sabre fencing team won their nation’s first gold of these Games on Saturday.
**- Clash of tennis titans -** Djokovic insists Alcaraz will be the “favourite” for gold on the clay of Roland Garros 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 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.
Tokyo gold medallist Xander Schauffele heads into Sunday’s final round of the men’s golf competition tied for the lead with Spain’s Jon Rahm on 14-under par. GB’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 on Saturday.
Badminton semi-finals will see India’s Lakshya Sen clashing with reigning champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the standout men’s singles match. One of the two women boxers at the centre of a row about gender eligibility, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, is also back in action on Sunday. China are leading the medals table after eight days of full competition on 16 golds, with the USA up to second place on 14. Hosts France have had a stellar first week and stand third with 12 golds.
© 2024 AFP
