PARIS: Olympic marathon swimmers dived into the Seine Thursday with the river deemed clean enough to compete, as US sprinter Noah Lyles hoped to pocket a 200m gold to go with his stunning 100m success. As the Paris Games builds to a crescendo, LeBron James leads his dream team of US superstars into a semi-final against a Serbia powered by Nikola Jokic, a three-time NBA most valuable player.
After a running saga over the quality of the water in the Seine, 24 women took the plunge for the 10-kilometre marathon swim through the heart of the city. Water quality in the Seine has been in the spotlight during the Olympics despite a 1.4-billion-euro ($1.5-billion) effort to improve sewerage and water treatment.
Organizers have been forced to scrap several training sessions and postpone the men’s individual triathlon after assessing the water to be too dirty to swim in. On the track, Lyles was characteristically confident heading into the 200m final, despite not winning his semi-final. "I spent years working on the 100m, but the 200 is where it’s at. This is where I get to show my speed and endurance and my top-end speed,” said Lyles. "This is where I get to show I’m stronger than everybody else.”
The American will face competition from team-mates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, as well as Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who beat him in the semi-final. His bid for a relay gold is also on track after teammates Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King and Courtney Lindsay booked their place in the final.
‘Clear favourite’
In what could be the race of the Games, the two fastest women in history over the 400m hurdles clash on the lilac track of the Stade de France. Reigning champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from the United States and Dutchwoman Femke Bol go head-to-head in a mouth-watering 400m hurdles final.
"I am looking forward to racing Sydney. That will push us both. Sydney is the clear favourite, but I will be ready for it,” said Bol ahead of the race. Bol already has one gold after running an extraordinary anchor leg to bring the Dutch to victory in the 4x400 mixed relay.
But McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder and defending Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles. Bol is plotting revenge after finishing third in Japan. In a packed athletics programme Thursday night, three-time world champion Grant Holloway from the US hopes to go one better than the silver he won in Tokyo in the men’s 110m hurdles.
‘Super positive’
As the basketball tournament approaches the business end, the US and Serbia face each other for the third time in as many weeks, after a pool match and a pre-Olympics warm-up. The US have won both previous times by 26 points but coach Steve Kerr is taking nothing for granted, saying: "We can’t get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice.”
Hosts France, led by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, play World Cup holders Germany in the first semi-final. France were also in contention in the women’s golf tournament with Celine Boutier taking a three-shot lead into the second round.
Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux overtook her with a superb eight under through 12 holes, taking a two-shot lead at 10 under par. In men’s hockey, world number one Netherlands take on world champions Germany. The match could be the first part of a golden double for the Dutch whose women’s team face China in their final on Friday. — AFP