PARIS: Sifan Hassan completed her mission impossible with a gruelling women’s marathon win on the sun-baked streets of Paris Sunday as Tom Cruise is rumoured to give the Olympic Games a Hollywood ending.

On the final day of what has been seen as a spectacular Games, the race to top the medals table was coming down to the final event, with China and the United States grappling for dominance. Dutchwoman Hassan had taken on what many considered to be a crazy gamble, competing in the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon — the last two events just two days apart.

But in a thrilling sprint finish, Hassan overhauled Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa to take gold by three seconds in an Olympic record of 2hr 22min 55sec. On Friday she had taken bronze in the 10,000m in the Stade de France after coming away with a bronze in the 5,000m.

She fell to the ground on the blue carpet in front of the golden dome of the Invalides memorial complex in the heart of Paris before grabbing a Dutch flag to celebrate an extraordinary achievement. “It was not easy,” said Hassan, 31. “It was so hot, but I was feeling OK. I’ve never pushed myself through to the finish line as I did today.”

“Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5,000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today. “From the beginning to the end, it was so hard. Every step of the way. I was thinking, ‘Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?’

Hassan’s victory was a sensational ending to an Olympics athletics programme that saw US sprinter Noah Lyles win the 100m by just five thousandths of a second. The US dominated the athletics and are going for gold in the last event of the Games, as their women basketball stars hope to add to the men’s title against hosts France.

An eighth straight triumph would give them the record for most consecutive golds in any team sport at the Olympic Games — breaking a tie with the US men, who won seven basketball titles in a row from 1936 to 1968.

“I think the gold medal is the standard,” US forward Alyssa Thomas said. “No matter where we are in the world, it’s our goal and that’s what we came here for.” Wrestling, weightlifting, water polo, volleyball, modern pentathlon, handball, and track cycling were the other sports to crown Olympic champions on the last day. Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas ran and shot to Olympic gold in the modern pentathlon, with home favourite Elodie Clouvel roared on to clinch silver. In weightlifting, China’s jubilant Li Wenwen lifted her coach into the air instead of the bar, having already secured gold.

On the cycling track, Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen surged to the men’s keirin for his third gold of the Games, ending British dominance of the event they had won at every Olympics since 2008. New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews blasted to the women’s sprint title to add to her keirin gold, while American cyclist Jennifer Valente won the women’s omnium. 

Valente’s gold set up a thrilling denouement in the medal table. Helped by a clean sweep in diving and table tennis, China lead the medals table with 40 golds, one ahead of the US, with women’s basketball to come.

‘Precious’

As the sport nears an end, attention turns to the closing ceremony at the Stade de France and the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years. LA is expected to play heavily on its Hollywood star power and will roll out its big guns, with pop star Billie Eilish, rapper Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all confirmed.

The worst-kept secret in Paris is that “Top Gun” star Tom Cruise appears poised to close the ceremony with a spectacular stunt sequence. Cruise is filming the latest episode of the “Mission Impossible” franchise in Europe and has been a regular feature at Olympic events in Paris.

“On August 11, the Olympic Games will be over, and the Olympic flame will be extinguished,” said Thomas Jolly, who masterminded the unique opening ceremony along the River Seine. “That moment will remind us just how precious are these Olympic Games,” added Jolly, whose ceremony sparked outrage in some quarters with a scene that appeared to parody the Last Supper. — AFP