The world’s best sprinter, Noah Lyles, ran the race of his life, winning gold in the men’s 100 meters by beating the fastest man in the world this year by just five thousandths of a second.
It was a photo finish between seven of the eight sprinters who competed in front of a jubilant crowd of 80,000 at the Stade de France, with Lyles of the US narrowly fastest with a personal best of 9.79 seconds.
There was a surreal moment of anticipation and fear as the eight men at the finish line looked up at the big screen above them in the stands, awaiting news of who had won the most exciting race.
Then it suddenly became clear: Lyles had the gold ahead of Jamaican Kishane Thompson in second place and Fred Kerley, also from the US, was third with a time of 9.81 seconds.
Only 0.09 seconds separated Lyles from first place and Kenneth Bednarek, also from the US, from seventh. British sprinters Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes did not make it past the semi-finals. It is the first time an American has won the title since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
It was already an encouraging evening at the Stade de France when Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to flee her country after the Russian invasion, won gold in the women’s high jump and Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen produced a thrilling final in the men’s 1500 metres.
Mahuchikh, 22, who won her first individual gold medal of the Games for Ukraine after winning the women’s sabre fencing, ran along the course of the Stade de France with the Ukrainian flag in yellow and light blue behind her. She had a best time of 2.00 meters, beating Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers.
Ingebrigtsen had wondered whether Kerr could be a rival given that he is “known as the Briton who never competes”, but the British runner, who took it easy in the final stretch, ran just a few hundredths of a second faster than the Norwegian Olympic record holder, raising expectations for what Sebastian Coe has billed as a “race of the ages”.
Let’s hope Tuesday’s middle-distance race emulates in terms of excitement and skill Lyles’ stunning victory in the 100 metres and Novak Djokovic, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the stunning men’s Olympic final at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Djokovic, 37, who was in tears at the end of the match, completed his career golden slam after coming up short in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo, by winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Court Philippe Chatrier.
He needed one of the best performances of his career to stop Alcaraz and become only the fifth player to win all four Grand Slam singles tournaments and the Olympic title, after Steffi Graff, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
The dazzling shows at the Stade de France and Roland Garros provided a welcome distraction from the debate over gender eligibility at the Games. Taiwanese featherweight boxer Lin Yu-ting joined Algerian welterweight boxer Imane Khelif and was assured of at least bronze after a fierce fight at the Arena Nord de Paris.
The two boxers are competing in the world championships in Paris despite the fact that they were banned from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA). A mid-match test reportedly showed that they were not eligible for the women’s category.
The International Olympic Committee has said the IBA’s alleged tests have “no credibility”, pointing out that the two athletes were born female and are listed as such on their passports.
But the furore didn’t seem to die down on Sunday after Lin, 28, defeated Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva by unanimous decision to secure a spot in the semi-finals. There is no bronze medal fight, so Lin is assured of a medal.
Staneva shook hands with Lin at the end of the match, but before leaving the arena, the 34-year-old made a cross with her fingers, possibly indicating a woman’s double XX chromosome. She declined to answer questions from reporters.
Staneva’s coach Borislav Georgiev said: “I’m not a medical expert who can say whether Lin can compete here or not, but if the test shows that he or she has the Y chromosome, she should not be here…
“Overall I am outraged by the carnival that is taking place. They decided to make them champions and that’s it. I expected it, but I hope that there are reasonable and honest people who will watch the game and support women’s sports.”
During a press conference on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that it had received a letter from the IBA regarding an alleged gender eligibility test.
“Those tests are not legitimate tests. So yes, there was a letter, I can confirm that,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “But the concept of the test, how the test was shared, how the test became public, is so flawed that it is impossible to deal with.”
In the scorching heat of Châteauroux, British shooter Amber Rutter lost her gold because there was no video available of a sudden death round in the women’s skeet final. But she did take home some unforgettable memories.
Rutter, competing just three months after the birth of her son Tommy, won silver when she was possibly wrongly judged to have missed a stroke. But disappointment was overcome by joy when her husband and child suddenly appeared beside her.
“I had no idea they were coming,” Rutter said. “I know Tommy might not remember it, but I certainly do, so I’m so glad they made the trip. I didn’t see them until the end, thank God. I told all my family not to come because I wanted to focus on myself, and when I hear Tommy cry, that’s it – my focus will be right on him.”
Tommy Fleetwood, 33, also won silver in the men’s golf event after falling painfully short of American world number one Scottie Scheffler. The British golfer had shared the lead with Scheffler at 19-under par before a poor chip resulted in a bogey on the 17th.
“There’s obviously a part of me that’s disappointed, but at the same time I never thought I would be an Olympic medalist,” Fleetwood said.
Charlotte Fry took bronze in the individual dressage competition with her horse Glamourdale, retaining the equestrian team record of winning a medal at every competition at Paris 2024, along with Harry Hepworth, 20, who came third in the show jumping for Great Britain and vowed to eat a “full pizza to celebrate”.
In the pool, Adam Peaty recovered sufficiently from his Covid diagnosis to compete in the 4x100m medley relay alongside Duncan Scott, Ollie Morgan and Matt Richards. However, the British team narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth place.