The world’s No 1 sprinter Noah Lyles ran the race of his life to win gold in the men’s 100m 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 competing in front of a raucous 80,000 spectators in the Stade de France, with Lyles of the US edging it by a whisker with a personal best of 9.79sec.
There had been a surreal moment of expectation and dread as the eight men at the finish line looked up at the big screen looming above them in the stands, awaiting news of who had won the tightest of races.
Then it flashed up: Lyles had the gold ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in second place and Fred Kerley, also of the US, was third after running in 9.81sec.
Just 0.09 of a second separated Lyles in first place and Kenneth Bednarek, also from the US, in seventh place. British sprinters, Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes did not make it out of the semis. It is the first time an American has won the title since Justin Gatlin in 2004
It had already proven to be an uplifting night in the Stade de France as the Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to flee her country after Russia’s invasion, won gold in the women’s high jump and Britain’s Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway set up a mouthwatering final in the men’s 1500m.
Mahuchikh, 22, whose medal was a first individual gold of the Games for Ukraine following a victory in the women’s team sabre fencing, ran the perimeter of the Stade de France with the Ukrainian flag of yellow and light blue billowing behind her, after managing a best of 2.00m to beat Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers.
Ingebrigtsen had questioned whether Kerr could be a rival when he is “known as the Brit who never competes” but the British runner, who eased off in the final stretch, ran in just a few hundredths of a second off the Norwegian Olympic record holder, raising expectations for what Sebastian Coe has billed as a “race of the ages”.
It will be hoped that the middle-distance race on Tuesday will match for drama and skill the stunning victory of both Lyles in the 100m and Novak Djokovic in his earlier win on Sunday over Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in a magnificent Olympic men’s singles final battle at Roland Garros.
Djokovic, 37, who was in tears at the end of the game, completed his career “golden slam” after falling short in Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo, winning 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Court Philippe Chatrier.
He had to bring one of the finest performances of his career to deny Alcaraz and become only the fifth player to win all four singles grand slams and the Olympic title, joining Steffi Graff, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
The dazzling shows in the Stade de France and at Roland Garros were a welcome diversion from the gender eligibility row at the Games as featherweight boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan joined Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif in being assured of at least a bronze after a feisty bout in the North Paris Arena.
The two women have been competing in Paris despite being banned from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to a mid-competition test that allegedly showed they were ineligible for the female category.
The International Olympic Committee has said that there is “no credibility” to the IBA’s alleged tests, pointing out that the two athletes were born as women and are described as such on their passports.
But the furore showed no sign of abating on Sunday after Lin, 28, beat Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva by unanimous decision to take a semi-final place. There is no bronze medal fight and so Lin is assured of a medal.
Staneva shook hands with Lin at the end of the bout but before leaving the arena the 34-year-old made a cross with her fingers, possibly indicating the double XX chromosome of a woman. She refused to take questions from reporters.
Staneva’s coach, Borislav Georgiev, said: “I’m not a medical person who should say if Lin could compete or not here, but when the test shows that he or she has the Y chromosome she should not be here …
“In general I am indignant at the funfair that is taking place. They have decided to make them champions and that’s it. I expected it, but I hope 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 they received a letter from the IBA regarding an alleged gender eligibility test.
“Those tests are not legitimate tests. So there was indeed a letter, I can confirm that,” said IOC spokesperson Mark Adams. “But the conception of the test, to how the test was shared, to how the test has become public is so flawed, that it’s impossible to engage with it.”
In the scorching heat of Châteauroux British shooter Amber Rutter lost out on gold due to the lack of video replay during a sudden death round in the women’s skeet final but gained lifelong memories.
Rutter, who was competing just over three months after giving birth to her baby son Tommy, took silver when she was possibly erroneously judged to have missed a shot. But disappointment was overcome by joy at the sudden appearance of her husband and child by her side.
“I had no idea they were coming,” said Rutter. “I know Tommy might not remember it but I definitely will so I’m so glad they made the journey. I didn’t spot them before the end, thank God. I’d said to my whole family not to come because I wanted to focus on me, and if I hear Tommy cry that will be it – my focus will be straight on him.”
There was silver too for Tommy Fleetwood, 33, in the men’s golf after falling agonisingly short of the US world No 1, Scottie Scheffler. The British golfer had shared the lead with Scheffler on 19-under par but a poor chip resulted in a bogey at the 17th.
“There’s part of me that’s disappointed, of course, but at the same time I never dreamed I would be an Olympic medallist,” Fleetwood said.
Charlotte Fry on her horse Glamourdale took a bronze in the individual dressage, retaining the equestrian team’s record of achieving a medal in every competition at Paris 2024, as did Harry Hepworth, 20, who came third in the men’s vault for Great Britain and vowed to have a “full pizza to celebrate”.
In the pool, Adam Peaty recovered sufficiently from his Covid diagnosis to join Duncan Scott, Ollie Morgan and Matt Richards in the 4x100m medley relay but the British team narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth place.
