Olympics track and field Latest: Noah Lyles goes for double
The latest updates from track and field events at Stade de France at the Paris Olympics
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The latest updates from track and field events at Stade de France on Thursday at the Paris Olympics.
U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles is the 100-meter champion going for the double in the 200-meter final. Usain Bolt accomplished that feat at three Olympics in a row — in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Lyles was crowned the “Fastest Man Alive” by edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. He is a heavy favorite in the 200 — his better race — though he trailed Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in Wednesday night's qualifying heat.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States and Femke Bol of the Netherlands will go head-to-head in the 400-meter hurdles final.
McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion. She beat Bol at the Tokyo Olympics, then again at 2022 world championships. Bol, the reigning world champion, ran an inspired anchor leg for the Dutch to win gold in the 4x400-meter mixed relay on Saturday.
Mihambo’s challenge: Winning consecutive golds in long jump
Defending Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany has history working against her as she looks to defend her title in the women’s final.
No woman has won consecutive golds in the event since it was introduced at the 1948 London Games.
German great Heike Drechsler is the only two-time Olympic champion. She reached the top of the podium in 1992 in Barcelona and again in Sydney eight years later. Drechsler began her Olympic career with a silver in 1988 while competing for East Germany.
The long jump final is part of a busy night at Stade de France that will include the men’s 200-meter and women’s 400-meter hurdles final.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.