US sprint king Noah Lyles on Sunday powered to gold by just five thousands of a second in the closest 100m in modern Olympic history, as Novak Djokovic added a tennis gold medal to his glittering CV.
A thrilling ninth day of Olympic action also saw the first-ever gymnastics gold for an African nation and the Refugee Team’s first medal in history after boxer Cindy Ngamba cruised into the semi-final, ensuring she wins at least a bronze.
Yet as darkness fell, all eyes were trained on the lilac track of the Stade de France, where Lyles, 27, was bidding to end two decades of Olympic sprinting hurt for the US.
Photo: AFP
It was billed as one of the most open 100m finals ever and it did not disappoint, Lyles dipping to gold in 9.79 seconds, with just three hundredths of a second separating the first four.
“I’m the wolf amongst wolves,” said Lyles, who see himself as the sprinting heir to legendary Usain Bolt.
“It’s the one I wanted,” Lyles said. “It’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents.”
Photo: AFP
The American had failed to impress in his heat or semi-final, winning neither after sluggish starts, but in the final he burst out of the blocks quicker and muscled through the field, pushing Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and US rival Fred Kerley into silver and bronze by the tightest of margins.
The shock 100m winner in Tokyo, Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, came fifth despite registering a season’s best 9.85 seconds.
No US athlete had won the 100m since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games and the US was still smarting after Julien Alfred from tiny Saint Lucia beat hot favorite Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s 100m final on Saturday.
Photo: Reuters
After an enthralling men’s singles final, Djokovic sank to his knees sobbing after finally completing the “Golden Slam” by adding Olympic gold to his 24 Grand Slam titles.
The Serb took revenge on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz after a painful defeat at Wimbledon last month, winning 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) on the Roland Garros clay.
“This is probably the biggest sporting success I have ever had and the most special feeling,” the Serb said. “Now at the age of 37 and facing a 21-year-old who is probably the best player in the world right now, winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back, I can say that this is probably the biggest sporting success I have ever had.”
Victory on Sunday meant Djokovic joined Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, who was watching, as the only players to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic singles gold.
In an emotional night at the tennis, Alcaraz also burst into tears during his TV interview, saying that he felt “that I let Spanish people down” by coming up just short.
Meanwhile, Kaylia Nemour claimed a historic gold for Algeria after a stunning performance on uneven bars two years after being denied a place on the team of her native France on medical grounds.
Driven by her desire for Olympic glory, the 17-year-old switched to represent her father’s country Algeria.
“I had put the Olympic medal as my screen saver on my phone. I think I’ll change it to put the real one,” said a smiling Nemour after her daring high-flying acrobatic routine brushed aside her rivals at Bercy Arena to claim a first gymnastics medal for Africa.
It has been a long road for Nemour. Born in Indre-en-Loire, in central France, she discovered gymnastics at a young age.
Yet three years ago, a growth spurt of 14cm in a year just after she turned 13 caused a bone problem that required surgery on both knees.
Nemour was waiting for the green light to resume competitions, but the French federation insisted on a very gradual resumption. A standoff developed and Nemour was excluded from the France team.
“But my coach says that when you can’t go this way, you take another route and there will always be another way,” Nemour said.
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