COVID-Hit Lyles Misses Out on a Double, US Team Breaks 100-Medal Mark

Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (2ndL) crosses the finish line ahead of US' Noah Lyles (R) to win the men's 200m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024. (AFP)
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (2ndL) crosses the finish line ahead of US' Noah Lyles (R) to win the men's 200m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024. (AFP)
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COVID-Hit Lyles Misses Out on a Double, US Team Breaks 100-Medal Mark

Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (2ndL) crosses the finish line ahead of US' Noah Lyles (R) to win the men's 200m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024. (AFP)
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (2ndL) crosses the finish line ahead of US' Noah Lyles (R) to win the men's 200m final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 8, 2024. (AFP)

Sprinter Noah Lyles revealed he had COVID-19 after missing out on another gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

Elsewhere, French basketball star Victor Wembanyama moved closer to his dream of a first gold after helping Les Bleus beat Germany to set up a dream final against the US team after the Americans edged Serbia 95-91.

On the same Stade de France track where he won the historically close 100 meters by five thousandths of a second, Lyles was third behind gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and US teammate Kenneth Bednarek.

Medics tended to a tired-looking Lyles and took him off in a wheelchair. Wearing a mask as he spoke with reporters, Lyles later said he had COVID.

“It definitely affected my performance,” said Lyles, adding that he tested positive early Tuesday morning but was cleared to compete. The US track federation said it and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee adhered to all Olympic and Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

Over at Bercy Arena, with former NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker watching their respective countrymen, France held on to win 73-69.

Wembanyama, the NBA rookie of the year, clenched his fists at the buzzer and teammate Evan Fournier jubilantly threw the ball into the crowd.

The 20-year-old star didn't play three years ago in Tokyo, when the French lost the final to the US. They meet again Saturday, when Wembanyama hopes to give France its first Olympic gold in men's or women's basketball.

Highlights of what happened on Day 13 of the Paris Olympics:

Curry leads semifinal fightback against Serbia

LeBron James had a triple double and Steph Curry scored 36 points as the American men rallied from 17 points down.

The US faced an 11-point halftime deficit — the biggest successfully overcome by an American team since NBA players were added to the Olympic mix in 1992 — and again trailed the Serbs by 11 with just over seven minutes left.

Serbian players fell on their backs at the buzzer after coming so close.

It was a far cry from their group opener when the US rolled to a 110-84 win.

US team gets a world record, breaks the 100-medal mark

The United States now has more golds and more overall medals than any other nation.

With three days left of competition, American athletes total 30 golds for 103 medals overall.

The US went 1-2 in the women's 400 hurdles with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone breaking her own world record in a time of 50.37 seconds, and Anna Cockrell taking the silver.

Grant Holloway followed up with gold in the men's 110 hurdles in 12.99, beating countryman Daniel Roberts.

Also, Long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall won the women's long jump with Jasmine Moore taking the bronze behind Germany's Malaika Mihambo.

China’s diving double ends with tears

China claimed its sixth gold medal in diving at the Paris Games with defending champion Xie Siyi winning the 3-meter springboard.

The Chinese made it a podium 1-2 as Wang Zongyuan took the silver ahead of Mexico’s Osmar Olvera Ibarra.

Wang was in tears afterward.

He hadn’t lost a major diving competition in the event since finishing behind teammate Xie at the Tokyo Olympics. After that silver, Wang won three straight world championship titles.

“It is regrettable I lost,” Wang said through an interpreter. “I must learn to accept any failure and my response is to make a greater effort to improve myself.”

Another world record but no gold

American Sam Watson left the Games with another world record to his name but didn't get the gold medal.

The 18-year-old Watson broke sport climbing's speed world record on Thursday for the second time at the Paris Games, but that came in the fight for bronze.

Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia won gold in 4.75 seconds in the final.

Charron lifts for another medal Maude Charron raised Canada's flag at the opening ceremony for the Paris Games and lifted up another medal in weightlifting.

Charron took the silver medal in the 59-kilogram category to add to her gold in the 64-kilogram competition at the Tokyo Games.

Rahimi stars as Morocco gets bronze

Football-mad Morocco fans finally have an Olympic medal to celebrate after routing African rival Egypt 6-0 for the bronze.

Soufiane Rahimi scored twice and the Casablanca-born striker will surely become a household name back home after netting an impressive eight goals in the tournament.

He was comfortably the leading scorer ahead of Friday's final between Spain and 1984 Olympic champion France.

Morocco won the African Cup of Nations title in 1976.

Dutch end long wait for gold in men's field hockey

Duco Telgenkamp scored the golden goal in the shootout to give the Netherlands a 2-1 victory over Germany.

It was the Netherlands’ first gold in men’s hockey at the Olympics since 2000 and third in the country’s history.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored both goals as India beat Spain 2-1 for a second straight bronze, after beating Germany at the Tokyo Games.

French get gold, Portugal a rare medal

Track cyclist Benjamin Thomas overcame a crash in the men's omnium race to give France its 14th gold medal of the Paris Games.

Thomas held off Iúri Leitão, whose silver medal was only Portugal's second medal so far — compared to 54 for the French.

Also, world champion Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand won the Olympic title in the women’s keirin.

Nadeem gets Pakistan's first medal with an Olympic record

Arshad Nadeem got Pakistan's first medal of the Paris Games in style by setting an Olympic record in javelin.

Nadeem's throw of 92.97 meters beat Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen's mark of 90.57 from the 2008 Games in Beijing.



Tennis-Nadal to Skip US Open, Plans to Return at Laver Cup

20 July 2024, Sweden, Bastad: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic in the men's singles semi-finals of the Swedish Open. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
20 July 2024, Sweden, Bastad: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic in the men's singles semi-finals of the Swedish Open. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
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Tennis-Nadal to Skip US Open, Plans to Return at Laver Cup

20 July 2024, Sweden, Bastad: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic in the men's singles semi-finals of the Swedish Open. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa
20 July 2024, Sweden, Bastad: Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic in the men's singles semi-finals of the Swedish Open. Photo: Steffen Trumpf/dpa

Rafael Nadal has decided not to participate in the US Open due to concerns about his fitness, the Spaniard said on Wednesday while adding his next event will be the Laver Cup in late September.

For Nadal, who won the most recent of his four US Open titles in 2019, this marks the second consecutive year he has sat out the year's final Grand Slam.

"Writing today to let you guys know that I have decided not to compete at this year's US Open a place where I have amazing memories," the 38-year-old Nadal said in a post on X.

"I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don't think I would be able to give my 100% this time."

Nadal added that his next event will be the Sept. 20-22 Laver Cup in Berlin.

The 22-times Grand Slam winner competed at the Paris Olympics where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the singles competition and reached the quarter-finals of the doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, Reuters reported.

"Rafa is a tremendous champion and he will be missed during the 2024 US Open by the fans and all those associated with the tournament," US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster said in a statement.

"We wish him all the best and look forward to having him back at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center."

The 38-year-old former world number one has fallen to 159th in the rankings after struggling for two years with injuries and against Djokovic at the Olympics suffered one of his worst losses in a 6-1 6-4 defeat.

Nadal sat out the Australian Open in January after suffering a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff and in May crashed to his earliest French Open exit when he lost in the first round.

The Spaniard skipped Wimbledon to prepare for the Paris Olympics where the tennis event was played on the clay courts at Roland Garros where he celebrated 14 French Open titles.