An exciting open-air swim in the River Seine kicked off Friday’s Olympic event in Paris, where Algerian boxer Imane Khelif will later go for gold.
With just three days to go until the Olympics, the packed track and field schedule features sprint relays as the US looks to maintain dominance in the 4x100m relay – even without 100m champion Noah Lyles, who has been hit by Covid.
In the first event of the day, 31 men took to the waters of the Seine for a 10k marathon as officials once again deemed the river clean enough to compete.
The hard-fought race ended in a sprint between the Hungarian Kristof Rasovszky and Oliver Klemet from Germany, who just won the Hungarian, nicknamed after his club “Balaton Shark”.
The bronze was won by David Betlehem, also from Hungary, who after a grueling fight against strong currents in the Seine edged Italy’s Domenico Acerenza by a fingertip.
Water quality in the Seine was a major issue during the Games, with training sessions canceled and the men’s triathlon postponed due to increased pollution levels.
The grueling women’s heptathlon is building to a crescendo on the track, with Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson holding a slim 48-point lead over reigning Olympic champion Nafissata Thiam of Belgium.
The evening will see the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, with the US hot favorites in both, even after sprint king Lyles withdrew after contracting Covid.
“It’s not the Olympics I dreamed of, but it left me with so much joy in my heart,” said the cheeky American.
Lyles finished third in Thursday’s 200m final and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo won gold for Africa’s first ever 200m.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi gave the entire country an afternoon off to celebrate the gold, which he said would “go down in the history of the Republic”.
In Friday’s women’s 10,000m final, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan will try to defend her crown after falling short of a historic long-distance treble.
Hassan could only secure bronze in the 5000m final on Monday and will also compete in the marathon on Sunday.
In the final event of the evening, world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway is the clear favorite to defend his title in the men’s 400m hurdles.
The boxing ring will take center stage late Friday when Khelif, 25, takes on China’s Yang Liu in the 66kg final.
The dispute over the eligibility of Khelifa and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting has overshadowed the Olympic boxing tournament and the Games as a whole.
Both were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association after they failed gender eligibility tests, but both were cleared to fight in Paris.
Both boxers fought on the women’s circuit for years and competed in the Tokyo Games without controversy.
When Khelif stopped her Italian opponent after just 46 seconds, a row erupted, with celebrities and politicians pouncing on unsubstantiated claims about her gender.
But Khelif won support from fans in Paris as chants of “Imane, Imane” rang out repeatedly before and during her semi-final match on Tuesday.
“I’m like all athletes, I’m here to achieve my dream,” she said.
Lin fights in a different weight class on Saturday.
Other crunch events see Thierry Henry’s France take on Spain in the men’s football final at the Parc des Princes as they seek their first gold since 1984.
They have conceded just one goal in five games and Henry admits he doesn’t want his Olympic dream to end.
“I think it’s going to be hard to wake up,” he said. “I watch every night and it gives me goosebumps when I see the guys win.
In diving, China are targeting gold in the women’s 3m springboard as they close in on a clean sweep in Paris with wins in all six events so far.
Defending champions Netherlands will face China in the women’s hockey final, seeking a fourth title in five games after the Dutch men’s team won gold. History will also be made by the time the first Olympic medals are won in the landmark competition.
