PARIS - US gymnastics legend Simone Biles produced two stunning vaults to soar to her third gold medal of the Paris Olympics Saturday, as anticipation reached fever pitch ahead of the women’s 100m final. With golds up for grabs all over Paris, a row over gender eligibility in boxing refused to go away as the Algerian fighter in the spotlight boxed her way to a guaranteed medal. Biles wowed the crowd with her two vaults, another step on her road to Olympic redemption after the debilitating “twisties” famously derailed her Tokyo campaign in 2021. A gravity-defying Yurchenko double pike handed the US superstar her third gold in Paris and seventh in her glittering career as she beamed to an ecstatic crowd.
More history was made at the gymnastics as Carlos Yulo from the Philippines snatched his country’s second-ever gold, triumphing in the men’s floor exercise. From one redemption campaign to another, all eyes at the Stade de France were on flamboyant sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, favourite to take the blue riband event. Richardson is competing in Paris three years after a positive test for marijuana following her victory at the US trials wrecked her Olympic dreams in Tokyo.
The 24-year-old Texansailed through Friday’s heat in 10.94sec. Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred is Richardson’s main rival but the fastest time in the heats belonged to Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, who won her heat in 10.87sec ahead of Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a two-time 100m gold medallist.
In the men’s competition, US sprint king Noah Lyles launched his campaign for 100m glory, recovering from a slow start to come through his heat.The 27-year-old was one of the last out of the blocks in his heat but powered through the field, finishing second to Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe in a time of 10.04sec. Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson looked in ominous form, running 10 flat but easing down significantly in the final stages. Italy’s Marcell Jacobsalso laboured through his heat and just scraped through in a time of 10.05 sec.The second full day of athletics in Paris also includes the women’s triple jump, the men’s shot put and the conclusion of the men’s decathlon.Off the field of play, a simmering scrap over gender in boxing was back in the spotlight as Imane Khelif overcame Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on points to ensure at least a bronze medal.
The Algerian broke down in tears after the bout, which also saw the two boxers share an embrace.Khelif’s 46-second victory over Italy’s Angela Carini sparked a row that spilled beyond the ring, with politicians and celebrities weighing into the controversy. The IBA disqualified Khelif at last year’s world championship, saying she had failed an unspecified gender eligibility test. There is no suggestion Khelif identifies as anything other than a woman and IOC President Thomas Bach called for an end to the scrap, that has also impacted Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting.Bach was peppered with questions about the boxing at a Saturday morning news conference. ”We are talking about women’s boxing. We have two boxers who were born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as women,” he said. China won their second badminton gold of the Paris Olympics on Saturday when Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan beat compatriots Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in the women’s doubles final. Japan’s Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida took bronze after beating Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah 21-11, 21-11. China have topped the badminton medals table at the past six Olympics. In the pool, Katie Ledecky, now the most decorated US woman Olympian, seeks to add 800m freestyle gold to her 1500m title on the penultimate evening of swimming.A total of 29 golds are up for grabs on Saturday, with France, Australia, Britain and the United States chasing current medal table leader China.