Khelif, Henry Aim for Gold as Paris Games Near End
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who has been at the center of an Olympic gender eligibility controversy, will compete for gold in Paris on Friday. The boxing competition has been overshadowed by a dispute over whether Khelif and Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting should be allowed to compete in the women’s category.
Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing unspecified gender eligibility tests. However, they were cleared to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee, which is running the boxing competition in the French capital.
The 25-year-old Khelif and Lin both fought at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago without controversy. On Friday, Khelif will face China’s Yang Liu in the 66kg final, while Lin will compete in a different weight category on Saturday.
The penultimate evening of track and field action features the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays, the men’s 400m hurdles, the women’s 400m, and the final event of the heptathlon, the 800m.
US sprint star Noah Lyles, who won the 100m earlier this week, could only manage bronze in his favored 200m on Thursday. Minutes after the race, won by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Lyles revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19. The American later posted on social media that his Games were likely over.
In Friday’s women’s 10,000m final, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan will attempt to defend her crown after coming up short in her bid for a historic long-distance treble. Defending champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm is favored to defend his title in the men’s 400m hurdles.
In football, Thierry Henry’s France will take on Spain in the men’s final at the Parc des Princes. Henry, one of France’s all-time great players, has led his country to the brink of their second football gold, 40 years after they won the title in Los Angeles.
Spain came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in their semi-final in Marseille, giving them confidence that they can handle the pressure in the French capital.
In diving, China is targeting gold in the women’s 3m springboard as they close in on a clean sweep in Paris, with victories in all six events so far. Defending champions the Netherlands will take on China in the women’s hockey final, chasing their fourth title in five Games.
History will be made when the first Olympic medals are won in the breaking competition staged at La Concorde.
