A trio of American stars highlight Thursday's track and field line-up at the Olympics, promising a thrilling day of competition.
Men's 200m - Final
Noah Lyles, after narrowly winning the 100m by just five-thousandths of a second over Kishane Thompson, now focuses on his preferred event, the 200m. As a three-time world champion in the 200m, Lyles is the hot favorite. He emphasized his confidence, saying, "I spent years working on the 100m, but the 200 is where it's at. This is where I get to show my speed and endurance and my top-end speed. This is where I get to show I'm stronger than everybody else." Podium contenders include his teammates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo.
Men's 110m Hurdles - Final
Grant Holloway aims to add Olympic gold to his collection of three world titles and a personal best of 12.81 seconds, just one-hundredth shy of Aries Merritt's record. Holloway was surprisingly beaten to silver in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics by Jamaican Hansle Parchment. He stated, "The biggest thing is to execute this time and not really worry about the past and continue to show great form." Holloway also holds the world indoor record with a time of 7.27 seconds.
Women's 400m Hurdles - Final
Defending champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone faces Femke Bol of the Netherlands in what promises to be one of the races of the Paris Games. McLaughlin-Levrone set a world record when winning gold in Tokyo, where Bol claimed bronze. Since then, McLaughlin-Levrone has been selective about her races, while Bol has been a constant presence on the track, already winning gold in the 4x400m mixed relay in Paris and aiming for treble gold with the women's 4x400m relay.
Women's Long Jump - Final
Germany's hopes for their first track and field gold lie with defending champion Malaika Mihambo, who aims to become the first woman to defend the title. Mihambo, 30, set the bar high by winning the European title in Rome earlier this year. Her main competition comes from American duo Tara Davis-Woodhall, the world indoor champion, and Jasmine Moore, who has already made history by winning a medal in the women's triple jump earlier this week.
Men's Javelin - Final
The men's javelin final promises a thrilling clash between India's defending champion Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. Chopra sent a strong message by qualifying with his second-best ever mark of 89.34 meters. Nadeem, who took silver behind Chopra at the world championships last year, knows how to win, having claimed gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Germany's Julian Weber also stands a chance, having thrown farther in qualifying than Chopra's winning throw in Tokyo. Other contenders include former world champions Anderson Peters of Grenada and Kenya's Julius Yego, who was runner-up in the 2016 Rio Games.
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