Thomas sweeps to Olympic sprint gold, boxer in row moves into final

American sprinter Gabby Thomas said she was in “disbelief” after roaring to the women’s 200 metres title at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, while controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her latest fight to move into the gold-medal bout. Thomas’ storming run under the lights at the Stade de France gave her the first major title of her career as she held off the newly crowned 100m champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia, who won silver.

Meanwhile Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez made Olympic history when he became the first athlete to win five consecutive individual gold medals in the same event. Lopez, who turns 42 in two weeks’ time, defeated Chile’s Yasmani Acosta in the final of the 130kg Greco-Roman final.

With his victory, Lopez broke a tie for four successive individual Olympic golds he shared with Carl Lewis (athletics/long jump), Michael Phelps (swimming/200m medley), Katie Ledecky (swimming/800m freestyle), Al Oerter (athletics/discus), Paul Elvstrom (sailing) and Kaori Icho (wrestling).

In the basketball quarterfinals, LeBron James and his USA teammates eased past Brazil, winning 122-87 with Devin Booker top-scoring with 18 points and Anthony Edwards adding 17 points. They face Serbia next who fought back from 24 points down to edge Australia 95-90 in a remarkable win in overtime thanks mainly to three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic’s late efforts.

Khelif, who was embroiled in a major gender controversy, won her semifinal to guarantee at least a silver medal in front of a Roland Garros crowd that chanted her name.

She defeated Thailand’s 2023 world silver medallist Janjaem Suwannapheng in a unanimous points decision to progress into Friday’s final in the women’s 66kg category.

Source: eNCA

In other news – I am officially broke: Lady Du speaks out

South African Amapiano artist Lady Du recently shared a candid and heartfelt update on social media, revealing that she is “officially broke” after investing in building her second beauty salon.

Known for her hit songs and vibrant personality, Lady Du’s venture into the beauty industry marks an important milestone in her entrepreneurial journey, demonstrating her ambition and dedication to diversifying her career. Read more