Lyles, Phogat grab 2024 Paris Olympics spotlight: Aug. 8 updates
USA's Noah Lyles crosses the line to finish second place in the Paris 2024 Olympics Athletics Men's 200m semifinals at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France, Aug. 7, 2024. (Reuters Photo)


On Thursday, Noah Lyles aims to become the first American in 40 years to achieve the Olympic sprint double.

Meanwhile, the women’s 10km marathon swimming event kicked off early, as water-quality tests in the Seine River met safety standards.

More than 30 medals will be on offer throughout the day, including in athletics, sailing, boxing, taekwondo, wrestling and track cycling.

Here’s what you need to know about the Olympics on Thursday:

Sprint double for Lyles

Lyles, the newly minted world’s fastest man, takes to the track again, aiming to complete the prestigious sprint double by adding the 200-meter title to his 100-meter victory last week.

If he succeeds, Lyles will be the first American to achieve the sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1984.

Doping

China’s anti-doping agency (CHINADA) on Thursday urged the International Testing Agency (ITA) to intensify testing of U.S. track and field athletes after American sprinter Erriyon Knighton tested positive for the banned substance trenbolone.

Knighton tested positive for trenbolone this year but was not suspended for the Paris Games after an arbitrator found the result was likely caused by contaminated meat.

Marathon swimming

Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands won the women’s 10km marathon swimming gold, snatching the lead from Australian silver medalist Moesha Johnson late in the final lap. Ginevra Taddeucci won the bronze for Italy.

The grueling event features a 1.67km loop completed six times between the two bridges on the river flowing through the French capital.

Phogat retires

Vinesh Phogat said she has retired from wrestling following the Indian’s disqualification before the women’s 50kg freestyle final at the Olympics on Wednesday.

Phogat was set to compete with American Sarah Hildebrandt for the gold medal, but the 29-year-old fell 100 grams short despite starving herself for a week and spending hours in the sauna to cut down to her competition weight.

Carrington goes for 7th

The first medals in the canoe sprint are up for grabs, and Lisa Carrington, New Zealand’s most successful Olympian, will look to add to her impressive haul of five golds and a bronze when she takes part in the women’s kayak four 500m.

Hall snatches gold in the 400m

In athletics, Quincy Hall produced an incredible late surge to overtake Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith and secure the first Olympic 400-meter gold for the United States since 2008 in another scintillating and dramatic race on Wednesday.

Taiwan’s Lin eases into women’s boxing final

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the center of a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics, moved a step closer to the Olympic title when she beat Turkey’s Esra Yildiz by unanimous decision in the women’s featherweight semifinals on Wednesday.