Shocking night for Lyles: American track star Noah Lyles has Covid-19, he told reporters after falling short of his second sprinting title at the Paris Games tonight. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo took gold in the highly anticipated 200-meter race, considered Lyles’ signature event, while the American still managed a bronze.
More results: The drama was just part of a huge night for track and field: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem defeated Indian sporting hero Neeraj Chopra in a record-breaking men’s javelin final, while American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke a world record in the 400-meter hurdles, defending her Olympic crown with another gold.
US men's basketball comeback caps stunning 3 hours of Olympic action
From CNN's Matias Grez
We were treated to a truly stunning few hours of the Olympic Games on Thursday night in Paris.
From Letsile Tebogo’s historic upset of Noah Lyles in the 200-meter final to the US men’s basketball 17-point comeback against Serbia, here are some of the standout moments from a historic evening in Paris:
200m drama: First up, Tebogo stormed clear to take the 200-meter Olympic title ahead of the USA’s Kenny Bednarek in silver and Lyles in bronze. Tebogo’s victorious dash marks Botswana’s first ever Olympic gold and made him the first African in history to win the Olympic 200-meter sprint — and he did it in honor of his late mother.
Surprise Covid reveal: After the final, it emerged that Lyles had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. He had to be wheeled off the track after feeling light-headed following the race, though he told US Olympic broadcaster NBC he never considered dropping out of the race. He implied he may not race in an upcoming team relay.
More stars of track and field: Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won the javelin gold medal with a huge Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters, defeating the favored Indian sporting hero Neeraj Chopra. Rising track and field superstar Tara Davis-Woodhall took gold in the long jump for the US.
Sydney’s speed makes history: Then it was the turn of US track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to stun the crowd. She set a new world record of 50.37 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles final, retaining her title in emphatic fashion and making history as the first ever woman to win two Olympic 400-meter hurdles crowns.
LeBron and Steph step up to save Team USA: As if the track and field drama wasn’t enough, the US men’s basketball team survived a massive scare and had to fight back from 17 points down to finally topple NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and Serbia. That sets up an enthralling gold medal matchup with host nation France. It was the elder statesmen — LeBron James with a triple-double and Steph Curry scoring 36 points — that helped lead the US back from the brink.
Refugee Olympian wins medal: Finally, and somehow still within a roughly three-hour span, Cindy Ngamba earned bronze in the women’s75kg boxing semifinal to make history as the first Refugee Olympic Team medalist since the team was formed in 2016.
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Botswana's Letsile Tebogo dedicates historic sprinting gold to his late mother
From CNN's Matt Meyer
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo celebrates after winning the 200 meters on August 8. His time of 19.46 seconds was the fifth-fastest in history.
Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo made history in more ways than one with his gold medal performance tonight in the men’s 200-meter race, and the emotional sprinter dedicated the win to his late mother.
Tebogo’s mother, Elizabeth Seratiwa, passed away last May, according to Olympics.com. On the track tonight, Letsile showed the camera that his racing spikes were marked with her birth date, and had her initials painted on his fingernails.
Tebogo’s victorious dash marks Botswana’s first ever Olympic gold and made him the first African in history to win the Olympic 200-meter sprint.
Tebogo is one of more than 600 International Olympic Committee scholarship holders at Paris 2024, according to Olympic organizers.
Tebogo’s victorious run was in some ways overshadowed tonight by the shocking revelation that American sprinter Noah Lyles, who finished a surprising third in the race, had Covid-19.
But Lyles was quick to turn the spotlight back toward the African sprinter, sharing his congratulations in a message on social media:
LETSILE TEBOGO congratulations 🍾 Ik you have had a very rough year off the track and despite that you overcame it all!
Team USA makes huge comeback to defeat Serbia and advance to gold medal game
From CNN's Sam Joseph
Lebron James and Stephen Curry of the United States celebrate after their team's win against Serbia during a the men's basketball semifinals match at Bercy Arena on Thursday.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Team USA has produced a breathtaking comeback to defeat Serbia 95-91 and advance to the men’s basketball gold medal game.
Serbia — led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić — led by 17 points at one stage during the second quarter but saw its lead evaporate against the supercharged offense of the US.
Two of the sport’s biggest names, LeBron James and Steph Curry, led the charge with some clutch buckets down the stretch as the defending Olympic champions avoided what would have been an all-time upset.
Team USA will take on host nation France in the gold medal game.
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Team USA takes 5-point lead
From CNN's Patrick Sung
Serbia's Nikola Jokic and USA's LeBron James fight for the ball.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
And just like that, the US has a five-point lead with just over 90 seconds left! What a turn of events here in Paris.
Steph Curry hits a big triple, LeBron James follows up with a powerful drive and lay-up and Curry again comes up big as he takes it to the hole and the US grabs control of the game.
Wow!
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Team USA fights all the way back to tie men's basketball semifinal at 84
From CNN's Sam Joseph
USA's LeBron James reacts during the semifinal match against Serbia.
Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Who else but LeBron James?
The NBA legend just drove to the bucket to level the score at 84 in the final minutes of this thrilling semifinal.
Team USA was down by 17 points at one stage in the second quarter but has battled its way back to eradicate the Serbian lead.
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Noah Lyles not present at news conference for men's 200-meter race
From CNN's David Close
American sprinter Noah Lyles is not at tonight’s news conference for the medalists of the men’s 200-meter race.
Lyles announced after his bronze medal finish that he tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Lyles’ name was on a placard marking where he would sit at the news conference, but it was removed just before it began.
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Team USA cuts the lead to 5 with 6 minutes to go
From CNN's Sam Joseph
A huge Devin Booker triple has put the US within five points of Serbia.
Steve Kerr’s players were left with a mountain to climb but have battled hard to leave themselves with a fighting chance as the game enters the closing stages.
Serbia’s talisman Nikola Jokić could be in trouble as the matchup winds down – he is on four fouls, one away from fouling out of the game.
