Paris (AFP) – Flamboyant American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson blasted into the Paris Olympics on Friday, as a row grew over the gender eligibility of two women boxers. Richardson eased through her 100 metres heat, making an untroubled Olympics debut to applause from the crowd at the Stade de France. The reigning world champion, aiming to regain the 100m title for the US for the first time since Gail Devers won in 1996, clocked 10.94sec. The fireworks are sure to come when 24-year-old Richardson — the favourite for gold — returns for the semi-final and final on Saturday.
As the track and field programme started, the women’s boxing competition was mired in a deepening row over two boxers who failed gender eligibility tests last year. Algerian Imane Khelif took just 46 seconds to overwhelm her battered and distraught Italian opponent Angela Carini on Thursday, and the images of the fight triggered a worldwide reaction. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the bout was “not on an equal footing.” After US presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in on his Truth Social network on Thursday, his running mate JD Vance described the bout as a “grown man pummelling a woman in a boxing match.” Harry Potter author JK Rowling said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Paris Games would be “forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini.”
Khelif is one of two athletes competing in women’s boxing in Paris despite failing to meet the eligibility criteria for the world championships last year. The other, Taiwan’s Lin Yu Ting, is to fight later Friday. It is unclear why exactly the two women were barred from the world championships. The International Boxing Association (IBA), which organised that competition but has been barred from running the Olympics programme due to governance concerns, said the athletes “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test.” However, the “specifics” of this test “remain confidential.” Khelif’s profile on the Paris 2024 media information site initially said she had been disqualified over “elevated levels of testosterone” but this was later removed. International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said on Friday it was a “fact” this was the reason but said the IBA had made a “sudden and arbitrary decision” to disqualify the boxers. Adams acknowledged though that it’s “not a black-and-white issue.”
American swimming great Katie Ledecky launched her bid for a fourth straight Olympic 800m freestyle title by beating Ariarne Titmus in the heats during a morning session marred by a Slovak athlete collapsing on the pool deck. Canadian star Summer McIntosh was also back in La Defense Arena in the 200m medley as she seeks to further burnish her reputation, while Caeleb Dressel kickstarted his 100m butterfly defence. Ledecky, who emphatically defended her 1500m title on Wednesday, came home in 8min 16.62sec. Slovakia’s Tamara Potocka came last behind McIntosh and collapsed as she climbed out of the pool. The 21-year-old, at her first Olympics, received medical attention and was carried out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on.
– Brilliant Biles –
Simone Biles recaptured her all-around gymnastics crown on Thursday to take her sixth Olympic gold and second in Paris. The American who has reshaped the world of gymnastics created another piece of history by becoming the first woman to regain the Olympic all-around title, having won it in 2016. Biles capped another scintillating performance with an electrifying floor routine to Taylor Swift’s “Ready for It?” and her high-flying tumbling brought the crowd to its feet at the Bercy Arena. Biles famously withdrew from most of her events in Tokyo three years ago because of a debilitating condition that gymnasts call the “twisties,” but earned plaudits for speaking openly about her mental health.
Biles led the United States to women’s team gold this week, the first chapter of what has been billed as a redemption tour for her and her teammates. The 27-year-old could add three more golds in Paris as she competes in the apparatus finals on the vault, floor exercise and balance beam. “Three years ago I never thought I’d step on a gymnastic court again, but worked hard, mentally and physically, even saw my therapist this morning, just making sure I’m mentally well,” she said.
On the red clay of Roland Garros, 37-year-old British tennis legend Andy Murray bowed out of the sport on Thursday when he and Dan Evans lost in straight sets in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
© 2024 AFP
