Olympics live updates: Noah Lyles competes in men’s 200M finals | AP News

Track and field is in the 2024 Olympics spotlight with an action-packed finals schedule Thursday in Paris.

The U.S. track team has a chance to pad its already massive lead in the medals table in track-and-field tonight.

The Americans began the day with 19 medals overall in Stade de France since the meet began: six gold, seven silver and six bronze. That’s 13 ahead of second-place Australia with one gold, one silver and four bronze.

The U.S. is heavily favored in all three sprint finals scheduled for Thursday night, with 100-meter champion Noah Lyles looking for the 100/200 double in the 200-meter final, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone aiming to defend her Olympic title in the 400 meter hurdles and Grant Holloway poised for an Olympic breakthrough in the 110-meter hurdles.

Sha’Carri Richardson bailed the U.S. women out from a near collapse earlier Thursday in the Olympic 4×100 relay, overcoming a German runner in the anchor leg to help the Americans win their heat and move to the gold-medal race.

The U.S. men, who haven’t won a medal in this event since 2004, advanced easily despite a small hiccup. In the strangest twist of all, it was Jamaica’s men who struggled with the baton and will be sitting on the sideline for Friday’s final.

In the women’s race, Richardson was about three steps behind after receiving the baton from Gabby Thomas, who earlier nearly misconnected on her exchange with Twanisha Terry.

That put Richardson in a hole against Rebekka Haase, but the 100-meter silver medal winner was looking back at Haase by the finish. The U.S. won in 41.94 seconds, .19 ahead of the Germans.

▶ Read more about Thursday’s 4×100 relay round

U.S. soccer forward Trinity Rodman called track athletes “freaks of nature” — in a good way.

The women’s team plays for gold against Brazil on Saturday. Players say they’ve been watching track and field during their downtime.

“It’s so cool to watch,” Rodman said, “and I think my mom’s still probably mad I didn’t try track at some point in my life. But it’s so fun supporting them, so cool to see amazing athletes compete.”

U.S. forward Mallory Swanson said the track athletes “are so inspirational. And I think anytime you get to watch them, it’s super powerful because of the work that they do. And then you see them run around and compete at such a high level and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I could never do that!’”

By EDDIE PELLS, PAT GRAHAM

The theatrical American shot put standout who uses the pronouns they and them brings their own distinctive style to every meet they attend.

Raven Saunders qualified for the Olympic final earlier Thursday, wearing a full-faced black mask and gold-hued sunglasses. Their hair was dyed neon green on one side and purple on the other.

Saunders had gold grills covering their upper and lower teeth, along with long fingernails on their left hand that were bedazzled and in Team USA colors and the letters H-U-L-K.

This is Saunders’ alter ego once the shot put starts flying. Turning into “The Hulk” helps them feel like a superhero getting ready to hurl that 8.8-pound hunk of metal.

“I’m in full form,” Saunders said of their costume. “I had to remind the people, I am who I am.”

▶ Read more about Olympic shot putter Raven Saunders

Defending Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany has history working against her as she looks to defend her title in the women’s final.

No woman has won consecutive golds in the event since it was introduced at the 1948 London Games.

German great Heike Drechsler is the only two-time Olympic champion. She reached the top of the podium in 1992 in Barcelona and again in Sydney eight years later. Drechsler began her Olympic career with a silver in 1988 while competing for East Germany.

The long jump final is part of a busy night at Stade de France that will include the men’s 200-meter and women’s 400-meter hurdles final.

The track at Stade de France has been busy with races all morning (local time), but the action will start heating up this evening, as five final competitions get underway:

• Women’s long jump: 8:00 p.m. CEST / 2:00 p.m. EDT
• Men’s javelin throw: 8:25 p.m. CEST / 2:25 p.m. EDT
• Men’s 200M: 8:30 p.m. CEST / 2:30 p.m. EDT
• Women’s 400M hurdles: 9:25 p.m. CEST / 3:25 p.m. EDT
• Men’s 110M hurdles: 9:45 p.m. CEST / 3:45 p.m. EDT

The Olympic spotlight is on the purple stage at Stade de France Thursday. Noah Lyles, fresh off his narrow win in the 100-meters, is trying to add the 200 gold medal to his collection and join such stars of the past as Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis, who’ve completed that sprint double at a single Summer Games.

And an attention-grabbing matchup in the women’s 400-meter hurdles is part of the program, with reigning Olympic champion and world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S. and reigning world champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands going head to head for just the third time.

▶ Read more about what to watch in the 2024 Olympics