By Rohith Nair
PARIS (Reuters) – The Olympics are in their home stretch with four days left at the Paris Games and more than 30 medals will be up for grabs on Thursday.
Medals will be awarded in athletics and sailing while finals will also be held in boxing, taekwondo, wrestling and track cycling.
Marathon swimming is set to get underway amid concerns over water pollution in the river Seine.
SPRINT DOUBLE FOR LYLES?
Newly-minted world’s fastest man Noah Lyles takes to the track again as he aims to complete the prestigious sprint double by adding the 200 metres title to his 100m victory last week.
If he succeeds, Lyles will be the first American to achieve the sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1984.
In what could be a good night for the United States, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the hot favourite to win a 400m hurdles final that is also expected to be lightning fast.
A world record is not unlikely for the Olympic champion who has already broken her own record three times.
FORMER BOXING CHAMPS VIE FOR MEDALS
Two boxing golds are up for grabs, with France’s Billal Bennama facing 2016 champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the flyweight final and China’s Chang Yuan taking on Turkey’s Hatice Akbas in the women’s bantamweight.
Cindy Ngamba, who ensured a first-ever medal for the refugee Olympic team by reaching the women’s middleweight semi-finals, meets Panama’s former world champion Atheyna Bylon for the bronze.
EGYPT V MOROCCO FOR FOOTBALL BRONZE
Egypt and Morocco clash in Nantes for their countries’ first-ever podium finish in the men’s football tournament.
Egypt were close to knocking out hosts France but ultimately lost 3-1 in extra time, while Morocco fell 2-1 to Spain in the semi-finals.
JONES LOOKS FOR THIRD TAEKWONDO GOLD
Britain’s Jade Jones will seek a third gold medal in the women’s featherweight category, aiming to put away her dismal performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where she was beaten in her first bout by the then Refugee Team athlete Kimia Alizadeh.
Iran-born Alizadeh will compete again at these Olympics but under the Bulgarian flag and starts off with a first bout against her former roommate Nahid Kiyanichandeh.
China’s 2022 world champion Zongshi Luo is one to watch while men’s world champion Yushuai Liang will also aim for top spot on the podium and Ulugbek Rashitov, the first Uzbekistan athlete to win gold in taekwondo in Tokyo, is also a contender.
WRESTLING WIN STREAK ON THE LINE
In the women’s 53kg freestyle, Japan’s Akari Fujinami will look to extend her record 130-match win streak to claim her first Olympic gold.
Ukraine’s Zhan Beleniuk will be out to defend his title in the men’s 87kg Greco-Roman event, while Cuba’s Luis Orta will seek a second successive gold having moved up to the 67kg from 60 in Tokyo.
FINUCANE SEEKS SECOND TRACK CYCLING MEDAL
Action continues in the velodrome with Britain’s Emma Finucane one of the favourites to win the women’s keirin after already picking up a gold in the team sprint.
CARRINGTON IN HUNT FOR SEVENTH MEDAL
The first medals in the sprint disciplines 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 final.
VARFOLOMEEV UNDER PRESSURE IN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
Germany’s Darja Varfolomeev, ranked the top rhythmic gymnast in the world, will compete with nine others to qualify for Friday’s individual all-around final.
She faces stiff competition from gymnasts from Bulgaria and Italy, which have typically been successful at the Olympics.
Varfolomeev is under pressure to deliver as Germany have not medalled at rhythmic gymnastics since the sport’s Olympic debut in 1984.
ANOTHER CLIMBING RECORD?
American Sam Watson will be looking to repeat his world record-setting run up the 15-metre wall in the speed climbing final.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Paris; editing by Clare Fallon)
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