Lyles chases Olympic double as LeBron eyes basketball final

PARIS – Noah Lyles targets the second leg of an Olympic sprint treble in the 200m on Thursday, while LeBron James and his band of NBA superstars attempt to edge closer to a 17th basketball gold medal.

Lyles ended the USA's 20-year wait for a gold medal in the 100m and goes into the 200m the clear favorite as a three-time world champion in the event.

"I spent years working on the 100m, but the 200 is where it's at. This is where I get to show my speed and endurance and my top-end speed," said Lyles.

"This is where I get to show I'm stronger than everybody else."

The American will face competition from team-mates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo.

Reigning champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will battle Femke Bol in a mouth-watering women's 400m hurdles final.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol go head-to-head in what promises to be one of the races of the Paris Games, pitting the two fastest women in the history of the event against each other.

Bol already has one gold after anchoring the Dutch to victory in the 4x400 mixed relay, while McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder in the 400m hurdles, which she won three years ago in Tokyo. Bol finished third in that race.

Grant Holloway hopes to claim an elusive Olympic gold in the men's 110m hurdles. The 26-year-old is a three-time world champion but had to settle for silver in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, LeBron James and the United States look to continue their relentless march toward a fifth straight Olympic basketball gold, taking on Nikola Jokic's Serbia for a place in the final.

The two teams meet for the third time in as many weeks, beating them in a pre-tournament warm-up and then again to launch their Olympic bid — winning both games by 26 points.

"Serbia is really good," said US coach Steve Kerr. "We can't get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice."

Host France, led by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, plays World Cup champion Germany in the first semifinal.

France is also in the driving seat in the women's golf tournament, with Celine Boutier going into the second round with a three-shot lead,

South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai sits in second place, while reigning champion Nelly