Lin Yu-ting Advances to Olympic Gold Medal Fight, Quincy Hall Wins 400m Title

One of the two boxers involved in a gender eligibility controversy triumphed again at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, securing a chance to compete for a gold medal. Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting described her journey as “tough” after winning a unanimous points decision over Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman in the 57kg semi-final.

This victory came just a day after Algeria’s Imane Khelif reached her final. Following the decision, Kahraman made an X sign with her fingers, mirroring the gesture of another of Lin’s previous opponents. Kahraman declined to explain the gesture afterward. Typically, males have both an X and Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. Despite being disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after reportedly failing gender eligibility tests, Lin and Khelif are competing in Paris.

On the track, American sprinter Quincy Hall won a dramatic men’s 400 meters, becoming the fourth fastest one-lap runner in history with a time of 43.40 seconds, edging out Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith for gold. This ended a 16-year drought for the USA in the event, with Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga taking bronze. “I don’t give up,” Hall said. “I just got grit. I grind. I got determination. All the hurt and pain get me to that line.”

Noah Lyles positioned himself to aim for an Olympic sprint double on Thursday, finishing second in his 200m semi-final behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo. Lyles, who won the closest 100m final in modern Olympic history by just five thousandths of a second on Sunday, is the favorite to become the first man since Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics to achieve the 100m-200m double.

In other athletic events at the Stade de France, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali joined an elite group of Arab double gold winners by claiming his second consecutive 3,000m steeplechase title. Only his compatriot Hicham El Guerrouj, who won 1500m and 5000m gold in Athens 2004, and Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli, have achieved this feat.

Jamaica’s Roje Stona won a surprise victory in the men’s discus, and Nina Kennedy took Australia’s first-ever pole vault Olympic title.

In skateboarding, Australia’s Keegan Palmer won his second consecutive Olympic men’s park skateboard title with impressive moves. Among the spectators at the Place de la Concorde was American rapper Snoop Dogg. Palmer led from start to finish, with American Tom Schaar winning silver and Brazil’s Augusto Akio taking bronze. Palmer aims to compete in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. “It’s where I grew up, it’s where I learned to skate,” he said, noting the challenge of keeping up with younger competitors.

At Golf National, French favorite Celine Boutier thrilled the home crowd by taking a three-shot lead after the first round of the women’s golf event, with a seven-under-par round of 65. South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai is in second place, while reigning champion Nelly Korda finished on even par, seven strokes behind Boutier.

In weightlifting, Li Fabin retained his Olympic 61kg title. In track cycling, Australia ended a 20-year wait to win the men’s team pursuit gold medal, and Kristen Faulkner, road race champion, helped the United States to the women’s title. Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen set a new men’s sprint world record at 9.088 seconds.

In a surprise development, host nation France was eliminated from men’s handball, an event they hoped would bring gold, after losing 35-34 to Germany.

Additionally, Australian Olympic field hockey player Tom Craig was arrested on suspicion of buying cocaine in Paris but was later released with a warning from a French judge.

In the medals table, the USA leads with 27 golds, followed by China with 25, and Australia in third with 18 golds.