Sifan Hassan completed her mission impossible with a gruelling women’s marathon win on the sun-baked streets of Paris Sunday, as Tom Cruise is rumoured to close the Olympic Games with a Hollywood ending.
With China and the United States grappling for dominance at the top of the medals table, fourteen golds were on offer on the last day of what is widely seen as a successful Olympics.
Dutchwoman Hassan had taken on what many considered to be a crazy gamble, competing in the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon — the last two events just two days apart.
But in a thrilling sprint finish, Hassan overhauled Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa to take gold by three seconds in an Olympic record of 2hr 22min 55sec.
On Friday she had taken bronze in the 10,000m in the Stade de France after coming away with a bronze in the 5,000m.
She fell to the ground on the blue carpet in front of the golden dome of the Invalides memorial complex in the heart of Paris before grabbing a Dutch flag to celebrate an extraordinary achievement.
“It was not easy,” said Hassan. “It was so hot, but I was feeling OK. I’ve never pushed myself through to the finish line as I did today.”
It was a sensational ending to an Olympics athletics programme that saw US sprinter Noah Lyles win the 100m by just five thousandths of a second.
The US dominated the athletics and are going for gold in the last event of the Games, as their women basketball stars hope to add to the men’s title against hosts France.
An eighth straight triumph would give them the record for most consecutive golds in any team sport at the Olympic Games — breaking a tie with the US men, who won seven basketball titles in a row from 1936 to 1968.
“I think the gold medal is the standard,” US forward Alyssa Thomas said. “No matter where we are in the world, it’s our goal and that’s what we came here for.”
Wrestling, weightlifting, water polo, volleyball, modern pentathlon, handball, and track cycling are the other sports to crown Olympic champions on the last day.
Old rivals Serbia and Croatia meet for gold in men’s water polo in what could be a feisty affair.
In the men’s handball final, Germany are in their first gold medal match for 20 years where they will face Denmark, who are in a third consecutive final.
The weightlifting concludes with the battle to become the strongest woman at the Games in the over 81kg category led by China’s world record holder Li Wenwen.
Helped by a clean sweep in diving and table tennis, China lead the medals table with 39 golds, one ahead of the US, but the Americans have more gold shots on the final day.
‘Precious’
As the sport nears an end, attention turns to the closing ceremony at the Stade de France and the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years.
LA is expected to play heavily on its Hollywood star power and will roll out its big guns, with pop star Billie Eilish, rapper Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all confirmed.
The worst-kept secret in Paris is that “Top Gun” star Tom Cruise appears poised to close the ceremony with a spectacular stunt sequence.
Cruise is filming the latest episode of the “Mission Impossible” franchise in Europe and has been a regular feature at Olympic events in Paris.
“On August 11, the Olympic Games will be over, and the Olympic flame will be extinguished,” said Thomas Jolly, who masterminded the unique opening ceremony along the River Seine.
“That moment will remind us just how precious are these Olympic Games,” said Jolly, whose ceremony sparked outrage in some quarters with a scene that appeared to parody the Last Supper.
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