PARIS: Noah Lyles will aim for the second leg of his Olympic sprint trio in the 200 metres on Thursday, while LeBron James and his team of NBA superstars will try to inch closer to a 17th basketball gold medal.

Lyles ended the United States’ 20-year gold medal drought in the 100 meters and is the favorite to enter the 200 meters as a three-time world champion in that event.

“I spent years working on the 100 meters, but the real deal is the 200 meters. That’s where I get to show my speed, my stamina and my top-level speed,” Lyles said.

“This is where I can show that I’m stronger than anyone else.”

The American’s rivals will include teammates Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, as well as Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

Defending champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will face Femke Bol in the women’s 400m hurdles final.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol, the two fastest women at the Paris Games, will face off in one of this year’s races.

Bol has a gold medal after leading the Dutch to victory in the 4x400m medley relay, while McLaughlin-Levrone holds the world record in the 400m hurdles, which she won in Tokyo three years ago. Bol finished third in that race.

Grant Holloway is hoping to win the 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.

LeBron James and the United States are looking to continue their relentless march toward a fifth consecutive Olympic basketball gold medal and will face Nikola Jokic’s Serbia for a spot in the final.

Noah Lyles and Richardson ease through 200m heats at US trials

The two teams met for the third time in three weeks, beating each other in the warm-up rounds before meeting once again in the Olympic Games, winning both games by 26 points.

“Serbia is really good,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “We can’t put them to sleep because we’ve beaten them twice.”

Host team France, led by San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, will face World Cup holders Germany in the first semi-final.

France also took the lead in the women’s golf tournament. Celine Boutier entered the second round with a three-shot lead, South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai was in second place, while defending champion Nelly Korda finished seven strokes behind Boutier at even par after a poor opening series.

Boutier, ranked seventh in the world and raised just 20km from Le Golf National, has not finished in the top 10 in the last 11 tournaments but has found his best at the right time.

“It’s nice to be able to have a good first round and yes, it’s very positive for the rest of the week,” Boutier said. In men’s hockey, world number one Netherlands face world champions Germany.

The match could be the first part of a journey to the golden double for the Dutch women’s team, who will face China in the final on Friday.

In the men’s javelin throw final, a fierce battle could be seen between India’s defending champion Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

A women’s 10km marathon swimming race will be held on the Seine River, which runs through the heart of the city, despite concerns about the quality of the water.

Open water swimming practices were cancelled on Tuesday due to pollution.