San Francisco Frontiers - Alfred targets Olympic sprint double as Serbia survive in basketball

There was frustration though after Paris Games organisers cancelled training for open water swimming in the River Seine due to pollution levels -- the fifth time such a decision has been made.

The women's 200m headlines action at the Stade de France, with Alfred seeking to emulate Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, who did the 100m-200m double at the Rio 2016 Games and at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Alfred, the first athlete from the tiny Caribbean island of Saint Lucia to win an Olympic medal, won her semi-final on Monday in 21.98sec but was pipped in the overall times by US sprinter Gabby Thomas, who crossed the line in 21.86sec.

Jamaica's world champion Shericka Jackson withdrew before her heat on Sunday.

Thomas, looking to upgrade from bronze in Tokyo, has the fastest time in the world this year with 21.78sec and has made no secret of the fact that a gold medal is in her sights.

- 'Vicious' 1500m -

The clash between Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his British rival Josh Kerr in the men's 1500m will not be for the faint-hearted.

The 26-year-old Kerr finished second behind Ingebrigtsen in Sunday's semi-final, with the two eye-balling each other for the final 20 metres.

The Norwegian has had several digs at Kerr since the Briton edged him in last year's final at the world championships, claiming he often skips events.

Kerr hit back by saying he is always at the major championships -- and predicted the final will be one of the "most vicious and hardest" ever seen.

The British runner, who took bronze behind 23-year-old Ingebrigtsen in Tokyo, said he wanted to do his talking on the track.

"I'm ready to go after it," he said. "There's been a lot of talking over the last kind of 12 months, even two years, so I'm just looking to settle that a little bit and give it my best performance."

In the quarter-finals of the men's basketball, Serbia fought back from 24 points down to edge Australia 95-90 in overtime and set up a potential showdown with the United States.

Patty Mills scored 26 points for Australia but three-time NBA MVP Jokic tallied 21 points and 14 rebounds, and made the physical difference in overtime as the Serbs stayed alive.

"I thought we threw everything at them, hell of a first half," said Mills. "In international basketball, once you lose that momentum, it's hard to get it back."

Another NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, exited the competition as Greece lost 76-63 to Germany.

LeBron James and his star-studded USA squad will face Brazil later in the day.

- Seine pollution -

The decision of organisers to cancel a "familiarisation session" for marathon swimmers on Tuesday has raised questions as to why triathletes were allowed to swim in the Seine the previous day.

Organisers said Tuesday they were "very confident" that the women's and men's 10-kilometre swimming events would take place in the river this week as scheduled.

The first boxing gold is up for grabs at Roland Garros, the home of French tennis, but all eyes will be on Algeria's Imane Khelif, at the centre of a gender controversy.

Khelif, who faces Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the semi-finals of the 66-kilogram division, is guaranteed at least bronze in Paris.

The International Boxing Association disqualified Khelif and another boxer, Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, from last year's world championships after failing gender eligibility tests.

The boxing competition in the French capital is run by the International Olympic Committee because of concerns about the way the IBA were running the sport.

The IOC cleared the two boxers to fight and Lin is also guaranteed a medal.

In the women's football competition, World Cup holders Spain and four-time gold medallists the United States are on course for a showdown in Saturday's final.

Led by reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati, Spain face surprise semi-finalists Brazil in Marseille on Tuesday, while a rejuvenated USA under new coach Emma Hayes meet Germany in Lyon.

China lead the medals table with 22 golds, one ahead of the USA.

F.Edwards--SFF