Following recent high-profile assassinations, Israel braces for a potential Iranian retaliatory attack, with US General Michael Kurilla arriving to aid coordination, an Israeli official said on Sunday.

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Noah Lyles of the US won the men’s 100-metre final at the Paris Olympics in a razor-thin photo finish over Jamaican Kishane Thompson, becoming the first American to claim the title in 20 years.

Inside a packed Stade de France on Sunday night, Lyles crossed the finish in a personal best 9.784 seconds to Thompson’s 9.789. Fred Kerley, also of the US and the silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, finished third in 9.81. Marcell Jacobs, defending champion, finished fifth. It was the first time in history that eight men broke 10 seconds in a wind-legal race.

Long considered one of the marquee events of the entire Olympic Games, the 100-metre final has catapulted winners to instant global fame. From 2008 through 2016, the event was dominated by reigning world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and while no sprinter has run within a tenth of a second of his fastest time of 9.58, Lyles has been positioning himself for years to inherit the position as the face of global sprinting.

As a recent star of the Netflix series Sprint, Lyles, 27, developed elaborate narratives around himself through each season, including one in the early part of this year by bringing a secretive metal briefcase to each meet, promising to reveal its contents at the US Olympic trials in June. The briefcase contained his running kit.

Technically superior at the 200 metres, in which his personal best of 19.31 is the third-best of all-time, Lyles joked in the series that the 200 metres is his “wife”, while the 100 metres is his “mistress”. He will also contest the longer event in Paris, where the first heats begin on Monday.

As the favourite in the 200 metres, Lyles could become the first man since Bolt in 2016 to complete the 100 and 200 double at the games. 

Thompson, 23, became a late favourite for a medal in Paris after running 9.77 seconds at the Jamaican championships in June, the fastest time in the world this year. He was the top-ranked runner after Sunday evening’s semi-finals, in which he qualified with 9.80.

Speaking after the final, Lyles said he was convinced Thompson had won until the official times flashed on the stadium big screen. “I was like, I think you got that one, big dog”. But he held up his bronze medal from the 200 metres at the Tokyo Games, saying it had fuelled his three-year journey to get to the top of the podium. “It feels good to back it up”, he said. 

In recent months, a bevy of new investors including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian have pledged money towards new professional track meets aimed at capitalising on the apex of interest in the sport at the Olympics. Lyles said he wanted people involved in the sport “to make this as available as possible for people to come and watch. Not [fans] having to go in through back alley websites . . . this needs to be accessible, because this is a world sport”.

Sunday night’s podium reshuffles the ongoing sprint rivalry between the Jamaicans and Americans after Jacobs, 29, became the shock winner in Tokyo. Since then, the Italian has struggled with injury and inconsistency, failing to make the 100-metre final in the 2022 and 2023 world championships.

Lyles’ victory came a night after the US had to settle for silver in the women’s 100-metre final, with St Lucia’s Julien Alfred winning gold — her country’s first Olympic medal.

The last American to win the men’s Olympic 100 metres was Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Games in Athens.

Despite being the No. 1 golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler was far from a gold medal going into the final round of men’s Olympic golf at France’s Le Golf National on Sunday. At his starting tee, Scheffler sat four shots back — behind fellow American Xander Schauffele and Spain’s Jon Rahm.

That all changed after Scheffler sunk a half-dozen birdies in the last nine holes of the French golf course. The 28-year-old’s near-flawless round launched him to the top of the Olympic podium and won the United States gold — leaving England’s Tommy Fleetwood with silver and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama with bronze.

The reigning Masters champion started building momentum early Sunday when he birdied his first hole with a 10-foot putt. But after 10 holes and a few more birdies, Scheffler still sat four strokes behind Rahm, who seemed destined for Olympic gold.

Yet the Spanish golfer quickly lost his lead with a few bogeys and a double-bogey on the last few holes. Scheffler, on the other hand, seemingly could not miss. On holes 14 through 17, Scheffler kept climbing the leader board with birdie after birdie. It was his putt on the 17th green — his fourth consecutive birdie — that ultimately secured his victory.

Scheffler’s comeback victory for Olympic gold comes during an eventful professional and personal year for the 28-year-old. In April, Scheffler won his second green jacket at the Masters in Augusta, Ga. Shortly after, his wife, Meredith Scheffler, gave birth to Bennett — their first child. Then, just days after the birth, Scheffler was arrested, handcuffed and charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle in Louisville during the PGA Championship. The charges were dropped by late May after Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell agreed that the incident was “a big misunderstanding.”

Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler, center, with silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood, left, and bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama listen to the nation anthem of the U.S. during the medal ceremony for men’s golf.

George Walker IV/AP

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George Walker IV/AP

On June 18, the USA Olympic golf team selected Scheffler along with three other golfers. Scheffler’s victory is the second consecutive Olympic gold for the men’s USA team; fellow teammate Xander Schauffele won it all at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.

During the medal ceremony on Sunday, Scheffler grew visibly emotional and broke into tears as The Star Spangled Banner played.