Olympic Highlights Day 13: USA's superstars face Jokic again as Lyles goes for another gold
Sport climbing
Men's speed climbing
12:35 CET, Paris, Le Bourget Climbing Venue
Who can climb a 15-metre wall the fastest? It's clearly Sam Watson, who, at only 18 years old, responded to Veddriq Leonardo's fantastic performance from the qualifying round in the quarter-finals.
The Indonesian clocked an impressive 4.79 seconds, equalling Watson's world record. However, the American speedster pushed the barrier of possibility by another four-hundredths of a second in the quarter-finals and set a new world best of 4.75.
Thanks to these performances, the two main rivals, who have already won the World Cup three times in their careers, are now in different halves of the field and their clash could take place in the final. But Watson first has to make it through the quarter-finals, where he will face New Zealand's Julian David.
Leonardo, who is nine years older than Watson, will face home team Bassa Maw. Sport climbing made its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, where only one set of medals was awarded in the combined event. Speed climbing is making its debut in Paris. The quarters and semi-finals will precede the finals on Thursday.
Athletics
Men's 200m final
20:30 CET, Paris, Stade de France
Since 2018, the fastest time of the season in the men's 200-metre sprint has regularly belonged to American Noah Lyles. He has also won the last three World Championships in the 200m. But at the Tokyo Olympics, despite a time of 19.74 seconds, he finished behind both Canada's Andre de Grasse and compatriot Kenneth Bednarek.
The bronze was a huge disappointment for a man who is very outspoken off the track. After all, he has broken the 20-second mark 32 times in this, his trademark discipline. In this respect, he is already within the sights of the legendary Usain Bolt.
The 27-year-old superstar arrived in Paris in great form and spirits, winning the 100m final in a hugely competitive field to start his Olympic mission in style. He hopes to attack the sprinters' golden hat-trick (100m, 200m and 4x100 relay) by the end of the week, which only Jesse Owens, Bobby Morrow, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt have managed to do in the past.
In addition to the men's 200m final, the men's 110m hurdles final, men's javelin final and the women's 400m hurdles final will also be taking place at Stade de France on Thursday evening.
Basketball
Men's second semi-final: USA vs Serbia
21:00 CET, Paris, Bercy Arena
The USA's men's basketball team have come through the Olympic tournament without a hitch so far. They have emphatically beaten all their opponents and demonstrated their red-hot form with a 35-point victory over Brazil in the quarter-finals.
In the four games they have played so far, they have had a different top scorer each time. LeBron James, who has returned to the Games after 12 long years, pointed out after his side progressed to the final four: "Our team has depth, whoever we send on the court can decide a game."
However, the USA will face a rival in the semi-finals that have a lot of desire and the personalities to attain success. Serbia may have lost to the USA 110-84 in the group phase, but in the quarter-finals, they showed determination and the art of turning tough games in their favour.
Their clash with Australia was the highlight of the tournament so far. The team around the two-time NBA champion Nikola Jokic managed to erase a 24-point deficit and eventually outlasted their opponent 95-90 after overtime.
The other semi-final in the men's tournament sees reigning world champions Germany take on hosts France.
