Follow the latest news on the 2024 Paris Olympics
St Lucia's Julien Alfred beat the challenge of favourite Sha'Carri Richardson to win the Olympic women's 100m gold medal on Saturday, etching her name into history by becoming the Caribbean nation's first ever medallist at the Games.
Alfred had never finished on the podium at a major outdoor championships prior to Saturday's final. However when the moment came, Alfred ran a superb race to win in 10.72sec after sudden rain swept Paris. USA's Richardson took silver in 10.87sec and compatriot Melissa Jefferson won bronze in 10.92sec.
Richardson, the reigning world champion over 100m, had been backed to become the first American to win the coveted Olympic crown since Gail Devers in 1996.
But the 24-year-old Texan found herself outpaced by Alfred who led from start to finish after exploding out of the blocks at a rainswept Stade de France.
Alfred's gold gave St. Lucia their first ever medal of any colour at an Olympics. The island nation only began competing at the Games in 1996. She won gold in front of 69,000 spectators, just 110,000 less than the population of St Lucia.
It was an incredible performance by Alfred who had fired a warning shot to Richardson in the semi-finals, finishing ahead of the American in 10.89sec.
The semi-final proved to be an ominous portent for Richardson, who was slow out of the blocks and never looked like reeling in Alfred who could even afford to ease up as she crossed the line to clinch gold.
There was major incident ahead of the final as Jamaican double champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce missed her 100m semi-final.
Fraser-Pryce, competing at her fifth Games at the age of 37 and the winner of two golds, a silver and a bronze over 100m, had been due to run in the second heat but appeared as a "did not start" in the official start lists.
Some reports suggested she had picked up an injury.
“That’s pretty surprising to me. I don’t know what happened," her Jamaican teammate Tia Clayton said.
Meanwhile, Femke Bol ran a stunning last lap to lead the Netherlands to victory in the 4x400m mixed relay.
Bol got the baton in fourth place, around 20m behind the leading Americans, but closed the gap in a spectacular 47.93-second leg before passing American Kaylyn Brown just before the finish line.
The Dutch team of Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink and Bol clocked three minutes 7.43 seconds, missing the world record time the Americans set in Friday's heats by just two-hundredths of a second.
USA took silver in 3:07.74 and Britain claimed bronze in 3:08.01.
Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.
3.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m
Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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THE%20SPECS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
