Olympics: Half a million watch cycling race, athlete denied stadium entry

The United States' Gabby Thomas cruised into the women's semi-finals of the 200 meters at the Paris Olympics, showing she is the woman to beat with the quickest time of Sunday morning's preliminary round.

Jamaica's world champion Shericka Jackson withdrew earlier on Sunday, less than a month after suffering an injury in a tune-up meet in Hungary.

The 27-year-old Thomas clocked 22.20 seconds, while Nigeria's Favour Ofili - who missed the 100 in Paris after her country's officials failed to enter her in the event - was second at 22.24. Britain's Dina Asher-Smith was third in 22.28.

"I am really happy with that, it was easy and good," said Asher-Smith who failed to qualify for Saturday's 100 final. "It is probably the easiest 22.2 (seconds) I've ever run. I ran angry. I just wanted to qualify."

Fresh off her thrilling 100 meters victory the previous evening, St. Lucia's Julien Alfred showed she is a threat in the 200 as well, easing up well before the finish line to cross in 22.41, sixth fastest of the morning.

Thomas, 27, won bronze on her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and silver behind Jackson at last year's world championships, and has said she expects to claim gold in Paris. Thomas has the fastest time in the world this season of 21.78.

Fans unfortunately will be deprived of what was expected to be a hotly contested battle between Thomas and Jackson.

At last year's World Championships in Budapest, Jackson clocked a scorching 21.41 to just miss breaking the world record of 21.34 set by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

But Jackson, who has never won an individual Olympic gold medal, has not been at her best this season, clocking times almost a second slower than her World Championships run.

The event was already missing Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica, Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo, with an Achilles injury.

An Olympic record?

Around 500,000 people lined the streets of Paris during the cycling road race, organizers said, in what is seen as further evidence of growing popular support for the Games. 

The road race on Saturday saw cyclists speed through some of the most picturesque streets of the capital, including the famous Montmartre hill, while the start and finish line was in front of the Eiffel Tower. 

A photograph of thousands of supporters lining the sweeping Rue Lepic in Montmartre has been compared on social media to a famous painting of popular fervor in 1878 by watercolor master Claude Monet. 

"I don't know if it is an Olympic record but there were 500,000 people along the route," Paris 2024 spokeswoman Anne Descamps told reporters at a daily briefing on Sunday, citing figures from the Paris police department. 

A strong start from France in the Games - the host country lies third in the medals table - coupled with national pride in seeing Paris put on a show for the rest of the world are seen as fuelling enthusiasm for the Olympics. 

Le Monde newspaper reported on "the exuberant enthusiasm" on Paris's streets, saying "since the opening ceremony, French people have had a desire to share in it, far from the image of a divided society." 

So-called "fan zones" around the city have also been regularly full, with thousands of people cheering on new local heroes such as swimmer Leon Marchand and veteran winners like judoka Teddy Riner.

A dream final

A dream final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz got underway at Roland Garros stages, with the Serb insisting his younger rival is "favorite" for gold on the clay in the latest instalment of tennis's generational power grab.

At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988. Meanwhile, Alcaraz, 21, would be the youngest men's winner of all time.

Victory would also make Djokovic only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors plus an Olympic title.

Jamaican champion 'not allowed' to enter stadium

Jamaican double champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce missed her Olympic 100 meters semi-final on Saturday after sustaining an injury in the warm-up after her preparation was unsettled by security officials delaying her entry to the Stade de France.

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 lists.

Social media footage later emerged of Fraser-Pryce, one of the most recognizable faces in the sport, and Jamaican team members arguing with officials who would not let their vehicle enter. 

American Sha'Carri Richardson also appeared in the video.

Fraser-Pryce was shown saying: "They've changed the rules. We came through this gate before but now they're saying athletes who have left can't use this gate."

Jamaican chef de mission Ian Kelly later told reporters there had been a delay but that Fraser-Pryce's absence was due to injury.

"Mrs Fraser-Pryce was allowed to enter the warm up track but from another gate from which she was directed to enter from," he said.

"There is no truth that she was not allowed to enter the stadium. Unfortunately she was not able to compete due to an injury sustained during her final warmup."

In Fraser-Pryce's absence, Julien Alfred of St Lucia won the semi-final and went on to claim victory in the final too, with Richardson taking silver.

Fraser-Pryce, who said in February she would retire after the Paris Games, later expressed her disappointment in a post on Instagram.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday