LeBron aims for gold

The Paris Olympic Games have begun and it promises to be a spectacular affair considering how many icons will be competing.

Few come with more star power than LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers ace warmed up for Paris 2024 by scoring 20 points for the United States as they beat Germany 92-88 in their final warm-up match.

The 39-year-old power forward produced 11 points of his game-high tally in the final four minutes as the USA survived a tough test at a sold-out O2 Arena in London. Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before James inspired the United States to victory.

Joel Embiid scored 15 points and Stephen Curry 13 against Germany in a victory which means the Americans won all five of their warm-up games.

“It was a good test for us. And I’m glad we were able to once again keep our composure, persevere like we did the other day versus South Sudan,” said James, who was a flagbearer for Team USA at Friday’s Olympic Games opening ceremony.

The USA are targeting a fifth consecutive men’s basketball gold medal in Paris, with their 12-man squad filled with some of the NBA’s greatest talents. “Now it’s obviously a matter of showing up when the lights are bright next week,” Curry said. “I think we’re ready. I think we’re prepared. Now we have to perform.”

Their Olympic campaign against Serbia (28 July), before facing South Sudan (31 July) and Puerto Rico (3 August).

Despite winning both exhibition games in London, Team USA are not guaranteed success. World champions Germany impressed by forcing the US into unnecessary turnovers, regaining possession and punishing them for it.

This sloppy form has undoubtedly frustrated the coaches, despite some defensive improvements in other coverages seen against South Sudan. James, despite his age, will be heavily relied upon by younger colleagues.

Luckily for the US, James is aging like the finest of wines, growing even more valuable with time.

In boxing, the super-heavyweight champ gains the most media attention because he always turns pro soon after and reaches the pinnacle there too. Britain’s curiously named Delicious Orie is totally focused of winning an Olympic gold medal in Paris. He was born in Moscow to a Russian mother and a Nigerian father and spent the first seven years of his life in Russia before the racism his dad endured became unbearable and his family emigrated to England.

Besides thinking of emulating his hero, Anthony Joshua, and become an Olympic champion, Orie now considers how he might have ended up as a Russian soldier during the invasion of Ukraine.

The aim is for Orie to win gold, then turn professional with the kind of fanfare that made Joshua a multimillionaire who went on to win various versions of the world heavyweight title.

It took a little while to settle in England, but Orie quickly did so. “I started to identify myself as British because I had mates and adjusted to the culture. I was already into basketball as that had started in London because I was quite a big kid and athletic. I was inspired by Luol Deng.”

 Deng and his family were refugees from war in Sudan and, living in Brixton, his talent for basketball was spotted. He played college basketball for Duke and Deng made it all the way to the NBA where he became a two‑time All-Star with the Chicago Bulls before also playing for Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

 “I became driven to go to college in America and play in the NBA,” said Orie, 27, who turned to boxing after his basketball dreams crashed.

Apart from winning Commonwealth gold in 2022, and at the European Games last year when he secured his Olympic qualification, Orie’s intellectual abilities are just as impressive.  He also has a first-class degree in economics, maths and management. “It had to be first class. That’s my mind set. I could have gone on to do a PhD but I had just got on Team GB and I had to make a decision because economics is tough. But I’m still reading a lot about economics and keeping up to date with world affairs.”

Orie is seeded No.2 for these Olympics and could have to face the reigning champion Bakhodir Jalolov, the giant Uzbek who, since winning gold in Tokyo, has built a flawless 14-0 record as a pro. Each of those bouts ended in a stoppage signalling Jalolov’s fearsome power. “He is a top, top opponent,” Orie says of Jalolov, “so I have a real competition on my hands. But it’s not just him. You’ve got the bronze medallist from Tokyo, Kamshybek Kunkabayev of Kazakhstan, and a few good Europeans and some top operators from America. But I’ve always been the underdog who has had to catch up. So it’s very familiar territory.”

Noah Lyles is in Paris 2024 as the 100m reigning world champion, but he’s not in the French capital as the betting favourite.

Lyles managed a personal best of 9.81 seconds at the London Diamond League final earlier this year. With two Olympic Games already secured, the 27-year-old American aims to add to his 200m Olympic bronze from Tokyo.

But despite his achievements, Lyles isn’t betting favourite in the 100m sprint. Instead, bookmakers see Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson as the favourite. Although Thompson has never competed in an Olympic Games or World Championships, he seems a genuine threat to Lyles’ supremacy.

Thompson, 23, is yet to lose a 100m race this year and at the Jamaican Championships in June, hit a personal best of 9.77 seconds - 0.04 seconds quicker than Lyles.

“I’m going to win, it’s what I always do,” Lyles said after winning at the London Diamond League finals. “I know exactly where I am ahead of Paris. I knew we’d be getting more eyes on us, I’ve been waiting for this for six years!”

Having hit a personal best of 9.77, Thompson, who is coached by the legendary Stephen ‘Franno’ Francis, is intent on both an Olympic gold medal and a record breaking performance - with fellow Jamaica Usain Bolt’s 9.63 seconds the time to beat.