Sifan Hassan wins women's marathon gold

PARIS, Aug 11 (Agencies): The spirit of the Olympics was on full display at the Paris Games on Sunday, the last day of competition. In the women's marathon race, Sifan Hassan created history with an Olympic record time for her third medal of the Games.

At the other end, Bhutan's Kinzang Lhamo crossed the finish line amid cheers and applause despite finishing an-hour-and-half after Hassan.

Dutchwoman Hassan sprinted through the finish of the marathon and straight into the pantheon of Olympic greats on Sunday, completing her astonishing Olympic agenda with a gold medal after taking bronze in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres.

A hundred years on from Paavo Nurmi's five golds in Paris, the 2024 Games got the athletics hero they had been waiting for in Hassan, who became the first since Czech Emil Zatopek in 1952 to medal in those three events.

"Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn't done that, I would feel great today," she said.

"From the beginning to the end, it was so hard. Every step of the way. I was thinking, 'Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?' If I hadn't done it, I would feel so comfortable here." Hassan stunned fans three years ago when she attempted a rare Olympic treble in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m - taking bronze in the shorter distance and winning the two longer races.

She earned headlines again this time around, signing up for those three events as well as the marathon for Paris.

Throngs of reporters tuned in to hear her announce which she would actually run, with few predicting she would really try the gruelling distance road run on top of the two longer track events.

"For anyone else this would be insane," retired sprint legend Michael Johnson declared. But not for Hassan, who has built a reputation as one of her sport's toughest fighters.

Meanwhile, China's Li Wenwen eased to victory Sunday in the women's heavyweight class to give her nation a fifth gold in the Olympic weightlifting competition in Paris -- hoisting her coach in the air to celebrate.

In the event for women with a bodyweight above 81 kilograms, the 150kg Li, who also won the heavyweight category at the Tokyo Games, dominated.

She was so far ahead after two lifts in both the snatch and clean and jerk that she was able to pass on her final attempt in both categories.

At the end, with victory assured, she came out for the final lift of the Paris Olympic weightlifting competition and instead of picking up the bar, lifted her coach.

The 24-year-old finished with a total of 309kg, 10kg ahead of Park Hye-jeong of South Korea, with Tokyo silver medallist Emily Campbell another 11kg behind.

In another event, American defending champion Jennifer Valente overpowered the field to defend her women's omnium title in the final velodrome race of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Valente finished 13 points ahead of Poland's Daria Pikulik, with New Zealand's Ally Wollaston taking bronze, six points further back.

The omnium is one of track cycling's most unpredictable events, featuring four separate races -- the scratch, tempo, elimination and points -- with riders collecting points in each.

Valente timed the opening 30-lap scratch race to perfection, pulling clear on the final stretch to take the maximum 40 points ahead of Canada's Maggie Coles-Lyster.

Irish rider Lara Gillespie seized the initiative in the tempo, finishing first.

Meanwhile, Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen surged to the men's Olympic keirin title on Sunday to end British dominance of an event they had won at every Olympics since 2008.

The 27-year-old edged Australia's Matthew Richardson by 0.056 secs for his third gold in Paris. Another Australian, Matthew Glaetzer, won the bronze.

In another event, there was no "Miracle on the Seine" at the Paris Olympics on Saturday as the United States men's basketball team did as expected by grinding out a 98-87 win over France to claim a fifth consecutive gold medal.

With the French sporting spotlight locked on the Bercy Arena, the American showmen crushed Gallic hearts led by Stephen Curry and a fired up LeBron James, the "King" wearing shiny golden sneakers to mark the occasion.

"I'm just living in the moment," said 39-year-old James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer. "I'm super humbled that I can still play this game.

"Play it at a high level.