Olympic highlights day 14: French fight for football gold, men's 4x100m relay
Sport climbing
Men's boulder and lead final
09:15 BST and 11:35 BST, Paris, Le Bourget Climbing Arena
Sport climbing has won the hearts of fans in a short while and the stands at Le Bourget Arena were full even in the qualification battles. The penultimate medal event is Friday's combined bouldering and lead event. There, a very strong top group of climbers has emerged, no longer troubled by the need to climb for speed, as the sprint has been given its own space in Paris as well as its own medal events.
The prince of the qualification battles was the 17-year-old super-talent Sorato Anraku from Japan, who scored enough points in the bouldering part alone to qualify for the finals. In the second part, he only had to keep his position as the last climber for the final day.
Two veteran climbers, last year's world champion Jakob Schubert from Austria and the legendary Czech Adam Ondra, who started his career on natural rocks and became famous for his climbs in Yosemite National Park, also showed their form. It is this duo that the new rules are in favour of. The gold from Tokyo is being defended by Alberto Gines Lopez of Spain, who finished fourth in the semi-finals.
The bouldering section starts at 10:15 CET followed by the lead event at 12:25 CET.
Football
Men's final: France vs Spain
17:00 BST, Paris, Parc Princes
The French have only won an Olympic football gold once before, in Los Angeles in 1984 under legendary coach Henri Michel. And this year, at home, they are on track to end that 40-year wait.
The home fans are happy so far, the team under the iconic Thierry Henry made it through the preliminary group and the rigours of the quarter-finals without conceding a goal.
When the crunch moment came in the semi-final after Mahmoud Saber had put Egypt ahead, Jean-Philippe Mateta made his presence known once again. The Crystal Palace striker managed to equalise before the end of normal time and scored the winning goal in extra time to boot. That was Mateta's fourth goal of the tournament.
Fermin Lopez, who has led Spain to the final, has the same number of goals. The finalists from Tokyo (they lost the gold medal match to Brazil in extra time 2-1) have not had a smooth journey this year, however. They lost to Egypt in the group stage and their semi-final duel with Morocco was eventually turned around by two late goals.
Athletics
Men's 4x100m relay
18:47 BST, Paris, Stade de France
The traditional Olympic highlight of the sprint relay has taken an unexpected twist. The Jamaican team failed in their handoffs in the heats and, although narrowly avoiding disqualification, ended up running the ninth-best time (38.45) and thus missed out on medal contention.
It was a tough blow for Jamaica, who have historically dominated the event - they won two consecutive golds in the Usain Bolt era. The sprinting superpower were also without a medal in Tokyo.
The USA could end their long wait for gold in the event on Friday night. The last American triumph in the 4x100m dates back to 2000. The Americans had the best qualifying run and came within seven-hundredths of the best time of the year with 37.47. Noah Lyles missed the heats but will probably want to start in the final.
Defending Tokyo gold medallists Italy are also in contention, with last Games' hero and double Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in the lineup. On the fast track of the Stade de France, the relay teams of South Africa (37.94), Great Britain (38.04), Japan (38.06) and China (38.24) set season bests.
