Olympics track and field Latest: Grant Holloway wins 110-meter final for long-awaited Olympic gold

PARIS (AP) — The latest updates from track and field events at Stade de France on Thursday at the Paris Olympics.

U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles missed out on the double in the 200-meter final. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States went head-to-head with Femke Bol of the Netherlands in the 400-meter hurdles final.

McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion. She beat Bol at the Tokyo Olympics, then again at 2022 world championships. Bol, the reigning world champion, ran an inspired anchor leg for the Dutch to win gold in the 4x400-meter mixed relay on Saturday.

Grant Holloway’s long wait to reach the top of the Olympic podium is over.

The American hurdler cruised to victory in the men’s 110-meter final. The three-time world champion and silver medalist in Tokyo three years ago exploded out of the blocks to win going away.

Holloway finished at 12.99 seconds, well clear of teammate Daniel Roberts in second at 13.09. Roberts out-leaned Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica, who finished with bronze.

American sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record in winning the women’s 400-meter hurdle final.

McLaughlin-Levrone ran away from the rest of the field, posting a time of 50.37, easily breaking the Olympic mark of 51.46 she set in Tokyo three years ago and just ahead of the 50.65 she put up at the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this year.

Anna Cockrell of the U.S. was second at 51.87, with Femke Bol of the Netherlands in third at 52.15.

Both were well behind McLaughlin-Levrone, who was around 10 meters in front of everyone else when she hit the tape.

American sprinting star Noah Lyles is dealing with COVID-19.

The men’s 100-meter champion was diagnosed with COVID two days before the 200-meter final, a source close to the situation told the AP.

Lyles seemed to be his typical amped-up self during introductions. He couldn’t quite keep pace with gold medalist Letsile Tebogo or American teammate Kenny Bednarek, who grabbed silver.

Lyles held on for bronze then fell to the track afterward.

There will be no golden double for American sprinter Noah Lyles.

The 100-meter champion could only salvage bronze in the men’s 200-meter final.

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana earned the gold with a time of 19.46. Tebogo was in control the whole way, beating silver medalist Kenneth Bednarek by a stride.

Lyles, who raced out onto the track trying to amp up the crowd, held on for third. He fell to the track in the immediate aftermath and was tended to by trainers before getting up and walking over to a nearby bench.

Lyles had edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second in the 100. He was a heavy favorite in the 200 — his better race — though he trailed Tebogo in Wednesday’s qualifying heat.

Defending Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany has history working against her as she looks to defend her title in the women’s final.

No woman has won consecutive golds in the event since it was introduced at the 1948 London Games.

German great Heike Drechsler is the only two-time Olympic champion. She reached the top of the podium in 1992 in Barcelona and again in Sydney eight years later. Drechsler began her Olympic career with a silver in 1988 while competing for East Germany.

The long jump final is part of a busy night at Stade de France that will include the men’s 200-meter and women’s 400-meter hurdles final.

Sha’Carri Richardson bailed out the U.S. women out from a near collapse earlier Thursday in the Olympic 4x100 relay, overcoming a German runner in the anchor leg to help the Americans win their heat and move to the gold-medal race.

The U.S. men, who haven’t won a medal in this event since 2004, advanced easily despite a small hiccup. In the strangest twist of all, it was Jamaica’s men who struggled with the baton and will be sitting on the sideline for Friday’s final.

In the women’s race, Richardson was about three steps behind after receiving the baton from Gabby Thomas, who earlier nearly misconnected on her exchange with Twanisha Terry.

That put Richardson in a hole against Rebekka Haase, but the 100-meter silver medal winner was looking back at Haase by the finish. The U.S. won in 41.94 seconds, .19 ahead of the Germans.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, of the United States, wins the women's 400-meters hurdles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, of the United States competes in the women's 400 meters hurdles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Gold medalist Letsile Tebogo, of Botswana, and bronze medalist Noah Lyles, of the United States, right, shake hands after finishing the men's 200 meters final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Noah Lyles, of the United States, lies on the track following the men's 200-meters final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Grant Holloway, of the United States, competes in the men's 110-meters hurdles final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Noah Lyles, of the United States, competes during the men's 200-meter semifinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

DILI, East Timor (AP) — Tens of thousands of East Timorese streamed Tuesday toward a seaside park for Pope Francis’ big Mass, held on the same field where St. John Paul II celebrated an historic liturgy during the nation’s fight for independence from Indonesia.

The Tacitolu park is said to have been a site where Indonesian troops disposed of bodies killed during their rule. Now it is known as the “Park of Peace” and features a larger-than-life-sized statue of John Paul to commemorate his 1989 visit, when the Polish pope shamed Indonesia for its human rights abuses and encouraged the overwhelmingly Catholic Timorese faithful.

John Paul’s visit helped draw attention to the plight of the Timorese people and shine a spotlight on the oppressiveness of Indonesia’s rule, during which as many as 200,000 people were killed over a quarter-century.

Francis celebrates a Mass at the same site Tuesday, following in John Paul's footsteps to cheer the Southeast Asian nation on two decades after it finally became an independent state in 2002. East Timor, known also as Timor-Leste, remains one of the poorest countries, with some 42% of its 1.3 million people living below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Development Program.

Unemployment is high, job opportunities in the formal sector are generally limited and most people are subsistence farmers with no steady income.

But the Timroese are deeply faithful – the territory has been overwhelmingly Catholic ever since Portuguese explorers first arrived in the early 1500s and some 97% of the population today is Catholic. They have turned out in droves to welcome the first pope to visit them as an independent nation, thronging the motorcade route as Francis arrived on Monday and pouring into the Tacitolu site for his Tuesday afternoon Mass.

“Yes this is a very grateful experience for us Timorese," said Ildefonso da Cruz Barreto, who was in the crowd greeting Francis outside the presidential palace. "During our fight for independence, the Catholic Church was a big part of the process.”

Government authorities said some 300,000 people had registered through their dioceses to attend the Mass, but President Jose Ramos-Horta said he expected 700,000 and the Vatican predicted as many as 750,000.

They lined up before dawn by the tens of thousands to enter the Tacitolu park, on the coast about 8 kilometers (nearly 5 miles) from downtown Dili. With hours to go until the service, the roads leading to it were jammed by cars, trucks and buses packed with people; others walked down the middle of the street, ignoring the sidewalks.

“For us, the pope is a reflection of the Lord Jesus, as a shepherd who wants to see his sheep, so we come to him with all our hearts as our worship,” said Alfonso de Jesus, who came from Baucau, the country’s second-largest city after Dili, about 128 kilometers east of the capital.

De Jesus, 56, was among the estimated 100,000 people who attended John Paul’s 1989 Mass, which made headlines around the world because of a riot that broke out just as it was ending. John Paul looked on as baton-wielding Indonesian plain-clothed police clashed with some 20 young men who shouted “Viva a independência” and “Viva el Papa!”

According to Associated Press reporting at the time, the men unfurled a banner in front of the altar and hurled chairs at the policemen. One banner read “Fretilin Welcomes You,” a reference to the independence movement that fought Indonesian rule since East Timor was annexed in 1976 after Portugal dismantled its centuries-old colonial empire.

Four women were reported hospitalized with injuries suffered after being crushed in the surging crowd. The pope wasn't harmed.

Amnesty International later expressed concern that some 40 people had been detained and tortured, though Indonesian authorities at the time denied any arrests or torture.

“The Mass was run very neat and orderly with very tight security,” De Jesus recalled more than three decades later. “But it was crushed by a brief riot at the end of the event.”

Many of the reports at the time quoted Dili Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo in trying to draw attention to the plight of the Timorese people. Belo would go onto win the Nobel Peace Prize with Ramos-Horta for their efforts to peacefully resolve the Timorese conflict.

But Belo has since been discredited, at least outside of East Timor, after the Vatican revealed in 2022 that he had been sanctioned for sexually abusing young boys. Now living in Portugal and blocked by the Vatican from having contact with East Timor, Belo's historic role has been seemingly erased from any official mention during Francis' visit.

Francis has cheered East Timor for the progress it has achieved since independence and is seeking to encourage the country to strengthen its public institutions and look out for the poorest and most vulnerable.

Francis opened his day Tuesday visiting a home for disabled children run by a congregation of religious sisters. Young girls, including one without arms, presented Francis with a traditional woven shawl known as a tais as he arrived at the Irmas Alma school.

As he stroked the hand of a young boy named Silvano in a stroller, Francis said taking care of children with such health needs “teaches us to care.”

“As he allows himself to be cared for, we must learn to be cared for by God, who loves us,” Francis said.

Francis then met with clergy and religious sisters at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where he praised the women of the church and said their dignity must always be respected.

“Women are the most important thing in the church, because they take care of the most needy,” he said. “They heal them. They accompany them.”

He also heard the story of Florentino de Jesus Martins, an 89-year-old layman who has worked as a catechist, teaching the faith for the archdiocese of Dili, but had to retire because of his Parkinson's disease.

Greeting him, Francis marveled at his dedication, saying he didn't let his ailment paralyze his zeal for spreading the faith. “It seems he's competing with St. Paul the Apostle,” he said.

AP researcher Randy Herschaft contributed from New York.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

People wait for Pope Francis visiting to children with disabilities of the Irmas Alma School in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis greets the people after the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

People wait for Pope Francis near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

People wait for Pope Francis visiting to children with disabilities of the Irmas Alma School in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

People wait for Pope Francis to arrive at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

People wait for Pope Francis to arrive at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Pope Francis greets the people after the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis greets the people after the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis holds his cross pendant during a visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis greets the people after the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

People wait for Pope Francis near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

People greet Pope Francis as he travels in a car on way to another venue in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Pope Francis greets people in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis leads the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis leads the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis arrives to lead the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis leads the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis leads the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis leads the holy mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pope Francis arrives at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. "Let us also not forget that these children and adolescents have their dignity violated," Francis said. "In response, we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people." (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. "Let us also not forget that these children and adolescents have their dignity violated," Francis said. "In response, we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people." (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. "Let us also not forget that these children and adolescents have their dignity violated," Francis said. "In response, we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people." (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A child attends Pope Francis's visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. "Let us also not forget that these children and adolescents have their dignity violated," Francis said. "In response, we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people." (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis speaks during a visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. At left is Archbishop of Dili Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis consoles a person during a visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis consoles a person during a visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis speaks during a visit at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the 'Irmas ALMA' (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis has indirectly acknowledged the abuse scandal in East Timor involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis greets people in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)