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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy" Combs faces federal charges in New York, his lawyer said late Monday.

Details of the charges weren't immediately announced by prosecutors, but Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

He added that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.

Criminal charges would be a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.

The federal investigation of the 58-year-old Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

His defense attorney Aaron Dyer the day after the raids called them “a gross use of military-level force,” said the allegations were “meritless,” and said Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop battles of the 1990s as the partner and producer of the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot and killed in 1997. But like many of those who survived the era, his public image had softened with age into a genteel host of parties in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-forward businessman, and a doting father who spoiled his kids, some of whom lost their mother in 2018.

But a different image began emerging in November, when his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse with stories of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled settings where some of those involved were coerced or cajoled into sex.

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by engaging in “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion.” It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.

The suit was settled settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Combs lost lingering allies, supporters and those reserving judgment when CNN in May aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.

The following day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampos, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs and a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.

Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits’ allegations.

While authorities did not publicly say that the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served that the case was based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie and Lampros did.

As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades Along with the Notorious B.I.G. he worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

Combs’ roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.

The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)