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Olympic champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred will take to the track in Tokyo on Saturday for heats of the 100m.

Lyles will come under pressure from a top Jamaican duo seeking to break US dominance in the blue riband event.

Alfred meanwhile will look to bag another global title for St Lucia, her Olympic gold the first for the tiny Caribbean island.

AFP Sport looks at three elements of the men and women’s 100m:

Lyles, Alfred the targets 

There is no doubt that Lyles and Alfred have touched down in the Japanese capital with targets on their backs.

Although Lyles had a delayed start to the season, both have tasted success on the Diamond League circuit.

Lyles outran Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo in that event in the Diamond League finals in Zurich last month.

It was a result the American said had left him “with a lot of energy” heading to Tokyo.

Alfred also notched up a morale-boosting win over 100m in Zurich and was in no doubt about expectations in Japan.

“I feel like I want to add another gold in my collection,” Alfred said. “I am much fitter than before and also mentally, I am in the right place where I want to be.”

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Thompson leads the hunters 

Kishane Thompson, who won Olympic 100m silver just five-thousandths of a second behind Lyles in Paris, could be the biggest threat to the American.

Thompson went sixth in the all-time list after running a world-leading 9.75 seconds this season.

Fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville has also notched up two victories over Lyles in the Diamond League.

Their form left sprint legend Usain Bolt in no doubt over who would top the podium on Sunday.

“There’s no reason they shouldn’t be 1-2 because they are at the top, fastest times in the world this year and they’ve been competing for a while,” said Bolt.

“It’s just about one of them executing and it should be fine.”

Alfred will be targeted by a raft of sprinters from the US and Jamaican squads, not least American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

Jefferson-Wooden, 24, became the first woman since 2003 to win the 100-200m double at the US trials.

She has a personal best of 10.65 seconds, making her the joint fifth-fastest woman in history, and is the world-leading time this year.

“I know that I’m in great shape and that it’s all about putting together the perfect race at the perfect time, when it matters the most, and that is at the world championships in Tokyo,” she said.

Tebogo and unlikely outsider 

Botswana’s Tebogo is seen as the likeliest candidate to gate-crash the US-Jamaican battle in the men’s 100m.

The 22-year-old is a proven competitor over the shorter sprint and can be expected to be in the battle for a podium place.

He accused Lyles of “arrogance” after the 200m Olympic final, but insists he is content not to have chosen the American’s outspoken style.

“For me, I choose to be out of the spotlight and then just my legs do the talking,” Tebogo said in Tokyo.

It may seem odd to mention the name of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the same sentence as the word outsider, but that is certainly the case in her career-closing world champs.

The 38-year-old Jamaican is a five-time world champion over 100m, and in the last worlds in Budapest in 2023 claimed bronze.

Advancing years means Fraser-Pryce will finally hang up her spikes after Tokyo, having spent an incredible 17 years as a dominant force in women’s sprinting.

“I’m looking forward to just finishing the chapter and ending this career in a magnificent way,” said the sprinter who has won three Olympic gold medals and 10 world titles, with a total of 25 Olympic and world medals to her name.

“And I’m sure it’ll work out in Tokyo.”

Another relative outsider is Sha’Carri Richardson, who is the defending world champion but whose life off the track sometimes detracts from her on-field ability.

The NBA is conducting its own probe into gambling allegations involving Malik Beasley, the free-agent guard investigated by federal officials earlier this year, league commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Wednesday.

“I’ll only say the investigation is ongoing,” Silver said after the NBA’s board of governors meeting in New York.

“As I understand it, there’s still a federal investigation that’s ongoing of Malik Beasley as well,” Silver said. “We will address whatever is presented to us in his case.”

ESPN, citing Beasley’s attorney Steve Haney, had reported earlier Wednesday that the player was “fully cooperating” with the National Basketball Association’s investigation.

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ESPN reported the probe stemmed from allegations of improper gambling on NBA games and prop bets from the 2023-24 season, when Beasley was with the Milwaukee Bucks.

ESPN reported in June that the 28-year-old was under federal investigation by the US District Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York.

In August, Haney told ESPN that Beasley was “no longer a target” of that federal probe which resulted in four guilty pleas related to a gambling conspiracy that involved former NBA player Jontay Porter.

However, it remained unclear whether Beasley could still face charges, with Haney telling the Detroit News last month that he has “no idea” if Beasley might still be charged with a crime.

Beasley, who signed as a free agent with Detroit in July 2024, averaged 16.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists over a career-high 82 games with the Pistons last season.

Other NBA stops for Beasley, the 19th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, include Denver, Minnesota, Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday there will be no rush to judgment by the league on allegations the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary cap rules through another company’s phony endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard.

“I’m reserving judgment because I don’t know the facts here. I don’t know what Kawhi was paid. I don’t know what he did or didn’t do. We’ll leave all that to the investigation,” Silver said at a press conference after the league’s board of governors’ meeting in New York.

A podcast report by journalist Pablo Torre alleged this month that the Clippers skirted salary cap rules through a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, in which Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was an investor.

Torre reported that Leonard signed a contract worth $28 million over four years in 2021 to market and endorse Aspiration but never did so, saying an unidentified Aspiration employee told him the payment was to get around NBA salary cap rules.

The Clippers, and Ballmer himself, have vigorously denied the claim, and Silver said Wednesday it would be up to the league to prove there was any impropriety.

“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league. I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges,” Silver said.

Silver said the goal of an investigation was to determine “if there really was impropriety” and he would “be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety”.

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Leonard signed a four-year contract extension worth $173 million with the Clippers in August 2021, and the following month, the team signed a $300 million sponsor deal with Aspiration, whose name went on team jerseys.

Ballmer has confirmed that the Clippers “made an introduction” of Leonard to Aspiration, which is acceptable under league rules, but said the club had no part in any separate endorsement deal between Aspiration and the player.

In an interview with ESPN, Ballmer said that he himself had been “conned” by Aspiration, as had other investors.

Silver said he had “very broad powers in these situations” to levy sanctions but would only do so if the league probe confirms wrongdoing.

“I’ve been around the league long enough in different permutations of allegations and accusations that I’m a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course,” Silver said.

A former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, has called for the disbandment of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) if the country fails to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. 

Nigeria requires a miracle to reach the next World Cup after drawing South Africa in a Group C qualification race for the competition.

The result leaves the Eagles third on the log, six points behind the Bafana Bafana with just two games to go.

But Mikel believes the country’s struggles in the World Cup qualifier are due to the football body’s inability to put its house in order.

“If Nigeria doesn’t qualify for the World Cup, the entire NFF board has to go… it’s unacceptable,” the former Chelsea star said on the Obi One Podcast.

“We didn’t qualify for Qatar — the last World Cup — and now it looks like again we are not going to make it. Honestly, I have nothing to say about it,” the ex-midfielder said.

“It is just horrible. Do you blame the players? No, I don’t blame the players. Yes, the players have to take responsibility for the situation but are you gonna blame the players alone? No.

“Again, we talk about it so many times, and that’s why you have people disrespect the African continent and football.

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It ends all square between Nigeria and South Africa. pic.twitter.com/I0POegMsQ7

Mikel believes the people who run football in Nigeria should be held “accountable” for the country’s woeful outing in the qualifiers.

“Yes, the players have to take responsibility but the biggest challenge is from the top,” the ex-Lyn Oslo star said.

The Super Eagles are on 11 points after eight matches, six behind leaders South Africa.

While there are two matches to end the qualification race for Africa, Nigeria are at huge risk of not making it as one of the four second-best teams for a playoff.

The qualification races returns next month with Nigeria going away to Lesotho before welcoming neighbours the Benin Republic.

The Football Association charged Chelsea on Thursday with 74 alleged breaches of rules related to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.

The FA said the charges primarily relate to the period between the 2010/11 and 2015/16 seasons. The Premier League club has until September 19 to respond.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich transformed Chelsea’s fortunes after buying the west London club in 2003.

He sold the Blues in May 2022 to a consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

Chelsea issued a statement saying the club were “pleased to confirm that its engagement with the FA concerning matters that were self-reported by the club is now reaching a conclusion”.

“The club’s ownership group completed its purchase of the club on May 30, 2022,” the statement said.

“During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules.

“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA.”

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Chelsea said they had “demonstrated unprecedented transparency” and would continue working with the FA.

In July 2023, Chelsea agreed a resolution with European football’s governing body to hand over 10 million euros ($11.7 million, £8.6 million) after owning up to “incomplete financial reporting” under the Abramovich regime.

UEFA said it had been “proactively” approached with the information by Chelsea’s new ownership group.

Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He was described by ministers as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle but has denied financial ties to the Kremlin.

In June this year the British government threatened the former Chelsea owner with legal action over the frozen £2.5 billion generated from the sale of the club.

Ministers want the funds to be directed towards humanitarian purposes in Ukraine, but the oligarch insists they be used for all victims of the conflict, including in Russia.

Former Premier League referee David Coote pleaded not guilty to making an indecent image of a child at a court hearing on Thursday.

The 43-year-old appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court charged over allegations relating to a video recovered by police in February.

Coote, who wore a navy suit, sat at the back of the court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to enter his plea during the 18-minute hearing.

The charge of making an indecent image of a child refers to activities such as downloading, sharing, or saving abuse photos or videos.

READ ALSO: Ex-Premier League Referee Coote Charged With Making Indecent Child Image

The former referee was granted conditional bail by District Judge Gillian Young and was told to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on October 9.

Coote was sacked from his officiating role in December after a video showing him making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020 came to light.

He was also banned from officiating by European governing body UEFA until June 2026 after a different video emerged of him snorting a white powder through a bank note while in Germany for Euro 2024.

In a January interview, Coote came out as gay and said his struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to bad choices.