Weekend Review: Julien Alfred, Novak Djokovic, Noah Lyles make Paris 2024 history

Novak Djokovic, Julien Alfred and Noah Lyles will never forget last weekend after making history at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

It was a historical weekend last week at the Paris 2024 Olympics as some athletes wrote their names into the record books. 

A legacy was created as they made history for their respective country. Take a bow Novak Djokovic, Julien Alfred and Noah Lyles as you all ensured your name would forever be etched in gold. 

The pressure and the weight of a nation were on their shoulders, but they embraced it and gave a historical performance that will live forever in history. 

At Housebets, we take a look at each of their performance following a historical weekend that will remain in our livers forever. 

Julien Alfred makes history for St. Lucia

Coming into the Paris 2024 Olympics, the favourite for gold in the women’s 100m was Sha’Carri Richardson. 

However, Julien Alfred had other plans as she executed a perfect race to stun the American woman. 

Alfred was one of the fastest women coming into the Paris 2024 Olympics, but not many believed she could pull off the upset. 

However, she laid down the gauntlet in the first heat before dusting off Richardson in the semi-final. 

Still, many believed the lights would be too bright for her in the final. However, that was not the case as Alfred was not fazed by the occasion or magnitude of the event on Saturday night at Stade de France. 

The St Lucia native won comfortably to win her country’s first gold and medal in the history of the Olympics. 

Alfred got off the block first and took control of the race right from the start to finish first comfortably in a time of 9.70 seconds, the eighth-fastest time in women’s 100m history. 

The 23-year-old celebrated by sprinting after crossing the finishing line before tearing off the name pinned to her vest and showing it to the crowd. 

Alfred won the race ahead of Richardson similar to how Usain Bolt dominated his races during his illustrious career. 

It’s no surprise when the St Lucian native revealed he watched a lot of Bolt’s races before taking to the track on Saturday night. 

Djokovic completes Tennis 

Djokovic arrived Paris 2024 Olympics having cemented his legacy and his status as the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time. 

The Serbian had won 24 grand slams, with no other player in the history of the game winning more. 

He also has 40 Masters titles to his name, eight year-end World No.1 and over 400 weeks as World No. 1, more than any other player in the history of the game. 

But despite this impressive resume, there was one title missing from Djokovic’s impressive collection going into Paris, which was the Olympics gold medal. 

The Serbian’s best run at the Olympics was a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in China. 

Since then, Djokovic has struggled to make his mark at the Olympics. However, he never gave up on his dream, finally achieving his long-term goal on Sunday afternoon. 

The 37-year-old Serbian became the oldest player to win the Olympic singles gold in tennis after beating Carlos Alcaraz in an epic final. 

It’s even more remarkable considering he was not sure of playing the competition as of May after picking up an injury at the French Open, which coincidentally was the place where he won the gold medal on Sunday. 

Although he had since reached the Wimbledon final after recovering from the injury, there were still doubts going into Paris. 

However, Djokovic shut all doubts as went all the way without dropping a set. The Serbian defeated Alcaraz  7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) in a thrilling final that would forever remain in history. 

There was no break of serve in the two sets but Djokovic came up clutch in the tie-break to win the only medal from his collection. 

Noah Lyles shuts up his haters 

Djokovic was not the only athlete who made history on Sunday afternoon as Noah Lyles etched his name in gold. 

The American won the men’s 100m final in a race that people will keep talking about for years to come. 

Lyles was the favourite going to Paris, but there was competition from Jamaica’s Kinshane Thompson, who is still the fastest man this year. 

Thompson had the fastest time this year coming into the games, and he showed his quality in the heats and semi-final, leaving his competitors in dust. 

Meanwhile, Lyles struggled in his heat and semi-final, although he still managed to qualify on both occasions. 

With doubts surrounding his form going into the final, Thompson suddenly became the favourite for gold. 

However, just like every champion, Lyles pulled off one of the best races of his career to snatch gold from Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. 

Thompson looked to be on course for gold as he was well ahead of Lyles after 30m. However, Lyles who did not have the best start, stormed through the last 70m to beat Thompson right on the finish line, courtesy of his torso. 

It was a race where any of them could have won, but Lyles managed to edge it courtesy of a torso dip right on the finish line.