By JENNA FRYER

PARIS (AP) — The United States had a big night in track and field at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, winning two gold medals and five overall.

Gabby Thomas blazed her way to an easy win in the 200 meters — and beat 100-meter winner Julien Alfred, who earned silver and now owns the only two medals in her country’s history. American sprinter Brittany Brown was third.

Thomas finished in 21.83 seconds to add a gold to the bronze she took home in the event from Tokyo three years ago. The 27-year-old Harvard graduate, who has a Masters in public health, took the lead for good at the curve and was never challenged in the final stretch. She grabbed her head with both hands after winning.

Cole Hocker, meanwhile, pulled the upset of the track meet with a stunning victory in the 1,500 meters.

(L-R) Bronze medalist Yared Nuguse of Team United States , silver medalist Josh Kerr of Team Great Britain, gold medalist Cole Hocker of Team United States amnd Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Team Norway cross the finish line during the Men’s 1500m Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Hocker outraced favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to the finish line in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds. He pulled from fifth to first over the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds.

He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigtsen, who set the pace through the first 1200 meters, ended up in fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.

Annette Nneka Echikunwoke won a silver in the women’s hammer throw.

Silver medalist Annette Nneka Echikunwoke of Team United States celebrates after competing in the Women’s Hammer Throw Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

A look at other events from Day 11 of the Paris Olympics:

US women’s soccer team to play for gold

The United States women’s soccer team advanced to the gold-medal game and will make its sixth appearance in the Olympic final following a 1-0 win over Germany.

Sophia Smith broke a scoreless game in extra time by outmaneuvering defender Felicitas Rauch and German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. It was Smith’s third goal of the tournament.

Players of Team United States celebrate after Sophia Smith #11 of Team United States scores her team’s first goal during the Women’s semifinal match between United States of America and Germany during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de Lyon on August 06, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

The Americans are undefeated in France under new coach Emma Hayes and are vying for their fifth Olympic gold medal. They U.S. Women’s National Team missed out on the finals at the last two Olympic tournaments. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and relegated to the bronze-medal match at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

US women’s volleyball team advances

The reigning Olympic champion U.S. women’s volleyball team posted a straight-set victory against Poland to advance to the semifinals in Paris.

The Americans next play powerhouse Brazil on Thursday.

Kathryn Plummer #22 of Team United States reacts with teammates during a Women’s Quarterfinals match against Team Poland on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris Arena on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The Americans made a lineup change after the team’s five-set defeat to China on July 29 to open group stage play, moving veterans Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson Cook to reserve roles and bringing in Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer. The Americans bounced back to beat Serbia two days later.

Teen wins skateboarding gold

A 14-year-old won the women’s park skateboarding and knew she had a podium locked up as soon as she nailed her final run.

Arisa Trew of Australia scored a 93.18 on her final but still had an excruciating wait to see which step on the podium she’d stand on. Only when a 92.63 popped up for Japan’s Cocona Hiraki to end the competition did Trew knew she was taking home gold.

Gold medalist Arisa Trew of Team Australia competes during the Women’s Park Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

At 14 years and 88 days old, Trew became the youngest Australian to win a medal. The previous youngest was Sandra Morgan, who was 14 years and 184 days old when she won gold in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay in 1956.

Wrestler goes out on top

Mijain Lopez concluded his career at the top, retiring after winning the 130-kilogram final for his fifth consecutive gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The 41-year-old Cuban defeated Yasmani Acosta Fernandez of Chile 6-0. It made him the first Olympian to win gold in an event in five straight Games.

Mijain Lopez Nunez of Team Cuba (red) celebrates after winning during the Wrestling Men’s Greco Roman 130kg Semifinal against Sabah Saleh Aze Shariati of Team Azerbaijan (blue) on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Champs-de-Mars Arena on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Following the match, he placed his shoes in the center of the mat, symbolizing his retirement.

At the last Olympics, Lopez became the first male wrestler to win four gold medals when he dominated in Tokyo, blowing through the field unscored upon in four matches.

Perfect 10 in diving

Quan Hongchan of China won her second gold medal in diving competition at these Games and did it by scoring a perfect 10 on the first of her five dives.

An underwater view shows China’s Quan Hongchan competing in the women’s 10m platform diving final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 6, 2024. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

The dive was a forward 3 1/2 somersaults and hardly made a ripple as she set off wild cheers from Chinese fans as the seven judges all registered scores of 10.

The 17-year-old, a three-time world champion, said she has scored 10 three times before — including twice while winning gold in Tokyo.

The two Chinese women teamed up earlier to win the 10-meter synchronized.

Brazil upset in beach volleyball

Top-ranked David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden jump-set their way into the beach volleyball semifinals by beating Evandro and Arthur of Brazil at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

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Brazil’s loss means the sport’s spiritual home will not win a men’s medal for the second straight Olympics. The Brazilian men took gold in Rio de Janeiro and Athens and three other medals in between.

Seine River water concerns cancel marathon swim test

A test run meant to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the marathon swimming course in the Seine River was canceled over concerns about water quality in the Paris waterway.

World Aquatics made the decision to cancel the exercise at an early morning meeting. Fluctuating bacteria levels in the long-polluted waterway have been a constant concern throughout the Games with the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events both planned in the river.

Another marathon swimming test event is scheduled for Wednesday, and organizers will decide early that morning whether it will go forward. The women’s marathon swim competition is set for Thursday, while the men are scheduled to race Friday.

The triathlon mixed relay event was held in the river this week. World Triathlon released data showing that when the triathletes swam, the levels of fecal bacteria E. coli and enterococci were within acceptable levels for the length of the triathlon relay course.

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said Tuesday it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader.

The choice of Sinwar, a secretive figure who leads Hamas’ hardliners and is close to Iran, was a defiant step. Sinwar is at the top of Israel’s kill list as it seeks to destroy Hamas and its leadership after the Oct. 7 attack in which combatants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.

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Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Hamas said in a statement it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike. Also last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed his death.

Unlike Haniyeh, who had lived in exile in Qatar for years, Sinwar has remained in Gaza. As Hamas’ leader in the territory since 2017, he rarely appeared in public but kept an iron grip on Hamas’ rule. Close to Deif and the armed wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, he worked to build up the group’s military capabilities.

Sinwar has been in deep hiding since the Oct. 7 attacks, while Israel unleashed its campaign in Gaza and the death toll among Palestinians, now near 40,000, rose.

Angus Whitley | Bloomberg News (TNS)

Qantas Airways Ltd., not known for usually offering big discounts, has cut prices more than six times this year. Virgin Australia is averaging at least one fare sale a month. Even Ryanair Holdings Plc, which practically invented affordable European air travel, says flights are getting cheaper.

Passengers around the world are winning some respite from the fare madness that followed the pandemic — and further price declines are coming.

It’s a partial rebalancing of power from the post-COVID demand surge that gave airlines almost free rein over fares. As travel restrictions lifted and the world rushed to reconnect, prices ballooned for the reduced number of seats that were available. Premium fares reached more than $20,000.

Now, falling fares reflect the growing number of international flights on offer, particularly in Asia and Europe, and a traveling public that is increasingly cost conscious.

“It’s not just a blip, it’s a global trend,” said James Kavanagh, chief executive officer of leisure at Brisbane-based travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd. “Airlines certainly don’t have all the power at the moment.”

International fares globally fell 6% in the first six months of 2024 from the year-ago period, Flight Centre said. Flights out of Australia were 13% cheaper, while fares to Indonesia — home to Bali, one of Australia’s favorite getaways — slumped 18%, Flight Centre said.

Prices will continue to fall as the cost-of-living crisis makes consumers more price-sensitive, Kavanagh said. With under-pressure airlines seeking to fill planes months before departure, there are deals for early bookers, he said, citing 10-day tours to China, including flights and accommodation, on offer for A$999 ($658).

Greater Bay Airlines, which flies between Hong Kong and a handful of destinations around Asia, is offering hundreds of return flights for just HK$20 ($2.56) each. Qantas, where fares usually align with its full-service brand, cut the price of more than one million seats on domestic flights to as little as A$109. The snap offer was the airline’s sixth local sale of the year.

To be sure, the trend isn’t uniform. Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, for example, said in an interview that passenger demand was accelerating for the Gulf airline.

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At the same time, a shortage of commercial aircraft and ruptures to aviation’s supply chain are constraining capacity. Wait times for the most popular aircraft from Boeing Co. and Airbus SE are years long. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said at the Farnborough Air Show on that the manufacturer is turning down some orders because of its huge backlog. To some degree, these factors limit how far ticket prices can fall.

All the same, declining fares are troubling some airline bosses and unsettling investors. The Bloomberg World Airlines Index, which includes American Airlines Group Inc., Air China Ltd. and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, is down around 15% in the past 12 months.

Emirates President Tim Clark, in an interview at the Farnborough Air Show, lashed out at the way some airlines have suddenly cut fares, warning it risked triggering “a race to the bottom.”

“It only takes one of the big players to do it and everyone goes the same way,” Clark said. “They need to hold their nerve. The characteristics of the segments that drive our business have altered, so align your price points to that and it’s a growing story, not a shrinking story.”

“As far as I’m concerned, as long as the A380 to Heathrow is full six times a day and I can get the kind of yield I’m getting, I’m not going to change,” he said.

Ryanair recently cut its outlook for ticket prices in the crucial summer travel period and said fares will be “materially lower.” Consumers have become “just a little bit more frugal,” the airline’s chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, said on a call. Shares in Ryanair are down about 26% this year.

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