Cuba's Alvarez breaks French hearts to win men's lightweight gold

Cuba's Erislandy Alvarez broke the hearts of a delirious French crowd when he beat local favourite Sofiane Oumiha by split decision in the men's lightweight boxing final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

Alvarez's win meant that Cuba's boxers, who had won just one bronze medal in Paris before Wednesday's final, avoided their worst performance since the 1968 Olympics in Mexico when they collected only two silvers.

The crowd let out an ear-splitting roar when Oumiha entered a boiling-hot arena at Roland Garros and all the spectators were either standing or on the edge of their seats by the time the Frenchman, in a lung-busting final effort, took the final round.

However, Oumiha, already a silver medallist in Rio in 2016, paid the price for a poor opening round, which Alvarez won 5-0.

Triple world champion Oumiha, back in the amateur rings after a brief spell in the professional ranks where he won all his five fights, won two rounds 3-2 but the overall decision was 3-2 in favour of Alvarez.

Erislandy Alvarez Borges takes gold after a hard-fought battle! 🥇
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Erislandy Alvarez Borges remporte l'or après un combat disputé ! 🥇#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/YefH3cYQgO

— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) August 7, 2024

When the decision was announced, the crowd briefly booed before chanting 'Sofiane, Sofiane!' as the Frenchman hung his head.

Alvarez, who was beaten by Oumiha in the final of the 2023 world championships, let out his joy with some shadow boxing in the ring before celebrating a deserved victory with his camp.

Oumiha had been looking to become the seventh French boxer to win an Olympic gold medal after Paul Fritsch in 1920, Jean Despeaux and Roger Michelot in 1936, Brahim Asloum (2000), Estelle Mossely and Tony Yoka (2016).

Canada's Wyatt Sanford and Georgian Lasha Guruli claimed the two bronze medals on offer after losing their semifinal bouts against Oumiha and Alvarez respectively.