PARIS- - Nicolas Gestin laid down two stunning runs in the semi-final and final to obliterate the field and claim gold for France in stunning fashion in the men's single canoe slalom at the Vaires-sur-Marnes Nautical Stadium on Monday.

Last to descend in the final after his superlative semi, he flashed through the course to finish more than five seconds ahead of Britain's Adam Burgess, who took silver, with Matej Benus of Slovakia securing the bronze. "I don't know what to say, it's better than my dreams, it's my best race of my life," a delighted Gestin said. "Everyone on my team, my mentor, my brother and I, wanted it. When I crossed the line, I knew I had put in a great run, and now I'll just enjoy it." It was an afternoon of high drama on the stadium's white water as the last 12 paddlers fought it out for the medals, with thrills and spills aplenty before Gestin stole the show. Fourth out of the 12 athletes in the final, Senegal's Yves Bourhis looked to have sensationally taken lead after a hair-raising run, but the judges hit him with a 50-second penalty for missing the ninth gate that quickly dashed his hopes after he passed the finish line. "Unfortunately, it's like that, it's sports - all I can do is accept this, but I have no regrets," Bourhis said. Tokyo gold medal-winner and world number two Benjamin Savsek of Slovenia suffered a similar fate when he clattered into the fifth gate, incurring a 50-second penalty for not going through it correctly. There was also agony for Ireland's Liam Jegou, whose brilliant run was ruined by touching the 23rd and final gate on the course to drop him from first to third with five paddlers to come after him. The tide of luck began to turn when Briton Burgess thundered through his run to go into top spot before Germany's Sideris Tasiadis and Miquel Trave of Spain came up just short. After out-classing the field in the semi-final, Gestin threw himself at the course and put on a display of incredible skill, speed and power, executing a flawless run that ended in a glorious gold medal.

TORONTO--Brandon Lowe went 4-for-4 with an upper-deck solo home run, right-hander Taj Bradley extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 13-0 Thursday afternoon. Brandon Lowe finished with three RBIs, Isaac Paredes had two hits and four RBIs and Alex Jackson added two hits and three RBIs for Tampa Bay in the rubber match of the three-game series. The Rays scored a season high in runs to complete a 4-3 road trip. The Blue Jays dropped to 2-4 on their nine-game homestand. In six innings, Bradley (6-4) allowed one walk and had seven strikeouts to win his fifth consecutive decision. Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (8-9) allowed three runs, five hits and one walk with six strikeouts in five innings. Lowe hit his 12th homer of the season, a 414-foot blast to the 500 level in right on a 3-2 changeup with two outs in the first. He is the first player to hit a homer to the 500 level at Rogers Centre since he achieved the feat April 12, 2019. The Rays added two runs in the third. Richie Palacios singled with one out and scored on Paredes' double to the left field corner. Lowe followed with an RBI double to right. Bassitt hit Randy Arozarena on the helmet with a changeup but escaped the inning with two strikeouts. The Rays added four runs in the sixth. Trevor Richards allowed a leadoff single to Amed Rosario, who stole second. Taylor Walls walked and Jonny DeLuca's bloop single to left loaded the bases. Jackson hit a two-run single to center. A groundout moved the runners to second and third and Paredes drove them in with a single to left. Tampa Bay poured it on with five runs in the seventh. Facing Ryan Burr, Rosario led off with a double, Walls walked with one out and Jackson hit an RBI double. After Palacios walked, Nate Pearson replaced Burr and walked Parades to force in a run. Brandon Lowe hit an RBI single to right, Arozarena hit a sacrifice fly to left and Josh Lowe hit a run-scoring single to make it 12-0. Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement pitched the ninth and allowed two hits and a run.

ELANCOURT, France- - France's newly-crowned Olympic mountain bike champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot sports a tattoo on the back of her neck proclaiming 'life is a joke'. Seeing the funny side has certainly come in handy down the years for one of the best female cyclists of all time, especially after some heart-breaking Olympic disappointments.

NEW YORK- - Walt Disney's DIS.N ESPN, Comcast-owned CMCSA.O NBCUniversal and Amazon.com AMZN.O have clinched the rights to carry National Basketball Association games in an 11-year deal valued at $77 billion, the league said on Wednesday.