A merican sprinter Noah Lyles secured gold in a breathtaking men’s 100m final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, clocking an astonishing 9.79 seconds. Lyles won in what is considered the closest Olympic 100m finish in modern history, narrowly edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who also recorded a time of 9.79 seconds.
Lyles became the first American to win the Olympic 100m since Justin Gatlin's victory in Athens 2004. The result was only confirmed after a tense photo-finish review.
“It’s the one I wanted,” Lyles said, reflecting on his win. “It’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents. Everybody’s healthy, everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I’m the man amongst all of them. I’m the wolf amongst wolves.”
Despite his confidence, Lyles admitted he initially thought Thompson might have won. “I went up to Kishane and I was like, ‘I’m going to be honest, bro, I think you had that one’,” Lyles shared. “And I was fully prepared to see his name pop up and to see my name pop up, I’m like goodness gracious. I’m incredible.”
Lyles' U.S. teammate Fred Kerley took bronze with a time of 9.81 seconds, just ahead of South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who clocked 9.82 seconds. Defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy finished fifth in 9.85 seconds. The top eight was rounded out by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (6th, 9.86 sec), American Kenny Bednarek (7th, 9.88 sec), and Jamaican Oblique Seville (8th, 9.91 sec).
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