In the 100 meters, Noah Lyles wins gold by a mere 0.0005 seconds

With the United States vying for the championship for the first time in twenty years, Noah Lyles delivered when it counted most on Sunday, winning the Olympic 100-meter final by the narrowest margin ever by five thousandths of a second.

In an all-out sprint to the finish, Lyles thought he had lost too much time to overtake the formidable Kishane Thompson, but the enormous screen verified his victory in a personal best 9.79 seconds—the same time as the Jamaican, but with a mere vest-width difference.

Thompson would have been celebrating his fourth gold medal in the men’s 100-meter sprint at the Olympics if the event had been 99 meters, but Lyles finished quickly, maintaining perfect form and timing his drop to add Olympic gold to his world crown.

He declared himself the fastest man in the world, as he had always promised, as he tore his name bib from his shirt and raised it high with his red, white, and blue fingernails painted.

“It’s the one I wanted, the hard battle, the amazing opponents,” Lyles, who became the first American male Olympic 100-meter winner since 2004’s Justin Gatlin, said of his victory.

“I didn’t do this against a slow field – I did this against the best of the best, on the biggest stage, with the biggest pressure.”

It was the first time eight men had broken 10 seconds in a wind-legal 100-meter race, therefore he was correct in that assessment.

With a national record time of 9.83, South Africa’s Akani Simbini finished fourth and American Fred Kerley earned bronze in 9.81, for an incredible six fourth- or fifth-place finish in global championships.

The financially strapped Italian champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs was fifth in 9.85, while Letsile Tebogo of Botswana established a national record in sixth place with 9.86.

Because of how good the race was, Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who finished in eighth position, only needed 9.91 seconds.

“I did not think I won, I didn’t think I dipped at the right time, too early,” Lyles stated. In the waiting room, I even approached Kishane and told him, ‘I think you got that one.'” However, when my name appeared, I immediately thought, “Oh my gosh, I’m amazing.”

THOMPSSON FURIOUS

Thompson was the fastest guy in the world this year when he came in Paris (9.77), and on Sunday, he recorded the fastest time among the semi-finalists (9.80).
“I am a bit disappointed, but I am happy at the same time,” he stated. “I wasn’t patient enough with myself to let my speed bring me at the line in the position that I know I could have gone to.”

In addition, former world champion Kerley had a great race to add bronze to his silver from Tokyo.

“That was a great race and anyone could have won it,” he stated.

“I believe I performed to the best of my abilities. I came here simply to win the gold, but hey, that’s what everyone came here for, isn’t that right? The best is whomever seemed the most genuine.”

In the semifinal, Seville had triumphed against Lyles just when it appeared that the American was at his peak.

Nevertheless, after winning three 200-meter world titles and a 200-meter bronze at the most recent Olympics, the biggest showman in the sport and the star of the wildly popular Netflix SPRINT series has developed into a serious championship operator over the shorter distance.

“I remember that day in Tokyo when I made a mistake managing the rounds. I decided then and there that I would never do it again. I’m going to practice handling this appropriately over the years,” he remarked, adding that the truck had shaken him up and that he had phoned one of his therapists for guidance.

In Paris, Lyles, 27, hopes to win four gold medals: in the 100-meter event, his preferred 200-meter event, the 4×100-meter relay, and maybe the 4×400-meter relay.

That would follow in the footsteps of notable fellow countrymen Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, who accomplished the same thing at a single Games using the long jump rather than the longer relay.