Noah Lyles realized his dream of winning Olympic gold on Sunday, but it was the most marginal of victories.
The American traveled to Paris, France, fostering hopes of returning home bearing three gold medals. He pushed himself, quite literally, a third of the way at the Stade de France on Sunday evening.
It appears he would have finished in second place if he had a shorter nose, as a video review was needed to confirm he beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five thousandths of a second.
Lyles finished with a time of 9.784, while Thompson snagged silver with 9.789. American Fred Kerley took bronze with 9.81.
You can check out a clip of the race right below:
NOAH LYLES WINS GOLD IN A PHOTO FINISH pic.twitter.com/ipnXovqNli
— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) August 4, 2024
Several photos have since surfaced showing how close Thompson came to finishing in first. Do note that rules state that a runner’s torso is what’s considered, not their feet.
How close was tonight’s 100m finish? From the people @omegawatches, the Olympics’ official timekeeper, it was *this* close. pic.twitter.com/C6nJP9zYlL
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) August 4, 2024
Even easier to tell here pic.twitter.com/t6pKAJ8NHP
— Steven (@WhatUpWarner) August 4, 2024
HOLY FINISH NOAH LYLES!!!!! pic.twitter.com/UGCvBFxHp1
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 4, 2024
Sunday’s race offered the closest 100m finish since Britain’s Allan Wells beat Cuba’s Silvio Leonard at Moscow in 1980, although timing didn’t go as far as thousands of a second back then. So it could be the tightest ever.
Noah Lyles Is Looking To Exorcise Demons
Meanwhile, Noah Lyles is the first American to win the prestigious competition since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
The 27-year-old underwhelmed at the Tokoyo Games, having struggled with his mental health. He finished third in the 200m, his specialty.
He said he was coming for all three this time around.
“Now, here I am, stronger than before,” he said. “And when Noah Lyles is being Noah Lyles, there is nobody else.”
Let’s see how he does in the 200m and 400m.
