Noah Lyles
It was so close a final that even the eventual winner later confessed that he thought his opponent had won the race.
“I did think Thompson had it at the end,” Lyles said. “I went up to him when we were waiting and I said, ‘I think you got that one big dog.’ And then my name popped up and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m amazing.’
The records will state that American sprinter Noah Lyles is the new 100 metres Olympic gold medalist after a blistering run at the Paris Olympics.
Although Lyles crossed the finish line with a gold-medal winning time of 9.79 (.784), it needed a tense photo finish to win track and field’s headline sprint event.
It took several photo views and frame by frame angles to reveal Lyles had beaten Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second.
Another American, Fred Kerley posted a time of 9.81 to get bronze.
If the finish was surprising to neutrals, it was not so to the experts, as Lyles came into the Olympics very confident.
A few weeks to Paris, he ran a personal-best of 9.81 and voiced his dream of winning multiple titles including the highly prized Olympic gold medal.
Lyles received a bronze in the 200 metres at the Tokyo Olympics. He’s also a six-time world champion gold medalist, so he came with a reputation and a punch.
Obviously, Sunday’s Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres is a major achievement, if not the highlight of his career thus far.
He spoke with respect after being crowned champion.
“It’s the one I wanted, it’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents. Everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I’m the man among all of them, I’m the wolf among wolves,” he stated.
The American sprinter’s time of 9.79 seconds fell short of the world record of 9.58 set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica 15 years ago.
Bolt still holds the 100 metres Olympic record of 9.63 set in 2012 and the world record of 9.58 set in 2009.