Noah Lyles Wins Olympic Men's 100m Gold In Thrilling Photo Finish; Kishane Thompson Edges Fred Kerley for Silver

Noah Lyles Wins Olympic Men's 100m Gold

In a night that no one could have scripted, Noah Lyles proved he is the fastest man on the planet. The electrifying atmosphere of Stade de France set the stage for an unforgettable race that saw Lyles clinch the Paris 2024 men’s 100m title by the slimmest of margins.

In a breathtaking photo finish, Lyles clocked in at 9.784 seconds, edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who finished at 9.789 seconds, by a mere five-thousandths of a second. The USA’s Fred Kerley rounded out the podium with a bronze medal time of 9.81 seconds.

Reflecting on the intense competition, Lyles shared with Eurosport, “I went up to Kishane and I was like, 'I'm gonna be honest, I think you had that one.' I was fully prepared to see his name pop up. When I saw my name, I thought, 'goodness gracious, I'm incredible.'"

Lyles, already the reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m, entered the race not as the favourite but as a contender. Thompson had set the season’s fastest time with a blistering 9.77 seconds at the Jamaican trials, outpacing Lyles' personal best by 0.04 seconds.

Despite this, Lyles showcased not just his unmatched speed but the unyielding determination of a true champion. Thompson, making his Olympic debut, delivered a stellar performance but left the stadium reflecting on how narrowly he missed the gold.

"Honestly, it's not just that I didn't win the gold," Thompson lamented post-race. "It's that I didn't better myself in that sense. Today I really gained a lot of experience running with all these great competitors. Big up to all of them. But I really beat myself today in that I didn't trust myself and my speed to bring myself to the line in first place."

Article Sources/References

1. Paris 2024 athletics: Noah Lyles wins Olympic men’s 100m gold in a photo finish; Kishane Thompson takes silver ahead of Fred Kerley - all results (olympics.com)