Noah Lyles he is officially the fastest man in the world.
Although not very much.
The American playmaker ran a personal best of 9.79 seconds (technically, 9.784) – finishing just 0.005 seconds ahead of the Jamaican. Kishane Thompson– to secure his first Olympic gold medal. He became America’s first gold medalist in the 100 meters in 20 years Justin Gatlin won the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Noah Lyles won Olympic gold in the men’s 100m with an EPIC finish. 🥇 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/12qSEeubje
– NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 5, 2024
Thompson took silver with a 9.789. Fred Kerley, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, added bronze to his resume with a personal best time of 9.81. Five of the six best times were personal bests, season bests, or national records. Oblique Seville ran 9.91 and finished last.
The 27-year-old said that before he left for Paris, one of his physios assured him that this race would be a squeaker.
“He said, ‘This is how close the first and the second are,'” Lyles recounted as he pinched his thumb and index finger so they were almost touching. “I can’t believe he’s right.”
For those confused as to why Noah Lyles was awarded Gold instead of Thompson, even though Thompson’s leg went 1st:
The clock stops when the body crosses the line *no* body part 1. Noah leans w / chest, while Thompson subtly concaves the chest. That is the difference pic.twitter.com/13WqNsjrvm
– Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) August 4, 2024
The computer showed Lyles leaned forward—he had to cross the finish line—to cross the line five thousandths of a second faster than Thompson.
Before the final results were posted, Lyles told reporters that he thought it was Thompson who finished first, not him.
“I was like, oh man, I really have to swallow my pride, which is fine. Respect has to be respected, and everybody in the field, honestly, came out knowing they could win this race.
Noah Lyles with a POWERFUL message after winning his first Olympic gold medal 👏🏅 pic.twitter.com/hNpJtrXby4
– ESPN (@espn) August 5, 2024
Earlier, Lyles talked about wanting more spirited competition with his teammates. More trash talking. another race. More than the best face death.
“Everybody has their own vibe. I’m a showman,” Lyles said in the documentary series Sprint on Netflix.
“I feel like I’m almost an art director. You have all these other athletes as stars, rock stars, popular everywhere. Track and field should be the same. And I won’t be happy until I see it finished.
And it’s not just nonsense with track and field competitors. Lyles and the NBA—players and fans—have had a beef since he spoke at last year’s World Championships where he won the 100 and 200.
“What world champion?!” 😂
US sprinter Noah Lyles calls out NBA for labeling champions ‘world champions’ 🏀 pic.twitter.com/MAaBLBrOj4
– Sky Sports (@SkySports) August 29, 2023
Lyles mocked the label of the NBA Finals champions as “world champions” by asking, “What world champions? The United States?”
“This is not the world,” he continued to laughs from reporters. “This is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country here struggling, developing, putting up a flag to show that they are represented. There are no flags in the NBA.
NBA players and media did not find Lyles’ jokes amusing. He said the league includes the best basketball players in the world and is therefore the best hoops competition on the planet even though it is not an official world championship.
Lyles’ comments drew criticism and clap-backs. Kevin Durant tweeted: “Someone help this brother.” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called Lyles “very stupid.”
Fast forward to Saturday and the start of the men’s 100 competition at the Stade de France. Lyles finished second in the heat of the first round, and many detractors tweet excited about the potential collapse in Paris. He took second again in the semi-finals early Sunday, giving his critics hope.
Lol na it’s an Olympic gold medal. Can talk for a lifetime 😂 https://t.co/f18joDmXRj
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) August 4, 2024
Lyles finally laughed. And he has a chance to win three more golds to match Carl Lewis‘ track and field record of four golds at the 1984 Olympics. He will be an even bigger favorite to win the next event – the 200 meters.
“I’m going to win,” Lyles assured. “Nobody wins. When I get out of the turn, he’s going to be depressed. Lyles is referring to his opponent at 200. But we don’t think Lyles plans to eat anything from that word anytime soon.
“I truly believe that the moment is no bigger than me,” Lyles told Netflix. “The moment was made for me.”
