SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTERS
ADVERTISE| CLASSIFIEDS| JOBS| E-TRIB
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NETWORK TRIBLIVE LOCAL
Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Noah Lyles wins Olympic 100 by five-thousandths of a second, among closest finishes in Games history | TribLIVE.com
Olympics

Noah Lyles wins Olympic 100 by five-thousandths of a second, among closest finishes in Games history

Associated Press
Associated Press
7601391_web1_7601391-4b647e92bafa4e84b34cb4bf79665e3c
AP
Noah Lyles, of the United States, in lane seven, wins the men’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Saint-Denis, France.
7601391_web1_7601391-ab14eeab2d99418ab9eb522fad0541a5
AP
Noah Lyles, of the United States, celebrates as he wins the men’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
7601391_web1_7601391-7acb754807c14b8599c912d36972106f
AP
Noah Lyles, of the United States, reacts ahead of his men’s 100-meters semifinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
7601391_web1_7601391-532370e7810440c5a5302ed1a2fe7010
AP
Oblique Seville, of Jamaica, Louie Hinchliffe, of Britain, and Noah Lyles, of the United States, crosses the finish line in a men’s 100 meters semifinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
7601391_web1_7601391-b0aeb611e0584d158f2ea7c9f2b405f5
AP
Noah Lyles, right, of the United States, looks at Oblique Seville, of Jamaica, during a men’s 100-meter semifinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
7601391_web1_7601391-bb083b0296b049cabe230bc0d8ef4996
AP
Noah Lyles, of the United States, prepares to start in the men’s 100-meters semifinal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.

SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 meters by .005 seconds Sunday, waiting some 30 seconds after the finish of an excruciatingly close sprint to find out he’d beaten Kishane Thompson of Jamaica.

The word “Photo” popped up on the scoreboard after Lyles and Thompson dashed to the line. Lyles paced the track with his hands draped over his head. Finally, the numbers came up. Lyles won in 9.784 seconds to edge out the Jamaican by five-thousandths of a tick of the clock.

America’s Fred Kerley came in third at 9.81. The top seven all finished within .09 of each other.

This was the closest 1-2 finish in the 100 since at least Moscow in 1980 — or maybe even ever. Back then, Britain’s Allan Wells narrowly beat Silvio Leonard in an era when the electronic timers didn’t go down into the thousandths of a second.

Thank goodness they do now.

Lyles became the first American to win the marquee event in Olympic track since Justin Gatlin in 2004.

The 9.784 also marks a personal best for Lyles, who has been promising to add his own brand of excitement to track and certainly delivered this time.

He will be a favorite later this week in the 200 meters — his better race — and will try to join Usain Bolt as the latest runner to win both Olympic sprints.

For perspective, the blink of an eye takes, on average, .1 second, which was 20 times longer than the gap between first and second in this one.

What was the difference? Maybe Lyles’ closing speed and his lean into the line. He and Thompson had two of the three slowest bursts from the blocks, and Thompson had what sufficed for a “lead” at the halfway point.

But this would take more than 10 seconds to decide. When Lyles learned he’d won it, he pulled off his name tag and raised it to the sky, then brought his hands to his side and pointed at the camera.

Yes, he’s the World’s Fastest Man. Just not by a lot.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: Olympics | Sports
";