Lyles overhauled his Jamaican rival and first timer, Thompson in the second half of the intriguing race
By Kehinde Okeowo
American Noah Lyles won the Olympic men’s 100m title by five-thousandths of a second from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in a dramatic photo finish at Paris 2024.
The feat means for the first time since 2004, an American has won a gold medal in the 100m dash at the tournament.
To achieve the feat, Lyles overhauled the Jamaican rival, Thompson in the second half of the race to triumph by the finest of margins in a personal best 9.79 seconds.
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That was the same time as Olympic debutant Thompson, who led for most of the race, but Lyles produced a spectacular finish to successfully begin his bid for a potential four golds at these Games.
The United States’ former world champion Fred Kerley took bronze in 9.81, edging out South Africa’s Akani Simbine for the podium.
After the win Lyles said, ‘It’s the one I wanted.”
He added, ‘It’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents.
“Everybody’s healthy, everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I’m the man amongst all of them. I’m the wolf amongst wolves.”
