On the track, the men's 100-meter race lived up to every bit of its hype with a thrilling finish. In the pool, the U.S.
women's swim team won the 4x100m medley relay and Bobby Finke won the 1,500m freestyle to beat out Australia for the most swimming gold medals. And both Novak Djokovic and Scottie Scheffler won their first Olympic gold medals. Here are the top five stories of the day: With a final result that could not have been closer, of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to win the men’s 100-meter race.
Both sprinters were timed at 9.79 seconds, but Lyles won by five-thousands of a second, .784 to .
789. Choose your comparison: By a hair, by a breath, by the blink of an eye. NOAH LYLES’ OLYMPIC DREAM COMES TRUE! 100M GOLD MEDALIST.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) In real time, Thompson appeared to be the winner. NBC’s broadcast called it that way (and for doing so in the aftermath). Thompson himself believed he won, looking up at the board for official confirmation.
While time passed in what felt like an eternity, the finish was reviewed. Lyles came over to assure Thompson he won, yet the Jamaican knew the result wasn’t final. But then it was, with Lyles winning by the closest of margins — because, as Olympic rules state, his torso crossed the finish line first.
And the United States had its first gold medal in the men’s 100-meter in 20 years. Fred Kersey earned bronze with a time of 9.81 seconds, giving Team USA two sprinters on the podium in a race th.