Noah Lyles is officially the fastest man in the world. Albeit not by very much. The American showman ran a personal best of 9.
79 seconds (technically, it was 9.784)—finishing just 0.005 seconds ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson —to secure his first Olympic gold medal.
He’s America’s first gold medalist in the 100 meters in 20 years since Justin Gatlin won at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Noah Lyles wins 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 in the Tokyo Olympics, added a bronze to his resume with a personal best time of 9.81. Five of the top six times were personal bests, a season best, or a national record.
Oblique Seville ran a 9.91 and finished last. The 27-year-old said that before he left for Paris, one of his physio guys assured him this race would be a squeaker.
“He said, ‘This is how close first and second are going to be,’” Lyles recounted as he pinched his thumb and forefinger together so they were almost touching. “I can’t believe how right he was.” For those confused as to why Noah Lyles was awarded Gold instead of Thompson, even though Thompson’s foot crossed 1st: The clock stops when your torso crosses the line *not* 1st body part.
Noah leans w/ his chest, while Thompson subtly concaves his chest. That was the difference pic.twitter.
com/13WqNsjrvm — Emmanuel Acho (@Emma.