An extraordinary men’s 100m final came down to a photo finish and five thousandths of a second. That was the margin between the American Noah Lyles and the Jamaican Kishane Thompson, who both crossed the line in 9.79sec. After a long wait, and plenty of racing hearts, Lyles was declared the winner.
Another American, Fred Kerley, took bronze in 9.81, with the South African Akani Simbine fourth.
When Lyles won the world 200m title in 2022 he set his sights on a daring new goal: becoming a global star and influencer. It sounded like a preposterous dream. But then he won three gold medals at the 2023 world championships in Budapest. And, with the Netflix cameras and boom mics in tow, he also emerged as the co-star of the docu-series Sprint. Now, after this, everything is on the table for him.
Lyles had been last after 15 metres, his start less explosive than his main rivals. But over the last few metres he closed on Thompson in front of him, before getting the dip on the line.
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When Netflix made Sprint, which has brought the adrenalised thrills of the 100m to an entirely new audience, it never even bothered to speak to either Thompson or Oblique Seville. Instead, most of its focus was directed at those with a star spangled banner on their vest, including Lyles and Kerley.
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It meant that when the sprinters were introduced to the crowd of 75,000 at the Stade de France with a dazzling show and the soundtrack of Kavinsky, Lyles and Kerley were given the biggest cheers.
As they were introduced, Thompson roared like the king of the jungle, while Kerley put his fingers to his lips. Lyles, meanwhile, bounded halfway down the track, hollering in excitement
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Normally the sprinters do not have to wait long to start after that. Instead, they were kept an age standing on the blocks, as the crowd clapped and the music played. Perhaps that explained why they all seemed to run tight, and the times were less quick than had been expected.
If the race had been 99 metres, Thompson would have been celebrating, but fast-finishing Lyles kept his form superbly and timed his dip expertly to add Olympic gold to his world title.
He ripped his bib name from his shirt and held it aloft, announcing himself, as he had always promised, as the fastest man in the world.
“It’s the one I wanted, it’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents,” said Lyles, the first American Olympic 100m champion since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
“Everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I’m the man among all of them, I’m the wolf among wolves.”
Akani Simbini of South Africa was fourth, making it a remarkable six fourth or fifth finishes in global championships, albeit with the consolation of a national record of 9.83.
Defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, heavily strapped, finished fifth in 9.85, and such was the quality of the race that even eighth-placed Oblique Seville of Jamaica still clocked 9.91 seconds.
It was the first time that eight men have broken 10 seconds in a wind-legal 100 metres race.
