Noah Lyles wins gold in 100 meters at Paris Olympics to become fastest man in the world

(PARIS) — American sprinter Noah Lyles won the gold in the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics in a photo finish, edging out Jamaican Kishane Thompson for gold and taking the title of the world’s fastest man.

Lyles finished in 9.79 seconds — officially 9.784 — edging out Thompson by just .005 seconds for the gold. Thompson, after cruising through the qualifying rounds, was the favorite in the race.

Fellow American Fred Kerley took the bronze medal in 9.81 seconds.

Lyles set a personal best time of 9.79 seconds in the win. Thompson has a personal best of 9.77 seconds, but couldn’t match that in Paris.

Historically a slow starter, Lyles again had to run down the fastest starters. He had a reaction time of 0.178, tied for worst in the field. Kerley, however, had a race-best 0.108 reaction time, the fastest in the field and a big reason he was able to race onto the podium.

It was the first time an American had won the 100 meters since 2004 when Justin Gatlin took the title in Athens. It’s also the first time since 2004 that two Americans finished on the podium. Jamaica, led by world record holder Usain Bolt, had dominated the sprints for the last two decades.

Kerley, 29, had taken silver at the Tokyo Games and was looking to move up one spot on the podium. Instead, he settled for bronze with a season’s best time.

Lyles may have been the favorite going into Paris, but he’d looked like anything but a sure thing in the heats. He finished second in his opening race and said afterward he’d misjudged the speed of the field. He finished second again in the semifinal to Jamaican Oblique Seville, who cruised to a 9.81, while Lyles had to make up for a slow start as he qualified for the final with a 9.83.

Thompson had run a 9.80 in the semifinals — the fastest time of any of the qualifiers for the final — without even showing max effort.

The defending champion from Tokyo, Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, finished fifth with a time of 9.85. The time was a season’s best for Jacobs, who was a surprise winner in 2021 and hasn’t reached those heights in the three years since Tokyo.

Lyles was the defending world champion in the 100 meters from last year. He ran a 9.83 in the final in Budapest as he won gold.

It also took a run of just 9.83 seconds to win the U.S. trials earlier this summer.

Lyles, 27, has surged into the best in the world in the 100 meters after already establishing himself as the best at the 200 meters. Lyles has said his goal was to win double gold and the 100 meters was the hardest of those two. He won both 100 and 200 at the world championships in 2023.

The 200-meter heats begin Monday with the final on Aug. 8.

Lyles is also likely to compete in the 4×100 meter relay on Aug. 9 as he tries to complete a sweep of three golds like he did in Budapest at the world championships.