Noah Lyles wins the 100m final from Kishane Thompson at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (© Dan Vernon)
USA’s Noah Lyles brought his ‘main character energy’ to the Paris 2024 Games and it paid off, as he ran the 100m race of his life to take the Olympic title in front of a mesmerised crowd at the Stade de France on Sunday (4).
In the deepest men’s 100m race of all time, the six-time world gold medallist dipped to victory in a PB of 9.79, pipping Jamaica’s world leader Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second.
USA's 2022 world champion and Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Fred Kerley bagged bronze, clocking 9.81 – 0.01 ahead of Akani Simbine in a South African record. There were best marks-for-place for Simbine in fourth, as well as Italy’s defending champion Marcell Jacobs in fifth (9.85), Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in sixth (9.86 NR), USA’s Kenny Bednarek in seventh (9.88) and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (9.91) in eighth. In fact, it was the first time that eight men have finished sub-10 in the same wind legal race and 0.12 is the smallest ever gap between first and eighth in an Olympic or world men’s 100m final.
“If you don’t have main character energy, then track and field ain’t for you,” Lyles had insisted in an interview on the new Netflix docuseries SPRINT. He used a lot of that energy during his entrance for the final, jumping up and down and running on to the track before the race.
But once in the blocks, he looked focused – determined to add an Olympic title to the 200m bronze he gained in Tokyo and his six world crowns claimed between 2019 and 2023.
His rivals might have been ahead for much of the race, but Lyles didn’t let them stay there. In his trademark style he chased them down and then drew equal, crossing the line in a finish too close to call from the eye. In contrast, 23-year-old Thompson had powered ahead but he tightened up at the finish and was caught narrowly by Lyles.
As the athletes all looked up at the results board, Lyles stood alongside Thompson – waiting for the marks to be confirmed. As the results came up and ‘Noah Lyles’ appeared first, he held his arms out wide and then ripped off his name bib to show it to the camera.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, ups and downs,” said the 27-year-old, who will return for the 200m and has also voiced his ambition to contest the 4x100m and 4x400m in Paris. “I’m usually a guy who likes to come out blazing in all my rounds, especially in the 200m. But the 100m, it’s my first time here on the Olympic stage.
“I think back to Tokyo when I messed up handling the rounds. From then on, I was like, 'I’m never going to do that again. I’m going to handle this correctly and practice over the years'. It’s accumulated to this point. You only need one. As long as that’s the last one, that’s all that matters.”
Thompson, the fastest man in the world so far this year with the 9.77 PB he ran in June, said: “I’m super grateful. I came out here and finished injury free. I think you guys know my past issues with injuries, so I am a bit disappointed. But I am happy at the same time. I am going to take it as what it is and move forward from here.
“I wasn’t patient enough with myself to let my speed bring me at the line, in the position that I know I could have gone to, but I have learnt from it.”
Thompson and Seville had already made history earlier in the evening, running the fastest ever Olympic 100m semifinal times. Seville made a statement by clocking a PB of 9.81 to win the first semifinal, 0.02 ahead of Lyles. But Thompson responded by running 9.80 to take the third semifinal, ahead of Kerley in 9.84. The second semifinal was won by Simbine (9.87) ahead of Tebogo (9.91), and Jacobs kept his title defence dreams alive by advancing on time, running 9.92 to finish third in that race ahead of Bednarek, who secured the last spot by running 9.93.
For the first time at the Olympic Games, a sub-10 second semifinal run was not enough to make the final.
Benjamin Richardson’s 9.95 became the quickest semifinal time that failed to secure a final place, which was previously 10 seconds flat. Also among those to miss out were Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (9.96 PB), Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe (9.97) and Canada’s Tokyo Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse (9.98).
"Seems like it can go either way,” said Richardson later, when asked to predict the final. “But it's going to be a close one, I know that for sure."
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
| MEN'S 100m MEDALLISTS | ||
| 🥇 | Noah Lyles (USA) | 9.79 PB |
| 🥈 | Kishane Thompson (JAM) | 9.79 |
| 🥉 | Fred Kerley (USA) | 9.81 |
| Full results | ||
For all the latest results, statistics and coverage during the Paris 2024 Olympics, join Inside Track today for free
