Noah Lyles adds to his mantle. The U.S. track & field athlete, who secured a bronze last Olympics in the 200m, won gold in the 100m on Sunday in Paris. He set a personal best of 9.79, beating the silver medalist Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second. His teammate, Fred Kerley, secured bronze with a 9.81.
Lyles overcame a subpar reaction time, the worst of the field (0.178). There was an extended pre-race portion as it is one of the most anticipated events of the Games. Lyles appeared to be motioning for the theatrics to speed up before the athletes took their marks.
Here is the race:
NOAH LYLES’ OLYMPIC DREAM COMES TRUE!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
100M GOLD MEDALIST. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/qR6bkXLHhE
His personal best in the event before the final was a 9.81, which he posted at the London Athletics Meet in July. At team trials, he posted a 9.83 before the Olympics in late June.
Lyles ran a 10.04 in his quarterfinal heat, sandwiched between Louie Hinchliffe (Great Britain) who put up a 9.98 and Shaun Maswanganyi (South Africa) who put up a 10.06. He admitted after that heat that he was a little stunned by how much his fellow competitors brought their A-game.
“That’s my first lesson in underestimating the power of the Olympics. When somebody’s on the line, they’re going to give it their all or nothing. But now I don’t have to hold back. I’m ready to go.”
In his semifinal heat, Lyles secured one of the two automatic-in slots in his heat with a 9.83, second in his heat to Oblique Seville (Jamaica), who put up a 9.81. Of the eight runners that qualified, two (Seville and Kishane Thompson, also of Jamaica) put up better quarterfinal times than him.
Lyles is not done at the Paris games. He is also competing in the 200m, as well as the 4x100m relay, here's when and where to watch those.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Noah Lyles Secures His First Gold Medal With 100m Win in Photo Finish.
