Paris Olympics 2024: Noah Lyles pips Kishane Thompson by five-thousandth of a second to win 100m gold medal

World champion Noah Lyles won the gold medal in the men’s 100m final in a dramatic race at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Lyles clocked 9.79s to win the gold with Kishane Thompson winning the silver medal. Thompson, the fastest man in 2024 so far, also clocked 9.79s but was five-thousandths of a second behind Lyles.

Fred Kerley of USA won the bronze medal with a tome of 9.81s. The fourth place went to South African sprinter Akani Simbine who finished the race in 9.82s.

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Marcell Jacobs of Italy was fifth after finishing with a time of 9.85s.

In a race of the finest margins Lyles triumphed. He is now the first American runner to win the gold medal in the 100m event after Justin Gatlin’s win in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo came sixth in 9.86s while American Kenny Bednarek finished seventh with a time of 9.88s. Jamaican Oblique Seville came eighth with a time of 9.91s in what would be a race that will be talked about for ages.

Lyles, who started in lane seven, outside of Seville and inside of Tebogo was just off to an average start but his long strides helped him catch up with the leaders.

He opened up after the 40m mark and pushed harder as Lyles and Thompson crossed the finish line at the same time, with five-thousandth of a second separating them.

The 69,000 Stade de France was treated to an amazing race and as the runners took guard at the starting blocks, there was a pin drop silence.

Lyles and Kerley embraced in a hug while Thompson, who was sure to have won the race, roared only to understand the magnitude of the difference a five-thousandth of a second can make.

The officials took some time to examine the photo-finish and declared Lyles the winner, who avenged his Tokyo Olympics mediocre run, by his standards, where he won the 200m bronze medal.