SAINT-DENIS, France – Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 meters by .005 seconds Sunday, waiting some 30 seconds after the finish of an excruciatingly close sprint to find out he’d edged out Kishane Thompson of Jamaica.
The world “Photo” popped up on the scoreboard after Lyles and Thompson dashed to the line. Lyles paced the track with his hands draped over his head. Finally, the numbers came up. Lyles won in 9.784 seconds to edge out the Jamaican by five-thousandths of a tick of the clock.
Noah Lyles: 100m semifinal photo finish
Noah Lyles finished behind Jamaica’s Oblique Seville in the semifinal of the Olympic 100 meters Sunday but still advanced for a rematch in the gold-medal race later in the evening.
Seville is now 2-0 this season against Lyles after finishing in 9.81 seconds, good for a .02-second margin over the American champion.
Seville got off to a stronger start than Lyles, and the American made up ground over the last 40 meters but couldn’t completely close the gap. Lyles also lost his opening-round heat — to Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe on Saturday. Hinchliffe finished third in the semifinal and did not advance.
(left to right) Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, Great Britain’s Louis Hinchliffe and USA’s Noah Lyles in action in the 100m Semi-Final one at the Stade de France on the ninth day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Sunday August 4, 20
Joining Lyles in the eight-man final will be Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who won his semifinal in 9.80 seconds, the fastest time in the three semifinal. Thompson also has the world’s best time this year at 9.77; he and Seville are trying to put Jamaica back on top of the Olympic podium for the first time since Usain Bolt retired after the 2016 Games.
Defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy finished third in the second semifinal and advanced because his 9.92 was the best among sprinters who didn’t automatically qualify by finishing in the top two in their heats.
Also in the final will be Americans Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and South Africa’s Akani Simbine.
Other gold medals on the line Sunday night at the Stade de France are in men’s hammer throw and women’s high jump, where Yaroslava Mahuchikh tries to bring Olympic gold to her war-torn home country of Ukraine.
