Noah Lyles has made no secret of what he wants out of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Medals. Gold medals. Three of them.
The American sprint star took the first step toward that goal on Sunday night, winning the men’s 100 meters at Stade de France by the slimmest of margins. It required video review to confirm Lyles won by five-thousandths of a second over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson.
Lyles’ time was 9.784 and Thompson had 9.789 to take silver. The photo finish was decided based on when Lyle’s torso crossed the finish, not the sprinters’ feet. American Fred Kerley finished third with a time of 9.81.
This was the closest 100-meter race since at least Moscow in 1980 — or maybe even ever. Back then, Britain’s Allan Wells narrowly beat Silvio Leonard in an era when timing didn’t go down into the thousandths of a second.
Lyles is the first American to win the celebrated race since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
After a disappointing performance three years ago at the Tokyo Games, where he struggled with depression and finished third in his specialty, the 200 meters, Lyles arrived in Paris with a bigger goal — the coveted 100, 200 and 4×100-relay sprint triple — in mind.
“Now, here I am, stronger than before,” he said. “And when Noah Lyles is being Noah Lyles, there is nobody else.”
He will have his next chance to prove it in the 200 on Thursday. The relay is scheduled for Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
