Even Noah Lyles Thought Kishane Thompson Won 100m

The U.S. star told Thompson after the race he thought the Jamaican had won the photo finish.

The finish of the men's 100m at the Paris Games. Noah Lyles (USA) came home with gold / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Sunday, after one of the most highly-anticipated events of the entire Olympics to crown the world's fastest man, Noah Lyles is a gold medal Olympian. It was not easy, as the photos would show.

The win would come down to a photo finish separated by just thousandths of a second (he beat the silver medalist, Kishane Thompson, by .005 seconds, and the bronze medalist, Fred Kerley of the U.S. by .02 seconds). The competition matched the hype of the moment, as Lyles had to battle back from a group-worst reaction time off the blocks. 

After the race, it was too close to call with a naked eye. Broadcasters called it wrong. Fans watching at home called it wrong. Even Lyles called it wrong.

According to Sports Illustrated senior writer Greg Bishop, who was on site to tell the story, Lyles approached Thompson after the 10-second event and said, “Hey, man,” Lyles told him, “I think you got it.”

Of course, no one is happier to be wrong in this instance than Lyles.

Lyles came to win this race and announce himself to the world. Mission accomplished. He took bronze in the 200m at Tokyo. Left for Lyles at these Games is the 200m and the 4x100m relay.