NBC Announcer Leigh Diffey Owns Up to Erroneous Call in Men's 100m Finish

Madison Williams | Aug 5, 2024

Aug 4, 2024; Paris Saint-Denis, France; Kishane Thompson (JAM) and Noah Lyles (USA) await the results of the men's 100m final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. / Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

As the runners in the men's 100-meter race on Sunday night at the Paris Olympics crossed the finish line, there was confusion about who won the gold medal.

NBC's Leigh Diffey announced Jamaica's Kishane Thompson as the winner even though it wasn't official. Team USA's Noah Lyles was identified as the winner after an extremely close photo finish.

Because of his misidentification of the winner, Diffey posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, and owned up to his mistake.

"The men’s 100 was epic & closest of all time! My eyes & instinct told me Kishane Thompson won. Obviously, that wasn’t the case," Diffey wrote. "I shouldn’t have been so bold to call it, but I genuinely thought he won. I got it wrong. I am thrilled for @LylesNoah as his story only gets bigger!"

The men’s 100 was epic & closest of all time! My eyes & instinct told me Kishane Thompson won. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. I shouldn’t have been so bold to call it, but I genuinely thought he won. I got it wrong. I am thrilled for @LylesNoah as his story only gets bigger!

— Leigh Diffey (@leighdiffey) August 5, 2024

Diffey didn't provide much more in regards to comments on his call. He told The Associated Press that he'd "rather not fuel the fire."

Here was his call of the race:

"JAMAICA'S GONNA DO IT!"

Well, about that...pic.twitter.com/proLp6G6cz

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 4, 2024

Lyles ended up winning with a time of 9.784 seconds, while Thompson finished at 9.789 seconds. Lyles appeared to even think Thompson won the gold medal, too.