US sprint star Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100m title by five-thousandths of a second from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in a dramatic photo finish at Paris 2024.
Showman Lyles overhauled his rivals in the second half of the race to triumph by the finest of margins in a personal best 9.79 seconds.
That was the same time as Olympic debutant Thompson, who led for most of the race, but Lyles produced a spectacular finish to successfully begin his bid for a potential four golds at these Games.
The United States’ former world champion Fred Kerley took bronze in 9.81, edging out South Africa’s Akani Simbine for the podium.
After a lengthy wait behind the start line to a backdrop of dramatic music in a frenzied atmosphere at Stade de France, all eight finalists finished within 0.12 seconds of Lyles in a remarkable race.
Such was the standard of the final – which GB’s Zharnel Hughes and Louie Hinchliffe failed to reach – Italy’s reigning champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs was run out of the medals and another Jamaican rising star, Oblique Seville, finished last in 9.91.
In the end it was Lyles, an athlete who thrives on the sport’s grandest stages and who won three golds at last year’s World Championships, who sprinted away in celebration once the official result appeared on the big screen.
The 27-year-old repeatedly rang the victory bell by the side of the track after establishing himself at the pinnacle of the sport, before he targets further success in the 200m and relay events.