(LEFT) Noah Lyles celebrates after winning the men’s 100-meter final at the Paris Olympics in Saint-Denis. (RIGHT) The photo finish showing just how close the 100m race was. (AP Photo/Paris Olympics)
Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man on the planet after a remarkable photo finish handed him a gold medal in the 100m sprint race at the Paris Olympics.
In what was one of the tightest races in the 100m event at the Olympics, Noah Lyles pipped Kishane Thompson to the gold medal by five-thousandths of a second. Both the runners clocked 9.79 while Fred Kerley came in third, posting a time of 9.81 to get the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, defending champion Marcell Jacobs ended fifth with a season best timing of 9.85 seconds.
Noah Lyles thus becomes the first American sprinter to win an Olympic gold medal in the blue riband men’s 100m race since Athens 2004 Olympics. The last American man to win the 100m race was Justin Gatlin.
“You have to have the mindset of a god to be able to think every time that you’re going to win the race. Belief. That is what you have to have. I don’t believe in idols. I believe in myself,” Lyles had said in an interview before the race. “My mentality is extremely strong. And if it’s not, I’ll train it to be.”
He came out for the race jumping in the air, almost like he could not wait for the race to begin. And when it did, he proved his belief in himself right.
