Noah Lyles sprints to men's 100-metre Olympic title in dramatic photo finish
American's .005-second win over Thompson among closest finishes in Games history
Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 metres by .005 seconds Sunday, waiting some 30 seconds after the finish of an excruciatingly close sprint to find out he'd beaten Kishane Thompson of Jamaica.
The word "Photo" popped up on the scoreboard after Lyles and Thompson dashed to the line. Lyles paced the track with his hands draped over his head. Finally, the numbers came up. Lyles won in 9.784 seconds to edge out the Jamaican by five-thousandths of a tick of the clock.
"I did think Thompson had it at the end," Lyles said. "I even said, 'Bro, I think you got that one big dog. And then my name popped up, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm amazing."'
America's Fred Kerley came in third at 9.81. The top seven all finished within .09 of each other.
This was the closest 1-2 finish in the 100 since at least Moscow in 1980 — or maybe even ever. Back then, Britain's Allan Wells narrowly beat Silvio Leonard in an era when the electronic timers didn't go down into the thousandths of a second.
Thank goodness they do now.
WATCH | Lyles wins thrilling 100-metre final:
Canada's Donovan Bailey, the 100m champion from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, referred to the race as "incredible."
"It shows exactly how technical the 100 metre is," Bailey told CBC Sports.
"At that level, if you make a little tiny mistake at any time during the race, it could be the difference between being an Olympic champion and an also run.
Lyles became the first American to win the marquee event in Olympic track since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
The 9.784 also marks a personal best for Lyles, who has been promising to add his own brand of excitement to track and certainly delivered this time.
He will be a favourite later this week in the 200 metres — his better race — and will try to join Usain Bolt as the latest runner to win both Olympic sprints.
For perspective, the blink of an eye takes, on average, .1 second, which was 20 times longer than the gap between first and second in this one.
What was the difference? Maybe Lyles' closing speed and his lean into the line. He and Thompson had two of the three slowest bursts from the blocks, and Thompson had what sufficed for a "lead" at the halfway point.
But this would take more than 10 seconds to decide. When Lyles learned he'd won it, he pulled off his name tag and raised it to the sky, then brought his hands to his side and pointed at the camera.
Yes, he's the World's Fastest Man. Just not by a lot.
De Grasse misses 1st-ever Olympic final
The feeling hasn't sunk in yet for Andre De Grasse.
The six-time Olympic medallist from Markham, Ont., finished fifth in the third semifinal heat of the men's 100m on Sunday at Stade de France.
It's the first time De Grasse, in his third Games, has ever failed to qualify for an Olympic final in any event.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet to be honest," he said. "It's a tough one not be able to be in that final and contending for another medal. I definitely felt like if I got through this round, a lot can change in the final, people get tired.
"Felt like my endurance and my stamina was there so I definitely feel like I had a shot to get on there. But you can't dwell on it. It is what it is and now I just have to try and get ready for the 200 and try to get on the podium there and see if I can get medal there and of course, with the relay guys as well."
Bailey offered supportive words after the race, remaining optimistic about De Grasse's chances his preferred 200m distance.
"Andre is very good at speed and endurance — I think his 200 metres is going to be incredible," he told CBC Sports. "But he was in tough in the [100m] semifinals.
"He's young, he has no major injuries ... He's got tons left [in the tank]. Lots of speed left."
The 29-year-old, who's always been known for his top-end speed more than his starts, exploded out of the blocks but ultimately fell behind and finished with a season-best time of 9.98 seconds.
It was the fastest time he had run since he won bronze in the event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
"I had a season's best but I needed an extra tenth [of a second] to make that final," De Grasse said. "I can probably dissect the 100 metres maybe after the Games."
With the opening round of the 200 coming on Monday night, De Grasse said the miss in the 100 adds fuel to the fire.
"For sure, I'm the defending [Olympic] champion," he said. "I gotta go out there and make sure that I'm contending for another title or to get on the podium. Of course, I can't let this [affect my confidence] just because I didn't make the 100 metres.
"I just gotta go out there, clear my mind, reset and just go from there."
With files from Dion Caputi, CBC Sports and Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press
