The "fastest man in the world" debate has been raging for weeks, long before the track and field segment of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games got started this week.
In a dramatic men's 100-metre final at the Stade de France on August 4, USA's Noah Lyles, the reigning 100m and 200m world champion, had an emphatic say in the argument when he edged Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by 0.005 seconds to take the Olympic title.
In a tense final which saw all eight athletes dipping under the ten-second barrier, Lyles clocked a time of 9.784 seconds, with Thompson clocking 9.789. Both athletes were officially given a time of 9.79, with Lyles' late surge and critical dip at the line proving to be the difference between the two sprinters in a tense photo-finish.
Running out of lane seven, Lyles, who was beaten earlier in the day in the first semifinal by Jamaica's Oblique Seville, looked to be out of contention midway through the final as both Thompson and USA's Fred Kerley led the pack. Using his lethal top-end speed, Lyles gained ground on the leaders in the final 40 metres and just managed to pip Thompson on the line – achieving a new personal best in the process.
After the race, both men waited anxiously to see the final result, and it was Lyles who was filled with elation as his first-place finish was confirmed.
Kerley ensured the US copped two medals in the final, as he grabbed third in 9.81. South Africa's Akani Simbine ran a national record and placed fourth in 9.82.
Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs ran a season's best for fifth spot in 9.85, with Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (9.86) also breaking a national record with his sixth-placed finish.
USA's Kenny Bednarek (9.88) and Seville (9.91) finished seventh and eighth respectively. The latter athlete cut a disappointing figure after the race as he told SportsMax he had felt discomfort in his groin during the race.
The men's 100m final was a far cry from the women's 100m final on August 3, as the winner, Lyles, and the eighth-placed Seville were separated by just 0.12 seconds. The gap was closer than the distance between women's 100m champion Julien Alfred and silver medallist Sha'Carri Richardson, who clocked 10.72 and 10.87 seconds respectively.
Lyles will try to further enhance his case in the "fastest man" argument when he faces the starter in heat six of the men's 200m from 2.30 pm (TT time) on August 5.
The post American Noah Lyles wins men's Olympic 100m title in photo-finish appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
