Noah Lyles vs Kishane Thompson: How Paris 2024 Men’s 100m Winner Was Decided

Noah Lyles vs Kishane Thompson: How Paris 2024 Men’s 100m Winner Was Decided

  • Noah Lyles became the new men's 100m Olympic champion after winning a close race on Sunday evening
  • The American hotshot beat Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by the tightest of margins, which took time to decide the winner
  • Legit.ng looks at how Lyles bagged the win despite his opponent appearing to get to the line first at Stade de France

Noah Lyles matched his big talk by sprinting to 100m Olympic glory in Paris on August 4.

The American has repeatedly indicated his desire to win at least three gold medals at the summer games as he seeks to follow in the footsteps of Usain Bolt.

Noah Lyles, Paris 2024 Olympics, Kishane Thompson, photo-finish rule
Noah Lyles celebrates after winning the men's 100m title at the Paris Olympics on August 4, 2024. Photo by Image Photo Agency.
Source: Getty Images

The 100m is considered his weaker event compared to the 200m, but the 27-year-old silenced his naysayers after he crossed the line in 9.79 seconds to become the new Olympic champion.

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Noah Lyles beats Kishane Thompson at Paris 2024

So close was the race that Lyles beat pre-race favourite Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. Thompson had run impressive times in the heats and semi-finals, leaving many fans convinced he was the favourite.

The naked eye shows the Jamaican sprinter reached the line first, but after what looked like an extremely long wait, Lyles was awarded the win, sparking emotional celebrations.

So, how did Lyles win? Legit.ng explains.

Men's 100m final splits

First of all, and for context, it is important to note that, save for the finishing line, Lyles did not lead the race at any point. In fact, at the 30-metre mark, he was the last one of the eight athletes. He rose to third at the 70-metre mark behind Thompson and eventual bronze medalist Fred Kerley.

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Paris 2024: Noah Lyles shares emotional message after winning gold in men's 100m

With 10 metres to go, the world champion from Budapest was second to Thompson in another remarkable exhibition of his top-end speed. They crossed the line at the same time and were made to wait to see who had won.

Enter technology.

How Noah Lyles beat Kishane Thompson at Paris Olympics

In such tight cases, World Athletics employs the Total Athletics Operating System thanks to its partnership with Seiko, a watch company.

The technology measures athletes' times to the +/—1/10,000th of a second by examining things like starting, timing, photo finish, wind measurement, and electronic distance measurement.

Photo-finish rule explained

The photo-finish rule was used in the men's 100m final where "a "slit-video" system scans an ultra-thin segment of the track precisely aligned with the finish line -- scans it 2,000 times per second, providing an unbroken image of each athlete crossing the line," as captured on World Athletics website.

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Jamaica's Kishane Thompson talks about sharing gold with Noah Lyles after photo finish

Now, and this is perhaps the most important part, Thompson appeared to cross the line first, but Lyles led with his torso, which is the body part used to determine the winner.

"The winner of the race is the athlete whose torso crosses the finish line first. Any other body parts that may cross before the torso, such as head, hands and feet, will not count."

As the debate rages on, Lyles will revel in his new status as an Olympic gold medalist. he might still leave Paris with the three he desires, but getting one in his 'weak' 100m was the hardest.

Usheoritse Itsekiri's journey to Paris 2024

In a separate report, it was documented how Nigerian electrical engineer chasing Olympic glory in Paris.

Usheoritse Itsekiri will compete in the men's 4 by 100m relay months after winning the Africa title in Accra, Ghana.

Read also

Paris 2024: Noah Lyles wins Olympics gold medal in extraordinary final

The Nigerian athletics team has been training in Germany in the build-up to the event.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah avatar

Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah (HOD Entertainment) Jeffrey is the Head of Entertainment Desk and a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) with over 10 years of experience in journalism. He started as a reporter with Ghana News Agency (GNA) after school. He joined Primnewsghana.com in 2016 as an editor. He moved to YEN.com.gh in 2017 as an editor and has risen to his current position. You can contact him via e-mail: j.owusu-mensah@yen.com.gh