After all the talk and all the hype, Noah Lyles duly delivered when it mattered most by winning the closest-ever Olympic 100 metres final by five thousandths of a second on Sunday (August 4) to give the United States the title for the first time in 20 years.
In a blanket finish Lyles believed he had left it too late to catch the powerful Kishane Thompson, but the giant screen confirmed him as the winner in a personal best 9.79 seconds, the same time as the Jamaican, but ahead by the width of a vest.
If the race had been 99 metres, Thompson would have been celebrating a fourth Jamaican men’s 100m win in five Olympics, but fast-finishing Lyles kept his form superbly and timed his dip expertly to add Olympic gold to his world title.
He ripped his name bib from his shirt and held it aloft with his red, white and blue varnished fingernails, announcing himself, as he had always promised he would be, as the fastest man in the world.
American Fred Kerley took bronze in 9.81 while eight-placed Seville of Jamaica clocked in at 9.91 seconds, such was the quality of the race. Defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, heavily strapped, finished fifth in 9.85.
