Jenna Lemoncelli
The photo finish of the men’s 100-meter final at the Paris Olympics is making waves across social media.
After Team USA sprinter Noah Lyles secured gold in Sunday’s event, winning by just five thousandths of a second, there was uproar online as others stepped over the finish line before him.
Slow-motion video footage and aerial photos show Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson’s white track shoe cross the finish line, followed by U.S. sprinter FredKerley, who wore bright orange shoes.
But Lyles’ decision to lean forward at the end of the race, propelling his chest over the finish line, was the difference in the extremely close call on the purple track at the Stade de France.
The first athlete whose torso reaches the finish line first is declared the winner, per track and field rules.
📸🏁 Photo finish men’s 100m
🇺🇸🥇 @LylesNoah @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/Kbh24ZBLuE
— Ron Pragides (@mrp) August 4, 2024
Lyles, 27, who finished with a time of 9.784 seconds, barely beat Thompson, who ran the event in 9.789 seconds.
Kerley came in third with a time of 9.81.
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Lyles said he was “shocked” after he looked up at the scoreboard and discovered he won the race.
“I thought I got out-leaned, truly. And me and Kishane were right next to each other, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to swallow my pride on this one. I’m gonna be honest, I think you had that one,’” Lyles said.
“And then my name came up and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I am incredible,’” Lyles said, laughing.
Lyles arrived in Paris with an Olympic bronze, six world titles, and four Diamond League Final trophies on his résumé.
The Adidas athlete said he wants his own signature shoe after winning gold — the first gold for the U.S. in that event in 20 years.
Lyles will compete in Round 1 of the men’s 200-meter race on Monday.
He won bronze in the event, with a time of 19.74 seconds, at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
