A crazy 100m final at the Olympics! The fate of the gold medal was decided in 0.005 seconds
Andrey Shitikhin August 4, 2024, 23:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The fastest man on the planet was determined solely by a photo finish. This was not the case for Bolt.
Noah Lyles is the Olympic champion in the 100m. The new American was five thousandths of a second ahead of the great Jamaican Keeshane Thompson, who was behind for most of the distance but had a great run to the finish line. The race was so close that not even the photo finish immediately revealed the winner.
The 100-meter race is always the most interesting event on the Olympic programme. In Paris, the race turned out to be such that sparks flew. None of the main favourites dropped out in the preliminary round. All candidates achieved very good results in the semi-finals, which promised an unpredictable final. But hardly anyone thought that the main race of the Olympic Games would turn out to be just crazy.
Jamaican giant Keyshane Thompson, 2023 World Cup winner Noah Lyles, who has promised to break Usain Bolt’s records, Tokyo Olympic champion Lamont Marcel Jacobs of Italy, and all the rest: anyone really could win.
American Noah Lyles has promised to break Usain Bolt’s records:
“They told me it was impossible.” Who challenged the fastest man on the planet?
It was not clear who won. The sprinters rushed towards the finish line like a wave. Visually it was simply impossible to determine who was ahead. Even the electronics did not work immediately. As a result, a protocol appeared on the scoreboard, in which Lyles and Thompson got the same result – 9.79 seconds, but the photo finish with an advantage of just five thousandths of a second gave the advantage to the American. And these millimeters decided who went down in history, because they remember the winners.
American Noah Lyles wins the 100-meter dash
Photo: Screenshot of the broadcast.
Lyles, who is positioned as a sprint superstar (but is as close to the moon as Bolt), has the ability to bounce back and deliver when it matters most. Right down to the second. He won by a personal best. But Thompson fell short of his personal best.
A showman, a daring bad guy who isn’t afraid to make big promises – it’s probably better for the sprint that he won. Because Lyles can fill stadiums. Thompson can do it if he breaks the world record. But Bolt can rest easy for now.
