Olympics: Noah Lyles Wins 100-Meter Gold by 0.005 Seconds

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Facts

  • Sprinter Noah Lyles on Sunday became the first American in 20 years to win an Olympic 100m title, beating his nearest rival by a mere five-thousandths of a second.[1]
  • With a late rally, Lyles (at a personal best of 9.784 seconds) pipped Jamaica's Kishane Thompson (9.789 seconds) at the finishing line.[2]
  • While others stepped over the finishing line before Lyles, his torso was first to reach its closest edge, earning him the gold.[3]
  • Less than 0.03 seconds separated the first four finalists, while the top seven finished within 0.09 seconds of each other.[4]
  • Before his name appeared on the board as the winner, Lyles — who had finished second in both the first round and the semifinal qualifiers — said he believed Thompson had won.[5]
  • Lyles, a star of the Netflix show Sprint, specializes in the 200-meter race, for which the qualifying rounds begin Monday.[2]

Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]Ft, [3]NBC, [4]Associated Press and [5]CNN.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Newsweek. Despite having the joint slowest start, Noah Lyles, known for his confidence and showmanship, cemented his status as a legendary sprinter in an unforgettable Olympic final. With his remarkable win, the American has ended Jamaica's 100m supremacy at the Olympic Games.
  • Narrative B, as provided by NBC. Lyles could only snatch victory from Thompson due to flawed Olympic rules and regulations, which count the trunk of the body, not the feet, to decide the winner. The sports' governing body must reconsider track and field rules that are unfair to those athletes who actually reach the finish line first.

Predictions