Stunning performance at Olympic Games in Paris - in the 100-meter race, the winner American Noah Lyles was only five thousandths of a second ahead of the second-placed Jamaican Kishan Thompson.
In the full stadium Stade de France, the audience witnessed the making of history. For the first time, all eight finalists ran under 10 seconds in the 100m with wind permitting – making it the fastest race of all time.
All eight finalists finished the race within 0,12 seconds. American Noah Lyles took gold with a time of 9,79 seconds, while last-place Jamaican Oblik Seville crossed the line in 9,91 seconds - a time that would have been good enough for fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson said it was the absolute best 100m sprint final he had ever seen.
Photo: AP Photo/Ashley LandisKishan Thompson and Noah Lyles await race results
"We didn't even know who won for a few minutes."
It wasn't until the big screen inside the stadium showed the official results that the world learned that Lyles had won gold.
As the American celebrated his first Olympic victory, others were left stunned after witnessing one of the most incredible Olympic 100m showdowns of all time.
How the winner of the race is determined
When photos of the finish of the race appeared online, many were confused. Namely, the photos show that the legs of the other competitors reached the finish line of the first one. However, in athletics, the end of the race for an athlete is determined the moment their torso crosses the finish line.
The footage also shows how the American Olympian leans forward towards the very end of the race, aware of this rule. In the end, it secured Lyles his first Olympic gold.
Photo: AP Photo/Petr David JosekCelebration after the first Olympic gold: Noah Lyles
Source: BBC
