Why Noah Lyles was awarded 100m gold despite Jamaican rival's foot crossing the finish line first

On Sunday night (August 4), the world watched as one of the most intense 100m races in Olympics history took place. 

Noah Lyles won gold in the 'fastest race of all time'. Credit: Catherine Steenkeste / Getty

From start to finish, it may have all been over in less than 10 seconds - but in that short time, history was made in Paris. 

Prior to the race, Team USA’s Noah Lyles, 27, spoke out about how he wants to leave Paris with four gold medals, telling The Times: “I can grab three but Bolt has done that. I can do two Olympics in a row, but Bolt has done that too.

“A field event? Nope, been done. So I really have to look. What’s left on the table that could put me on my Mount Rushmore, make people say, ‘Not only was he great, but he did something that hasn’t been done?’”

And, after last night, the first of a four possible golds was claimed. 

It was an uneasy start to the 100m final, with the eight finalists being forced to wait minutes before taking their mark. (This was due to a track invasion by a spectator in the stadium.)

Jamaica's Thompson's foot crossed the line first. Credit: Anadolu / Getty

However, when the race finally started and the runners bolted from the blocks on the ‘b of the bang’, we witnessed the fastest 100m final of all time, with all eight participants crossing the finish line in under 10 seconds.

And it was so close that the final result saw Lyles claim gold with a time of 9.79784 seconds, while Jamaica's Kishane Thompson crossed the finish line in 9.79789, per The Telegraph.

That’s right - just a minuscule five-thousandths of a second separated first and second place. Truly outstanding competition that made more even more astonishing viewing.

However, eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed that Thompson’s foot actually crossed the finished line first. 

So, how come Noah Lyles won gold in the 100m?

Viewers would have seent that, as the Olympic judges assessed who crossed the line first, the photo finish showed Thompson’s foot crossed the line before any part of Lyles’ body. 

One viewer even tweeted: "Kishane Thompson’s leg crossed the line first and therefore he should be the winner. Kishane and team Jamaica got robbed."

However, despite some viewers believing that this should mean that Thompson won the race, the winner is actually decided by whomever’s torso crosses the finish line first. 

In this case, Lyles’ torso won him gold… just.

Following the race, Thompson looked pained as he could be seen shouting “Come on, man!” at the screen, awaiting the judges’ decision.

In fact, in a post-race interview, Lyles admitted that even he was expecting to see Thompson’s name come up on the screen as the winner. 

Thompson and Lyles await the results. Credit: Xavier Laine / Getty

“I was prepared to see his name pop up,” the Team USA star said. “I saw my name pop up and I said, ‘Goodness gracious, I’m incredible’. 

“It’s the one I wanted. It’s the hard battle, the amazing opponents, everybody was healthy and came to fight. I’m the wolf among wolves.”

Well done, Lyles! We’ll just have to wait and see if those other three gold medals will follow.

Featured image credit: Catherine Steenkeste / Getty