On Sunday night, Olympics viewers may have witnessed one of the greatest 100m races in the history of the Games.
Following a nail-biting delay to the race, the eight competitors - representing five different nations - took to the starting blocks.
What followed was intense competition and heart-stopping racing… and it was all over in the blink of an eye.
Marcell Jacobs of Italy failed to successfully defend his Olympic gold, coming in fifth place. But viewers waited with bated breath to see who would be crowned the winner - after one of the closest photo finishes ever.
When all was said and done, it was Team USA’s Noah Lyles who secured gold, with Jamaica's Kishane Thompson coming in second.
And just how close was it? Well, per The Telegraph, 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 seconds. Meaning there was just five-thousandths of a second separating the two.
In fact, with all eight men crossing the line in under 10 seconds, it has been hailed as the fastest 100m in history.
But despite Lyles walking away with the gold following intense reviews of the footage, people on social media disagree, with many claiming that Thompson crossed the line first and was “robbed”.
“Kishane Thompson’s leg crossed the line first and therefore he should be the winner,” one person tweeted. “Kishane and team Jamaica got robbed.”
A second added: “I still don't think Lyles won this race. Thompson was robbed here.”
“The more I look at this finish, the more I think Thompson won it over Noah Lyles,” wrote a third, as a fourth typed: “Thompson clearly won it. He was cheated!”
And - while these viewers are right to point out that Thompson’s foot did pass the finish line before Lyles’ - that doesn’t mean he is victorious.
According to Olympic rules, it is the torso (or trunk) of the athlete that must cross the line - not the head, arms, legs, or feet.
This is why some runners desperately lean forward when crossing the line, and why Thompson’s foot failed to secure him gold.
It really does go to show how much form and technique are as just critically important to sheer speed when it comes to running at this level.
(Also, we have to trust that the review process, flash timers, backup cameras, and slit-video system are all more reliable than some X users TiVo-ing the final.)
In fact, the race was so close that even Lyles admitted in a post-race interview that he was expecting to see Thompson’s name come up on the screen as the winner.
“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.”
Prior to the race, Lyles spoke out about why he is so desperate 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?’”
With one of four golds in the bag, can the Team USA star deliver on his own prophecy?
