Olympic track highlights: Noah Lyles is World's Fastest Man in 100 meters photo finish

SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles is the fastest man in the world.

The U.S. sprinter won the 100 at the Paris Olympics. Lyles crossed the finish line with a gold-medal winning time of 9.79 (.784) in a photo finish to win track and field’s marquee sprint event. It took a photo view to reveal Lyles had beaten Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. American Fred Kerley posted a time of 9.81 to get bronze.

The runners had to wait for photo review moments after the race and didn’t know who won seconds after the race. Lyles told reporters later that he thought Thompson had won.

"I did think Thompson had it at the end," Lyles said. "I went up to him when we were waiting and I said, ‘I think you got that one big dog.’ And then my name popped up and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m amazing.’

"I wasn’t ready to see (my name). That’s the first time I have ever said that in my head, that I wasn’t ready to see it. … It was hard for me to picture where we were. I guess that was a good thing."

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

The moment belonged to Lyles inside a packed house at Stade de France as soon as the announcement was made. Lyles is the first American sprinter to win an Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100 since Justin Gatlin won gold at the 2004 Athens Games.

"It's the one I wanted, it's the hard battle, it's the amazing opponents," Lyles said after the race. "Everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I'm the man among all of them, I'm the wolf among wolves."

Lyles came into the Olympics confident. He ran a personal-best 9.81 last month. He told USA TODAY Sports that he wanted to win multiple Olympic gold medals. He’s well on his way to achieving his goal.

The 100 victory earned Lyles his first Olympic gold medal. He received a bronze in the 200 at the Tokyo Olympics. He’s also a six-time world champion gold medalist, but Sunday's Olympic gold medal in the 100 might be the crowning achievement of his career thus far.

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OPINION: Noah Lyles is no longer a meme. He's a stunning redemption story.

How Noah Lyles' coach pumped him up for golden run

SAINT-DENIS, France — Before Noah Lyles walked onto the track in the men's 100-meter final Sunday night, his coach Lance Brauman told him that the next time they saw one another, Lyles would be an Olympic champion.

"I said 'Hey, a showman shows up when the show's on,'" Brauman recalled. "And that's what he did."

Lyles surged to a thrilling and momentous Olympic gold medal Sunday, cementing his place as the fastest man in the world by beating Kishane Thompson of Jamaica in a photo finish that might go down as the closest final in Olympic history.

At around the 60-meter mark, Brauman said he felt really good about Lyles' positioning. At 80 meters, he thought "holy cow, he's right there." At 90, he started to worry. It was a much closer race than he thought.

"I thought he was going to run a (personal best). I have for the past three weeks," Brauman said. "It was just a matter of, was he going to run a big enough PB to win the race? And he did." - Tom Schad

Noah Lyles was diagnosed with asthma as child

Adding to the already-impressive nature of Noah Lyles' accomplishment is the fact he was able to achieve it with asthma — a respiratory condition that affects the airways in the lungs, causing a difficulty to breathe. He is one of several Olympic athletes in Paris who has the condition, as noted by the American Lung Association.

Lyles has suffered from the condition since he was a child, which even caused him to be homeschooled, he told CNN in 2020.

“Asthma definitely affects kind of everything I do in terms of health, physical fitness, sometimes even emotional because if you’re emotionally fatigued, that can bring your immune system down,” Lyles told CNN at the time.

ESPN reports that, in 2016, Lyles' asthma attacks "largely subsided" due to supplements and USATF-approved medication. - Austin Curtwright

What determines victory in Olympic photo finish?

Just after the men's 100-meter race concluded, NBC's Mike Tirico gave a brief explanation of how track and field race winners are determined. In his explanation, Tirico said Olympic races determine a victor when any part of the leading runner's torso crosses the vertical plane of the finish line.

USA Track & Field, the governing body that oversees Team USA's international track and field competitions, has similar language published in its 2024 USATF Competition Rules.

On page 67 of the document, under Rule 163 (which concerns running competitions), the first point states: “Competitors shall be placed at the finish line in the order in which any part of their bodies (i.e., the ‘torso,’ as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, hands, legs, or feet) reaches the finish line.” - Lorenzo Reyes

When does Noah Lyles run next?

Lyles will start his pursuit of 200-meter gold Monday with round 1 heats. He’s in the sixth heat with Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the defending 200-meter champion from Tokyo. De Grasse did not qualify for the 100 final. The first heat starts at 7:55 p.m. Monday in Paris (1:55 p.m. ET). The top three in each heat advance to the semifinals, which are Wednesday. The final is Thursday.

Keisha Caine Bishop on Noah Lyles' dreams of turning pro

Noah Lyles’ mother knew her sons’ dream of becoming professional track stars when they were still teenagers.

“In 10th grade they wanted to go professional out of high school and I was like are you crazy,” Keisha Caine Bishop, the mother of Noah and Josephus, told USA TODAY Sports this summer.

In July 2016 when Noah was 19 years old, he and his younger brother, Josephus, 18 at the time, turned professional and signed a contract with Adidas instead of competing collegiately for the University of Florida.

“I had to go back and apologize,” Caine Bishop said. “I realized that’s not fair to kill somebody’s dream, especially if they are willing to do the work, and they were willing to do the work.”

Noah and Josephus have been running professionally since. Josephus isn’t on the Olympic team in Paris but ran the 100 and 200 at Olympic trials. - Tyler Dragon

NBC broadcaster incorrectly calls 100 meters race winner

If you thought Noah Lyles missed out on the gold medal in the 100-meter dash, you weren't the only one.

NBC broadcaster Leigh Diffey was into the moment like the rest of the audience taking in the 100 meters, but he seemed a bit more decisive with his call than what the eye told. As the sprinters crossed the line, the cameras panned to Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson and Diffey declared Thompson the winner, not Lyles.

"Jamaica's gonna do it, Kishane Thompson is a gold medalist, on debut," Diffey declared, before going silent.

The competitors were all huddled waiting for photo evidence of the finish. When the photo did come in, it was Lyles who was the winner of the race, by five-thousandths of a second over Thompson. 

Lyles' victory secures the USA's first gold medal in the 100 meter in 20 years, and solidifies his standing as the fastest man in the world. - Joseph Rivera

Results of the men’s 100 meters

1 Noah Lyles, USA 9.79

2 . Kishane Thompson, Jamaica 9.79

3.  Fred Kerley, USA 9.81

4.  Akani Simbine, South Africa 9.82

5. Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Italy 9.85

6. Letsile Tebogo, Botswana 9.86

7.  Kenny Bednarek, USA  9.88

8. Oblique Seville, Jamaica 9.91

According to World Athletics, it's the first time in history that eight men have broken 10 seconds in a wind-legal race.

USA's Juliette Whittaker makes it through to 800 final

Juliette Whittaker will be the only American woman in the 800-meter final after squeaking through the semifinals Sunday night.

Whittaker, 20, nabbed the third and final 800-meter spot on Team USA at the Olympic trials but is now the only one of them left. Allie Wilson did not make it out of the first round, and Nia Akins fell short in the semifinals.

After making the final and running a personal best of 1 minute, 57.76 seconds, Whittaker said she feels like she's playing with house money now.

"I think I'm just so excited now just to see what I can do tomorrow, without any expectation," she said. "Even if I get last in the final, I will be overjoyed just to make it that far. So yeah, I'm just excited." - Tom Schad

3 Americans qualify for men's 1500-meter final

There will be plenty of red, white and blue in the men's 1500-meter final.

All three Americans left in the field qualified for the final, with Yared Nuguse and Hobbs Kessler finishing first and second in one of the two semifinals to advance. Both ran under 3 minutes, 32 seconds.

Cole Hocker also cruised into the final after placing third in his semi and spending most of the race shadowing two of the medal favorites: Jacob Ingebrigsten of Norway and Josh Kerr of Great Britain.

"That was just the very last bit of confidence that I needed, heading into the final," said Hocker, who ran collegiately at Oregon. - Tom Schad

USA's Vashti Cunningham finishes fifth in women's high jump

SAINT-DENIS, France - Team USA women's high jumper Vashti Cunningham missed out on a medal for the third consecutive Olympics Sunday. Still, despite a troubling back injury this season, she recorded her highest Olympic finish ever (fifth place). The daughter of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham cleared the bar at 1.86, 1.91 and 1.95 meters, but failed on three attempts to clear 1.98 to fall out of medal contention.

The gold medal went to Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who cleared 2.0 meters in fewer attempts than silver medalist Nicola Olyslagers of Australia. Ukrainian Iryna Gerashchenko and Australia's Eleanor Patterson tied for the bronze.

Cunningham narrowly qualified for the Paris Olympics, but entered ranked No. 7 in the world. She recorded finishes of 13th at the Rio Games in 2016 and sixth at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

“I felt good about my performance. I was happy when I made the bar and when I missed the bar, I knew what I was doing wrong,” Cunningham said. “I just need to go back to the drawing board and work on a few things.”

Asked if she’s committed to making a run at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, Cunningham said, “Absolutely. I’m only going to be 30 years old, guys.” - Chase Goodbread

Weather forecast for 100 final

There is no rain in the forecast for the men’s 100 final. It’s expected to be slightly cloudy and 71 degrees at the start of the race. The women's sprinters in Saturday’s 100 final had to deal with rainy conditions. 

All three American sprinters advance to 100 final

Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek all advanced to the 100 showdown Sunday night. Lyles and Kerley placed second in their respective heats. Bednarek qualified on time.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (9.80) and Oblique Seville (9.81) have the top times entering the final.

Lyles (9.83) has the third fastest time. 

Kishane Thompson looks ready for final

Jamaica's Kishane Thompson won his third and final heat at 9.80 in what was a quick semifinal. Fred Kerley placed second at 9.84 to get the second automatic qualifying spot.

Noah Lyles second in heat, qualifies for 100 final

SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles is going to have to make some adjustments ahead of the 100 final.

Lyles placed second his first semifinal heat, running a 9.83. Jamaica’s Oblique Seville won the heat and looked at Lyles as he crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 9.81.

Lyles lost to Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe in the opening round. But all that matters is he qualified for Sunday’s final.

The top two from each heat plus the next two fastest times advance to the final. 

How many events is Noah Lyles going to run at Paris Olympics?

Noah Lyles is slated to run the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay.

Quincy Hall, Michael Norman, Christopher Bailey advance to 400 semis

SAINT-DENIS, France — All three Team USA runners advanced in the men’s 400.

Christopher Bailey took second in the first heat of the men’s 400 to move on to the semifinal. Heat No. 1 also featured Great Britian’s Matthew Hudson-Smith who has the fastest time in the world this year (43.74). Hudson-Smith won the first heat timing at 44.78.

Michael Norman ran a fast 44.10 to win the second heat.

Quincy Hall, the U.S. Olympic track and field trials gold medalist, sped by Australia’s Reece Holder down the home stretch and crossed the line with a first-place time of 44.28 in the fourth heat.

The top three in each heat automatically advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal round. Norman qualified to the semifinal with the fastest time. 

What time does Noah Lyles run the 100 semifinals?

The semifinal in the 100 is at 2:05 p.m. ET. Lyles is in the first heat and will run in lane No. 4.

What time does the 100 final start?

The 100 final begins at 3:50 p.m. ET.

Top contenders in men's 100

There are multiple podium contenders in the 100.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson is the fastest man in the world this year with a world-leading time of 9.77. Thompson eased up in the opening round in Paris and still ran a 10.00 to finish first in his heat. Thompson’s Jamaican teammate, Oblique Seville, has defeated Lyles before and can make the podium.

Lyles’ American teammates, Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley, are threats to reach the podium. Bednarek and Kerley both ran 9.97 to advance to the semis.

The defending Olympic champ, Marcell Jacobs of Italy, can’t be counted out, either.

What is world record in 100?

The world record in the 100 is 9.58 set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2009.

What is Olympic record in the 100?

Usain Bolt ran 9.63 to win a gold medal and set the Olympic record at the 2012 London Games.

Last time American won gold medal in men's 100 at Olympics

Justin Gatlin was the last American male to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100. Gatlin won gold at the 2004 Athens Games. Team USA’s best medal in the 100 since then has been silver medals won at the 2016 Olympics (Gatlin) and 2020 Games (Fred Kerley).

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.