Noah Lyles just snagged gold in the men’s 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it was a total nail-biter! He barely edged out the competition with a time of 9.784 seconds, finishing just ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who clocked in at 9.789 seconds. It was super close! Meanwhile, undefeated boxer Terence Crawford and influencer boxing star Jake Paul both took to social media to cheer him on.

The win was all kinds of crazy—exciting, messy, and totally epic! Lyles pulled off the victory by just five-thousandths of a second, which is insane. Fred Kerley, from the USA, snagged bronze with a time of 9.81 seconds. Even though Lyles was the reigning champ in both the 100m and 200m, he wasn’t the fastest man of the year. Thompson’s 9.77 seconds at the Jamaican trials was 0.04 seconds quicker than Lyles’ best time. 

But Lyles’ sheer determination pushed him to the top. And you know who was quick to celebrate? Terence Crawford! On X, the new WBA super welterweight champ posted, “Congratulations @LylesNoah did you thang!!!!” Jake Paul also got in on the action with, “Congrats to Noah Lyles. Everyone talks s**t, but he’s him, so you can’t hate.”

Even though Thompson ended up winning, the beginning of the race was totally different from how it finished! Thompson, who’s famous for his super quick starts and blazing speed, was leading for the first 95 meters and it looked like gold was his for the taking. On the other hand, Lyles was dead last after 30 meters because he had a slow start, which was pretty much the opposite of his competitors.

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But fate had other ideas for the 23-year-old champ! In the last few meters, he closed the gap on Thompson in no time and managed to slip past him, even if it was by just five-thousandths of a second. Unbelievable, right? It was the same for Lyles, and you could totally see that in his reaction after the race.

Noah Lyles thought Kishane Thompson won

After barely winning the race, Lyles wasn’t sure whether he had pulled it off or not! But when he did, delirium took over as he started running around the track once again. In an interview with Eurosport, the gold medalist said, “I went up to Kishane and I was like, ‘I’m gonna be honest, I think you had that one’”.

He further explained seeing his name at the top was unbelievable, “I was fully prepared to see his name pop up. And to see my name pop, I’m like, ‘goodness gracious, I’m incredible’.” This just goes to show how close and exhilarating this race was—even though Lyles won by a width of a torso, Thompson’s effort was valiant and a silver medal is not too bad. 

The feeling of winning gold in the Olympics is unmatched, something Noah Lyles discovered after his short yet immensely long 100 meters race. It’s not just Jake Paul and Terence Crawford celebrating this achievement, it’s the whole country. What did you think about Lyles’ dramatic gold? Did you watch the race?