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American Noah Lyles won a close 100m final to claim his first Olympics title after Jamaican Kishane Thompson nearly spoilt his party as African runners missed out on the podium.
Noah Lyles won the Olympics 100m title following a close and dramatic win on Sunday.
Lyles started well and looked poised to win but Jamaican Kishane Thompson almost ruined his party and the race had to be won by very fine margins.
It was difficult to choose a winner between the two and they were forced to wait for some time before the decision was made.
When it was announced, Lyles had just edged it by a reaction time of 0.178 after both of them clocked 9.79 to claim a dramatic win.
Billed as one of the toughest races in history, the final had all the top names but all focus was on Lyles and Thompson given their status as the world champion and fastest man this year respectively.
The American had a good start but the Jamaican quickly caught up with Lyles only helped by his dip which denied Thompson a first gold medal in a championship.
Victory sees Lyles finally complete the set as he has added the Olympics title to his gold medal and can now look forward to repeating the feat in the 200m in a relaxed mode.
American Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champion, managed third place in a season’s best 9.81 to claim a bronze medal.
With Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala crushing out at the semis, Africa’s hopes were in the hands of Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and South Africa’s Akani Simbine.
Simbine managed fifth place as Tebogo faded to eighth place despite great promise in the semi-final.
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