Check out the key numbers and facts of Noah Lyles’ gold medal victory in the men’s 100-meter sprint. (0:40)
SAINT-DENIS, France — Since last August, Noah Lyles has stood firm and unequivocal in his belief that the title of “world’s fastest man” belongs to him.
Sunday night at the Stade de France, he proved it.
With a personal-best 9.784-second time that edged him past a world-class field full of elite sprinters, Lyles walked away with his first Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter final.
He earned the victory by beating the man with the world’s fastest time this year, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, by .005 seconds.
It was the closest 100-meter final since at least Moscow in 1980 — or perhaps ever. Back then, Great Britain’s Allan Wells narrowly beat Silvio Leonard in 10.25 seconds in an era when timing didn’t go down to the thousandths of a second.
Lyles is the first American to win the celebrated race since Justin Gatlin in 2004.
If Lyles makes the 200-meter finals Wednesday night, he’ll have an opportunity to claim a second gold medal.
Lyles’ only other Olympic medal is a bronze, which he earned in the 200 at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Sunday’s 100-meter final included the defending Olympic 100-meter gold medalist, Marcell Jacobs of Italy; Thompson, the Jamaican who entered with the world’s fastest time this year (9.77); and two of Lyles’ American teammates, Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley.
Kerley came in third, earning bronze in 9.81 seconds. Bednarek finished seventh, with a time of 9.88 seconds.
During the semifinal round an hour and a half earlier, Team Jamaica appeared to put the rest of the runners on notice. Thompson’s 9.80 semifinal sprint was the fastest of the round. Just behind him in a personal-record 9.81 seconds, was fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville, who ran in a separate heat that included Lyles.
Seville had history with Lyles, having faced him in the Bahamas in June. Seville won it, sneaking just past Lyles in 9.82 seconds. Lyles finished 0.01 seconds later.
It was after Lyles won the 100-meter world championship in Budapest, Hungary, last August when he began leaning into the “world’s fastest man” nickname.
“Everybody knows that the title goes to the Olympic champion, and the world champion,” Lyles said last week. “Which, I am one of … and soon to be another one of.”
Those prophetic words were right.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.