“I did this against the best of the best on the biggest stage with the biggest pressure” : Noah Lyles after clinching historic gold in Paris
After the end of one of the most iconic 100 m races in recent Olympics history, reigning world champion Noah Lyles came out on top, and to say by the barest of margins would be an understatement. The current world champion in 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay just added an Olympic gold medal to his collection, unanimously earning him the title of the ‘fastest man alive’.
The Stade de France arena was in shock after witnessing the race, as no one could figure out who won, because the time difference in between first and last place were in milliseconds. Even the commentators had no idea because of this, and each of them picked a different winner. But the whole stadium erupted after the American flag was displayed on screen.
Kishane Thompson could not believe his luck, as the difference between the Jamaican and eternal glory was five-thousandths of a second (yes, you heard that right). For context, the human eye takes between 100 and 150 milliseconds to blink. Noah Lyles finished at 9.784 seconds, while Thompson clocked at 9.789 seconds, getting the silver.
“I went up to Kishane and I was like, I’m gonna be honest, I think you had that one, I was fully prepared to see his name pop up, and to see my name pop, I’m like, goodness gracious, I’m incredible,” said the victorious gold medalist.
Noah Lyles backs up his talk as he delivers on the biggest stage of all
Two months ago, Lyles took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and challenged Jamaican runner Oblique Seville. In a viral photo in which Seville stared Lyles down before beating him, the world champion commented that he will have the final say in Paris. Fair enough, he backed it up and more, as the Jamaican finished at last.
For the first time all eight men broke 10-seconds as this was the closest 100m race in Olympics history. It set the internet ablaze, with fans, athletes and even celebrities hyping up the newly crowned champion.
Noah Lyles even broke his own previous personal best of 9.83 seconds during the US Olympic trials, but he would hardly care about that. The American runner had a huge smile and a feeling of contempt around him, as he proudly admitted how he kept his cool and handled his nerves in such a knee-shaking circumstance.
“When I saw my name [on the scoreboard], I was like, I didn’t do this against a slow field,” Lyles said in a press conference after the race. “I did this against the best of the best on the biggest stage with the biggest pressure.” said the 27-year-old.
Safe to say, this victory will be celebrated and talked about for years to come, as Paris has witnessed something very special.
