All the athletes who qualified for the Paris Olympics men's 100m finals ft. Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson

The semifinals of the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics, the most highly anticipated event of every Games, are done with, but not without some extraordinary action. As 18 sprinters lined up on the tracks of Stade De France over the course of three different races, only eight made it through to keep their medal hopes alive.

Tensions ran high from the very first semifinal, with the race featuring reigning World Champion Noah Lyles and Jamaica's perpetual fourth-place finisher Oblique Seville. The duo are two of the frontrunners to feature on the podium two hours from now, and Seville looked hungry to exorcise the demons of past championships.

The Jamaican got out of the blocks in an explosive start, and had time to look over to his left to see where Lyles was as the duo crossed the final few meters of the race. In the end, Seville won Semifinals 1 with a time of 9.81s, while his American rival settled for second with his time of 9.83s.

Semifinals 2 of the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics promised to be yet another enthralling affair, and that's exactly what it was. In a field featuring Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacob, it was South Africa’s Akine Simbine who was the fastest, stopping the clock at 9.87s. Behind him, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo came in second, with a time of 9.91s.

The last semifinals of the men’s 100m at the Games was expected to deliver a close race between Jamaica's Kishane Thompson and America's Fred Kerley, and neither sprinter disappointed. Thompson, the fastest man of 2024, booked his place in the finals with a time of 9.80s, while Kerley clocked a season best of 9.84 to finish on the Jamaican’s heels.

Outside of the top six from the three semifinals, defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs and 2020 200m silver-medalist Kenny Bednarek also made it through to the Paris Olympics 100m finals based on their times. Both sprinters ran in Semifinals 2, with the Italian setting a new season best of 9.92s, while Bednarek ran a 9.93s.

Paris Olympics 2024: How and when to watch Noah Lyles in action in the 100m finals

After a blazing performance in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles will return to the tracks of Stade De France at 21:50 local time, i.e 15:50 ET, for the finals of the men's 100m. The American will be joined by compatriots Kerley and Bednarek, as the nation vies for their first 100m gold since Justin Gailin in 2004.

However, the trio will face some intense competition from Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson, as the Jamaicans look to reclaim the title Lamont Marcell Jacobs stole from them in 2020.