"It all came down to a 100m"- Noah Lyles reflects on the defining moment at Paris Olympics after years of hard work

Noah Lyles, who proved his dominance in the 100m dash at the Paris Olympics by securing a gold medal, has shared the journey of reaching the moment he worked hard for. The 27-year-old ended his 2024 Olympic campaign with a total of two medals.

Lyles delivered an exceptional performance and stood in the spotlight in the 100m dash at the 2024 Summer Games. He clinched gold after clocking a time of 9.79s and trounced his arch-rivals Kishane Thompson and Fred Kerley, who clocked 9.79s and 9.81s, respectively. It wasn't easy for the American athlete, who faced tough competition from Jamaica's Thompson.

Noah Lyles had a neck-to-neck showdown with Kishane Thompson in the 100m finals and both athletes had to wait for a couple of seconds for the name of the winner to be displayed on the screen. Eventually, Lyles grabbed the win, with Thompson just 0.005s behind him.

Noah Lyles recently shared a video on Instagram, showing the journey of his defining moment during the Paris Olympics. It showed clips of the final race, as he spoke about being in the last position initially but finishing strong. He opened up about the close win against Kishane Thompson in the video, saying:

"Paris, you witnessed history. One race, one name etched in gold. It all came down to 100m, but I only need one. A five thousandths of a second. Faster than a hummingbird's wing beat, quicker than the blink of an eye, and a little too close for comfort."

Reflecting on the race, the 27-year-old said:

"I was in last place for almost half the race. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. The torch was passed down by legends before me, but this moment, this moment is mine."

Noah Lyles became the first American man to win 100m gold since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games.

Noah Lyles on the close finish with Kishane Thompson at the Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles clinched the gold medal with a time of 9.784s and Kishane Thompson claimed second place after recording 9.789s. The former Florida Gators runner opened up about this photo finish and revealed that he thought Thompson would win. Reflecting on the moment of the winner's announcement, Lyles said:

"It was a crazy moment because I did think that Kisane had that, and I was like, man, I'm going to have to swallow my pride, which I don't have a problem doing. Respect deserves respect. Everybody on the field, to be honest came out on the field knowing that they could win this race and that is the mindset we have to have." (8:35)

He added:

"Iron sharpen iron of course, I didn't do this against a slow crowd, I did this against the best of the best on the biggest stage with the biggest pressure."

Noah Lyles won another Olympic medal in the 200m dash, where he finished third with a time of 19.70s. Letsile Tebogo claimed gold after recording a time of 19.46s.