"It shook my existence, I deserved to win" - Kishane Thompson reflects on narrowly losing 100m gold to Noah Lyles at Paris Olympics

Kishane Thompson recalled his loss in the 100m at the Paris Olympics, stating that it was significantly upsetting since he deserved to win. Thompson had also finished in 9.79s with Noah Lyles but the latter won by five-thousandths of a second.

Thompson, hailing from the MVP Track Club, made his Diamond League debut in Monaco 2023, finishing fifth in the 100m by clocking 10.04s. He lowered his time to 9.85s, winning silver at the Xiamen Diamond League in September last year. The 23-year-old showcased his 100m prowess at the 2024 Jamaican Olympic trials, where he won the opening round in 9.82s and then lowered his time to 9.77s to secure a place in the Paris finals.

At the 2024 Summer Games, Thompson advanced to the final round, to compete with top names like Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Oblique Seville and Tokyo Olympics champion, Marcell Jacobs. The Jamaican recorded a photo finish with Noah Lyles, with both touching the finish line in 9.79s. However, the announcers declared the American as the winner by five-thousandths of a second.

The second season of the Netflix docuseries Sprint, chronicled the training journey of the athletes culminating at the Paris Olympics. In the fourth episode, the 100m men's final was featured towards the beginning. Since Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles ended in a photo finish, the wait for the results brought everybody to the edge of their seats.

As the announcers declared Lyles the winner, his Jamaican was left heartbroken.

"It shook my existence. I deserved to win, but it's an unpredictable sport," noted Thompson. (3:00)

Lyles' monumental win made him the first American athlete to take the 100m title after Justin Gatlin achieved it at the 2004 Athens Games.

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Kishane Thompson talked about his takeaways from his Paris Olympics stint

Kishane Thompson after winning the 100m semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: (Source: Getty)

After his Olympic run in the French capital, Kishane Thompson wished to work on himself for better outcomes, especially by developing patience. In an exclusive interview with Relevo, he said:

"The first thing I've learned after going through something like this is I have to be more patient with myself. The second thing is I need to understand that the last part of the race is the most complicated, and the third is when it's such a close final, I have to big up myself even more."

He also spoke to the media after his race and shed light on the importance of being patient.

"I was excited-nervous. Not nervous in the sense I couldn't control myself. I was nervous and excited to go. But I should've been more focused and patient with myself." (via Olympics.com)

Kishane Thompson also hinted at his probable appearance in the half-lap sometime soon.