"It wasn’t tougher" - Noah Lyles says he didn't expect rivals to do well in Round 1 after 100m debut at Paris Olympics 2024

Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the 100 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He has advanced to the semifinals, keeping his hopes for winning the sprint double alive.

In the men's 100-meter heats on Saturday (August 3), Great Britain's Louie Hinchliffe, who has been trained by Olympic legend Carl Lewis, laid down the early marker. He beat Lyles with a time of 9.98 seconds, just below his personal best of 9.95 seconds.

Lyles did not have the start he hoped for but managed to finish second in his heat with a time of 10.04 seconds. The reigning world champion was the 12th fastest overall.

After the heats, the American said that he did expect his competitors to perform as well as they did.

“Was it tougher? It wasn’t tougher. I more expected that they would just fall in line. They took it as ‘If I have one shot, I’m going to take it.’ And to be honest, I should’ve expected that knowing that this is the Olympics. This is my first time in an Olympic 100. But I didn’t. That’s on me. I won’t let it happen again,” he told the media.

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“I had to get my revenge from London” - Louie Hinchliffe on finishing ahead of Noah Lyles

Louie Hinchliffe at the 2024 Microplus UK Athletics Championships in Manchester, England - Getty Images

At the London Diamond League meet just before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles beat fellow Olympic medal hopefuls with a personal best time (9.81 seconds) in the 100 meters to take top honors.

While Akani Simbine (9.86 seconds) and Letsile Tebogo (9.88 seconds) completed the podium, Louie Hinchcliffe (9.97 seconds) had to settle for a fourth-place finish on home soil. After the 100-meter heats at the Summer Games, the Brit expressed satisfaction with his performance, and finishing ahead of Lyles made it extra sweet.

“I had to get my revenge from London, it was a great feeling. I’m not trying to get too far ahead of myself, it’s only the first round. It doesn’t matter, this time, you’ve just got to focus on the next race. I go in every race to try and win it. Hopefully that leads to the result I want,” he said.

The men's 100-meter semifinals are scheduled to take place on Sunday (August 4), with the final set for later in the day.