Explained: Understanding why Noah Lyles won Olympic gold despite Kishane Thompson's foot crossing the line first

Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100m gold in a photo finish, edging Kishane Thompson by leaning his torso across first.

Noah Lyles was awarded gold in the men's 100m final at the 2024 Olympics despite Kishane Thompson's foot crossing the finish line first.

Sunday’s race at the Stade de France provided a thrilling spectacle for Olympic viewers.

US sprint star Lyles edged out Jamaica’s Thompson by the slimmest of margins securing victory in a sensational photo finish.

Despite Thompson's foot crossing the line first Lyles pulled back in the second half of the race ultimately leaning with his chest to claim the gold medal.

According to Olympic rules, the clock stops when an athlete's torso crosses the line, not the first body part.

Ultimately, the difference was the 27-year-old's strategic lean with his chest while Thompson subtly concaved his own.

Lyles won by a mere 0.005 seconds, making it the closest men's 100m final in modern Olympic history.

Paris 2024 witnessed one of the greatest races on August 4 as Lyles secured the title of the fastest man by a fraction of a second.

Lyles’ comeback was remarkable as he was the slowest off the blocks and lagged behind the pack at the 30m mark.

However, the world 100m and 200m champion accelerated in the latter half of the race, edging out Thompson, who had topped the semi-finals.

The victory, sealed by the barest of margins, was confirmed in a dramatic photo finish.

Initially, it appeared that Thompson had won but after a thorough review of the photo finish images, Lyles was declared the winner with a time of 9.79 seconds.

The photo-finish technology played a crucial role in determining the winner.

This system scans an ultra-thin segment of the track aligned with the finish line, capturing images 2,000 times per second.

This provides an unbroken image of each athlete crossing the line, which is then coordinated with the athlete’s time.

In addition to the slit-video system a backup camera on the other side of the field ensures that the finish is captured even if a runner is obscured by another athlete.

The review process involves officials analyzing images from the slit-video system and the backup camera to determine the winner.

After the race, Lyles himself was surprised by the result.

"I did think [Thompson] had it at the end. I went up to him while we were waiting, and said 'I think you’ve got that, good going', and then my name popped up and I'm like 'oh my gosh, I'm amazing'." he explained.

"I'm going to be honest, I wasn't ready to see it and that's the first time I've ever said that. I wasn't ready to see it," he added.

Reflecting on the victory, Lyles expressed excitement: "You couldn't have asked for a bigger moment. I hope you guys like Noah because I've got a lot more coming!"

Noah Lyles will now be a favorite to win the sprint double in Paris as he prepares for the men’s 200m heats.

Follow us on X (Twitter) for more updates.