Watch: How Noah Lyles won 100m gold by five-thousandths of a second. What is a photo finish?

Noah Lyles put on the performance of a lifetime to win the men’s 100m gold by five-thousandths of a second in 9.79 seconds, in a blistering final where a 9.91 from Jamaican Oblique Seville was only good enough to finish last.

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Seville had crossed the line ahead of Lyles in their semi-final, and the American sprinter said he needed to get into the right mindset for his medal race.

He called his therapist in order to rebuilding his mental health, something that has propelled him to the pinnacle of his sport.

“I wouldn’t say nervous – I’d say I was extremely curious as to what was going to happen. That’s how me and my therapist phrase it. I’m curious as to what I’m going to do, how am I going to pull this off,” he told reporters.

“I came in third-fastest from the semis. I’m like ‘This is going to be serious, this is not going to be easy’. And I had said OK, my therapist said ‘You need to let go, you need to relax and you need to be yourself’.”

Lyles is already familiar with all the highs and lows of his sport long before he arrived in Paris, and has publicly discussed the work he put into his mental health to rebound from the pit of depression he found himself in three years ago.

The three-times 200m world champion failed to qualify for the shorter sprint at the US Olympic trials in 2021, and rebuilt himself - body and mind - with the singular goal of becoming the fastest man on earth.

“I did this against the best of the best, on the biggest stage, with the biggest pressure,” Lyles said. “And I wasn’t even entered in the 100 in 2021. You know, here I am, first Olympics in the 100, going around now the Olympic champion.”

I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression.
But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become.
Why Not You!

He posted on X, earlier called Twitter, after the race: “I have Asthma, allergies, dyslexia, ADD, anxiety, and Depression. But I will tell you that what you have does not define what you can become. Why Not You!”

How Lyles edged Kishane Thompson and the rest?

BBC. pic.twitter.com/PXxpvazkus

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson let out a scream after crossing the finish line. For a brief moment, he thought maybe he was the Olympic champion.

By the slimmest of margins, Thompson was beaten out for gold on a perfectly timed lean from Lyles. Their times of 9.79 seconds needed to be calculated farther out to determine the winner — with Lyles winning 9.784 to 9.789. Thompson was five-thousandths of a second away from joining the company of fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt as an Olympic champion.

How it panned out:

8 frames, 1 iconic 100m final 🖼️#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/0Q6ItW3e4j

Lyles was slowest out of the blocks among the competitors. He took 0.178 seconds to get up and going.

Thompson, who made a slow start as well, surged ahead in the race but by the slimmest of margins.

At the 40m mark, Lyles trailed the eight athlete pack but no one was really pulling away to lead.

At about three seconds into the race, Lyles starts to pick up pace and get closer to the quickest runners.

At the 50m mark, Lyles wasn’t at the back of the pile but not in command of the race either as Thompson maintained his lead.

At the 60m mark, the entire group seemed to be in sync with runners averaging 40.23kmph (25mph).

Fred Kerley, who would win bronze, appeared to be stride to stride with Thompson after the 75m mark.

With 90m gone, Lyles was still not the leading runner. If the race was 99m and not 100m, he would have finished second.

At the 100m mark, both Lyles and Thompson were clocked at 9.78 seconds. Further inspection put their difference at five-thousandths of a second.

The top-ranked runner needed to produce his fastest time ever to win an Olympic gold and even then the gap was just 0.005 seconds!

What is a photo finish?

The race was so close that when it was over, seven of the eight runners had “Photo” written next to their names, needing closer inspection.

At the final moment in the race, it appeared that Thompson’s leg was ahead of Lyles. Then how did the American win? The reason lies in the specifics of the photo finish rule.

World Athletics’ rulebook says, “As the runners approach the finish line, a “slit-video” system scans an ultra-thin segment of the track precisely aligned with the finish line – scans it 2,000 times per second, providing an unbroken image of each athlete crossing the line – and coordinates it with the athlete’s time. In a few seconds, the scoreboard will show the order of finish and each runner’s time to 1/100th of a second.

“If two athletes finish in a virtual dead heat, the finish image can be greatly enlarged and the finishing time read to 1/1000th of a second so the judges can separate them.”

“In case an athlete’s image is masked or obscured for any reason, there’s a back-up camera on the infield so the athlete can be seen from the other side if necessary.”

At the finish line, Thompson’s foot appears to cross the line first. But the rules stipulate that the body part that has to cross the finish line for an official registration of timing is the torso. “The torso or the trunk of a person includes the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and the back,” explain the rules.