Fans fume as Noah Lyles wins 100m gold despite not crossing the line first

Noah Lyles is officially the men's 100m Olympic champion for the next four years, but some fans are wondering how he was awarded the gold despite clearly finishing behind Jamaica's Kishane Thompson...

The American sprinter pipped his rival to the post by five-thousandths of a second, per BBC Sport, in what must be one of the closest Olympic races of all time.

The official times following the race saw both Lyles and Thompson finish with times of 9.79 seconds in what BBC Sport has described as the “greatest ever Olympic 100m final”.

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So, if Lyles wins, why is there any controversy about the result?

According to The Daily Mail, some fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express confusion at the result, with one fan writing, “Thompson was robbed” whilst another added, “It looked like Thompson won….?”

It appears any controversy around the result has been caused by a lack of understanding, with another fan writing, “Is it head first to win? Thompsons foot clearly over.”

As The Daily Mail writes, “In track races, the winner is the first person to get their chest across the finish line,” so despite Thompson’s foot crossing the line first, it was Lyles who managed to get his chest across the finishing line in the gold medal spot.

Despite the official rules, one fan on X was still unconvinced, writing, “These rules be damned. Thompson won this one.”

Despite any controversy (warranted or not) Lyles was undoubtedly the champion having pulled off an incredible comeback. Thompson jumped out to a clear lead early in the race before Lyles stormed home to take the victory.

Lyles, who is the world champion in the 100m, told reporters after the race, “It's the one I wanted, it's the hard battle, it's the amazing opponents. Everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I'm the man among all of them, I'm the wolf among wolves.” He will now set his sights on the 200m, where he is favoured for victory, per Bet365.

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