photo credit: World Athletics
On the third day of the Paris 2023 Track & Field, Noah Lyles, who last year had won the Budapest 100m, 200m, and 4x100m was under real pressure.
He had looked okay in the 100m first heat, losing to Louis Hinchliffe, the NCAA champion at 100m, coached by Carl Lewis. In the semi-final, Noah did
It does not look much better.
Prior to the final, everyone was talking about Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, and they should have! Kishane is the real thing! He had been running quite well since April and broadcasters had all but given up on Noah Lyles.
Well, Noah Lyles had not given up on himself, and neither had his coach, Lance Brauman.
Coach Brauman knew that Paris would be much more difficult than Budapest. The Olympic stage is the largest sports’ stage in the world, and the Men’s 100 meters had a tremendous field!
There was on of the toughest fields in Olympic history: Marcell Jacobs, Italy, defending champion. Oblique Seville, Jamaica, a top sprinter, who had defeated Noah Lyles earlier in the year, Fred Kerley, WC 2022 gold medalist, 100 meters; Kishane Thompson, Jamaica’s wunderkind, Akani Simbine, South Africa, one of the African continent’s most consistent sprinters, Letsile Tebogo, Botswana, WC medalist in 100m and 200m in Budapest, Kenny Bednarek, 200m Olympic silver medalist (Tokyo 2021), WC medalist, 200m, and the charming, effusive Noah Lyles.
In the final, Kishane Thompson led the field from the start.
Noah Lyles had the worst start. Literally, he was dead last.
But Noah Lyles, our hero, has massive acceleration; that is his secret power. And the thing is, Noah loves it.
Kishane Thompson never gave up, and neither did Fred Kerley, as he was on a mission.
Marcel Jacobs, the defending champion, with an American dad and an Italian Mom, was running for redemption. Since his Tokyo win, even though he had won the World Indoor in 2022, and European 2022 and European 2024 WC at 100m, he needed to get into the final. Marcel had moved to North America, to train with Andre De Grasse and work with Coach Raina Reider. Jacobs needed to not only make the final, but run fast.
Each athlete had their story.
Noah Lyles really began to fly once he got out of the blocks. His acceleration was happening even as we say him dead last at 50 meters, but after that, well, Dynamo hum!
Noah Lyles moved to seventh, then, sixth, then fifth, then third, and caught Kishane Thompson literally about 98 meters! I am not making this up.
Noah Lyles ran 9.79, his PB to take gold and win by five-thousandths of a second! Kishane Thompson was silver, also in 9.79, his first Olympic medal. Fred Kerley added a bronze to his Olympic silver, his bronze won in 2021.
The great South African Akani Simbine ran 9.82, a National record for 4th! Marcell Jacobs ran 9.85, his very best since 2021 and the Olympics (he set PB of 9.80 then), and Letsile Tebogo, Botswana ran 9.86 a new national record in sixth!
Kenny Bednarek was seventh in 9.88.
Oblique Seville finished 8th in 9.91.
All 8 men were under 10 seconds, actually under 9.92! Never had there been an Olympic final with all under 10 seconds!
Noah Lyles has now won the WC 100m in Budapest, and an even more difficult field in Paris and won there!
After the race, Mr. Lyles spoke to the media about his drive and focus:
“It’s been a rollercoaster, ups and downs. I’m usually a guy who likes to come out blazing in all my rounds, especially in the 200m. But the 100m, it’s my first time here on the Olympic stage.
“I think back to Tokyo when I messed up handling the rounds. From then on, I was like, ‘I’m never going to do that again. I’m going to handle this correctly and practise over the years’. It’s accumulated to this point. You only need one. As long as that’s the last one, that’s all that matters.”
Noah Lyles proved to the world that he is the Fastest Man in the world with his win in the 100 meters in Paris.
Now, on to the next challenge!