United States track and field star Noah Lyles became the new fastest man in the world on Sunday, and the race was so close that even the announcer botched the call as the sprinters crossed the finish line.
Lyles beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second in the men’s 100-meter sprint. The race ended in a true photo finish, but NBC announcer Leigh Diffey was for some reason certain that Thompson won.
“This is close, Jamaica’s gonna do it!” Diffey said. “Kishane Thompson is a gold medalist!”
The call would have been excellent had Thompson actually won. Instead, Diffey’s enthusiastic commentary was followed by several seconds of silence as everyone waited to see whether Thompson or Lyles prevailed in the photo finish. Unfortunately for Diffey, it was the latter.
NOAH LYLES’ OLYMPIC DREAM COMES TRUE!
100M GOLD MEDALIST. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/qR6bkXLHhE
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Lyles was trailing until the end of the sprint, and Diffey thought Kishane held the American off. The unofficial photo finish showed just how close the race was:
A PHOTO FINISH AND NOAH LYLES TAKES IT. 🔥 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/QXb8Qy6tph
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Diffey probably wishes he could have that one back.
Lyles is the first American sprinter to win the 100-meter race in 20 years. The gold medal was his first. Lyles was viewed as a favorite to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, but a blunder may have cost him the win then. He was able to get the job done in Paris, even if he surprised the announcer in the process.
