Noah Lyles Scripts History; Wins Track and Field Gold for USA After 20 Years

Noah Lyles makes history by winning a track and field gold for the USA, the first in 20 years, marking a significant achievement and breaking a long-standing drought.

Published on Aug 05, 2024  |  12:25 PM IST |  62.2K
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Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles just created history! Clocking a time of 9.79s, Lyles clinched the Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100m final yesterday. With this, Noah Lyles will go down in the history books as one of the greatest US sprinters of all time. Lyles has now become the first US sprinter to win a gold medal after 20 years! And the route towards glory for the US track sensation was not an easy one. 

Lyles had been constantly criticized by the fans leading up to the Olympics for his slow timing. Things did not change much, as Lyles was far from being the fastest man in 2024, even as he qualified for Paris. The same story continued in the heat as the American was shockingly overtaken by the British sprinter, L. Hinchcliff. While Hinchcliff clocked 9.98s, Lyles was significantly slow to notch up 10.04s. 

However, in the semifinals, the timing of Noah Lyles improved drastically but he was still behind the Jamaican Oblique Seville. Clocking 9.83s, Lyles qualified for the finals as second-placed as Seville looked composed with 9.81s on the clock. Fortunately, all these would soon be turned upside down by the US track phenom. 

ALSO READ: WATCH: Noah Lyles Pulls Out Blue-Eyes White Dragon Yu-Gi-Oh! Card For His 100M Intro At U.S. Olympic Trials

From the very start of the finals, Noah Lyles looked confident. His entry was typically unique, jumping around and hyping up the crowd to cheer him. While the others looked calm, Lyles continuously called for the camera. Now, competing in an Olympic final is already an uphill task. But being surrounded by names like Akani Simbine, Kishane Thompson, Oblique Seville, and Lestile Tebogo only mounts the pressure to a gargantuan proposition. Add to that a double threat from his own country in Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley. 

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But it is the champions who come out triumphant in the toughest of situations. And surely enough, Lyles did too. In what was a bloodbath of a race, Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson ran identical 9.79s. This meant that the duo would have to wait for the photo finish counting to complete. As soon as the counting came in, it was Noah Lyles jumping frantically wrapped around in the US flag as he won by five thousandths of a second. Soaking in all the glory, Lyles seemed as vibrant as ever. A dejected Kishane Thompson took home the silver, while Fred Kerley doubled the American joy with a bronze medal timing of 9.81s. 

Thus, having called for and won the 100m, Lyles will now be looking to replicate the same antics in the 200m as well. It will be interesting to see if Noah Lyles can fulfill his mission of winning quadruple gold in the Olympics. 

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ALSO READ: LeBron James, Coco Gauff, Noah Lyles, and Katie Ledecky Flaunt Ralph Lauren Outfits For Opening Ceremony Of 2024 Paris Olympics

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About The Author

Debmallya Chakraborty, a senior journalist at PinkVilla, has been deeply involved in UFC since 2015, transitioning from an observer

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