Men's 100m Sees a 'Stunning' Result

In a photo finish that's being called "stunning," "epic," and "wild," US sprinter Noah Lyles won gold in the men's 100-meter in what the AP reports was a "historically close" race. Commentators originally believed Jamaica's Kishane Thompson won (watch the moment here), and Lyles could be seen pacing after the race, watching the scoreboard for almost 30 seconds before his name popped up as the winner. His time: 9.784 seconds, to Thompson's 9.789. As ESPN reports, that's a difference of 0.005 seconds, or five-thousandths of a second. Lyles' lean made the difference; USA Today reports his shoulder and clavicle crossed the finish line first, as can be seen in images of the finish. A few other interesting tidbits from the race:

• This may have been the closest-ever 1-2 finish; it's definitely the closest one since the 1980 Olympics, before electronic timers went to thousandths of a second.
• Making the whole thing even more of a spectacle was the fact that Thompson appeared to be leading initially, and Lyles came from behind in the last 10 meters.
• A blink of an eye, on average, takes 0.1 seconds—20 times longer than the difference between first and second place in the 100m.
• Fred Kerley, also of Team USA, came in third at 9.81 seconds; his shoe actually crossed the finish line first, per the photo, but a runner's torso must cross the finish line in order for it to count, Yahoo Sports reports.

(More 2024 Paris Olympics stories.)