Noah Lyles Celebrated by Fans After Photo Finish Win in Men's 100m at 2024 Olympics

Noah Lyles talked the talk leading up to the men's 100m final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. And then he walked the walk.

Well, more accurately, he ran very, very fast and won the gold medal by probably the narrowest margin you'll ever see in the event.

Nyles posted a personal best of 9.79, besting Kishane Thompson by 0.005 seconds. It doesn't get much closer than that.

"America, I told you," Lyles yelled into the camera after the results were made official.

American Fred Kerley took bronze, posting a time of 9.81 seconds. Marcell Jacobs, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games, placed fifth.

Sunday's race was incredibly tight, to the point that it was unclear who won at all. But once Lyles was crowned, social media was whipped into a frenzy:

He even won over the NBA crowd, who took umbrage with Lyles claiming that the NBA champions shouldn't be deemed "world champions" in their sport since the NBA is a United States league.

Lyles, who got off to a slow start in Sunday's final and didn't even finish first in his opening heat on Saturday, admitted that he underestimated the field heading into the event.

"These boys said they ain't coming to play," he told reporters. "And I guess that's my first lesson in underestimating the power of an Olympics. When somebody's on the line, they say they're going to give it their all or nothing. The plan was first. But it didn't happen. Second is fine. We'll make sure from here on out it's first."

He also finished second in his semifinals run on Sunday, leading to some doubt as to whether gold was in his future. But Lyles had his best race when it mattered most, rightfully claiming the title of Fastest Man Alive.