Noah Lyles leaned over to Kishane Thompson at the end of the men's 100-metre at the Paris Olympics. "I think you got the Olympics, dog," the vivacious American told the Jamaican as seven athletes stood frozen, with "PHOTO" flashing down the Stade de France video screen.
It may have been a mere 20 seconds of confusion, but it felt like an eternity. Lyles erupted in celebration when his name flashed atop the list.
He'd backed up all his talk, flare, and dramatics with a gold medal as the world's fastest man — by five-thousandths of a second. "Everybody in the field came out knowing they could win this race.
I didn't do this against a slow field. I did this against the best of the best, on the biggest stage, with the biggest pressure," the American champion said, with seven athletes all within 0.09 seconds of Lyles' 9.784 time. WATCH | Noah Lyles takes men's 100m gold in photo finish: Headlined by the 100m, photo finishes are in vogue at the Paris Games.