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Noah Lyles won a thrilling 100m race at the Paris Olympics — though fans watching on the NBC broadcast may have taken a few moments to realize it.
Announcer Leigh Diffey and NBC analysts mistakenly declared Jamaica and sprinter Kishane Thompson the winner in what turned out to be a photo finish.
“Jamaica’s gonna do it,” Diffey shouted at the race’s conclusion. “Kishane Thompson is a gold medalist.”
The camera then remained on Thompson as he and Lyles met on the track and strained to watch for the official results. Judges would declare Lyles the winner, leading to a belated correction from the broadcast crew and giving the mistaken call some viral attention.
Fans React to Blown Call on Tight 100m Race
The incorrect call from NBC drew some strong pushback from fans, including some who said the missed call marred what was otherwise a historically close race. Lyles earned the victory with a career-best time of 9.794 seconds, putting him just 0.005 seconds ahead of Thompson for the gold medal.
“What a race. And quite possibly the worst call in history by Leigh Diffey,” one person shared on X. “Declared the wrong winner on a photo finish, then extended silence while Lyles celebrated. Brutal”
Others suggested Diffey should have shown more restraint on what was obvious to be an incredibly close finish, spoiling the way history will see the race.
“I like Leigh Diffey a lot, but he really blew this call, why didn’t he wait, or say, photo finish? Declaring Thompson the winner immediately makes this footage unusable,” another person posted on X.
Noah Lyles Thought He Lost at First
The race was so close that Lyles admitted afterward even he thought Thompson had crossed the finish line first.
“We were waiting for the names to pop up, and I’m going to be honest, I came over [to Thompson] and I was like: ‘I think you got that one, big dawg!'” Lyles told reporters after the race, via ESPN. “Something said I need to lean, and I was like, ‘I’m going to lean,’ because it’s that type of race.”
But Lyles added that he was prepared for a close race, having trained with the knowledge that he may need any edge he can find.
“What’s crazy is my [biomechanist] Ralph Mann, before I left for Paris, he’s like, ‘This is how close first and second is going to be away from each other,'” Lyles said as he held up a tiny bit of space between his thumb and forefinger. “I can’t believe how right he was.”
Lyles was trailing Thompson for much of the race, making a move in the final 10 meters and leaning forward as the two reached the finish line together. Though Thompson’s foot actually crossed the finish line first, races are determined when a sprinter’s torso crosses the finish line, and Lyles’ lean earned him the gold medal.
After the race, Thompson said he was “grateful” for the experience but still felt disappointment.
“I’m going to be disappointed, but I’m super happy and grateful at the same time,” Thompson said. “I just got to take it as what it is and just move forward from here.”
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