By a nose
US sprint king Noah Lyles powered to gold by just five-thousandths of a second on Sunday in the closest 100m in modern Olympic history, as Novak Djokovic added a tennis gold medal to his glittering CV.
A thrilling ninth day of Olympic action also saw two world records tumble in the Paris pool, the first-ever gymnastics gold for an African nation and the Refugee Team’s first medal in history.
But as darkness fell, all eyes were trained on the lilac track of the Stade de France, where Lyles, 27, was bidding to end two decades of Olympic sprinting hurt for the US.
It was billed as one of the most open 100-m finals ever. And it did not disappoint, Lyles dipping to gold in 9.79 seconds, just three-hundredths of a second separating the first four.
“I’m the wolf amongst wolves,” said the outspoken Lyles, who sees himself as the rightful sprinting heir to the legendary Usain Bolt.
“It’s the one I wanted,” said Lyles. “It’s the hard battle, it’s the amazing opponents.”
The American had failed to impress in his heat or semifinal, winning neither after sluggish starts.
But in the final he burst out of the blocks quicker and muscled through the field, pushing Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and US rival Fred Kerley into silver and bronze by the tightest of margins.
The shock 100m winner in Tokyo, Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, came fifth despite registering a season’s best 9.85.
No US athlete had won the 100m since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games and the Americans were still smarting after Julien Alfred from tiny St. Lucia beat hot favorite Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s 100m final on Saturday.
Emotional Djoko
After an enthralling men’s singles final, Djovokic sank to his knees sobbing after finally completing the “Golden Slam” by adding Olympic gold to his 24 Grand Slam titles.
The Serb took revenge on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz after a painful defeat in Wimbledon last month, gutting out a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) win on the Roland Garros clay.
“This is probably the biggest sporting success I have ever had and the most special feeling,” said the 37-year-old Serb.
In an emotional night, Alcaraz also burst into tears during his TV interview, saying that he felt “that I let Spanish people down” by coming up just short.
In the pool, Bobby Finke from the United States smashed the 1,500m freestyle world record to seize gold and the US women also swam a new world best time in the 4x100m medley.
Marchand settles for bronze
China took the men’s 4x100m medley relay ahead of home favorites France, with Leon Marchand collecting a bronze medal to add to his four golds.
His five medals make him the joint most decorated athlete in PusParis, along with fellow swimmers Mollie O’Callaghan from Australia and Torri Huske from the United States.
Swedish veteran Sarah Sjostrom capped her fifth Games by sealing the 50-100m freestyle double on a thrilling final day of action at La Defense Arena.
Meanwhile, Algerian teenager Kaylia Nemour conjured up “the performance of her life” to become the first African to win an Olympic gymnastics medal as she triumphed on the uneven bars.
More history in boxing, where Cindy Ngamba guaranteed the first medal for the Refugee Team as she cruised into the semifinal, ensuring at least a bronze.
