PARIS: World champion Noah Lyles of the United States has won the blue riband 100 metres at the Paris Olympics in a photo finish over Jamaica's Kishane Thompson.
Lyles came from behind and pipped the season leader Thompson right at the line. Both were timed at 9.79 seconds but Lyles prevailed by five-thousandth of a second for his first Olympic gold in a personal best.
Former world champion Fred Kerley of the US took bronze, to go with Tokyo 2020 silver. Tokyo champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy was fifth.
Lyles had finished second in his heat and semi-final but was there when it mattered and celebrated wildly. He will now set his sights on the 200m and 4x100m in a beat to repeat his title treble from the worlds.
Lyles' gold was the first for the US men's sprinters in two decades at the Olympics, following Justin Gatlin's success in 2004.