How did Noah Lyles run a slower 100m faster than Usain Bolt? Looking at the strange phenomenon at Paris 2024

By Nicolaas Ackermann

Modified Aug 05, 2024 19:36 GMT

With a 100 meter finals lineup that could very well be the poster of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the USA's Noah Lyles found himself in a battle that went beyond the track of Stade de France on Aug. 4.

Not winning any of the heats, Lyles wasn't favored by everyone to grab gold at Paris 2024.

His countryman, Fred Kerley, was a strong prospect in the lead-up to the final, next to South Africa's Akani Simbine, who shined at the Diamond League this year. Even more, Jamaica's Kishane Thompson was another favorite, having recorded the fastest run of 2024 (9.77 seconds).

Nonetheless, while Lyles didn't eclipse the quickest run of the year, his flaming 9.79 saw him stage one of the greatest Olympic 100-meter comebacks ever. So much so that he likely became the fastest human to ever live in the most interesting way possible - even faster than the king himself, Usain Bolt.

---

So how can Noah Lyles run the 100m slower than Usain Bolt, but faster?

Athletics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 9 - Source: Getty

Diving into the deeper details reveals some interesting points on this phenomenon. Although Noah Lyles' sizzling 9.79 is nothing to sneeze at, it falls far short of Usain Bolt's scorching 9.58 world record from 2009.

Lyles didn't beat Kishane Thompson's 2024 lead time of 9.77, which even Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala previously matched. So what's the significance of Lyles' Paris 2024 100m win?

In 2011, Usain Bolt ran a 9.76, clocking top speeds of 43.99 km/h (27.33 m/h). Even more impressive, his blistering 9.58 world record run saw him flying at 44.72 km/h (27.78 m/h), as per AS.

However, these numbers look up to what Noah Lyles did on the night of Aug. 4 at the Stade de France. Coming from behind, the American clocked the fastest speed ever recorded by a running human, a blistering 44.8 km/h (27.84 m/h), as per The New York Times.

Trailing in fourth with 20 meters to go on athletics' biggest stage, Lyles' fighter jet afterburners kicked in as he overtook Akani Simbine in third place. Running faster than any human ever has, he subsequently passed Kerley and Thompson with less than a meter to spare.

Coming back from fourth or fifth place in the final 20 meters is a task too tall for most. Nonetheless, with Noah Lyles biting gold at Paris 2024, beating Kishane Thompson by five thousandths of a second, the world of athletics is set for a heated rivalry in the coming years.