Team USA’s Noah Lyles took the gold in the men’s 100-meter final at the Paris Olympics — by five-thousandths of a second.
Lyles, who won Sunday with a time of 9.784 seconds, came out just barely ahead of Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (who ran in 9.789) and the U.S.’ Fred Kerley (whose time was 9.81).
The race was so close that even the commentators nearly called the wrong winner before the photo finish, which showed Lyles being the first to lean over the finish line even as others managed to step over it before him.
It raises the question: Which part of the body must cross the finish line first to earn the win?
According to Olympic rules and regulations, the first athlete whose torso reaches the closest edge of the finish line is the winner. That means the trunk of the body is what counts, as opposed to the head, limbs or feet.
That is what earned Lyles the gold and the title of world’s fastest man even though some viewers online noted that several other athletes’ shoes reached the finish line first.
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In the moments of uncertainty immediately after the race, the athletes could be seen waiting anxiously for the photo before Lyles set off running and jumping around the track to celebrate his win.
Lyles, 27, is scheduled to compete in Round 1 of the men’s 200-meter race on Monday. He earned bronze in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with a time of 19.74 seconds.
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