PARIS, France – Kishane Thompson of Jamaica came agonizingly close to capturing gold in the men’s 100 metres at the Paris Olympics on Sunday night.
Kishane Thomas of Jamaica was forced to settle for silver in the men’s 100 metres at the Paris OlympicsIn one of the closest ever finishes in the event in Olympics history, Thompson and eventual winner, Noah Lyles of the United States both clocked 9.79 seconds in a pulsating final that had to be determined by a photo finish.
Lyles’ teammate Fred Kerley won bronze in 9.81 seconds.
Initially, it appeared as though the burly 23-year-old Thompson had crossed the line first.
However, following the use of the photo finish technology, Lyles (9.784) was declared the winner ahead of Thompson (9.789).
Lyles, who together with Thompson watched the big screen anxiously as they awaited the winner to be announced, raised his hands in triumph before taking off for a lap of honour around the track when the decision was made.
A dejected looking Thompson could only look on in disbelief.
Thompson, who was hoping to become the first Jamaican man to win the event since Usain Bolt in 2016, got off to a fast start and led the field after 65 metres.
However, the fastest man over 100 metres this year could not produce his usual burst of speed over the last 30 metres, allowing Lyles to pip him on the line.
“Honestly it’s not just that I didn’t win the gold, it’s that I didn’t better myself in that sense,” a devastated Thompson said after the final.
“Today I really gained a lot of experience running with all these great competitors. Big up to all of them. But I really beat myself today in that I didn’t trust myself and my speed to bring myself to the line in first place.”
Meanwhile, Lyles who became the first man from the USA to win the event since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, was ecstatic.
“I went up to Kishane and I was like, ‘I’m gonna be honest, I think you had that one’,” a beaming Lyles told Eurosport after the race. “I was fully prepared to see his name pop up. and to see my name pop, I’m like, ‘goodness gracious, I’m incredible’.”
Meanwhile, there was also heartbreak for Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who was a no-show for the qualifying rounds in the women’s 200 metres.
Jackson, the two-time reigning 200 metres world champion, came into the Olympics nursing a hamstring injury and pulled out of the event just moments before she was scheduled to run in Heat 3.
Newly crowned 100m champion, Julien Alfred of St Lucia eased into the next round after comfortably winning her heat.
Running out of Heat 1, Alfred cruised to victory in 22.41 seconds, well ahead of second placed Gemima Joseph of France (22.72), while Sweden’s Julia Henriksson (22.79) was the other automatic qualifier.
Jamaica’s Niesha Burgher also booked her spot in the next round after finishing second in Heat 2 in 22.54 seconds, behind Gabrielle Thomas of the USA, who clocked 22.20 to be the fastest qualifier.
Fellow Jamaican Lanae-Tava Thomas also advanced, placing second in Heat 5 in a time of 22.70 seconds.
The Jamaican pair of Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock also made it past the first round of qualifying for the men’s long jump.
McLeod leapt 7.90 metres to advance out of Group A, while Pinnock’s effort of 7.96 was good enough to qualify from Group B.
Their teammate Tajay Gayle, however, was eliminated with a leap of 7.78 metres.
In the men’s 110-metre hurdles, Jamaica’s trio of Orlando Bennett, Rasheed Broadbell and Hansle Parchment, Antoine Andrews of the Bahamas, all advanced to the next round of qualifying.
Rushell Clayton of Jamaica won her heat in the women’s 400 metre hurdles to easily advance, while her teammates Shiann Salmon and Janieve Russell, who finished second and third respectively in their heats, also booked their spots in the next round.
Kirani James of Grenada expectedly cruised into the second round of the men’s 400 metres, clocking 44.78 seconds to comfortably win Heat 5.
Also advancing in the event were Jamaica’s Jevaughn Powell and Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.
