Top speeds in MPH reached by Noah Lyles, entire field in 100 meter Olympic final

The top speeds for Noah Lyles and the other sprinters in the 100-meter Olympic final in Paris have been revealed. According to BBC Sport (per Reel Analytics), Lyles, who won the gold medal for the event, reached a speed of 27.1 miles per hour. Akani Simbine, who came in fourth place, had the second-best speed at 26.9 mph. Silver medal winner Kishane Thompson and bronze medal winner Fred Kerley tied for the third-best speed at 26.8 mph.

The race was memorable as Lyles was named the winner via a photo finish. It was determined that the American sprinter became the “world’s fastest man” by 0.005 of a second.

Noah Lyles reached a max speed of 27.1 mph during his epic 100 meter final, per @BBCSport! One of the fastest max speeds ever recorded. #OlympicGames #ReelSpeed

🔗 https://t.co/UFKB2eWAzC pic.twitter.com/y4dFmoyADj

— Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) August 4, 2024

“We were waiting for the names to pop up, and I’m going to be honest, I came over [to Thompson] and I was like: ‘I think you got that one, big dawg!'” Lyles said in his postrace news conference, per ESPN. “Something said I need to lean, and I was like, ‘I’m going to lean,’ because it’s that type of race.”

Noah Lyles thought that Kishane Thompson won the race

Originally, Lyles didn’t think he won the race. “I went up to Kishane and I was like, ‘I’m gonna be honest, I think you had that one’,” Lyles told Eurosport after the race, per Olympics.com. “I was fully prepared to see his name pop up. and to see my name pop, I’m like, ‘goodness gracious, I’m incredible’.”

Lyles had to make up ground after a slow start. And while he loves rising to the occasion, Sunday’s race proved that he can do it on the biggest stage. “I wouldn’t say I’m nervous,” Lyles explained. “I’d say I was extremely curious as to what was going to happen…

“I’m curious as to what I’m going to do, how I’m going to pull this off. Because I came in third-fastest from the semis and I’m like, ‘This is going to be serious, this is not going to be easy.’”

Lyles now has two Olympic medals as he earned a bronze for the 200-meter dash at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which took place in 2021). He entered the Paris Olympics as the reigning World Champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. Lyles is looking to win more medals this week as he competes in the 200-meter dash and 4 x 100-meter relay.