How pictures helped to debunk confusion over men's Olympic 100m photo finish

Credit: Getty

A composite photograph of the thrilling 100m Olympic men's final is being widely shared online - though can't settle the confusion for some over why Team USA's Noah Lyles emerged victorious.

The Getty photograph shows the eight runners neck and neck in eight stages of a now iconic race in Paris, which saw several national and personal records broken on the way to the tape.

The eventual winner Lyles is seen running slightly behind his opponents as they emerge from the blocks before levelling with the field and then eventually bursting through the line alongside Jamaica's Kishane Thompson.

As the photograph below shows Lyles - in lane 7 - emerged victorious by the barest of margins.

Despite a slow start, Noah Lyles (lane 7) roared back to claim victory in the men's 100m final. Credit: Getty

Some followers of Lyles remain unsure as to why he won.

One posted on Instagram: "Congrats King, but someone gonna need explain how Thompson didn't win that."

Another said: "Dammmnn Thompson was robbed. Clearly crossed the line first before Noah."

Overhead photos showed that Jamaica's Kishane Thompson's (lane 4) right foot reached the finish line first before Noah Lyles' (lane 7). Credit: Getty

The live race pictures couldn't immediately determine the winner as the runners faced a nervous wait to learn who would claim the gold medal.

Boards in the stadium showed that Lyles crossed the line in 9.79 seconds, the same time that appeared for Thompson.

The rapidly taken photos across the finish soon showed it was Thompson - not Lyles - who reached the line first with his front foot and head.

The final of the men's 100m sprint saw a number of national and personal records broken. Credit: Getty

But neither of those markers are used to judge the winner. Instead it is the runners' chests from which lines are drawn.

Other photographs proved decisive for Lyles as the American was seen clearly reaching the line in front of his rival - by five one thousands of a second.

Lyles, a man who was embroiled in a debate before the Games about who was currently fastest man on the planet, left the Stade de France on Sunday with that exact title... just.

Speaking post race, Lyles admitted he thought Thompson had beaten him to Olympic Gold.

He said: "I did think [Thompson] had it at the end. I went up to him after, while we were waiting, and I even said 'I think you've got that, good going,' and then my name popped up and I'm like 'oh my gosh, I'm amazing'.

"I'm going to be honest, I wasn't ready to see it [his name] and that’s the first time I've ever said that. I wasn’t ready to see it.

"He was quite a few lanes down, he was in four, I was in seven so it was hard for me to picture where we were."

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