"Let me get my apology ready" - Noah Lyles opens up about his photo-finish victory against Kishane Thompson at Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles discussed his 100m race at the Paris Olympics and how he was getting his apology ready after believing that the win was Kishane Thompson's. Lyles recently ran the 100m heats in 9.95s at the 2025 World Championships, advancing to the semifinals.

Noah Lyles entered the Paris Olympics stage as the heavy favorite since he came off his threepeat win at the 2023 World Championships, cementing his name as one of the most promising track stars. In the build to the Games, Lyles made several headlines with his strong-worded messages as he vied to repeat the World Championships feat under the Paris lights.

However, he faced one of his strongest rivals, Jamaican Kishane Thompson, in the finals and finished just five thousandths of a second ahead of him to claim the gold. But there was a moment when Lyles thought he might have to prepare an apology, as the win could have gone to Thompson.

Speaking on the same in a recent interview, he said:

"Every time I go and watch the race I'm like wow that wasn't that much time but it felt like five minutes was going by so across the line I had no idea where I was in the race. I knew I was like closer to the front but I couldn't tell if I got a medal or not you know. I go over to Kishane I'm like dang I think he got that big dog and we're all looking at the clock and I'm like goodness gracious you know there could be a moment here where you know I've talked you know so much confidence and I'm like wow I might not even get on the podium I'm like 'Dang I'm over here getting like let me get my apology ready'. And then my name comes up I'm like, 'Oh my gosh I did that I'm amazing." (via Olympics.com)

Lyles will race a strong lineup of sprinters in the semifinals and finals on September 14, 2025.

Noah Lyles emphasized on knowing his 'why' instead of winning races without purpose

Noah Lyles at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - (Source: Getty)

Noah Lyles has had a mixed season, having started 2025 injury-disrupted. However, he found his form in the Diamond League but didn't clinch a gold podium, recording only 9.90s as his personal best. Ahead of his final races at the 2025 World Championships, Lyles discussed that he focusses more on finding his 'why' instead of getting to the top of the podium purposelessly and not knowing where to go from there.

"I'd say, remembering my Why would be the most important coming out of the Olympics, remembering why I'm doing this, why I'm chasing records, why I'm chasing times, why I'm chasing to be great. That is probably the most important thing, because you can win and then get to the top of the mountain and be like, ‘Well, what do I do now?’ So knowing why you decide to climb in the first place, I think, is the most important thing," he said in an Olympics interview.

Noah Lyles had a fashionable appearance at the 2025 Met Gala, where he embraced the theme in a Thom Browne suit with signature Ana Khouri pearls.

Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder