SAINT-DENIS, France — All the main contenders, including Noah Lyles, Kishane Thompson, Ferdinand Omanyala, and Oblique Seville, advanced to the semifinals of the men’s 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday.
Lyles, the sprint double champion at last year’s world championships, had to settle for second in his opening heat. The American got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was 0.06 seconds behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter trained by Carl Lewis, who won the heat with 9.98 seconds.
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“These boys said they were coming to play,” Lyles said. “That’s my first lesson in underestimating the power of the Olympics. When somebody’s on the line, they’re going to give it their all or nothing. But now I don’t have to hold back. I’m ready to go.
“To be honest, I was kind of playing my cards close to the chest,” Lyles explained in reference to his activities at the start of the race.
Lyles Gets Wake-up Call
The second-place finish means Lyles, the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals on Sunday. If he advances from that, he’ll race for the gold medal later in the evening.
“I downplayed my competitors for sure,” Lyles said. “I was like, ‘There’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it.’ But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said, ‘All right, I can’t do that anymore.’ I promise that will not happen again.”
Also advancing in the early heats was Jamaican champion and world leader Kishane Thompson, who looked around while slowing over the last 20 meters and still won his heat in 10 seconds flat.
Thompson’s heat was delayed several minutes after British sprinter Jeremiah Azu was called for a false start. Azu looked at the replay and pleaded his case with the officials before leaving the track.
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya won his heat in 10.08 seconds, and Oblique Seville of Jamaica won his in 9.99 seconds. Italy’s reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, who said he was bitten by an insect while in the starting blocks, finished second in his heat to advance.
“I made a few mistakes at the start,” Jacobs said, “which didn’t allow me to get the pace that I wanted.”
Lyles’ U.S. teammates and other medal contenders, Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek, won their respective heats, both clocking 9.97 seconds.
“This year, I’m changing the narrative. I’ve been the underdog for a couple of years,” said Bednarek, a silver medalist in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’m not trying to be the underdog, I’m trying to be the top dog. Once I finally hit that milestone, I’m not coming back. I’m going to run away with it.”
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana (10.01), Andre De Grasse of Canada (10.07) and Ackeem Blake of Jamaica (10.06) also advanced to the next round.
Information from AP was used in this report
