Following yesterday’s 100m finals at the Paris Olympics, most Jamaican track and field fans are not yet convinced that Kishane Thompson lost to America’s Noah Lyles in Sunday’s meet.
Track and field fans from across the globe gathered at Paris’s Stade de France to watch the highly anticipated finale to the 100m. In one of the closest 100m races in history, Lyles secured gold ahead of Thompson, who claimed silver.
Thompson finished in 9.79 seconds, while Lyles clocked 9.79 seconds, a thousandth of a second faster. Since the final, there has been great debate online, with even Lyles admitting that he initially thought Thompson won.
While Lyles may have quickly accepted the results, confirming him as the day’s winner, Jamaican fans are still challenging the results online. Media outlets have dubbed the race a photo finish, but fans have described the finish line photo and slowed-down videos as insufficient to prove Lyles’ victory.
“I Will Never accept that Noah won that race because he did not,” one fan said.
Also expressing that it was not acceptable, one fan wrote, “d whole arena shock to d result announce even d pronounce winner himself all him frighten and him know the fact. This not acceptable in ppls mind weh no blind. not fair. If Noah did truly win I personally wud big him up liff up me chair and cheer him but me deh here a try fi clap him but me hand Dem heavy.”
Another wrote, “All now I have to wander if I’m seeing and hearing right,this a must some A.I.something to rasta george,because me can’t see where Noah wins this race, this is one of the biggest robbery me ever see in Olympics.”
Agreeing with the above statement, one Facebook user expressed that Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey had also been robbed of a medal in a similar fashion.
“They did it to Merline Otty in the ’90s in a 100-meter race with Gayle Divas (Gaile Devers).”
The fan’s statement was made in reference to the 100m final at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, during which both Devers and Ottie clocked 10.94. However, the American sprinter was awarded the victory by milliseconds.
View more reactions to the 100m final below.
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