WORLD CHAMPION NOAH Lyles roared to victory in 9.79 seconds to claim gold in a dramatic Olympic men's 100 metres final in Paris on Sunday.
Lyles became the first American, male or female, to win the event since Justin Gatlin won at the 2004 Athens Games.
In a photo finish, Jamaican Kishane Thompson took silver, just five thousandths of a second off Lyles' pace.
Lyles' teammate, American Fred Kerley, took bronze in 9.81 seconds, just one-hundredth ahead of South Africa's Akani Simbine, who clocked 9.82 seconds.
Defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy was fifth in 9.85 seconds, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo sixth in 9.86 seconds, American Kenny Bednarek seventh in 9.88 seconds and Jamaica's Oblique Seville eighth in 9.91 seconds in an astonishing race.
Starting from lane seven, out of Seville and into Tebogo, Lyles got off to an average start but soon found his stride pattern.
With his head down at the 40-meter mark, the American opened fire, but the entire group pushed him to the finish.
As Lyles headed for the finish line with Thompson running alongside him, the crowd erupted and a call for a photo finish was made before Lyles was confirmed as the gold medallist.
There was an electric atmosphere before the race at the 69,000-capacity Stade de France, a light show and bass-heavy music keeping the crowd entertained as the sprinters made final adjustments to their starting blocks.
Then the lights went out and the sprinters left the track to remake their entrance like boxers in a coliseum.
Each sprinter was called over the loudspeaker and introduced individually behind an image of his or her name on his or her flag.
Thompson roared, his fists clenched as he threw his head back. Kerley patted his heart.
Lyles hopped like a kangaroo and bounced twenty metres down the track. Jacobs was the definition of calm, raising both arms and calmly walking to his posts.
Then came the time for the sprinters to set off, at the orders of the person in charge of starting.
The wait seemed endless. The music continued, the crowd clapped in unison as if to hasten the start, then the sprinters took their places in their lanes, swaying from one foot to the other, and the tension was palpable.
The cameras moved one more time and then the moment came; the only sound to be heard was that of the helicopter wings buzzing in the sky.
The shot was fired and the field moved as if it were moving up the purple track.
Photo finish officials examined the evidence and Lyles took gold to bury the demons of the Tokyo Games, where he only managed a bronze in the 200 metres.