The final of the 100-meter sprint at the 2024 Olympics did not disappoint.
The 100-meter dash is arguably the most electric 10 seconds at the Olympics. It is the ultimate test of speed, as the fastest athletes from around the world attempt to outpace the opposition. It's a competition where your eyes have to be peeled to the screen. One blink, and you could miss a key part of the action.
That is especially true when it comes to the race in Paris. For those listening to the NBC broadcast's call of the race, you would have thought that Jamaica's Kishane Thompson was the one to win gold. NBC's Leigh Diffey was emphatic as the group of eight crossed the finish line that the Jamaican beat out the field for the top spot on the podium.
However, that wasn't the case. In fact, USA's Noah Lyles claimed first place in a photo finish, which made for an awkward moment on the broadcast.
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Here is more on Diffey's call and how NBC fixed the audio for the prime-time re-air.
Noah Lyles 100-meter video
Diffey was on the mic giving second-by-second updates in the men's 100-meter race. The sprint lasted less than 10 seconds, with all eight runners clocking in impressive time.
It made for one of the closest finishes at the Olympics — so close that Diffey got the call wrong on the broadcast.
"There’s an Olympic gold medal waiting for somebody," Diffey said to start. "Who wants it the most?… Now Thompson starts to wind up… Kerley’s going with him… This is close… Jamaica’s gonna do it! Kishane Thompson is a gold medalist!"
NOAH LYLES’ OLYMPIC DREAM COMES TRUE!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
100M GOLD MEDALIST. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/qR6bkXLHhE
It took nearly 30 seconds before the broadcast booth realized it was not Thompson who won the gold medal, but Lyles. Once the group of sprinters saw the results on the big board, it was the American who began to celebrate, leading Diffey and Co. to come to the realization that Lyles was the winner with a time of 9.79.
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During NBC's prime-time re-airing of all of the action, the audio was fixed so that there was not as much confusion coming through the broadcast.
The moment Noah Lyles officially became the OLYMPIC 100M CHAMPION. ⚡️
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2024
📺 #ParisOlympics on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/TfsuhMqG6o
Diffey posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning admitting that he "got it wrong," but that he "genuinely thought" Thompson one.
The men’s 100 was epic & closest of all time! My eyes & instinct told me Kishane Thompson won. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. I shouldn’t have been so bold to call it, but I genuinely thought he won. I got it wrong. I am thrilled for @LylesNoah as his story only gets bigger!
— Leigh Diffey (@leighdiffey) August 5, 2024
It's hard to blame Diffey. Fans can tell by the photos of the race that it was an incredibly close sprint and in real time, it was even more difficult to determine a winner.
