Watch: American Noah Lyles wins men's 100-meter final in thrilling finish

American Noah Lyles never doubted he would become the "world's fastest man," even if he needed a photo finish.

On Sunday, the 27-year-old track star captured the gold medal in the men's 100-meter final. The broadcast initially thought Jamaica's Kishane Thompson won the race, but a replay showed Lyles beat him by one stride.

According to The Athletic's Luke Brown, both runners posted a time of 9.79 seconds, but Thompson lost by five-thousandths of a second.

Perhaps Lyles wanted to make things interesting. Entering the Olympics, he clearly felt confident after running a personal-best 9.81 at the final Diamond League meeting in late July.

"It's me. It's always going to be me," Lyles said at the Team USA track and field Paris Olympics introductory news conference, via USA Today's Tyler Dragon. "Everybody knows that the title goes to the Olympic champion and the world champion, which I am one of and soon to be another one of."

Although the race may have been closer than he anticipated, Lyles has delivered on his promise and is the first American to win the gold medal in the 100 since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games.