An unbelievably tight field saw the eight finalists within a mere 0.12 seconds of each other, with only 0.03 seconds deciding who would stand on the podium. Lyles shared his winning time with Jamaican competitor Kishane Thompson, whom he barely outpaced by just five-thousandths of a second.
The tension was palpable as it initially appeared Thompson had nudged ahead of Lyles to take the top spot, both competitors tensely awaiting the final call. Although initial replays implied Thompson reached the line first, it was indeed Lyles who started the festivities.
Despite early images causing a stir among the crowd for seeming ambiguous, the officia l Olympics rulebook upheld Lyles' win by stipulating "The first athlete whose torso (as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the closest edge of the finish line is the winner".
Alas for Thompson, despite a valiant effort, it was Lyles who relished the long-awaited taste of gold. "You couldn't have asked for a bigger moment," Lyles confessed to BBC Sport after the race. "A guy in biomechanics comes down and before I came out here, he said it was going to be this much, that's how close it is going to be and gosh was he right.
"I had to take every round as it was and I was a little upset after the first round so I came with the aggression and after I ran that 83 I was done with the aggression. My sports therapist told me you need to let go, you're holding on. Let go and release it."
Lyles had some worries heading into the 100m final, as he came second in his heat when qualifying for the event. He finished in 10.04 seconds, losing out to NCAA athlete Louie Hinchcliffe who won the heat in 9.98 seconds.
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"These boys said they ain't coming to play," Lyles commented. "And I guess that's my first lesson in underestimating the power of an Olympics. When somebody's on the line, they say they're going to give it their all or nothing. The plan was first. But it didn't happen. Second is fine. We'll make sure from here on out it's first."
Lyles kept his promise, just about, and bagged his first Olympic gold medal in style. The Team USA sprinter has plans to dominate like the legendary Usain Bolt, and told BBC Sport: "I hope you guys like Noah because I got a lot more coming!"
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