NBC’s Leigh Diffey is taking it on the chin after his miscall of the Men’s 100m Final on Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics , where Noah Lyles won in a very tight, photo finish .
Diffey called the moment inside the Stade de France between the eight competitors, where Lyles would be victorious. However, Diffey called the race for Kishane Thompson of Jamaica when the runners crossed the line.
After a few moments of further review, it was determined Lyles took the gold medal, and Diffey felt terrible about the whole ordeal. On Monday morning, he issued an apology, and tried to move the story forward in praising Lyles’ accomplishment on social media.
“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,” Diffey posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the mistake . “I am thrilled for @LylesNoah as his story only gets bigger!”
Alas, one can’t blame Diffey for thinking Lyles was beaten, as Thompson couldn’t have been much closer. Lyles edged him out with a final time of 9.784, which was .005 better than Thompson at 9.789. Diffey’s regret may be now allowing the replay to determine the winner instead.
Regardless, it was a fruitful event for Team USA outside of Lyles as well, taking home the bronze with Fred Kerley running a 9.81. Elsewhere, Kenneth Bednarek then finished second from last at 9.88.
Moreover, Lyles’ victory is a major moment for the competitor and his country in this specific event. No American had won the 100m final since 2004 when Justin Gatlin did so in Athens. It was also the first gold medal and second total in the career of Lyles .
While Leigh Diffey’s call may have spoiled the moment for some, his apology seems genuine. In the highlights to follow, editors might simply have to find a way to use some different audio, but American and Team USA can still be proud of Noah Lyles’ victory no matter what.
More on Noah Lyles, 100-meter dash win for Team USA
Moreover, Noah Lyles had a strong message for the United States after winning the Olympic gold medal at the 100-meter dash in Paris: “America, I told you I got this.”
Lyles crossed the finish line with a time of 9.79 in a photo finish to win track and field’s biggest event in the Olympics. He beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who also ran a time 9.79. His fellow American in Fred Kerley finished in third by posting a 9.81 time to earn the bronze medal.
This is his second Olympic medal, claiming bronze in the 200-meter dash in the 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021. Lyles entered the Paris Olympics as the reigning world champion in the 100m and 200m.
On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.
The post NBC’s Leigh Diffey issues apology for botching call of 100m final win for Noah Lyles: ‘I got it wrong’ appeared first on On3 .
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