NBC commentator owns up after he 'botched' Olympics 100m final won by Noah Lyles

NBC commentator Leigh Diffey has confessed to a blunder after he mistakenly announced Kishane Thompson as the winner of the men's Olympic 100m final instead of the actual victor, Noah Lyles . Lyles clinched gold in Paris on Saturday night by the slimmest of margins.

The American superstar managed to outpace his competitors in a thrilling Olympic showdown, despite being out of medal contention with approximately 10m remaining in the race. However, he found his stride just in time, breaking away from the group to barely cross the finish line first.

Officials called for a photo finish after Lyles and Jamaica's Thompson appeared to be neck-and-neck as they crossed the finish line. As the race concluded, NBC's Diffey prematurely declared the Jamaican runner the winner.

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Diffey later tweeted: "The men's 100 was epic and closest of all time! My eyes and 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!".

He also extended his congratulations to Lyles, adding: "I am thrilled for @LylesNoah as his story only gets bigger! " Lyles, naturally, was ecstatic upon hearing his name announced, celebrating in front of the French audience.

After a nail-biting finish where the American won by just 0.005 of a second, Lyles told the BBC: "You couldn't have asked for a bigger moment. A guy in biomechanics came 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."

Despite his victory, Lyles confessed that at first, he believed Thompson, his Jamaican competitor, had edged ahead.

"It's the one I wanted, it's the hard battle, the amazing opponents, everybody was healthy and came to fight," Lyles remarked. Further sharing his reflection of the tense moments, he added: "I'm the wolf among wolves. I'll be honest, I went to Kishane, I said, 'I'll be honest, I think you had that one'."

"I was prepared to see his name pop up. I saw my name pop up and I said, goodness gracious, I'm incredible."

On clinching the gold and taking the top spot on the podium that Saturday evening, Lyles marked a historic win, becoming the first American to seize the title since Justin Gatlin's triumph in 2004.