NBC's Leigh Diffey faces backlash for botched call on Noah Lyles' historic 100m victory at Paris Olympics

PARIS, FRANCE: NBC announcer Leigh Diffey botched track and field athlete Noah Lyles' moment on Sunday, August 4, mistakenly calling Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson the winner of the 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lyles finished the race in 9.79 seconds to claim gold in a dramatic men's 100m final, marking the closest Olympic 100m finish in modern history, with just five-thousandths of a second separating him from Thompson.

NBC announcer Leigh Diffey botches Noah Lyles' moment

Leigh Diffey, an NBC announcer, was as engrossed in the moment as the rest of the spectators watching the 100m final, but his call appeared to be made with a little more conviction than what was apparent.

The cameras moved to Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson as the competitors crossed the finish line, and Diffey announced Thompson as the winner rather than Lyles. He said, "Jamaica's gonna do it, Kishane Thompson is a gold medalist, on debut."

The athletes were crowded together, anticipating photographs of their finish. Lyles had won the race by the slimmest of margins when the photos finally showed up.

Lyles' win secured the USA's first gold medal in the 100 meters in 20 years, earning him the title of the fastest man in the world.

Lyles said after the race, "It's the one I wanted. It's the hard battle, it's the amazing opponents. Everybody's healthy, everybody came prepared for the fight and I wanted to prove that I'm the man amongst all of them. I'm the wolf amongst wolves."

He added, "I went up to Kishane and I was like, 'I'm going to be honest, bro, I think you had that one.' And I was fully prepared to see his name pop up and to see my name pop up, I'm like goodness gracious. I'm incredible."

He further mentioned, "It's been a rollercoaster, ups and downs. I'm usually a guy who likes to come out blazing in all my rounds, especially in the 200m. But the 100m, it's my first time here on the Olympic stage."

NBC's Leigh Diffey criticized for botched call on Noah Lyles' winning moment

Several internet users criticized NBC announcer Leigh Diffey for botching Noah Lyles' moment by mistakenly calling Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson the winner of the 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A user wrote on X, "What a race. And quite possibly the worst call in history by Leigh Diffey. Declared the wrong winner on a photo finish, then extended silence while Lyles celebrated. Brutal," while one added, "Took forever too on learning USA won the bronze as well."

A person also stated, "Diffey is horrible. Hate IndyCar coverage because of him," whereas one mentioned, "Can we replace Leigh Diffey for the next Olympics?"

A user also said, "Disgraceful call," while one wrote, "To get an idea of how bad Leigh Diffey is at his job, he just called the premier event of the Olympic Games, got the winner wrong and somehow never mentioned the actual winner at any point in the race."

A person mentioned, "Leigh Diffey did nothing to help us understand who won that race," whereas one wrote, "Shocked that #NBC's Leigh Diffey announced Kishane Thompson as the winner. It was too close to call. Announcing 101: If you are not 100% sure, wait!" [sic]

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