Olympic officials stop track invader right before Noah Lyles wins 100m race final in Paris

PARIS, FRANCE: Noah Lyles clinched his first Olympic gold in the men's 100m final in Paris, just moments after security stopped an intruder from disrupting the race, as reported by The Daily Mail.

The incident, which occurred at the Stade de France, involved an unidentified man reportedly wearing a "Free Palestine" t-shirt. He was apprehended before he could reach the track, sparking a brief delay in the highly anticipated event.

Noah Lyles clinches Olympic gold moments after security stops intruder from disrupting race

The unexpected delay left many in the audience and viewers puzzled.

Lyles himself seemed unaware of the incident initially, stating after the race, "Is that what we were waiting for? I didn’t see anybody try to get on the field. But I won’t lie, I was wondering what we were waiting for. In the meantime, the crowd were constantly getting more and more hyped. It didn’t feel as if it was completely dead."

Former Team GB hurdler Colin Jackson, who was covering the event for BBC, expressed frustration over the delay, noting, "I’m looking down at the track to see if there are any issues, any problems, because we know this race was supposed to start at least three minutes ago. There doesn’t seem to be anything happening. This is very frustrating for them because this is the biggest race of the year."

Denise Lewis, a gold medalist in the heptathlon at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, also commented on the impact of the delay on the athletes, saying, "You get yourself to that arousal point where you’re in the zone, you’re absolutely wanting to give everything and then that is just waning slightly, the longer you’re left out there. This is the finite margins we’re talking about and that for me was just way too long."

This incident is not an isolated case during the Paris Games. Since the Olympics began on July 26, there have been several instances of fans attempting to disrupt events.

In soccer matches across France, pitch invaders caused interruptions. During a match between the United States and Guinea, as well as another between Ukraine and Argentina, security forces had to intervene.

A protester carrying a Palestinian flag was also stopped during a game between Morocco and Iraq, leading to the deployment of several dozen riot police along the field to prevent further incidents.

Moreover, during the Argentina-Morocco match, fans invaded the field and threw bottles, causing the game to be suspended for nearly two hours. Similar disruptions occurred during Euro 2024 in Germany, where pitch invaders interrupted matches, including a semifinal between France and Spain.

Even star players like Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo were approached by fans during games, with Ronaldo posing for selfies with supporters during Portugal's match against Turkey.

Track invasion and subsequent delay sparks reactions across social media

The news of the track invasion and subsequent delay quickly spread online, prompting a flurry of reactions.

One X user remarked, "Was wondering why there was such a delay." Another commented, "Thanks, was confusing why they were held at the starting blocks for so long!"

A third user noted, "Did not even see him from the stadium." Another added, "Ah, that explains the delay then."

One remarked, "This explains why they were held for so long." Another praised the security, saying, "Hence the long stand before the start. Well done the security."

A user also commented, "This was the cause of the delay? Oh ok. Makes sense." Finally, another noted, "Hence the very long delay, I presume?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.