Heartbreak for Akani Simbine as he places fourth in Olympic men's 100m final

Heartbreak for Akani Simbine as he places fourth in Olympic men's 100m final

Akani Simbine ended in fourth place in a massively tight Olympics men's 100m final at Stade de France on Sunday night.

American sprinter Noah Lyles took first place in Paris as he edged out Jamaican Kishane Thompson.

The World sprint champion stormed to Olympic gold with a margin of just five thousandths of a second as he crossed the line in 9.79 seconds, the same time that appeared on the board for Thompson.

Both men had to wait as the result was confirmed, with Lyles' USA team-mate Fred Kerley rounding out the podium with a time of 9.81.

Simbine of Team South Africa, who had qualified for his third straight Olympic 100m final, winning his semifinal in 9.87 seconds, came in at 9.82 - a new national record for South Africa, but not quite enough to secure a medal.

The former African record holder who made his third consecutive Olympic 100m final, missed a spot on the podium by a heartbreaking 0.01s.

Fellow South African's Shaun Maswanganyi and Benjamin Richardson had to support from the sidelines, after failing to advance to the semi-finals.

Full race results:

1. Noah Lyles, United States, 9.79 seconds PB

2. Kishane Thompson, Jamaica, 9.79

3. Fred Kerley, United States, 9.81 SB

4. Akani Simbine, South Africa, 9.82 NR

5. Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Italy, 9.85 SB

6. Letsile Tebogo, Botswana, 9.86 NR

7. Kenneth Bednarek, United States, 9.88

8. Oblique Seville, Jamaica, 9.91

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