Paris Olympics: Noah Lyles closes strong to advance in first round of 100m; rival Kishane Thompson cruises

Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters on Saturday but still advanced and kept alive his hopes for the sprint double.

The American got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was .06 behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter being trained by Carl Lewis.

The second-place finish means Lyles, the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals on Sunday. If he advances from that, he’ll race for the gold medal later in the evening.

“It is difficult,” he said. “I downplayed my competitors for sure. I was like, ‘there’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it.’

But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said ‘alright, I can’t do that anymore.’ I promise that will not happen again.

Also advancing in the early heats were Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who jogged the last 20 meters and won his heat in 10 seconds flat; Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who won his in 10.08; and Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who won his heat in 9.99.

Seville has a victory over Lyles at a race in Jamaica earlier this year.