Noah Lyles set the stage for the Paris Olympics with a stunning personal best in the 100m at Saturday’s Diamond League meeting. At London Stadium, Lyles burst out of the blocks and tore down the track to clinch victory in 9.81 seconds.
Demonstrating his dominance, Lyles easily fended off a pack of rivals, solidifying his status as the sprinter to beat in Paris. “That was fun,” Lyles remarked. “I could have had a better start. The transitions were great and coming away with a personal best is amazing.
“I wanted a faster time but I had the wind. After building my confidence and getting through 2021, this has been what I prayed for and what I wanted.”
Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics, Lyles added, “I’m going to win, it’s what I always do. I’m getting faster every week.”
Lyles, who won the 100m and 200m golds at last year’s Budapest World Championships, left no doubt about his victory once he got going.
South African Akani Simbine clocked a season’s best of 9.85 seconds to finish second, while Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo rounded out the podium in 9.88 seconds, matching his own national record.
British champion Louie Hinchliffe, the winner of this season’s NCAA championships, finished fourth in 9.97 seconds. Zharnel Hughes had to settle for sixth place (10.00) behind Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake (9.97).
“It’s OK. I’m not happy with the result but it’s not bad, it wasn’t my worst run,” Hinchliffe, coached by US track and field legend Carl Lewis, told the BBC. “I can work on the start. Maybe some nerves, it’s my first time here. Some way to go.”
Hughes, who won bronze behind Lyles in Hungary, co-stars alongside the American in the Netflix docu-series “Sprint”. Despite pre-race comments about silencing Lyles’ “loose mouth,” Hughes was never in contention as Lyles sprinted to victory in front of 58,000 fans at the stadium, which hosted the 2012 Olympics and is now home to Premier League club West Ham United.
Reported By AFP.
