Noah Lyles put on a dominant display at the Diamond League meeting in London, securing a personal best time of 9.81 seconds to win the 100m race. With the Paris Olympics just around the corner, this victory served as a powerful statement of intent from the American sprinter. Lyles burst out of the blocks with exceptional speed and powered down the track at London Stadium, leaving no doubt about his victory.
South African Akani Simbine finished in second place with a season’s best time of 9.85 seconds, while Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo secured third place, clocking in at 9.88 seconds, equaling his own national record. British champion Louie Hinchliffe, who won this season’s NCAA championships, secured fourth place with a time of 9.97 seconds. Zharnel Hughes, who won bronze behind Lyles at the Budapest world championships last year, was only able to manage sixth place with a time of 10.00 seconds, falling behind Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, who finished fifth at 9.97 seconds.
Hughes and Lyles are co-stars in the Netflix docu-series ‘Sprint’ and Hughes, prior to the race, admitted he wasn’t aware of how frequently Lyles discussed him. He had vowed to silence Lyles’ ‘loose mouth’ but was ultimately unable to compete with the American’s explosive performance. Lyles’ victory, witnessed by a crowd of 58,000 at the iconic London Stadium, the venue for the 2012 Olympics and now home to Premier League club West Ham United, solidified his position as a frontrunner for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
