Kishane Thompson won the rematch, but will he do so again at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships?
For the first time since the Paris 2024 men’s 100m final, Thompson faced Noah Lyles at the Silesia Diamond League stop on Saturday (16 August).
Lyles won by just five-thousandths of a second in the French capital as he flew home in the closing stages. This time, he had too much to do after a sluggish start with his Jamaican rival – the fastest man in the world this year – flying out of the blocks.
It was only with 30m to go that Lyles really started to motor. But Thompson was clear and won in a time of 9.87 seconds, equalling the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial meeting record set last year by Fred Kerley.
Lyles clocked a season’s best 9.90 in second, and his fans will have been heartened by the way he closed at the finish. Kenny Bednarek, suffering his first defeat over 100m this season, was third in 9.96 with Christian Coleman posting the same time in fourth.
Despite his win, Thompson insists there is plenty more to come. “My race was not so good, not so bad,” he said. “I enjoyed the competition against Noah today. It’s all about execution; I had problems with that, but I am finding it. The key is to find the momentum in the race and maintain it till the end.
“Nobody is perfect, but I’m working on improving my strengths and my weaknesses. Paris last year was a big learning factor. I learned it is me against myself. No disrespect to my rivals, but anything is possible when you execute well.”
“It’s a great stepping stone,” Lyles told reporters afterwards. “I needed to see a sub-10. I needed to see winning, beating people, I took out some really big heads today, people who run 9.7 and 9.8.
“I am getting the confidence. It makes me really excited for not only today, but also for next week and Tokyo.”
Thompson and Lyles are due to meet again at the Lausanne Diamond League on Wednesday (20 August).