“I always want to win”
All eyes will now turn to Lyles, who will make his debut in the 100m for the first time this season in London, after an ankle injury hampered his preparations.
A crowd of 60,000 at the London Stadium will watch as the sprinter goes toe-to-toe against fellow rivals, including Tebogo, world indoor champion Jeremiah Izu and Jamaican Oblique Seville.
Tebogo and Lyles last went head-to-head just six days ago in the 200m at the Monaco Diamond League meet, where, in a reverse of the Paris 2024 Olympic result, it was the US star who claimed the victory, crossing the line 19.88 ahead of the Olympic champion in 19.97.
Speaking on Saturday’s race, Lyles was clear about his goal. “I always want to win. Winning is the most important; being able to hold your own in the strictest and most pressurised areas is what you want.
“A fast time never hurts as well! I’d love to run 9.8sec, 9.9 is the status quo for the season. The win is definitely the more important thing.”
With just under a month to go until the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (13-21 September), Lyles also spoke on his ambitions for the track showpiece event, where he will try to defend his 100m and 200m titles and repeat with Team USA in the 4x100m relay.
“Obviously, the goal is to win three gold medals again in Tokyo, like in Budapest,” he said.
“We treat every race as an opportunity to get better, faster,” the three-time Olympic medallist continued. “As long as we’re building up to make sure that Tokyo’s our greatest moment and we have fun and we improve at each opportunity, that’s the goal.”