In an electrifying display of speed and determination, Noah Lyles of the USA shattered his personal best in the men's 100-meter race, clocking an impressive 9.81 seconds at Saturday's World Athletics Diamond League event in London.
The event marked the final Diamond League competition before the highly anticipated 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The men's 100-meter final was a showcase of elite sprinting, with each of the top five competitors breaking the 10-second barrier.
Lyles outpaced South Africa's Akani Simbine (9.86 seconds) and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (9.88 seconds), surpassing his own previous best of 9.83 seconds set at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August.
Reflecting on his performance, Lyles said, \"That was fun. I could have had a better start, but the transitions were great and coming away with a PB, this has been what I prayed for and what I wanted.\" His remarkable time of 9.81 seconds places him third in the world for this year, trailing Jamaica's Kishane Thompson (9.77 seconds) and Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79 seconds).
Three years after earning a bronze medal in the men's 200-meter at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Lyles is now setting his sights on bigger achievements in Paris. \"I'm going to win,\" he confidently stated. \"That's what I always do.\"
Alongside Lyles, his compatriot Gabby Thomas secured the women's 200-meter title with a time of 21.82 seconds, narrowly defeating St. Lucia's Julien Alfred. The women's 800-meter gold was claimed by the United Kingdom's Keely Hodgkinson, who finished in 1:54.61, joining teammates Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell on the podium.
Reference(s):
Noah Lyles sets 100m best at 9.81 seconds in run-up to 2024 Olympics
cgtn.com
