Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson got his payback by defeating Olympic champion Noah Lyles in the 100m at the Silesia Diamond League on Saturday.
It marked their first clash since Lyles edged Thompson for Olympic gold in Paris a year ago by just five-thousandths of a second. This time, Thompson blasted out of the blocks and clocked 9.87 seconds a time equaling the meet record to win in Chorzow, Poland. Lyles finished second in 9.90, while fellow American Kenny Bednarek claimed third in 9.96.
“It felt alright. My job is to get the job done,” Thompson said afterward.
Having missed out on the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Thompson is now among the favorites for this year’s edition in Tokyo (September 13–21). Still, he played down the importance of his win: “Honestly, I compete against myself, no offense to the competition.”
Lyles, meanwhile, took encouragement from his runner-up finish. “I needed to see a sub-10,” he said. “I needed to see winning, beating people. I took out some big names today, people who run 9.7 and 9.8. I’m gaining confidence, it makes me excited for next week and Tokyo.”
Drawn in lane five, Thompson powered away from the field under hot and humid conditions, delivering a flawless start-to-finish performance. Lyles, stuck with one of the slowest reactions in the nine-man field, had to chase hard and only just edged Bednarek in the closing metres to secure second.
Thompson’s 9.87 matched the meet record shared by Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley but fell short of his world-leading 9.75 from the Jamaican trials in June a time that ranks him sixth all-time.
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