Thompson Stuns Lyles in Diamond League Thriller, Avenges Olympic Heartbreak
Jamaican sprint star Kishane Thompson turned the tables on reigning Olympic champion Noah Lyles in a thrilling 100m clash at the Silesia Diamond League meet on Saturday. Racing for the first time since their razor-thin finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics — where Lyles edged out Thompson by just 0.005 seconds — the two met again on a warm, humid evening in Chorzów, Poland. This time, the result flipped.
Thompson exploded out of the blocks and never looked back, clocking 9.87 seconds to equal the meet record shared by Americans Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley. It was a dominant, gun-to-tape performance from the Jamaican, who showed no signs of nerves against the Olympic champion.
Lyles, by contrast, had the joint slowest reaction time of the field and was left playing catch-up. At one point, he appeared out of podium contention, but surged in the final 20 metres to snatch second place in 9.90 seconds, just ahead of fellow American Kenny Bednarek, who finished third in 9.96.
While Thompson’s time didn’t match his blistering 9.75-second run from the Jamaican trials in June — a world-leading mark that ranks him sixth all-time — his victory in Silesia sends a clear message ahead of future face-offs.
This meet was more than just a race; it was a statement. After falling heartbreakingly short in Paris, Thompson proved he’s not only a contender, but a true rival to Lyles on the global stage. With both sprinters likely to clash again as the season heats up, the battle for sprint supremacy is far from over — and promises to be one of the sport’s fiercest rivalries.
