
Noah Lyles has reacted after being beaten by Kishane Thompson in a rematch of the 100m final at last year’s Olympics.
American Lyles was crowned Olympic champion at Paris 2024 in the 100m after he overtook Jamaican Thompson in the final to stand on the top of the rostrum.
On that occasion, Lyles won by just five thousandths of a second from Thompson to claim the Olympic title, with Fred Kerley two hundredths behind to claim the bronze medal.
Lyles added to his gold in the 100m with a bronze in the 200m, while he also claimed bronze in the 100m at Tokyo 2020, which was delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thompson’s silver in Paris was his first Olympic medal, and now all focus is on LA 2028.
Before then though, there is many events for athletes to compete at as part of the cycle for the next Olympic Games to hone their craft and train.
And the Diamond League provides a series of annual meetings to enhance the sport’s appeal and provide opportunities for both track and field athletes to compete throughout the year across multiple different continents.
The most recent Diamond League meeting took place on Saturday in the Polish city of Chorzow, and saw Lyles meet Thompson for the first time since the 100m final of Paris 2024.
Kishane Thompson beats Noah Lyles at the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Poland.
And on this occasion, Thompson beat Lyles by three hundredths of a second with 9.87 seconds to 9.90 to emerge victorious and reverse the result at Paris 2024, with American Kenny Bednarek in third.
Lyles reacted to the loss with dignity initially and hailed Thompson as a ‘great competitor’ and a ‘very fast man’.
But the 28-year-old followed this up by claiming he still had the Jamaican ‘in my pocket’ as he projected confidence that he will have the upper hand over his sprinting opponent in the future.
Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Lyles said: “He’s a great competitor. He’s a very fast man.
“I still feel like he’s in my pocket. Next time we race, I’ll have something even better.”
But in a later interview, Thompson responded to those words from Lyles and made it clear that he feels he can be the faster man going forward as he laid down the gauntlet to his American opponent.
The Jamaican said with a smile: “My pocket’s going to be so far ahead (next time), so let’s see.”
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