Jamaica’s Thompson Runs 9.87 to Beat Olympic Champion Lyles in Poland
Kishane Thompson of Jamaica came out on top against Olympic champion Noah Lyles in the men’s 100m at the Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland on Saturday.
The clash marked their first head-to-head since the Paris Olympics, where Lyles edged Thompson for gold by just five-thousandths of a second.
Clocking 9.87 seconds, the Jamaican sprinter equalled the meet record in Chorzow, while Lyles followed in 9.90 and fellow American Kenny Bednarek secured third with 9.96.
Thompson, who surged to an explosive start, crossed the line without ever being threatened, dominating from gun to tape in warm and humid conditions.
Despite missing out on last year’s world championships in Budapest, the Jamaican is now regarded as one of the leading contenders for this year’s edition in Tokyo, set for 13–21 September.
While Thompson kept the focus on his own performance, Lyles treated his runner-up finish as a useful marker ahead of upcoming races.
Drawn in lane seven between Bednarek and Christian Coleman, the American reacted slowly to the gun and initially struggled to keep pace.
Thompson, positioned in lane five with South Africa’s Akani Simbine alongside, blasted out of the blocks to create an early gap that proved decisive.
Only in the closing stages did Lyles gather momentum, overtaking Bednarek in the final 20 metres to snatch second place.
The winning time matched the existing meet record of 9.87 held jointly by Ronnie Baker and Fred Kerley but fell short of Thompson’s world-leading 9.75 set at the Jamaican trials in June, a performance that ranks him sixth fastest in history.
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