Lyles the showman ready to deliver 100m entertainment
Lyles, with his outspoken persona, is used to being the posterboy for such meets, and the 28-year-old American said it would be no different this time around.
"It's definitely my type of place," Lyles said of London Stadium on Friday. "I love a big crowd and l like it even better when they're engaged and they want to be there and want to see something.
"Being a showman, I want to give them that show. I want to give them that entertainment, something they can't get just by watching on TV."
Lyles will pit himself against a host of handy rivals in the 100m, just his second outdoor race of a season whose start was delayed by a tendon injury in his ankle.
"I wouldn't say I'm nervous, I'd say I'm more excited than anything," he said.
"I've been waiting to start my season, of course injury prevents that."
Lyles, having run a 400m in April back in the United States, kicked off his season proper with victory over 200m in Monaco last weekend, clocking an impressive 19.88sec to edge Botswana's Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo into second.
"Thankfully I was very blessed to be able to get two byes, so I'm not rushing I would say," he said in reference to the US trials, widely regarded as one of the toughest selection processes given the strength in depth of US athletes, notably sprinters.
Having the byes had "taken a lot of weight and pressure off us".
"Things have been progressing extremely well, every day I get faster, and it's like 'OK, let's put it to the test, let's go up against great competition'.
"At the end of the day that's what you want: you want to be able to compete at the highest level with the highest people. If you don't come away with the victory it's like 'Woah I've got the fire in my belly now', and if you do great, it's like 'We're exactly where we want to be, let's keep pushing'."
Three golds in Tokyo
Lyles will be up against Tebogo again on Saturday, along with the British trio of Louie Hinchliffe, world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu and world 100m bronze medallist Zharnel Hughes.
The Jamaican duo of Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake, and South African Akani Simbine fill out the field in what should be a top-notch blue riband race.
"I always want to win," admitted Lyles. "Winning is the most important, being able to hold your own in the strictest and most pressurised areas is what you want.
"A fast time never hurts as well! I'd love to run 9.8sec, 9.9 is the status quo for the season. The win is definitely the more important thing."
Turning to his season aims, Lyles was in no doubt about what he wanted at the September 9-21 world championships in Tokyo.
"Obviously, the goal is to win three gold medals again in Tokyo, like in Budapest," he said in reference to the 2023 worlds where he won both the 100 and 200m and was part of the winning US 4x100m relay team.
"We treat every race as an opportunity to get better, faster.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
United cruise over Bournemouth in Premier League US friendly
Goals from Rasmus Hojlund, Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and teenager Ethan Williams sealed an encouraging result for Ruben Amorim's side at a rainy, windswept Soldier Field. United, who had opened their tour with a 2-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday, were always in control against the Cherries, taking the lead after just eight minutes through Hojlund. Dorgu curled in an inviting cross from the left flank and Denmark international team-mate Hojlund timed his run and jump to perfection to glance a header past Bournemouth goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic. Dorgu then doubled United's lead in the 25th minute, latching on to a clever, lofted quick free-kick from Mason Mount, muscling his way into the area and sliding a cool finish beneath the advancing Petrovic. Diallo bundled in United's third in the 53rd minute before Amorim made nine changes with 20 minutes to go. Substitute Williams needed just two minutes to make an impact curling a low finish into the bottom corner to put United 4-0 up. The only blemish on United's performance came with an 88th-minute own goal from Matthijs de Ligt. In Wednesday's other Premier League friendly in Chicago, West Ham came from behind to beat former manager David Moyes's Everton 2-1. Idrissa Gueye put Everton 1-0 up after 17 minutes before West Ham recovered to equalise through Brazilian international Lucas Paqueta just before half-time. Germany international Niclas Fullkrug's 64th-minute strike sealed the Hammers' win. The result was another disappointing pre-season setback for Everton, who were soundly beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth on Saturday. "I'm not overly concerned because I don't have the players which I need and what I want," Everton boss Moyes said afterward. "We knew before we came (to the US) we were going to be really up against it. So, it was never going to be us coming here and winning." "At the moment we're not ready to perform well enough in this tournament, and we're not ready to start the Premier League season."
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
McLaughlin-Levrone, Lyles headline US championships
Four days of high-calibre competition begin at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, with an array of Olympic gold medallists and reigning world champions on duty. Many of the biggest names in the field -- such as Olympic 100m champion Lyles -- have already secured their tickets to the World Championships in September due to their status as reigning world champions. However there remain plenty of unanswered questions as the competition at the spiritual home of US athletics begins. Arguably the most intrigue surrounds two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion McLaughlin-Levrone, who has not lost in her signature event since 2019. The 25-year-old cemented her status as the greatest women's 400m hurdler in history a year ago in Paris as she stormed to her second Olympic gold in the event in a world record 50.37sec. But McLaughlin-Levrone has raised eyebrows heading into this week's meeting by electing to skip the 400m hurdles and concentrate on the 400m flat instead. It means that McLaughlin-Levrone, who missed the 2023 Budapest world championships with a knee injury, risks missing out on competing in the hurdles in Tokyo, although she could still qualify for the event with victory in the Diamond League finals in August. All eyes on Richardson In the women's short sprints, meanwhile, all eyes will be on reigning 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson. Richardson's upset victory in Budapest two years ago means she is assured of a place in the field in Tokyo. But this week's event offers observers a good barometer of Richardson's form and fitness as he prepares to defend her title in Japan. The 25-year-old has struggled to find her best form in two outings in the 100m so far this season, her best time a modest 11.19sec -- ranking her 96th in the world -- at the Prefontaine Classic, also held at Hayward Field, earlier this month. The opening heats of the 100m take place on Thursday, with the final due on Friday. Richardson may well find herself in the slipstream of rising star and training partner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who owns the fastest time in the 100m this year at 10.73sec. Richardson and Jefferson-Wooden are also entered in the 200m, where they will face Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, silver medallist at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest. In the men's sprints, the pressure is off for reigning 100m and 200m world champion Lyles. But the charismatic Olympic champion will be looking for signs of a return to form after losing his first 100m of the season at the Diamond League in London on July 19 as he works his way back from an ankle tendon problem. Lyles can expect stiff opposition from a resurgent Kenny Bednarek in the 100m, with veteran Trayvon Bromell also in the mix. Elsewhere, the men's 400m has been opened up by the withdrawal of Olympic champion Quincy Hall, while the women's 800m sees a return for Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Athing Mu-Nikolayev, a late entry to the trials. In the men's 110m hurdles, three-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion Grant Holloway is in action.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Too much too young?: Swimming's dilemma over 12-year-old schoolgirl
The prodigious Chinese schoolgirl is not just making up the numbers at the event in Singapore this week. Yu qualified for Monday's final of the 200m individual medley and came fourth, missing out on a remarkable medal by just 0.06sec in what is not considered her strongest event. The race was won by Canada's Summer McIntosh -- she competed at the Tokyo Olympics as a 14-year-old and last summer in Paris won three golds at age 17. Yu was at it again on Wednesday in Singapore, racing alongside comparative veteran McIntosh to reach the finals of the 200m butterfly. Yu, who turns 13 in October, will also race in the 400m medley later this week. The Chinese prodigy, who discovered swimming aged six as a way to cool off in China's roasting summers, has drawn historical comparisons to Inge Sorensen. At 12, the Dane was the youngest-ever winner of an Olympic swimming medal after her bronze at the Berlin Games of 1936. More recently, there was Bahrain's Alzain Tareq, who was 10 when she competed at the swimming world championships in Kazan, Russia, in 2015. Unlike Yu, however, she never came close to a medal. Asked this week if she was a "genius", Yu replied: "No, not really. It's all the result of hard training." 'Too early' While Yu's performances have been impressive and could well yield a medal, not everyone thinks she should be competing in Singapore. Some in the sport have raised questions about the impact on Yu mentally and physically of high-level training and competing at an age when she is still developing as a person. Under current World Aquatics rules, the minimum age is 14 but younger swimmers can compete at the championships if -- like Yu -- they are fast enough. Christian Hansmann, sports director of German swimming, called her participation in Singapore "questionable". "Putting a girl of 12 in front of a world championship crowd of 5,000 spectators, with the high pressure from the media and the coaches, is far too early in my opinion," said Hansmann, who has children of a similar age. French swimmer Lilou Ressencourt admitted it "pisses me off to be beaten by a girl 10 years younger than me" and said she was surprised by how fast Yu is at such a young age. She too fears for Yu's physical and mental well-being. "I'm 22 and handling world championships, even French championships, can be difficult," Ressencourt told AFP. "I tell myself that at 12, you have a heavy responsibility... it's not normal at 12 to have that kind of pressure." Finding balance Yu's presence in Singapore could force a rethink of the rules at World Aquatics, the sport's governing body. Executive director Brent Nowicki admitted they had been surprised that someone as young as Yu had been fast enough to qualify. Nowicki said World Aquatics "feel quite good about where we are with our safeguarding approach in our sport", but admitted that Yu could force a re-evaluation of its rules. "She's great. I mean, there's a big future there for her. Hopefully there could be good things that could happen out of this, and it could be great," he said. But he added: "Obviously we have to make sure that that's what it is, right? We don't want to tip that balance and go the other way, and we have to be careful about that." Many other sports have wrestled with the same age issue. In 2022, ice skating's governing body voted to raise the minimum age for senior competition from 15 to 17, months after an Olympics drug scandal involving Russian teenager Kamila Valieva. Katarina Witt, who was 18 when she won Olympic skating gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Games for East Germany, said the change was "primarily protecting the female athletes from their sometimes over-ambitious managers".
