Epic Diamond League Final: Coleman vs. Lyles in 100m Showdown

The 2023 Prefontaine Classic, also serving as the Eugene Diamond League Final, at Hayward Field is set to be a landmark event in track and field. With fresh faces in men’s events, this has all the ingredients for riveting showdowns. Despite a few notable absences, the depth of talent makes it an unmissable spectacle for athletics enthusiasts globally. Emerging talents Letsile Tebogo from Botswana and Kishane Thompson from Jamaica, both of whom have recorded 9.8-second finishes this year, have a point to prove. The field also includes Christian Coleman from the USA and Jamaican runners Ackeem Blake and Yohan Blake, the 2011 world champion. Lyles, who won gold at the 100meter, 200meter and 4 by 100 meter during the World Championships in Budapest last month, admitted he thought he had nothing left in the tank after he won the 200meter in Zurich two weeks ago. He was considering opting out of the season finale but he said “I think I’ve got one more in me.” The 100 meter is Lyles first race since the World Championships. He’ll have little margin for error in a field and that includes world silver medallist Letsile Tebogo and former world champion Christian Coleman — who notched a world-leading 9.83seconds at the Diamond League in Xiamen two weeks ago. During the Opening Day on September 16, Christian Coleman stunned world champion Noah Lyles to win the men's 100meter in a world-leading 9.83 seconds. Coleman started well -- not an explosive start by his high standards -- and was strong throughout the middle stages of the race. What was the determining factor was his finish. When Lyles and Omanyala began to close, Coleman didn't tense up like he did at Worlds and ran relaxed through the line. It made the two-hundredths of a second difference in this race. Lyles produced a strong surge over the final half of the race, but his top-end speed was not enough for him to catch up to Coleman and had to settle for second place in a time of 9.85. African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya earned the rostrum courtesy of a photo finish also with a time of 9.85 seconds. Lyles' performance in Budapest earned him the unofficial title of "World's Fastest Man" and certainly established him as the one to beat in the sprints heading into the 2024 Olympic year. But Coleman has actually now tied Lyles as the fastest man in the world this season, based on time, and certainly served notice that he should not be discounted when these sprinters return here for the Trials next summer. World silver medallist Tebogo produced a below-par performance finishing eighth in a pedestrian 10.61. The race got off to an initial rocky start when Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake was shown a red card for a false start reducing the field to eight sprinters. His namesake and compatriot, former champion Yohan Blake, finished sixth in 10.08. Lyles was looking to bring his season to a climactic end. “I’ve been having great block starts, this is my second fastest time of the year. Of course, I wanted the win, but more importantly, the crowd got to come out here and I got to be in front of them. After a World Championship win, I know that’s what they really wanted to see," Lyles said. “I was able to do a victory lap, even though I didn’t win the victory, but they were just as excited.” Source: Diamond League NBC Sports Legendary Epic Heroic | Heroic by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS #DiamondLeagueEugene #ShaCarriRichardson #SherickaJackson

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