When Noah Lyles won his first Olympic gold medal in the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, he was emotional and said, “America. I told you, I got this.” It was a proud moment for him, and a clear release of years of pressure. After all, it was a big relief from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he finished outside the top 3 in the 100m. At that time, a 31-year-old Italian sprinter had taken away the 100m gold medal. Now, 5 years later, Lyles is ready to face the same Olympic champion of Tokyo, but this time Lyles steps in as the Olympic champion.

Noah Lyles is set to return to a major 100m stage on June 4 in Rome at the Golden Gala (Diamond League meet), and interestingly, Marcell Jacobs, the Tokyo 2020 100m Olympic Champion will also be in the race and face Lyles at the Stadio Olimpico.

For Jacobs, this race also marks a return to Diamond League competition after a long gap of 643 days since his last appearance. For now, he has been training in Florida and is building toward the European Championships in Birmingham, where he is aiming for a third straight continental 100m title.

On the other hand, Noah Lyles arrives with strong form but without a 100m race this season so far. He opened his outdoor year at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, running 19.91 seconds in the 200m (+1.6 m/s). It showed sharp speed, but the 100m test is still missing in 2026. Thus, Rome will be his first real sprint over the distance this year.

Moreover, they will meet in the same stadium where Jacobs already built a strong memory. At the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, he won the 100m title in 10.02 seconds on 8 June 2024, becoming the European champion in front of a home crowd. He later added another gold in the 4x100m relay, finishing the championship on a high note. Interestingly, Lyles also has a history in Rome, but it is limited.

In 2019, Noah Lyles raced the 200m at the Golden Gala and finished second in 19.72 seconds, behind Michael Norman, who ran 19.70 seconds. That race remains his only major appearance at this meet. Since then, he has stayed away from Rome until this confirmed return. Now both athletes meet again on the same stage, but who can win this time?

Can Marcell Jacobs beat Noah Lyles?

Marcell Jacobs first shocked the world at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by winning the 100m gold in 9.80 seconds, a European record that changed his career overnight. That same night, he also helped Italy win gold in the 4x100m relay. But after that peak, his journey became uneven.

From 2022 onwards, Jacobs struggled with back-to-back hamstring and muscle injuries. These setbacks forced him in and out of competition. Even so, in 2022, he became the European 100m champion in Munich and also won the world indoor 60m title. And then in 2024, he returned strongly again in Rome, winning the European 100m title.

On the other side, Noah Lyles built his path with more constant dominance across years! His biggest breakthrough in the 100m came at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he won gold in 9.79 seconds, becoming Olympic champion for the first time in the event. Before that, in the 200, he had won the World Championship gold in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2025, becoming an 8x World Champion.

But when you compare Noah Lyles and Jacobs on pure numbers, it gets very close! Lyles’ personal best in the 100m is 9.79, while Jacobs’ best is 9.80. But recent form tells a slightly different story. Lyles has already shown a sharper 100m rhythm in the 2025 season, with SB 9.89, while Jacobs has been 10.16.

That is where the real difference lies. Jacobs is explosive and very hard to beat when fully fit. But fitness has not always stayed with him across full seasons. Noah Lyles brings more stability and stronger consistency at the top level.

Jacobs himself knows what is ahead. He has said: “If we start again, the goal is to close the circle and go to Los Angeles in 2028. But I will have to be in the best possible condition.”

This meeting evokes memories of past legendary rivalries, such as the intense battles between Bolt and Gatlin, where two titans of the sport met to settle claims of supremacy.

So, Rome will not just decide a race. It will answer a bigger question: who is truly ready right now?