“Okay, this is going to be a great race!” This is how the reigning 100m Olympic champion, Noah Lyles, reacted when he first saw the London Diamond League 100m entry list. You thought he would be intimidated? After all, Noah Lyles returns to the 100m track for the first time since his thrilling win in Paris. His competition? Four of the world’s top 10 100m sprinters and three who ran in the Paris Olympics finals with him. So can the world’s fastest man continue to show his dominance, or will he falter? Or perhaps we are going to witness another nail-biting finish…

Well, we will have to wait and see later tonight at the London Stadium. But one thing is sure. This is certainly one of the most competitive 100m fields leading up to the World Championships in September, and thus, it’s going to be a high-stakes clash. The field features speedsters like Akani Simbine, Oblique Seville, Akeem Blake, and more like Jeremiah Azu (European indoor 60m champion) and Zharnel Hughes (Olympic relay bronze medalist). It’s going to be worth every penny for the sell-out 60,000 crowd!

Can Noah Lyles Spark a 100m Streak at London DL?

Noah Lyles is likely to arrive in London with a surge of confidence, as he had previously said, “My road to defending my world titles in Tokyo in September goes through London.” So, it’s not clearly just another stop, but a chance to secure a third win in the city after his 200m in 2023 and 100m in 2024. The latter saw him clock 9.81s (–0.3 m/s wind), securing victory over Akani Simbine and Letsile Tebogo, who finished second and third respectively in 9.86 and 9.88s. Others like Louie Hinchliffe, Blake, Hughes, and Azu missed the podium, fading behind with 9.9s plus times. Interestingly, all of them are going to be there in London once again today. So, will we see a repeat of the results?

Well, nothing is impossible. Also, we cannot count Noah Lyles out just because it’s his season debut in the distance. That theory already fell flat in Monaco, where he stamped his authority in the 200m, taking down the reigning Olympic champion and the then-world leader, Tebogo, with a 19.88s finish. Although Lyles’ streak can have a few hurdles. Tebogo aside, Akani Simbine is the man to look out for. The South African sprinter has not lost a single 100m race he has run this season. Lyles should also keep an eye out for the Jamaican duo, Seville and Blake, who just finished second and third at the JAAA National championships, that too in just 9.83 and 9.88s!

Will Tebogo get his Monaco 200m revenge?

One of the most interesting angles at this race will be to see Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo face off for the second time this month. On July 11, at the Monaco Diamond League, while Lyles was just coming back from a tight ankle and his 2024 Paris Olympics COVID-19 setback in the 200m, Tebogo was in a much stronger place. He was coming off two straight 200m wins at the Doha Diamond League (20.10s) and the Prefontaine Classic (19.76), the latter of which saw him secure the world lead. Yet Noah Lyles came and smoked him like it was his everyday business. A mere 0.09s separated their winning times at Monaco.

So yes, Tebogo might be looking for revenge. After all, that Monaco win would have hit the 200m Olympic Champion’s pride, and what better way for him to hit back by beating Lyles in the distance he reigns as Olympic champion. But realistically speaking, can Tebogo really dominate in London? It looks uncertain! 100m and 200m are two completely different challenges altogether. Also, 100m is not really Tebogo’s marquee event. Moreover, Tebogo is just coming off a narrow loss at the Brescia Grand Prix, where he lost the 100m to Jerome Blake by 0.01s. Also, he has lost 4 of his 5 100m races this year. And against Noah?

Oh, the 100m world champion has a one-sided 6-0 head-on streak against Tebogo in this distance. So, it looks unlikely that he wins, but that fire is expected to be there. After all, the 200m specialist has often lost by really close margins. He missed the 2023 Budapest 100m World title to Noah Lyles by just 0.05s. Even in the Paris finals, he was just 0.08s behind Lyles, but the results were so close that he ended up sixth.

Simbine, Seville & Blake Ready to Strike against Noah Lyles

Keeping in mind the US vs Jamaica rivalry, let’s not forget that in Kishane Thompson’s absence, Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake would definitely try to push Noah Lyles off and bring that London DL win to the Caribbean. After all, they sit at 6th and 9th in the world rankings and have sub-9.90 times this season, which might be difficult for Noah to breach. Seville’s added advantage is that he hasn’t missed a podium this season and is the only sprinter to have beaten the American across this distance since 2023. Yes, he had restricted Lyles to the second place in the 100m Paris Olympics semi-finals by 0.02s. And while Ackeem was recently pushed to a fifth finish at the Prefontaine Classic, it is one more reason to be coming in with redemption in his mind! But can the South African powerhouse Akani Simbine derail their plans?

Well, he most definitely can! And it’s not us, but what stats are saying. After all, he’s been a former 100m world leader this year, after he clocked 9.90s at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in April. Although he lowered his season best to 9.86s at the Atlanta City Games, where Noah Lyles had to withdraw due to his ankle discomfort, that didn’t get recognized as an official time as it was wind-aided. It’s important to remember that though Simbine last beat Lyles in 2018, going 1-7 against him, he is charging like a man on a mission in 2025 with consistent  5 sub-10s this season.

USA vs Jamaica, or is it South Africa?

Ahead of the World Championships, and given the tough loss suffered by the Jamaicans at the Paris Olympics, the US vs Jamaica rivalry fire is on peak. Remember the online banter between Lyles and Seville in 2024? When Seville beat Lyles at the Racers Grand Prix 100m last year, Lyles wrote on X, “I say it every year, when I get beat, y’all better be scared as sh-t because next time you see me, you gone be ——- worried.” Seville had replied with, “Oh yah…I’ll remember this! See you in Paris!” So yes, there is expected to be a rematch, and this heat will likely tag along.

But Akani Simbine, who has led a pack of really fast South Africans this year, will make sure to leave a mark too. In 2025, he gave a message to the world that, “South Africa was always known as a distance nation, now the sprints are coming out.” He later even said, “We are here. And sprinting is our thing as well…We are going to take over.” Let’s not forget, he has dominated the 100m at three Diamond League events this season: Xiamen, Shanghai, and Rabat. And while doing so, he has held off a strong field of runners that includes Ferdinand Omanyala, two-time Olympic 100m medalist Fred Kerley, Kyree King, and Letsile Tebogo. He has also smoked Kishane Thompson at the Shanghai DL in the same distance, by a mere 0.01s! So yes, he might switch things around in London!

Can someone finally break Tyson Gay’s 15-year-old meet record?

The last time a 100m meet record was set at the London Diamond League was in 2010. Tyson Gay set a then-WL 9.78 seconds and sent a message to the absent Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. He had said, “I think there’s more to come. It’s great to be on top of the world, that’s important to me.” Ever since, it’s been 15 years, but none have breached this mark. Can it shatter this time?

Well, although one should never say never, breaking Tyson Gay’s London Diamond League meet record for the 100m will be difficult. Several factors make it improbable. His record, set in 2010, is a very fast time (9.78 seconds), and breaking it would require an exceptional performance from another sprinter in the specific conditions of the 2025 London meet. Even the reigning Olympic champion, Noah Lyles, has gone this close to 9.78s just once in his life, when he clocked 9.79 in the Paris final. 

If anyone can break that mark, it’s Seville. He has clocked 9.83s this season, closest to the meet record as of now. Gay’s time being broken will require Seville, the second fastest this year, to shave off 0.06s from his season best time. Also, in case anybody breaks the meet record, they will also clock their career personal best. But Noah Lyles can do it too. After all, he missed that mark by 0.03s in 2024. But again, a lot depends on the race-day conditions, as they could make or break this attempt. So, whom are you counting on? Let us know below!