“America I got this!” assured Noah Lyles as the Paris Olympics approaches. After settling for a bronze medal in the 200m finals in Tokyo, the 26-year-old is itching to redeem himself. The track and field icon feels supremely confident and defending 100m Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs’ latest performance will only inspire more confidence in Lyles.

Marcell Jacobs, who clocked in 9.80s to win gold in the fan-favorite 100m event, failed to hit the sub-10s mark in Reiti. The Italian sprinter is currently participating in the pre-Olympics tune-up tournament at the Guidobaldi Stadium. Jacobs is in the driver’s seat after winning the 100m heat. However, it took the Olympic champion 10.17s to run 100m at the event, but there’s a bigger picture.

Noah Lyles ran 100m in 9.83s at the US Olympic trials. While this may look like bad news for the Italians it’s important to note that Marcell Jacobs will run two more times tomorrow. The 29-year-old will return for the semi-final and the final at this pre-Olympic event. Interestingly, the event is also mirroring the Paris Olympics schedule with the semis and finals being two hours apart.

Jacobs will participate in the semis at 6:20 p.m. and finals will start at 7:55 p.m. So while 10,17s may not look ideal on the scoreboard, the sprinter may simply be conserving his energy as he’ll barely get any rest between the two taxing 100m sprints tomorrow. Moreover, Marcell Jacobs won’t be Noah Lyles’ only rival in Paris. In fact, the 2023 World Champion’s fastest 100m sprint hasn’t been good enough to earn him the top spot on the list of the fastest men of 2024.

Noah Lyles must overcome serious competition

Noah Lyles is aiming for at least three golds at the Paris Olympics in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m. The 200m sprint has always been the world champion’s forte and he remains the fastest 200m sprinter in the world with a 19.53s run at Hayward Field, Eugene, during the trials. However, he faces a significant challenge in 100m. Besides Jacobs, Layles must contend with his Jamaican rivals and a dark horse from Kenya.

While things were looking up for Lyles in the 100m, Kishane Thompson’s roaring comeback on July 28th has turned the tables. Despite being sidelined for months the Jamaican ran a world-leading 9.77s 100m sprint at the Jamaican Olympic trials. Fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville clocked in with a time of 9.82s during the same event. However, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala caught the track and field community off-guard with his 9.79s run on July 15th.

These three performances have knocked down Noah Lyles to the 4th fastest over 100m in 2024. Marcell Jacobs will get the chance to potentially knock Lyles down further, going into the 2024 Olympics, raising the stakes even further. Will the confident American be able to overcome the challenge? We’ll find out on August 4th.