Noah Lyles sets new personal best in rapid men's 100m victory 

It’s official. Noah Lyles is in the form of his life.

At the 2024 London Diamond League, which took place on Saturday 20 July, the American track & field star showed just why he is the favourite for double gold at Paris 2024 with a scintillating performance in the men’s 100m.

Facing a stellar field, which included both the silver and bronze medallists from last year’s Worlds (Botswana's Letsile Tebogo and Britain's Zharnel Hughes), Lyles crossed the line in a personal best time of 9.81 seconds - and with it sent a message to anyone seeking to challenge him for the Olympic 100m crown on 4 August.

"A PB and getting faster before Paris," an elated Lyles said after the race. "I wanted to dip under the 9.80 - I thought I was going to get a wind like everyone else. I know exactly where I am ahead of Paris. I knew we'd be getting more eyes on us, I've been waiting for this for six years!"

Lyles has traditionally been known for his exploits over the half-lap distance, where he currently holds the American record and fourth-fastest time in history. However, his transition to the 100m - arguably the most prestigious running distance in athletics - has been nothing short of remarkable, with his crowning achievement the gold he won at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Now, with the Paris 2024 sprint double in his sights, the 27-year-old has been working hard on improving his starts. However, it was his scintillating finish that counted in London, as he stormed to the front at the 60m mark before running through the line ahead of South Africa's Akani Simbine (9.86) and Botswana's Tebogo (9.88).

Noah Lyles' on his statement victory in London: "I live for the biggest moments"

The crowd in London were bouncing after seeing national records broken by two of the home favourites, Keely Hodgkinson in the women's 800m and Matt Hudson-Smith in the men's 400m.

However, the performance of Lyles in the last race of the day was a fitting end to the final Diamond League meeting before the Olympic athletics action begins in the City of Light on 1 August.

While Lyles has been in strong form this season, particularly at the US trials where he took victory in both the 100m and 200m, he faces a stiff challenge for the Olympic 100m gold medal with both Jamaica's Kishane Thompson (9.77) and Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79) going faster than him this year.

Yet if anyone was looking for chinks in his armour heading into the Games, they would have been sorely disappointed. As he celebrated in front of the crowd with one finger held up to his lips, it was as if he was signalling to his doubters that it will take more than talk to beat him to the title in Paris.

"I live for the biggest moments, the more eyes the better I perform," said Lyles. 'As soon as I get on the stage when the TV is on and people are watching, I perform."

With Paris 2024 just around the corner, both Lyles' words and race-winning actions have sent a statement of intent for an athlete chasing glory on the world's biggest sporting stage.