ZURICH: Noah Lyles pipped American teammate and current world champion Justin Gatlin to win the 100m at Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Zurich.Lyles clocked 9.98 seconds, China’s Xie Zhenye claiming a shock second (10.04) in a photo finish with Jamaican Yohan Blake (10.07) and Gatlin (10.08).The race looked like it was going the way of the Gatlin, the 37-year-old who was also 2004 Olympic 100m gold medallist but went on to serve a doping ban between 2006-10.But Lyles, 22, made sure there was no repeat of last month’s Monaco outing when Gatlin beat him by one-hundredth of a second.With Gatlin in lane three, outside meeting record holder Blake (9.76sec in 2012) and inside Lyles in four, the 25,000 sell-out crowd at the Letzigrund stilled for the start, in still conditions with a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (72F).At the gun, Gatlin quickly found his rhythm, head down before slowly pulling up for his transition phase.Lyles, however, clung with him and produced a scintillating finish to break clear of the field, Xie screaming through for a memorable second ahead of Blake and Gatlin.It was perfect timing for Lyles to notch up a psychological booster of a victory ahead of the September 27-October 6 world championships in Doha.The result also confirmed Lyles’ recent run of stunning form.He has recently posted two very quick times over his favoured 200m, including a 19.50sec in Lausanne that made him the fourth fastest ever sprinter over that distance.
from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/34a4w5c
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