"I said 'I hope he stays injured'"-Noah Lyles wanted Kishane Thompson to remain out of competition before Paris Olympics 2024

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Jul 16, 2024 18:35 GMT

The six-time World Championships gold medal-winning sprinter, Noah Lyles, recently elaborated on the earlier comments that he made about the 22-year-old Jamaican track and field athlete, Kishane Thompson. This comment came after Thompson managed a surreal performance in the men's 100m event of the Jamaican National Championships 2024.

The 22-year-old Thompson registered a run time of 9.77 seconds to win the finals of the event as well as qualify for the first-ever Olympic event of his career. Thompson's run time was the joint ninth-fastest registered mark of all time and was 0.06 seconds clear of Lyles' career-best run time of 9.83 seconds.

In a recent episode of the Track World News Podcast with Colin Waitzman and Noah Williams, Lyles discussed his main rival for the Paris Olympics 100m event. They took into account Thompson's recent performances.

He stated (at 27:04):

"When we were in the interview and they set out how fast he ran I said, "I hope he stays injured" because I know that he's had a hard history with injuries, and every time that he runs fast he usually has to be taken off because he's usually hurt. So the fact that he was able to keep going it's like oh! This is great you know, he's actually being able to show his full potential."

Lyles will have a difficult task ahead of him at the quadrennial event in Paris to surpass the gifted young Jamaican athlete in the 100m event.

During the podcast, Noah Lyles also discussed the sharp talent-scouting skills of his girlfriend, Junelle Broomfield, as she was one of the first individuals to identify the kind of talent Kishane Thompson possesses.

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Noah Lyles is all set to pave his dominance at the London Diamond League meet

Lyles at the US Olympics Track and Field Trials 2024 (Image via: Getty Images)

With the Paris Olympics 2024 just ten days away, Noah Lyles is all set to take the field one last time before the mega event. The 26-year-old will be seen at the 10th Diamond League meet of the season in London.

Having recently withdrawn from the Monaco Diamond League, Lyles will only be participating in the men's 100m event in London.

Besides Lyles, various other high-profile sprinters from around the world, such as the two-time Olympic gold medalist, Yohan Blake, and the 2022 World Championships gold medalist, Jeremiah Azu, will also grace the event scheduled to be held on June 20 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.