Noah Lyles recently made a comeback after recovering from his ankle injury at the Monaco Diamond League, where he made his 200m season debut. He did not just return to the track but also won the race, claiming the prize money. Along with him, Femke Bol also bagged the prize money after her stellar performance in the women's 400m hurdles.
The Monaco Diamond League took place on July 11 at Stade Louis II in Monaco, which featured multiple events and saw several staunch performances. One of the performances among these was of Lyles, who ran in the 200m, where he stood atop the podium by clocking 19.88s and besting the Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo, and Makanakaishe Charamba, who claimed the second and third positions, respectively.
Along with this performance, the women's 400m hurdles also witnessed a strong performance by Bol, who clinched the top spot by recording a time of 51.95s. She overpowered Dalilah Muhammad and Anna Cockrell, who ended up in second and third positions, respectively. These two athletes took home a total of $10,000 in prize money.
The 2025 Wanda Diamond League season has $9.24 million in their prize pot, in which $500,000 is appointed to all the regular meets. Lyles' and Bol's events fell under the Diamond Disciplines, where the prize money for first place was $10,000, so they ended up receiving the same amount after their feat.
A category of Diamond + Discipline events is also included this year, which features a few events that will receive an increased payout. Dashes like the women's 5000 m, women's high jump, men's 110 m hurdles, and men's pole vault fall under this category, and the winners of these events will take $20,000 home with them.
Noah Lyles opened up about being doubted ahead of the Paris Olympics despite being a three-time world champion
In a conversation with FloTrack, Noah Lyles opened up about competing at the Paris Olympics and highlighted earning the title of the world's fastest man. He highlighted that although he had won the world champion title three times, he was doubted by everybody; however, winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics changed it for him. (3:44 onward)
"It was a dream come true. It is something you dream about all the time. You want to be the world's fastest man, I've said this for years. I'm the three world champion in the 200 and nobody wanted to say I was the world's fastest man. I won it in the 100 in Budapest," Noah Lyles said.
He added:
"Okay, now I'm in the conversation. I finally won it in the Olympics, okay, now I'm the world's fastest man, it's a crazy title and it holds a lot of weight you know, walking around people will easily notice me on the street a lot more."
Noah Lyles opened his season by competing at the Tom Jones Memorial, where he ran in the 400m and clocked a personal best of 45.87s but finished in fifth place.