“If Noah Lyles is close, it’s going to be deja vu”: Justin Gatlin warns about American’s chances against Kishane Thompson at World Championships

Former American track athlete Justin Gatlin shared his thoughts on the clash between Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson at the Silesia Diamond League on Saturday. Lyles lost the race to the Jamaican after clocking under 10 seconds for the first time in the season (9.90).

On the other hand, Thompson clocked an impressive 9.87 seconds in Silesia to avenge his defeat at the Paris Olympics last year. However, the differences in times between the two were very minute, with just 0.03 seconds separating the two sprinters.

Speaking about this much-talked-about clash between Lyles and Thompson, Gatlin shared his analysis, stating that the Jamaican's ability to hold his top gear during the race will face a strong challenge from the likes of Lyles, who progresses rapidly in the concluding minutes. Gatlin also boldly remarked that if the distance between Lyles and Thompson is minimal, the American can dominate. Gatlin said (Ready Set Go, 54:58 onwards):

"When you watch the men's 100m, Kishane looks great, his turnover is amazing, gets off the blocks really well. Kishane does a great job at the middle part of his 100m. Once he gets into that top-end speed, he holds the top-end speed. Now, that's a gift and a curse, you hold that speed with guys who are progressively getting faster like a Noah Lyles and you see how Noah closes very fast in that last couple of meters."

"I think something Kishane and his camp need to make sure they work on in the next couple of months is generating more separation from the transition into top-end speed because if Noah's close, it's going to be deja vu."

During the conversation, Justin Gatlin also remarked that Noah Lyles isn't focused on winning the regular events, such as the Silesia DL, as he is busy trying out his strategies that will work for him in important events such as the World Championships in Tokyo.

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Noah Lyles speaks up about working on his race strategy for the 100m

Noah Lyles (Image via: Getty)

Noah Lyles shared his thoughts on his race strategies for the 100m after his second-place finish at the Silesia Diamond League. The American sprinter is next up, set to compete at the Lausanne DL, scheduled later this week.

The reigning World champion shared that in the 100m event, his focus is more on the initial 60m of the race, rather than his top-end speed. Lyles further explained that if his first 60m starts well, he can build on that efficiently in the next 30m. He said (via Citius Mag, 1:40 onwards):

"I don't really work as much as I do on my top end as much as I do on my first 60m. The top end is my gift and if I set up in the first 60m, the top end is going to do its job. So. I don't really focus much on the last 30m."

Despite his defeat against Thompson in Silesia, Noah Lyles stated that he is very happy with his performance, and this performance is a stepping stone before the Worlds.