Noah Lyles explains why London Diamond League matters after confirming 100m appearance

American track star Noah Lyles has confirmed his participation in this year's London Diamond League meet. He is one of the most successful athletes to ever compete in the Diamond League events, having been a 5-time Diamond League champion. This marks the second time he will compete in the London Diamond League meeting, having won the 100m event in last year's meeting.

Lyles is widely regarded as one of the best sprinters in the world at the moment. He specializes in the 100m and 200m events, and made his breakthrough when he finished fourth in the 200 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, which he managed to earn straight after high school. He has had a distinguished career, winning an Olympic gold medal and 22 Diamond League meetings.

In an interview with the Diamond League, Lyles expressed his excitement about competing in London once again, saying:

“My road to defending my world titles in Tokyo in September goes through London,” said the 27-year-old. “I’ve had great experiences there the last two years, running some of my fastest times, and I look forward to another in July. See you there!”

Noah Lyles will be running in the 100m event in London on July 19.

---

Noah Lyles on trying to take track and field to the next level

Noah Lyles has spoken about the popularity of track and field on previous occasions - Source: Getty

Olympic champion Noah Lyles previously discussed his aim of taking track and field to a more global scale in an interview after winning the 100m title at the 2023 World Championships. Lyles, who is regarded as one of the most popular track stars in the world, is one of the outspoken athletes to discuss the popularity of track and field.

In an interview with Olympics.com, Lyles made his feelings known on making track and field a global sport, saying:

“You look at musicians, they start having clothing brands and they start throwing fashion shows and they start hanging out with other artists. You look at our sport and we don’t even hang out with the athletes in our own sport. The big rock stars [from track & field] of our past and present don’t even hang out together.

“How can we get to this higher level that we all want to talk about and we aren’t even doing what’s needed to show that we respect each other?”

Indeed, Lyles is not the only athlete to speak about the global popularity of the sport. Retired sprinter and track legend Usain Bolt has also spoken about trying different things in track and field to make it more popular.