Noah Lyles pinpoints major difference in today's race that led to second-place finish against Kishane Thompson

American sprinter Noah Lyles recently opened up about the adjustments he made before the start of his 100m race at the Diamond League Silesia 2025. Notably, he faced a defeat against Kishane Thompson in the race, who continues his red-hot form over the 100m distance.

This was the first time Thompson faced Lyles after the 2024 Olympics finals, and the former eventually got the better of the American after missing out by a whisker at the quadrennial games. However, for Lyles, too, it was a good result considering he registered a season best of 9.90 seconds.

Speaking in an interview after his race, Lyles spoke about the amazing atmosphere in the stadium. He further revealed that he wanted to work on his drive during the race and chase his opponents after standing up late.

"I went on the track and it was a full stadium out here. I don't know if you can hear anything, they are going crazy and when they cheer, it's even louder and again the competition was like wow, this is a 100m finals," he said (via FloTrack).

"Sometimes you get the pressure and it's like, I need to do something magical but at the end of the day, no you don't. Today's plan was to build my drive phase and I didn't stand up too early and I really chased after it and I feel like that was the major difference between my last two races and today."

As per reports, Noah Lyles will next feature at the Lausanne Diamond League, scheduled to take place next week. He is set to run the 100m race alongside the likes of Kishane Thompson, Marcel Jacobs, and Oblique Seville.

Noah Lyles shares his positives after 100m defeat at the Diamond League Silesia 2025

Noah Lyles (Image via: Getty)

Noah Lyles shed light on the positives he took from his defeat in Silesia. Notably, this was Lyles' second consecutive runner-up finish in the Diamond League events; the first came at the London DL last month.

Speaking after his race in Silesia, Lyles stated that it was important for him to clock under 10 seconds in the 100m event. Additionally, the reigning 100m and 200m World champion also expressed confidence in beating top athletes such as Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman and added (via Wanda Diamond League):

"It is a great stepping stone. I needed to see a sub 10. I needed to see winning, beating people, I took out some really big heads today, people who run 9.7 and 9.8. I am getting the confidence. It makes me really excited for not only today but also for next week and Tokyo."

During the conversation, Noah Lyles further remarked that his momentum will get better with each race and oozed confidence about registering good performances at his upcoming meets before the World Championships in Tokyo next month.