"Strangest I’ve had so far" - Noah Lyles opens up on injury-filled season ahead of his Lausanne Diamond League appearance

Noah Lyles shared that the 2025 season has been the strangest so far, with not many races under his belt, but he expressed determination for his upcoming races, building up to the World Championships. Lyles will take the 100 track at the Lausanne Diamond League while his biggest rival, Kishane Thompson, sits out.

Noah Lyles ran a couple of indoor races at the beginning of 2025, but started his outdoor season late due to an inflamed tendon. He competed in the 200m at the Monaco Diamond League, winning the event, but fell to Oblique Seville in the 100m at the London stop. The threepeater triumphed in the 200m at the USATF Championships, but sat out of the 100m to maintain his form for the most anticipated World Championships.

In a thrilling Paris Olympic rematch, Lyles and Kishane Thompson went head-to-head in the 100m at the Silesia Diamond League, where the latter came out on top. With the Jamaican sidelined for shin discomfort, Noah Lyles has the track to himself at the Lausanne stop.

In a pre-race interview, the 26-year-old shared that this season has been the strangest so far, but he believes things will only improve as he heads to the World Championships in September.

“This season has been the strangest I’ve had so far; I’ve never experienced a season like this. Usually, I have a lot of races under my belt, but because of my injury and setbacks, I had to wait this year. Now, I’m surprising myself with every race: I’m back and I’m more and more excited after each race. I was very motivated after Poland (9.90 on Saturday, finishing second), much faster than at the trials, and I want to keep improving before Tokyo. I’m super motivated.” (translated from French)

Noah Lyles was a force to be reckoned with at the Paris Olympics, claiming the 100m victory in a photo finish, leaving Thompson in second.

Noah Lyles revealed how rivalries fuel him on the track

Noah Lyles at the 2025 Novuna London Athletics Meet - (Source: Getty)

Noah Lyles has established himself as one of the strongest sprinters in the 100m and 200m, having swept both titles at the 2023 World Championships. He has also formed rivalries with sprinters like Kenny Bednarek and Thompson, having recently stared down the former during the 200m final at the Nationals.

As he is likely to bag an expected 100m title at the 2025 Worlds in Kishane Thompson's absence, Lyles shared that he loses motivation if the competition isn't strong enough.

“I love rivalries, as long as they’re done correctly. Meaning that they have a storyline, you know, we’re not just making rivalries out of nothing. I get kind of annoyed when there’ll be situations where you have one person who has a race with somebody who has like 50 wins over somebody who has three. I mean, come on, that’s not right. That’s just the next race that’s showing up."

Lyles said:

“If there’s a rivalry, there’s a story behind it. These two [rivals] have probably gone back and forth multiple times; they probably have some type of history, or they’re creating history at the time. That’s the type of rivalry I wanna see.”

The six-time World medalist will also vie for three gold podiums in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the Worlds this year.