Silesia Diamond League: Top upsets ft Noah Lyles, Shacarri Richardson

The Silesia Diamond League didn't turn out as expected for the likes of Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson, etc. The twelfth leg of the Wanda Diamond League 2025 was conducted at the Silesian Park in Chorzow, Poland, on August 15 and 16.

The Kamila Skolimowska Memorial meet also serves as the Silesia leg of the Wanda Diamond League. The current edition was the 16th edition of the annual meet.

While some athletes performed up to the expectations, like Karsten Warholm and Masai Russell, to name a few, others surprised everyone with their brilliant athletic skills. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who had surprised everyone with her skills at the Eugene Prefontaine Classic, caused another upset by winning the women's 100m.

Likewise, Kishane Thompson had the last laugh when he outpaced Noah Lyles in an intense 100m race, with a new meet record. Payton Otterdahl, who isn't as famous as his compatriots Joe Kovacs and Ryan Crouser, won the men's shot put event.

Apart from the above, even Jasmine Moore had a field day in the women's long jump event. She upstaged former Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo to win the gold medal in the event.

Here are the major upsets recorded at the Silesia Diamond League 2025 :

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Top 5 upsets at the Silesia Diamond League ft Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson

#1) Noah Lyles [USA - Men's 100m]

Though Noah Lyles was the top favorite, many fans were rooting for Kishane Thompson from Jamaica, who had clocked a world-leading time of 9.75 seconds at the Jamaican National Trials.

The Jamaican didn't disappoint either. In a re-run of the intense finish on the lines of the Paris Olympics 2024, Thompson and Lyles ran neck and neck until the Jamaican outpaced the American by 0.03 seconds. Thompson won the event with a new meet record of 9.87 seconds, while Lyles finished second despite a personal best of 9.90 seconds.

#2) Sha'Carri Richardson [USA - Women's 200m]

Bad luck continued to follow the Olympic silver medalist in the women's 100m. Despite her best efforts, the 25-year-old sprinter could only manage to finish sixth overall.

While Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the gold medal with a new meet record of 10.66 seconds, Tia Clayton of Jamaica finished second with a time of 10.82 seconds, and Marie Josee Ta-Lou Smith of Ivory Coast finished third with a time of 10.87 seconds.

#3) Brittany Brown [USA - Women's 200m]

In the absence of big names like Gabby Thomas, Julien Alfred, etc., Brittany Brown was expected to perform well in the women's 200m event.

However, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica surprised everyone with a strong comeback, with a seasonal best performance of 22.17 seconds. The Jamaican sprinter had to pull out of the Paris Olympics due to an unfortunate injury.

While Brown finished a close second with a timing of 22.21 seconds, Favour Ofili of Nigeria finished third with a timing of 22.25 seconds.

#4) Joe Kovacs [USA - Men's Shot Put]

Looks like things didn't go well for one of the most consistent shot putters of all time.

After a disappointing show at the USATF Nationals, where he was unable to make it to the World Championships, Kovacs hoped to make it through the Diamond League finals.

However, with a best throw of 21.82 m, he only finished third. Kovacs' teammate Payton Otterdahl won the event with a best throw of 22.28 m, while Leonardo Fabbri of Italy finished second with a best throw of 22.10 m.

#5) Malaika Mihambo [Germany - Women's Long Jump]

With Tara Davis-Woodhall not participating at the Silesia Diamond League meet, the stage was set for Malaika Mihambo to regain her lost pride. The German long jumper had won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

However, it was Jasmine Moore this time who stole the limelight. The American long jumper made a best attempt of 6.85 m, which also turned out to be a new meet record, while Mihambo finished fourth overall with a best attempt of 6.68 m, behind Hilary Kpatcha of France and Claire Bryant of the USA.