Noah Lyles finished behind a Usain Bolt-approved sprinter at the 2025 London Diamond League – and the Jamaican has already made his feelings clear.
Bolt, 38, is an eight-time Olympic gold medallist and still holds both the 100m (9.58 seconds) and 200m (19.19 seconds) world records, which he set at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.
And despite several attempts, no man has run faster than the Jamaican, despite many claiming that they could and ultimately failing to do so.
Bolt admitted that current Olympic 100m champion Lyles, 28, could possibly take his 200m record ahead of the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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“I think the possibility is there, because he came close at the world championships,” Bolt said at the time.
“If he corrects a few things, he could get better. The possibility is there.
“I won't say [what he needs to correct]. I won't tell you how to break the world record.”
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Lyles clocked a time of 9.79 seconds to win the 100m gold but could only secure bronze with a time of 19.70 seconds in the 200m as Kenneth Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo finished ahead of the American in Paris.
On Saturday (July 19), Lyles was back in action at the 2025 London Diamond League but could only muster up a time of 10 seconds in the 100m as Bolt’s Jamaican compatriot Oblique Seville finished first with a time of 9.86 seconds.
Seville, 24, finished fourth in the men’s 100m at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships but will hope to secure gold at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo in September.
"I am proud of how I ran amongst a stacked field, and to win," Seville said after his victory on Saturday.
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"I was the only one to run under 10 seconds today, it is something special and phenomenal heading into a major championship later this year.
"Everything I have been practising in training, I delivered out there today. Coming out here and performing against these athletes makes me want to push a little harder. London is the place I wanted to run, so to get the Diamond League win here is very special to me."
So, what has Bolt said about Seville in the past?
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Well, the 38-year-old previously backed him to break his 100m world record.
“Oblique can do it," Bolt stated on The Fix podcast in February.
"If he can stay fit through the season and get it right, he can do it because I’m sure there’s something there, the ability to do it."
He added: "Some of the time Oblique can be fragile. It’s a matter of the work situation or whatever, but if he’s doing enough work, he can do it.
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"It’s a matter of time because he’s not missed the finals yet, so it’s just to get over the hump."
Topics: Athletics, Noah Lyles, Usain Bolt, Olympics
Luke Davies