Lyles Back 'In The Fire' With 19.88 Victory; Addy Wiley Breaks American Record In 1,000; Josh Hoey Runs Second-Fastest U.S. 800 Of All-Time

By David Woods for DyeStat

Photos courtesy Diamond League AG

INTERVIEWS

It had been 11 months since Noah Lyles had raced over 200 meters. On Friday night, he reiterated it remains his best distance.

The 27-year-old from Alexandria, Va., pulled away from Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in the closing 50 meters to finish first in 19.88 seconds in the Diamond League meet at Monaco.

The two had not met since last August’s Paris Olympics, in which Tebogo won the gold medal and Lyles bronze. Except for one 400-meter race and a 4x100 relay, this 200 was Lyles’ first outdoor race of the year.

Tebogo was second in 19.97 and NCAA runner-up Maka Charamba (Zimbabwe/Auburn) third in 19.99. They ran into a slight headwind (-0.8 mps).

At 100 meters, Tebogo led by .01, 10.20 to 10.21. They were even at 150 meters, both in 14.85, so Lyles built all of his lead over the last 50 meters.

Lyles said he didn’t race at last week’s Prefontaine Classic to be sure he was healthy. He said he would run 100 meters July 19 at London, then pick one event for the USA Championships. He won world titles in the 200 in 2022 and 2023, and he has a bye in both sprints to September’s World Championships at Tokyo.

“I put myself in the fire for that one, coming back against Tebogo,” he said. “I didn’t feel any pressure. I don’t see any reason to put pressure on myself. That’s what we love to do. I pray for times like this, to be out here and do what I love.”

Tebogo said his warm-up was interrupted because of reporting early to the call room.

“But that is not an excuse. All of us came and showed up,” he said.

There were world-leading marks in five events, including the 800 meters, which featured all finalists from the Paris Olympics and nine men who have run sub-1:43.

Gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya won decisively in 1:41.44, a meet record. He was on world-record pace, 49.21, through 400 meters. Josh Hoey was second in 1:42.01 to become No. 2 and 11 on the all-time U.S. and world lists, respectively.

“I tried to stick to Wanyonyi as much as I could,” Hoey said. “I died about 20 to 30 meters from the line. So I just kind of tried to keep rolling and finish the race from there.”

Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati was third in 1:42.55 and Peter Bol fourth in an Australian record of 1:42.55. Canada’s Marco Arop was ninth at 400 and third at 700 before placing fifth in 1:42.73.

Bryce Hoppel, whose American record is 1:41.67 in placing fourth at Paris, was seventh in 1:43.51.

Two other world leaders on the men’s side came in the field: world indoor champion Sang-hyeok Woo of South Korea 7-8 (2.34m) in the high jump and Jamaica’s Jordan Scott 57-5.75 (17.52m) in the triple jump. Scott jumped that in the sixth round after going 57-2.75 (17.44m) in the fifth, also a world leader at the time.

In the pole vault, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke a meet record of 19-10.25 (6.05m). He missed three times, none especially close, in a bid to raise his world record to 20-7.5 (6.29m).

“I like to compete a lot and keep myself busy,” he said. “For me, I can’t lose a competition and I got to make sure that I am always ready because I know those guys want to beat me. So I always need to be on my A-game. “

Sharing fourth place at 19-1.25 (5.82m) were France’s Renaud Lavillenie, 39, the world record-holder before Duplantis, and Sam Kendricks, 32, the Olympic silver medalist behind Duplantis last year.

Trey Cunningham scored his second Diamond League victory, clocking 13.09 in the 110 hurdles into a headwind (-0.9). World leader Cordell Tinch was second in 13.14 and NCAA champion Ja’Kobe Tharp third in 13.17, completing a 1-2-3 American sweep. Dylan Beard was fourth in 13.17.

Two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali had a large lead erased by Ryuji Miura in the steeplechase, but the Moroccan rallied down the stretch to win in 8:03.18. Miura was second in a Japanese record of 8:03.43. Matthew Wilkinson was ninth in a PB of 8:10.23, and Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks was 15th in 8:28.23.

Gout Gout, an Australian 17-year-old, won the under-23 200 in 20.10 (-1.9) in his first appearance at a Diamond League meet. The time would have been an estimated 19.93 in still conditions.

Addy Wiley runs to 2nd with American record

In women’s events:

Addy Wiley’s fast finish brought her to second place in the 1,000 meters, lowering her American record to 2:30.71. The 21-year-old from Huntington, Ind., was fourth at 800 in 1:58.9.

Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir became the fourth woman ever to run sub-2:30, winning in 2:29.77. Australia’s Jessica Hull, the Olympic 1,500 silver medalist, was third in 2:30.96. Sinclaire Johnson was fourth in 2:31.44, also under Wiley’s previous American record of 2:31.49.

 “It is additional motivation for me to run even faster and to get closer to the world record,” said Wiley, who would be coming off a third college season if she hadn’t gone pro. “Middle-distance running is really competitive at the moment, and I am happy to be part of it and to also prove myself that I can challenge other athletes.”

Aaliyah Butler nearly upset Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino in the 400 meters. In the closing steps, Paulino, of the Dominican Republic, seized victory in 49.06, followed by Butler in 49.09. Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce was third in 49.63.

Butler, the NCAA champion from Georgia, moved to No. 3 in the world this year and No. 5 on the all-time U.S. list. She was a half-second off the all-dates collegiate record of 48.57 set by Pryce, of Arkansas, last year.

Femke Bol of the Netherlands raised her Diamond League record to 28-0 in the 400 hurdles, clocking a world-leading 51.95 for a meet record. Dalilah Muhammad was second in 52.58, her best time since taking silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Anna Cockrell, silver medalist at Paris, was third in 52.91.

Winners over 100 meters were Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia in the sprint, 10.79 (-1.4), and Jamaica’s Megan Tapper in the hurdles, 12.34 (-1.1).

In the hurdles, Dita Kambundji of Switzerland was second in 12.43. Olympic champion Masai Russell was fourth in 12.57.

In the shot put, the Netherlands’ Jessica Schilder climbed from third to first with a last-round distance of 66-10.75 (20.39m). Chase Jackson, after taking the lead in the fifth round, was second at 65-9.75 (20.06m). Canada’s Sarah Mitton was third at 65-7.5 (20.00m) and Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany fourth at 63-11 (19.48m).

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.