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Noah Lyles has backed fellow American sprinter Christian Coleman to win the 100m showdown at Shanghai Diamond League against the likes of Fred Kerley and Ackeem Blake.
Earlier at the Xiamen Diamond League on April 20, Coleman clocked 10.31s to win the 100m race ahead of Fred Kerley and Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake who clocked 10.17s and 10.20s respectively. While the margin of victory wasn't that big, Coleman could have gone quicker had he made his customary fast start to the race.
The 28-year-old holds the world record in the 60m sprints and is widely known for his fast starts. However, the same wasn't witnessed in Xiamen last week. Kerley was faster than Coleman at the start and led the track through the first 30 meters. But the world champion picked pace through the middle before eventually taking the lead in the latter part of the race to secure the victory.
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And it was only his first 100m race of the season. So Christian Coleman could run faster in Shanghai and thus has the reigning 100m World Champion Noah Lyles given his backing to the 28-year-old.
Lyles expressed his confidence in Coleman after a user on X (formerly Twitter) asked who was going to win the 100m rematch in Shanghai. Alongside Coleman, Kerley, and Blake, Brandon Carnes, Rohan Watson, Akani Simbine, Emmanuel Eseme, Yoshihide Kiryu and Guanfeng Chen will be competing in the 100m once again. The World Champion will miss the event as he gears up for the Bermuda Grand Prix scheduled for 28th April.
The 26-year-old picked Coleman ahead of Kerley and Blake.
Lyles and Coleman had a riveting rivalry in the 60m indoor season earlier this year. However, he has put that aside and backed Coleman to win another Diamond League race.
Noah Lyles vs. Christian Coleman forge strong rivalry in 60m sprint
Noah Lyles won the first 60m race of 2024 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in February with a meet record. Lyles clocked a personal best of 6.44s to win the race ahead of Ackeem Blake who finished 2nd in 6.54s.
A week later, Lyles met Christian Coleman at the USATF Indoor Championships in the 60m for an exciting contest. And he defeated the 60m World Record holder. The 26-year-old clocked a new personal best of 6.43s to win the national title while Coleman finished 2nd in 6.44s. However, it was only the first 60m race of the season for Coleman.
The two met again at the World Athletics Indoor Championships where the world witnessed another riveting contest. But it was Coleman’s turn to enjoy the highest place on the podium. He clocked 6.41s to win the gold medal while Noah Lyles settled for silver after clocking 6.43s yet again.
