Who is Noah Lyles' toughest opponent in 100m at Paris Olympics 2024? Everything about the world champion's competition ft. Kishane Thompson

Noah Lyles will compete in the 100m event at the Paris Olympics as one of the top contenders to win gold. However, the 26-year-old is bound to face some stiff competition in the event from the likes of Kishane Thompson, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, and Ferdinand Omanyala, to name a few.

Noah Lyles has been in sensational form so far in 2024, having won all but one of his 100m races. The American, who won bronze in the 200m event at the Tokyo Olympics, was dominant throughout the track and field trials in Eugene and confirmed his qualification for the Paris Olympics after clocking 9.83 seconds in the discipline's final.

He defeated some formidable sprinters in the form of Kenny Bednarek, Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman.

The 100m world champion has often voiced his desire to break Usain Bolt's world records and will be a heavy favorite to clinch gold in the distance in Paris. However, the playing field will consist of some high quality athletes, some of whom have clocked better timings than Lyles in 2024.

Kishane Thompson clocked 9.77 seconds at the Jamaican Championships

Kishane Thompson at Paris Olympics 2024 - Source: Getty

Kishane Thompson, 22, has the 100m world lead so far in 2024, clocking a career-best 9.77 seconds in the final Jamaican Championships in Kingston. Thompson has registered sub-10 timings in three of the four races in the discipline that he has completed so far this season.

Before the final, the Jamaican clocked 9.82 seconds and 9.84 seconds in the heats and semifinals, respectively.

Oblique Seville defeated Noah Lyles at the 2024 Racers Grand Prix

Oblique Seville (centre) in action at the 2022 World Championships

Noah Lyles has lost just one 100m race so far in 2024 and this came at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston, where the American finished second after clocking 9.85 seconds. The athlete who defeated him is 23-year-old Oblique Seville, who clocked a career-fastest 9.82 seconds.

This is the same timing that the Jamaican finished with in the final of the Jamaican championships, where he finished behind Kishane Thompson. Seville has clocked loess than 10 seconds in each of his 100m races so far this season.

Other athletes who can challenge Noah Lyles at Paris Olympics

Athletissima - Lausanne: 2021 Diamond League - Source: Getty

Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek are the two American sprinters who will join Noah Lyles at the 100m event in Paris. Both sprinters are among the best in the distance and are capable of giving the world champion a run for his money.

Kerley won silver in the 100m event in Tokyo and has a career-fastest timing of 9.76 seconds. Bednarek finished second behind Lyles in the final of the track and field trials.

Among other sprinters, Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala is the African record holder in 100m and has clocked the second-fastest time in the distance so far in 2024, 9.79 seconds. Reigning Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs from Italy hasn't been at his best lately, with his fastest performance in 2024 being a 9.92-second finish at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland.