Olympic champion Noah Lyles delivered a commanding performance at the Rome Diamond League meeting on Thursday, winning the men’s 100 metres in 9.88 seconds.
The American, a four-time world champion over 200 metres, powered ahead of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who finished second in 9.94 seconds, while Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo took third in 9.95 seconds.
Former Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy finished fifth in 9.99 seconds on home soil.
Lyles, 28, had already opened his season with a 9.95-second win in Tokyo two weeks earlier and said he remains focused despite a year without major global championships.
“This season might be different but it doesn’t mean the goal is different. I am not showing anywhere to lose, I am here to win,” Lyles said.
Reflecting on his performance, he added: “Ten metres before the finish line I knew the race was over and I had already won it. I was thinking about how I was going to celebrate it.”
In the field events, Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced a breakthrough throw of 92.62 metres in the javelin, moving him into eighth place on the all-time list.
The 23-year-old, who had already set a season’s best of 89.37 metres in March, continues to close in on Jan Železný’s long-standing world record of 98.48 metres, set in 1996.
“I tried my best today to throw the national record, I managed to improve it by 30cm, even though I had only two valid attempts today,” Pathirage said.
He added: “The weather feels good in Rome to throw further than at the last competition in Rabat. Winning today feels like a Sri Lankan festival.”
Grenada’s Anderson Peters placed second in the javelin with 83.91 metres, narrowly ahead of American Curtis Thompson, who took third.
In the women’s 200 metres, Saint Lucia’s Olympic silver medallist Julien Alfred produced a surprise victory over world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, clocking 21.93 seconds.
Alfred, who now holds the season’s fastest time of 21.86 seconds, maintained strong form on the Diamond League circuit.
Jefferson-Wooden, competing in her first 200m race of 2026, finished second in 22.17 seconds, while fellow American Anavia Battle came third in 22.39 seconds.
“I do not have a specific goal this year, just being able to enjoy my presence on the track and have some fun,” Jefferson-Wooden said.
She added: “Overall, it was a good race, a pretty good opener… I wanted to win, but in the curve I was too long.”
The Rome meet once again highlighted early-season form across sprint and field events as athletes build momentum toward the next major international championships.
