Lyles storms to victory, Alfred beats Jefferson-Wooden at Rome Diamond League

American Olympic champion Noah Lyles made a strong start to his Diamond League season, winning the men's 100 meters at the Rome meeting. Lyles, known for his confident demeanor, soaked in the crowd's applause before delivering a powerful performance.

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I had a great finish. I can go again. Who wants to go?

Despite a characteristically slow start, Lyles surged in the latter half of the race, crossing the finish line in 9.88 seconds. Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme secured a surprising second place with 9.94, followed by Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo. "I am not showing anywhere to lose. I am here to win," Lyles declared after the race, adding, "10 metres before the finish line I knew the race was over and I had already won it."

In the women's 200 meters, St. Lucia's Julien Alfred secured victory over American world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. The pair ran neck-and-neck into the final straight, but Alfred pulled away decisively to win in 21.93 seconds, with Jefferson-Wooden finishing in 22.17. "I wanted to go a bit faster but I will take the win," Alfred commented, noting her increased strength.

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I am not showing anywhere to lose. I am here to win. 10 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.

Other track events saw Likina Amebaw of Ethiopia win the women's 5000m, leading an Ethiopian sweep. Norway's Henriette Jaeger won the women's 400m in 49.60 seconds. American Trey Cunningham claimed the men's 110m hurdles with a personal best of 12.98 seconds.

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I wanted to go a bit faster but I will take the win. I am a lot stronger now than I used to be and that's why I could push a bit extra in the second part of the race.