Lyles outguns Gatlin in Zurich 100m

ZURICH: Noah Lyles pipped American teammate and current world champion Justin Gatlin to win the 100m at Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Zurich.

Lyles clocked 9.98 seconds, China’s Xie Zhenye claiming a shock second (10.04) in a photo finish with Jamaican Yohan Blake (10.07) and Gatlin (10.08).

The race looked like it was going the way of the Gatlin, the 37-year-old who was also 2004 Olympic 100m gold medallist but went on to serve a doping ban between 2006-10.

But Lyles, 22, made sure there was no repeat of last month’s Monaco outing when Gatlin beat him by one-hundredth of a second.

With Gatlin in lane three, outside meeting record holder Blake (9.76sec in 2012) and inside Lyles in four, the 25,000 sell-out crowd at the Letzigrund stilled for the start, in still conditions with a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius (72F).

At the gun, Gatlin quickly found his rhythm, head down before slowly pulling up for his transition phase.

Lyles, however, clung with him and produced a scintillating finish to break clear of the field, Xie screaming through for a memorable second ahead of Blake and Gatlin.

It was perfect timing for Lyles to notch up a psychological booster of a victory ahead of the September 27-October 6 world championships in Doha.

The result also confirmed Lyles’ recent run of stunning form.

He has recently posted two very quick times over his favoured 200m, including a 19.50sec in Lausanne that made him the fourth fastest ever sprinter over that distance.