Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson triumph at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich…in the American sprint stars’ first action since world championship glory
- Noah Lyles won the 200 meters in 19.80 seconds at the Diamond League game in Zurich
- Sha’Carri Richardson easily won the Women’s 100 in 10.88 on Thursday
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Another race, another win for three-time World Champion Noah Lyles.
Lyles won the 200 meters in 19.80 seconds at the Diamond League competition in Zurich on Thursday in his first race since the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, where he took gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay.
He was one of nine recently crowned world champions to follow up their titles with victories in Zurich in front of around 25,000 people at the Letzigrund Stadium.
“Everyone wants to beat me and everyone wants the cake and the crown, but I won’t give them that,” said the American. “Today we didn’t have perfect conditions, it was quite cold. But a win is a win.”
Sha’Carri Richardson easily won the Women’s 100 in 10.88, ahead of a strong field that included Jamaican duo Natasha Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah, while Shericka Jackson dominated the Women’s 200 in 21.82.
Noah Lyles won the 200 meters in 19.80 seconds at the Diamond League game in Zurich
Sha’Carri Richardson easily won the women’s 100m in 10.88, ahead of a strong field
Jamaica’s Danielle Williams continued her surprise 100 hurdles title in Budapest by winning her race in 12.54 seconds.
Yulimar Rojas in the women’s triple jump and Mondo Duplantis in the men’s pole vault also returned to the top of the podium in their events.
Earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith accused Lyles of appearing “blatantly ignorant” after the American sprint kingpin mocked the NBA for calling the winners “world champions.”
Lyles said his 100-200-meter sprint double at the World Championships was a greater achievement than titles among most American sports stars because of his global competition.
“What hurts me the most is having to watch the NBA Finals and have a world champion on their head,” Lyles said. World champion of what? The United States? Do not get me wrong. I like the US sometimes. But that’s not the world.’
It was Lyle’s first race since winning 100, 200 and 4×100 relay gold at the World Championships
The 26-year-old’s comments have sparked fierce reactions at home. Several NBA players, including Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Aaron Gordon, a reigning NBA champion with the Nuggets.
During his talk on ESPN’s “First Take,” Smith also took aim at Lyles. He pointed out that nearly a third of NBA players are from abroad, even claiming, “It’s easy to argue that NBA players are more competitive with the international competition than he is.”
“First of all, congratulations on your greatness – continue representing this country as you did – big messages of support to you,” Smith said of Lyles.
“He just came across as blatantly ignorant. And that has to be said. The NBA has established itself as a global iconic brand.”