ROME: Olympic champion Noah Lyles scorched to victory in the men’s 100m at the Rome Diamond League meeting on Thursday in 9.88sec.

The four-time 200m world champion American pushed Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (9.94) into second with Letsile Tebogo (9.95) of Botswana in third.

Italian former Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs came fifth in 9.99sec.

Lyles, 28, had won his first race of the season in Tokyo two weeks ago in 9.95sec.

“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,” said Lyles about a 2026 year with no major tournaments.

“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.”

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage produced a stunning 92.62m in the javelin to propel himself into eighth on the all-time list in the event.

The 23-year-old had already thrown the year’s best distance of 89.37m in March but he still has a few more metres to find to trouble Jan Zelezny’s world record of 98.48m back in May 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,” said Pathirage.

“The weather feels good in Rome to throw further than at the last competition (in Rabat). Winning today feels like a Sri Lankan festival.”

Anderson Peters of Grenada came second with 83.91m, just 2cm ahead of American Curtis Thompson in third.

Olympic silver-medallist Julien Alfred upset world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the women’s 200m, clocking 21.93sec.

“I wanted to go a bit faster but I will take the win,” Alfred said. “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.”

Alfred of Saint Lucia has posted the fastest 200m time this season with a 21.86sec.

American Jefferson-Wooden, who also won the 100m and 4x100m in Tokyo last year, was racing a 200m for the first time in 2026.

She finished second in 22.17 with compatriot Anavia Battle third in 22.39.Likina Amebaw won the women’s 5000m, leading home an Ethiopian 1-2-3.

Expectations were high for Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, who looked comfortable tucked in behind the pacemakers in the early stages. But once Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi upped the pace, Battocletti drifted back down the field.

Yavi’s time at the front ended once the Ethiopians took over, with Freweyni Hailu taking the lead on the penultimate lap. Hailu had to settle for third, however, as Amebaw caught Aleshign Baweke before the line.

Norway’s Henriette Jaeger took victory in the women’s 400m with a time of 49.60, in a race which saw Britain’s Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson open her outdoor season after winning the world indoor 800m title.

Jaeger came from behind to power to the line ahead of Czech Lurdes Gloria Manuel.

Hodgkinson, who has the 800m world record in her sights this year, opted to run the shorter distance to work on her speed over the opening lap of the longer race, and came in seventh, posting a personal best of 51.14.

American Trey Cunningham won the men’s 110m hurdles in a personal best time of 12.98 seconds, ahead of Jamaican Orlando Bennett.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026