Omanyala meets Lyles in high-stakes sprint battle in Atlanta

Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, USA’s Noah Lyles and South Africa’s Akani Simbine will not race in the same event at this year’s Adidas Atlanta City Games taking place on Saturday night.

The meet will start at 8pm Kenyan time in Atlanta, Georgia.

Omanyala and Lyles are set to compete in the men’s 150 metres, while Simbine will take part in the 100 metres. Simbine heads to the event fresh from helping South Africa win the 4x100 metres at the World Athletics Relays.

Last year, Omanyala and Lyles did not race each other. Omanyala, the African record holder, lost to Simbine in the 100 metres with a time of 10.00 seconds compared to Simbine’s 9.90.

Omanyala comes into the race after a busy start to the season. He finished second at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in 10.00, his best time this year, and also placed second at the Xiamen Diamond League in 10.13. He recently helped Kenya qualify for the 4x100 metres at the World Championships in China.

Lyles, the Olympic 100 metres champion, has been gradually building his form. He raced over 60 metres during the indoor season, then began his outdoor campaign in April with a personal best of 45.87 seconds in the 400 metres, a distance he does not usually contest at major events.

Last year, Lyles won the 150 metres at the same meet in 14.41 seconds, the second-fastest time in history. That result ties him with fellow American Tyson Gay on the all-time list. Usain Bolt remains the world record holder with 14.35, set in Manchester in 2008.

In the 100 metres, Simbine will race against Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville. Simbine holds the world lead this season with 9.90, and has also won at the Xiamen and Shanghai Diamond League events. He will be looking to turn the tables on Seville, who beat him last year with a time of 9.99 against Simbine’s 10.01.

South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, the 2016 Olympic 400 metres champion, will drop down to compete in the 200 metres. The race will also feature Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist in the 100 metres.

In the women’s 100 metres hurdles, Nigeria’s world record holder Tobi Amusan will race against American Tia Jones and Olympic medallist Megan Tapper of Jamaica.

The long jump will feature Italy’s Mattia Furlani, Nigeria’s Ese Brume and American heptathlete Anna Hall.

The Adidas Atlanta City Games is an annual street athletics meet. It was previously known as the Adidas BOOST Boston Games and was held in Boston from 2016 to 2021 before moving to Atlanta in 2023.

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