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Lyles says 'well worth the journey' after winning 100m in Tokyo / Photo: Yuichi YAMAZAKI - AFP
Lyles says 'well worth the journey' after winning 100m in Tokyo
Olympic champion Noah Lyles won his first 100m final of the season at the Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo on Sunday, making his trip to Japan "well worth the journey".
The American was slow out of the blocks in sunny, dry conditions at the Golden Grand Prix and did not take the lead until around halfway on his way to clocking 9.95sec.
More than two hours earlier, Lyles had run 10.05sec in his heat and said the day had been a "really good" start to his 2026 campaign.
"This might be my third or fourth-fastest season opener so it's a really good sign for the rest of the year," said the 28-year-old.
"I've been training really well so it was well worth the journey."
Lyles finished ahead of American Tate Taylor (10.04) and Britain's Jake Odey-Jordan (10.09).
"I wasn't really getting a good vibe on my back foot placement but sometimes you've just got to say, forget it, don't worry about it," said Lyles.
"Just run the race and do your best."
Lyles was returning to the stadium where he won 200m gold at last year's world championships to match Usain Bolt's record of four titles at the distance.
Lyles also took 100m bronze at the world championships behind Jamaican pair Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson.
Lyles was his usual exuberant self in front of the Tokyo crowd, striking a pose from the Japanese anime series "One Piece" before the race.
"I want people to enjoy watching me run," he said.
"I don't want them to just watch me and then not say anything. I want them to be entertained.
"I want them to go back and have that feeling of 'I want to see that again'."
Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin won the men's 400m flat race in a time of 44.69sec.
The American was racing for the first time since winning the 400m hurdles world title in September last year.
He called his performance a "rust-buster" despite finishing within half a second of his personal best of 44.21.
"It was just about coming out here and piecing together a good race and not focusing so much on running a crazy time," said Benjamin, whose next competition will be the Stockholm Diamond League on June 7.
F.T. Michaud--SMC
