Jamaican Kishane Thompson and American Noah Lyles, separated by the narrowest of margins for the gold medal at last year’s Olympic Games, are to meet for the first since Paris in the men’s 100m race at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, on Saturday.

The meet is the 12th stop on the Diamond League series.

Twelve months ago, both men were credited with a time of 9.79 seconds in what was the fastest 100m race of all times.

Their clash in Poland will be one of the highlights of the two-day meet.

Sixteen Jamaicans, including Shericka Jackson and the Clayton twins, are also down to compete.

The men’s 100m is to feature a quality field that includes Jamaican Ackeem Blake, as well as Americans Kenny Bednarek, Trayvon Bromell, Christian Coleman and Courtney Lindsay.

Lyles has run just one 100m race all season, clocking 10 seconds flat. But three sub-20-second races over 200m suggest he will run faster today. And he would have to if he is to beat six of the fastest men in the world so far this year.

Thompson is the world leader with 9.75 and is coming off a 9.95 clocking in Budapest, Hungary, this week.

Bednarek, the United States champion, is a likely dark horse to upset the field after his 9.79 personal best run two weeks ago.

Tia Clayton, the Olympic Games finalist, and Tina, the first-time national champion, will be in an equally deep field in the women’s 100m. World leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the US will start as favourite to win.

Jefferson-Wooden’s compatriot Jacious Sears, Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of the Ivory Coast are also down to compete. Ta Lou-Smith is coming off a 100m win over Tina Clayton, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Jackson in Budapest.

Jackson will be running her third 200m of the season and is to face off against former Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili; Daryll Neita and Amy Hunt of Great Britain; Jael Bestue of Spain; and Minke Bisschops of the Netherlands.

Three of Jamaica’s quartet of women’s sprint hurdlers headed to the World Athletics Championships next month are to take on world leader Masai Russell of the USa, world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria and Americans Alaysha Johnson and Kendra Harrison. The Jamaicans are defending world champion Danielle Williams, national champion Tapper and national record holder Ackera Nugent

Orlando Bennett and Hansle Parchment — the latter lowering his season’s best in his last four races — will contest the 110m hurdles against American world leader Cordel Tinch. Grant Holloway, also of the USA, as well as Austria’s Enzo Diesel and Italy’s Ndele Simonelli, are also slated to compete.

National men’s 400m hurdles record holder Roshawn Clarke is set to compete for the first time since late June. He will take on world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway, world number three ranked Abderrahman Samba of Qatar and Ezekiel Nathaniel of Nigeria.

Andrenette Knight and Shiann Salmon are to line up in the women’s 400m hurdles against world leader Femke Bol of Netherlands who is unbeaten in six intermediate hurdles races this season.

Romaine Beckford is slated to compete in the men’s high jump versus Jan Stefela of Czechia, Hamish Kerr of New Zealand, Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine and JuVaughn Harrison of the USA.

Ackelia Smith is set to feature in her second women’s long jump competition this week. The field includes Larissa Iapichino of Italy, Lex Brown of the USA, Hilary Kpatcha of Italy and Malaika Mihambo of Germany.

Jamaican shot-putter Danniel Thomas-Dodd competed on Friday’s opening day in Poland where she finished fifth with 19.19m. Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands won with 19.66m, ahead of Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany (19.50) and American Maggie Ewen (19.49m).

— Paul A Reid

Noah Lyles (left) reacts after winning the Xfinity Men’s 200m final ahead of Kenny Bednarek during the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, United States, on August 03, 2025. (Photo: AFP)

Tina Clayton (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Tia Clayton (Photo: AFP)