ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP)-US sprinter Noah Lyles held his nerve to edge Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo over 200m at the Diamond League finals in Zurich on Thursday in what was the perfect boost before the world championships in Tokyo in two weeks.

Lyles’ final preparation for the worlds could not have been better.

The 28-year-old American was drawn in lane six, with Tebogo a perfect tracking target outside him in seven.

The Botswanan won the 200m at last year’s Paris Olympics, when the Covid-hit Lyles having to be content with bronze after first claiming 100m gold, and on Thursday shot out of the blocks at a packed Letzigrund Stadium.

Tebogo seemed to be heading for victory as he hit the home straight well ahead.

But Lyles is known for his “top end” speed, something Tebogo had picked out as one of the American’s stand-out traits.

And it did not let Lyles down in a raucous atmosphere in Zurich, scorching through the line in 19.74 seconds for a sixth Diamond league trophy.

Tebogo was two-hundredths of a second behind.

They were the only two sprinters to dip under the 20sec mark, Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic taking third in 20.14sec.