Athletics-Lyles on course for Olympic glory after personal best in London

By Helen Reid

LONDON (Reuters) - American Noah Lyles proved once again that he can back up his fighting talk with strong performances on the track when he ran a personal best to secure 100 metres victory in the final Diamond League race before the Olympics.

Lyles, who styles himself "Nojo", headlines the Netflix series "Sprint" focused on the top Olympic medal contenders in Paris, and is known for his big personality and passion for fashion and music.

"I'm going to win, it's what I always do, I'm getting faster every week," Lyles said on Saturday of his Olympic chances.

He delighted the London crowd with a trademark come-from-behind win in a personal best of 9.81 seconds - a two hundredths of a second improvement.

That lifted him to third-fastest in the world this year behind Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79) and Jamaican Kishane Thompson (9.77).

Lyles, who turned 27 on Thursday, delivered a performance to celebrate, shooting past Botswana's Letsile Tebogo who led early but ultimately had to settle for third place, albeit matching his pb and national record of 9.88.

Though Lyles admitted he could have had a better start, the new personal best showed his training is paying off, after he ran 9.83 to win the U.S. trials in Oregon a month ago.

Lyles, who built his reputation over 200 metres, became the first man since Usain Bolt to win three gold medals at a single world championships, in Budapest last year.

The Netflix series cast him as "heir to the throne" of the Jamaican king of sprint, chasing Bolt's world record of 9.58 - though that still looks out of reach, at least for this Olympics.

He is also an artist and rapper, and featured on a song in 2019 with U.S. pole vaulter Sandi Morris and Swiss pop band Baba Shrimps.

While Lyles has eyes only on gold, South Africa's Akani Simbine, who came second on Saturday with a season's best of 9.86, would be delighted with any medal.

The 30-year-old has managed to finish fourth or fifth in five Olympic or world finals, with the African championships and Commonwealth Games, both in 2018, the only time he has topped the podium in an individual event.

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Toby Davis)