Most fans were standing against Noah Lyles as he went against Kenny Bednarek and Kishane Thompson at the Silesia Diamond League. But the upset rang louder when Lyles failed to beat Thompson and came in second in the race. However, the 200m story is completely different. Yes, Lyles is yet to resolve his 200m rivalry with Bednarek. But for now, he has to focus on the man who gave him close competition in Monaco.
Yes, we’re talking about the sprinter from Botswana, Letsile Tebogo. The rivalry between Lyles and Tebogo became the talk of the track town ever since the duo faced each other at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Tebogo blasted off to a new African record of finishing 200m in 19.46 seconds. Bednarek came in second, and the American 100m dash champion had to settle for the bronze medal. Later at the 2025 Monaco Diamond League, Lyles redeemed himself by defeating Tebogo in the 200m race. He showed the difference in their performance by crossing the finish line in 19.88 seconds. Meanwhile, Tebogo completed the race in 19.97 seconds. And now, Lyles has got another chance to repeat this story.
The NBC Sports Director of Social Media and Emmy winner, Travis Miller, recently took to X to announce Lyles’ wild card entry into Zurich. He wrote, “ Noah Lyles has been given a global wild card to compete in the Diamond League Final 200m, where he will face Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. #ZurichDL.” The caption was followed by a picture of Tebogo and Lyles acknowledging each other at the Paris Olympics, along with an explanation of how the global wild cards work.
Meeting organizers can invite up to 4 global wild card (two men, two women) athletes to the Wanda Diamond League Final, on the condition that the wild card athlete must have competed in one Diamond League event for the season and must fulfil one of the following criteria:
World Record Holder
Reigning World, Olympic Champion, or Diamond League champion
Top 5 in the World Athletics rankings of their event
Top 20 in the overall World Athletics rankings
Moving on, the rivalry between Lyles and Tebogo is just on the track. Off the court, they seem to have mutual respect. Remember the time when Tebogo went on to help tourists stranded in the severe Botswana flood? Noah Lyles was also impressed and remarked that the Olympic 200m champion was “A true man of the people.”
Noah Lyles has been given a global wild card to compete in the Diamond League Final 200m, where he will face Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. #ZurichDL pic.twitter.com/wUVlFfHvaf
— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13) August 18, 2025
But now, as they near the Diamond League in Zurich, things are getting heated. And the fans have already picked their winner.
Fans back Noah Lyles as he gets the global wild card entry to face Letsile Tebogo
Most of the fans believed that Noah Lyles would repeat the story of the 2025 Monaco Diamond League. With the loss in the 100m dash in Silesia, it’s highly likely that the American would train harder and do his best to secure the win. On top of that, Lyles’ 200m personal best is a lot faster than that of Tebogo’s. And hence, a fan wrote, “Noah about to cook him again!!!” Another fan added, “I got Lyles for the win in that 200m Diamond League Final.” One more fan wrote, “Noah winning.”
However, one simply cannot undermine Letsile Tebogo’s speed. After all, he’s the one who beat Lyles at the Olympics. And weighing in on that, a fan commented, “It will be interesting,Tebogo will eat him alive again.” Another factor that might help the 22-year-old is his age. He’s six years younger than Lyles and is in his early 20s. However, their records are a bit different.
One fan highlighted the sprinters’ personal bests and commented, “19.3 or 19.4 gots to show from one of them.” Noah Lyles has actually run 200m in 19.31 seconds at the 2022 USATF. Meanwhile, Tebogo, as discussed earlier, has a personal best of 19.46 seconds. So, who can win the 200m race in Zurich, according to you? Do you think we’d get to witness a new record in Zurich?
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