Kishane Thompson Blazes to 9.75 — Faster Than Lyles, Makes History with the Fastest 100m Time in a Decade

KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Kishane Thompson has officially entered sprinting’s elite stratosphere.

On Friday night at the Jamaican National Championships, the 23-year-old unleashed a searing 9.75 seconds to win the men’s 100m final — the fastest time in the world since 2015 and now the sixth-fastest mark in history.

Thompson ran a blistering 9.75s (0.8), securing not only first place but also marking this impressive time as a Personal Best, showcasing an incredible improvement from his previous records.

Oblique Seville 9.83. Ackeem Blake 9.88

With a legal +0.8 m/s tailwind and a composed, confident drive phase, Thompson did more than qualify for the 2025 World Championships — he eclipsed the personal best of reigning Olympic and world champion Noah Lyles, whose fastest legal time stands at 9.784 seconds.

That fact alone sets the stage for one of the sport’s most anticipated duels.

“I’m that confident; I don’t think if I even broke the world record it would surprise me, honestly,” Thompson told reporters, all but declaring his readiness to dethrone sprinting’s current king. “I’m just going to put that out there.”

The budding rivalry is rooted in last year’s Olympic final in Paris, where Lyles edged Thompson for gold by a razor-thin margin — five-thousandths of a second. While Lyles celebrated, Thompson walked away with silver and fire in his belly.

Now, that fire has turned into one of the fastest 100m runs ever recorded.

Thompson is now behind only legends: Usain Bolt (9.58), Yohan Blake (9.69), Tyson Gay (9.69), Asafa Powell (9.72), and Justin Gatlin (9.74). And at just 23, he joins Bolt and Blake as the only men under 25 to clock 9.75 or better.

Lyles, who has not raced since April due to an ankle injury, holds a bye into the World Championships in Tokyo this September. But with Thompson’s performance, the pressure has officially shifted.

The camaraderie and controversy between the two sprinters — one a rising Jamaican star, the other a charismatic American champion — is sure to play out on the track in spectacular fashion. The world will be watching when they meet again.

And this time, Kishane Thompson isn’t chasing — he’s leading.