Noah Lyles responds to Kishane Thompson's winning form with statement victories in season opener

On the same day Kishane Thompson dropped double victories at his indoor debut in Astana, Noah Lyles produced the same measure of winning form in his season opener at the RADD Invitational in Florida.

The World and Olympic champion first won his heat to get his body rolling in an easy time of 6.62s ahead of his training mate and Nigerian sensation Udodi Onwuzurike who clocked 6.70s.

In the final, despite a good start from the Nigerian, Lyles in his trademark style caught up at the 30m mark and was unstoppable from there as he matched his heat time of 6.62s for the needed victory. Caleb Dean ran 6.68s in second, ahead of Onwuzurike's 6.70s in third.

Lyles' season-opening performance may have fallen short of Thompson's winning time of 6.56s in Astana, but considering it's his first race since the Paris Olympic 100m final, where he defeated the Jamaican to the gold medal and claimed the bronze medal in the 200m, the American speedster can look forward to fine-tuning his preparations as the season progresses.

Nonetheless, track fans can expect more electrifying performances and clashes from both sprinters during the season with the focus on the ultimate prize at the World Championships in Tokyo this summer.