American Lyles kicks off double dream in 100m

American sprinter Noah Lyles will bring his "main character energy" to the Stade de France tonight as he begins his quest for the Olympic sprint double in the men's 100-metre heats.

The affable showman of the track has only added to his fame since winning double world gold in Budapest last year, starring in the popular Netflix docu-series, "SPRINT", and wants the spotlight to be on himself in Paris.

He failed to qualify for the shorter sprint at the Olympics three years ago and won bronze in the 200-metres, his signature event - before embarking on a period of self-reflection.

Lyles says as he goes into these Games on the biggest stage in the world, he is saying to himself that he has been through the hardest parts, been at the bottom, fought his way back up and fixed the weaknesses.

Lyles clocked 9.81 seconds to win at the London Diamond League meeting in his final Olympic tune-up event last month, a promising sign for American fans.

While most bookmakers would put him as a strong favourite in the longer sprint, in which he has not lost a 200-metre race since Tokyo, he could face a tougher road in the 100-metres as he takes on young challengers from the United States and arch-rival Jamaica.

Oblique Seville handed him his only 100-metre loss of the season in Kingston in June, and Kishane Thompson set the world-leading mark of 9.77 seconds at the Jamaica team trials.

That duo will be hungry to get their country back to the top of the podium eight years after retired great Usain Bolt last took the gold.

While the defending Olympic champion would typically command a decent share of the spotlight, Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs has rarely been a factor on the track following a series of injuries since his shock win in Tokyo three years ago.

Instead, Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala appeared on everyone's radar when he won his national trials in 9.79, while Lyles' compatriots Kenny Bednarek and Tokyo silver medallist Fred Kerley remain perennial contenders.

Bednarek, who took silver in the 200-metres three years ago and put down a season's best of 9.87 seconds in the 100-metres in June, said his work ethic would show up on the track.

The men’s 100-metre race will start off with the preliminary round at 8.35 tonight, followed by Round 1 at 9.55 tonight. The semi finals will be at 6.05am Monday and the final at 7.50am on the same day.

Meanwhile, the women’s semi finals will start at 5.50am tomorrrow, and the final is at 7.20am tomorrow.

China is leading the medal tally with 13 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze, host France is second with 11 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze and Australia is third with 11 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze.

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