Comparing Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles Ahead of the NYC Grand Prix Showdown

• World champions Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles will face off at the Icahn Stadium on June 24
• The World Continental Tour Gold will see the stars square off in the 200-meter distance
• Kerley and Lyles made decent starts to the season ahead of the World Athletics Championships

Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles will face off at the New York Grand Prix on June 24 as they continue with their preparations to retain their world titles later this year.

The two are arguably America's finest sprinters of the current era, with Kerley holding the 100-metre world title while Lyles is a two-time World Champion over the 200-metres.

Lyles will effectively welcome Kerley to his 200m speciality in New York.

The latter started his career in 400m before focussing on the 100m discpline - an event that has brought him much success, as the Olympics reported.

Fred Kerley's 2023 season

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He finished second behind surprise winner, Marcell Lamont Jacobs in the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics before making amends to win the world title on home soil last year. Kerley has not lost a single 100m this season.

He ran a season-best time of 9.88 seconds at the Seiko Grand Prix in Japan on May 12. He then won back-to-back Diamond League meetings in Rabat and Florence, beating the fastest man this year, Ferdinand Omanyala, on both occasions.

The two-time Diamond League champion (over two different events) is the sixth-fastest man in history, with a personal best of 9.76 seconds. As World Athletics reports, he is one of only three men to have run sub-10.00 for 100m, sub-20.00 for 200m, and sub-44.00 for 400m.

Noah Lyles' 2023 season

Lyles, meanwhile, has had a mixed season so far, which included a defeat to America's fast-rising sprinter Issam Assinga. However, the fashion lover looked strong in setting a world-leading time of 19.67 seconds at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston, Jamaica.

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As Sports Brief reported, so good was his performance that the legendary Usain Bolt, who was in the crowd, stood up to applaud and embrace Lyles.

The Olympics bronze medalist also tried his hand in the 150m race at the Atlanta City Games, which he won. He recently participated in the 100m at the Paris Diamond League, where he beat Omanyala by a photo finish.

The 24-year-old is the third fastest man ever in the race behind Bolt and Yohan Blake. He will be the favourite to trounce Kerley at the June 24 meet.

It will be a battle of epic proportions, given that both star's top-end speeds are something of beauty. Kerley recently gilded past his opponents with ease during the Doha Diamond League to clock a time of 19.92 seconds.

In another event, the men's 100m has attracted former World Champion Christian Coleman, World silver medalist Kenneth Bednarek, and bronze medalist Marvin Bracy-Williams, among others.

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Sports Brief has also reported that the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, is less than two months away with preparations hitting top gear ahead of the highly anticipated event.

The showdown will come hot on the heels of the rescheduled Oregon meeting last year and athletes like Omanyala will be seeking to make amends - he has promised to fall in the 100m medal bracket.

This would be a feat no African, let alone a Kenyan, has ever achieved in the World Championships and despite failing to win in Diamond League meets recently, Omanyala is still the world's fastest.