American Noah Lyles made an impressive season debut in the 200 metres to beat Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Friday, where Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi outclassed a high-class 800 metres field.
An injury-hampered campaign had raised doubts over three-times world 200m champion Lyles's chances of defending his title in Tokyo in September, but the 100m Olympic gold medallist responded to the doubters in style.
Lyles finished third over 200m in Paris last year but shortly after finishing the race won by Botswana's Tebogo the American said he had COVID-19, and the pair had not faced each other since then.
Tebogo was quick out of the blocks and stuck with Lyles around the bend with the two side by side going into the home straight but the American pulled away in the final 50 metres to win in 19.88 seconds with Tebogo coming home in 19.97.
"I put myself in the fire for that one coming back against Tebogo," Lyles said.
"I didn't feel any pressure, I don't see any reason to put pressure on myself, that's what we love to do."
As defending champion, Lyles does not need to worry about qualifying from the U.S. championships at the end of July, and will head to London to compete in the 100m next week.
"I am going to go to the London Diamond League. I have been missing to compete for the last few weeks.
"I was watching Prefontaine and I wanted to be there but we wanted first to make sure that I am healthy and fully able to compete."
WANYONYI PUSHING FOR WORLD RECORD
The highly anticipated men's 800m, which featured all eight Olympic finalists from Paris, was expected to threaten David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91 which has stood since 2012.
Olympic champion Wanyonyi hit the front down the back straight, opening up an unassailable gap and finishing in a time of 1:41.44, ahead of American Josh Hoey, who failed to make last year's Olympics but won the world indoor title in March.
"The 800m is now very competitive so I need to push even harder than usual on my trainings," Wanyonyi said.
"Sometimes I am thinking about the world record. I think I can break it in the future."
Femke Bol is now unbeaten in 28 Diamond League 400m hurdles races after the Dutchwoman sailed to a world lead and meeting record of 51.95 seconds.
The 2016 Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, racing in her final season, set the early pace but Bol looked comfortable and eased into the lead rounding the final bend.
Olympic champion Paulino Marileidy had to battle down the home straight before catching American 21-year-old Aaliyah Butler in the closing metres to win the women's 400 flat.
"It felt amazing to be so close to Paulino, to know that all the work I am putting in is coming out with amazing results," Butler said.
Olympic gold medallist Masai Russell continues to struggle since breaking the American record in early May, finishing fourth in the women's 100m hurdles won by Jamaica's Megan Tapper. Russell also finished fourth in Eugene on Saturday.
Two-times Olympic and world pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis was the only athlete to clear six metres, setting a meeting record of 6.05, but failed in his three attempts at 6.29 to break the world record for a 13th time.
In the final race of the evening, St Lucian Julien Alfred bounced back from her defeat in Eugene to win the women's 100m, with the Olympic champion posting 10.79.
