The Paris Olympics 100m final ended in pure drama—Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles diving at the line, their bodies perfectly aligned in a breathtaking photo finish. The stadium held its breath as the scoreboard flickered, revealing Noah Lyles as the winner by mere thousandths of a second. For Thompson, who had marched into the Games as the fastest 100m athlete of the year, this was a gut-wrenching blow. But Thompson didn’t want to sulk. “I am going to take it as what it is and move forward from here,” he said after taking his silver medal—one that, with just a fraction of a second more in his favor, could have gleamed gold. But move forward he did and that too in impressive fashion.

To start the season, Thompson stormed down the track at the Central Hurdles, Relays & Field Events Meet in Jamaica, clocking a jaw-dropping 6.48 seconds for the 60m dash—into a brutal -2.1 m/s headwind. Then a week later, at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Astana, he clocked 6.56 seconds in the men’s 60m to continue his winning ways. This set him up perfectly for the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing as he looked to build for next year’s event in Tokyo. However, we might have to wait to see Thompson back in action.

On Monday, the World Athletics Hub posted on X, “Kishane Thompson & Tia Clayton are no long on the Road to Nanjing portal. They will not be attending the World Indoor Championships.” Based on the list released on the World Athletics portal, the Jamaican men’s 60m team comprises Rohan Watson and Nishion Ebanks, but Thompson’s name is absent.

After clocking his personal best to start the season in Kingston and having two wins to his name, this update will disappoint many fans. But Kishane’s absence in the Chinese metropolis Nanjing is a blow not only to him personally but also to the Jamaican track and field hopes of ending its drought at the World Indoor Championships.

It may be hard to believe, but the title list in the men’s 60m event at the World Athletics Indoor Championships has no Jamaican sprinter’s name. Yes, you heard it right! The title list never had the chance to grace the names of Jamaican greats like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake. Usain and Blake didn’t compete in the World Athletics Indoor Championships while Powell had the chance to enter the list in 2016 but came second in the event.

With Thompson out of contention, the chances for Jamaica to finally have a male champion in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships have taken a hit. Rohan Watson did win the Jamaican national 100m title in 2023 and clocked a personal-best time of 6.50 seconds at the World Athletics Indoor Championships qualifier at GC Foster College but given Thompson’s form at the start of the season, Jamaican fans will be ruing his absence.

This move could be after careful deliberation by Thompson. After racking up two wins, the sprinter might want to give himself some time ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo this September. Thompson might well be eyeing his first major global title after narrowly missing out on the gold in Paris.

Meanwhile, Tia Clayton made her indoor debut with a swift 60m win at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Astana. She blazed to a new meeting record of 7.18s but her name is also missing from the portal ahead of the event in Nanjing. Her twin sister, Tina Clayton, however, will be competing.

Last year, Christian Coleman owned the World Athletics Indoor Championships, scorching the track in 6.41 seconds to claim the men’s 60m title. Right behind him, Noah Lyles was making waves, clocking 6.44 seconds—his best-ever indoor time. It was an electric duel, a battle of American sprint supremacy. But 2025 has been different!

We already know how Noah Lyles has fared this indoor season—his 6.62-second effort in Gainesville left questions hanging in the air. He remained 0.14 seconds slower than Kishane Thompson’s season best. And what about Coleman? The reigning champion? The king of the 60m dash? Silence as of now. He hasn’t even started his season yet. That meant the stage was set for a new name, a new force in the short sprint. 

With Coleman absent and Noah struggling to match his best, the opportunity was wide open for Kishane to storm the World Athletics Indoor Championships and stamp his name in history. A golden chance to be crowned the fastest man indoors. But the chance seems to have taken a backseat now.

As for Noah Lyles, the Olympic gold medalist might be eyeing a different challenge soon.

Noah Lyles is looking at something else 

“Allergies and asthma are like bad kids. They keep you up at night and want to jump on your chest all day, They never listen when you tell them to do something and always find something new to break,” Noah Lyles posted on X on February 19 this year. The reigning Olympic champion’s chronic issues have caught him again. But Lyles has kept on appearing on his ‘Beyond The Records Podcast,’ creating headlines like nothing else. And in one of those headlines, he dropped a hint. A hint of competing in an event away from his trademark ones. 

In the latest episode of Beyond The Records, Vernon Norwood came as the guest. Lyles and Rai Benjamin welcomed ‘The Unc’ with grace. But Vernon had something in his mind, some tricky ones. Like asking Lyles to compete in the men’s 400m event.

The 27-year-old Florida native took a few fractions of seconds only to answer, “It will come one day.” Lyles has experience and even a medal in the men’s 4x400m indoor relay.

But are those enough to take the individual event seriously? Only he knows! But Kishane Thompson’s exit from the Nanjing World Athletics Indoor Championships might buy him some time to fulfill his wish.