Rain no obstacle, Lyles insists ahead of Diamond League finals

US sprinter Noah Lyles played down the prospect of heavy rain at the Diamond League finals in Zurich today when he will go head-to-head in a mouthwatering 200m with Botswanan rival Letsile Tebogo.

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The forecast for the Swiss city predicts the temperature dipping from current hot, humid conditions, accompanied by heavy, persistent rain at the Letzigrund Stadium for the culmination of the elite track and field circuit.

"I don't think the rain specifically is a disadvantage or an advantage," Olympic 100m champion Lyles said, with the finals taking place just two weeks away from the world championships in Tokyo.

"If you keep your mind straight, you'll be fine."

Lyles was involved in a rain-hit 100m in Lausanne last week, with rain and storms also a strong possibility in Tokyo.

The 28-year-old stuttered out of the blocks in Lausanne, a slow getaway handing Oblique Seville the advantage from the start, something the Jamaican then never looked in danger of ceding.