Noah Lyles starstruck meeting Jamaican and Slovenian sprint legend Merlene Ottey

World and Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles was all emotions of starstruck after linking up with Jamaican and Slovenian sprint legend Merlene Ottey.

The American track star met with the sprint legend in the dining hall after his brilliant performance at the Zurich Diamond League, where he won the men's 200m event over Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in a Season's Best (SB) of 19.74s.

With his victory, Lyles set a new record for the highest number (6) of Diamond League trophies ever won by a track athlete. (Brussels 2017 - 200m, Zurich 2018 - 100m and 200m, Brussels 2019 - 200m, Zurich 2022 - 200m, and Zurich 2025 - 200m).

He also strengthened his position as the one to beat for the world title in Tokyo.

Following his record-breaking race, Lyles shared a series of social media posts, including a picture with the legendary Ottey.

He captioned it: "Met a Legend today, Merlene Ottey."

Merlene Ottey is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter who began her career representing Jamaica in 1978 and continued to do so for 24 years before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012.

The 65-year-old track legend is a nine-time Olympic medalist and holds the record for the most Olympic appearances (seven) of any track and field athlete. Although gold medal success at the Olympics eluded Ottey, she was able to bring home three silvers and six bronze medals, and she won 14 World Championship medals.

Ottey is the current world indoor 200m record holder at 21.87 seconds set in 1993, and she was named Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year 13 times between 1979 and 1995. Her career achievements and longevity led to her being called the 'Queen of the Track'.