Noah Lyles wins US Olympic trials 100m in style

24/06/2024 09:46

World champion secures his spot for Paris along with fellow sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley

Noah Lyles led home Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley in the men’s 100m at the US Olympic Team Trials in Eugene on Sunday (June 23).

The world champion will now head to Paris looking for his first Olympic gold after winning the trials convincingly in 9.83 (0.4) as Bednarek, who is better known as a 200m runner, clocked 9.87, while the 2022 world champion Kerley ran 9.88.

In fourth, world indoor champion and 2019 world 100m gold medallist Christian Coleman ran 9.93 to miss out.

“Three years ago I got second to last. This year I came and won it,” said Lyles, who equalled his PB in the final in Eugene. “Part of the plan. Nothing changed. Might be a shock to everybody else, but when you know the goal, you know the goal.”

Lyles only Olympic medal is 200m bronze from Tokyo but he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the World Championships in Budapest last year.

“If I didn’t get that third place in Tokyo, I wouldn’t have had that desire. I wouldn’t have had that fire burning. I wouldn’t have accomplished what I have accomplished in the past,” he said. “Now we constantly look to the future with open eyes because anything can happen.”

Sam Kendricks won the pole vault by clearing a meeting record 5.92m and confirmed he would go to Paris as part of the team. Earlier he had suggested he might give the Olympics a miss after his bruising experience in 2021 when he tested positive for Covid on the eve of the competition and had to withdraw.

Chris Nilsen and Jacob Wooten tied for second place with 5.87m.

In the women’s 400m, Kendall Ellis clocked 49.46 to win from Aaliyah Butler (49.71) and Alexis Holmes (49.78). The men’s javelin victory, meanwhile, went to Curtis Thompson with 83.04m.

Kenneth Rooks took the men’s 3000m steeplechase title in 8:21.92.

After four events of the heptathlon, Anna Hall leads Chari Hawkins by just 10 points overnight.

In the 400m semi-finals, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson ran 44.59 to break his own under-18 world record that he had set earlier in the heats.

Full results here.

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