U.S. Track & Field Trials: Noah Lyles primed for Paris after 100m victory

Noah Lyles rallied from a slow start to win the men’s 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials on Sunday night, cementing himself as America’s best hope to secure the title of World’s Fastest Man at this summer’s Paris Olympics.

Lyles’ winning time of 9.83 seconds is the third fastest in the world in the men’s 100 this year and matched his previous personal best. Only Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79) and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (9.82) have run faster so far this season.

Lyles, second-place Kenny Bednarek and third-place Fred Kerley each qualified for Paris by virtue of finishing in the top three at Trials. Christian Coleman faded to a disappointing fourth place and will have to settle for being part of the U.S. 4×100-meter relay pool.

Qualifying for Paris in the 100 keeps alive Lyles’ audacious goal of achieving something this summer that not even the iconic Usain Bolt did. The American has said that he hopes to capture Olympic gold in four different running events.

At last year’s World Championships, Lyles claimed the sprint treble, winning the men’s 100 and 200 before leading the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter relay team to gold with a dazzling anchor leg. Lyles is hoping USA Track & Field will give him the chance to add the 4×400-meter relay to his repertoire this summer.

“[Bolt] has won three already and he has the world records when he did it,” Lyles told The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon. “What do you got to do to be better than that? You got to get four. Nobody’s done four. Now you’re going on the Mount Rushmore. Now you’re the greatest of the great. That’s what I’m trying to attain.”

The 200 remains Lyles’ specialty, but he has worked tirelessly to become competitive in the 100 in recent years. It showed on Saturday evening when Lyles throttled down after 60 meters and still won his heat with ease in 9.92 seconds.

“One of the easiest 9.9 I’ve seen!” U.S. sprinting legend Michael Johnson tweeted afterward.

Lyles inched closer to booking a spot to Paris the following evening, running a wind-aided 9.80 seconds to win his semifinal. Coleman answered a few minutes later, crossing the finish line first in his semifinal with a wind-legal time of 9.86 seconds.