Noah Lyles, the world champion, secured his spot at the US Olympic trials by winning the 100m race. This victory allowed him to qualify for the upcoming Games in Paris. Lyles had missed out on the 100m event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after finishing seventh at the trials held prior to the event. In this year’s trials, he equaled his personal best time of 9.83 seconds in Eugene, Oregon. Kenny Bednarek came in second with a time of 9.87 seconds, followed by Fred Kerley who finished third in 9.88 seconds.
Lyles expressed his satisfaction with his performance, stating, “Three years ago I got second to last. This year I came and won it.” He demonstrated his consistency by also running a wind-assisted 9.80 seconds in the semi-finals. Reflecting on his previous experiences at the Olympics, Lyles shared, “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.” His bronze medal in the 200m in Tokyo remains his only Olympic medal.
The 400m race saw 16-year-old Quincy Wilson breaking his under-18 world record with a time of 44.59 seconds to qualify from his semi-final. Meanwhile, 2019 world champion Christian Coleman missed out on qualifying after finishing fourth. In the pole vault event, Sam Kendricks set a meet record by clearing 5.92m to secure a spot at the Games.
The men’s 100m final at the Olympics is scheduled to take place on August 4th. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are set to run from July 26th to August 11th, where athletes from around the world will compete for glory in various sporting events.