NEW YORK — Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles powered to his third US 100m title in a world-leading 9.79sec at the US athletics championships.
Lyles, trailing at the start, surged over the final 30 metres for a convincing victory over veteran Ronnie Baker, who edged Kenny Bednarek for second.
Both were credited with a time of 9.88, with Bednarek taking third. Former world champion Christian Coleman came in fourth in 9.93.
“In my head, the distance was already made up,” Lyles told broadcaster NBC of the early gap he erased.
“I saw where Christian was and I said: ‘Oh yeah, my hand is all the way in there,’ and I just pulled him back and I did what I do,” added Lyles,” Lyles added according to AFP.
He matched the personal best he set in winning Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 and improved on the previous world leading time this year of 9.82 set by Oblique Seville at the Jamaican championships in June.
Sha’Carri Richardson, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist, clocked 10.77sec (wind 0.9m/sec) to win her third national 100m title.
The 26-year-old Texan, whose difficult 2025 campaign saw her finish off the podium in her 100m world championship defense, pulled away relentlessly from training partner Kayla White, who finished second in 10.90.
Quincy Hall, the 400m gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, failed to advance from the heats as his 46.47 left him in 16th place in a field led by Khaleb McRae’s 44.65.
Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old sensation who has bagged two Diamond League victories this year in his first season on the elite circuit, moved safely into the men’s 800m final, winning his heat in 1:45.83.
Lutkenhaus clocked the third-fastest time of the first round, led by Wes Ferguson’s 1:45.17.
