Lyles and Richardson advance to 100m semi-finals at US athletics championships
Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson secure spots in the next round of the US athletics championships, with Richardson emerging as the heavy favourite for the women’s title following Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s withdrawal from the sprint event.
Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson have advanced to the 100m semi-finals at the US athletics championships held at Icahn Stadium on Thursday. Lyles won his heat in 9.97 seconds, recording the second-quickest time of the day, while Richardson topped the women’s heats in 10.90 seconds. The results set the stage for the semi-finals and final scheduled for Friday.
Former world champion Christian Coleman recorded the fastest time of the day at 9.96 seconds in the men’s heats. Coleman, the 2019 world champion and 60m indoor world record-holder, stated he felt positive about his performance despite racing into a slight headwind of 0.3m/sec. He noted that he broke the 10-second barrier without fully exerting himself, describing his start as smooth.
Lyles, who captured 100m gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, described his championships opener as a good warm-up to get the engine firing. He predicted a fast final on Friday, competing on the same track where Usain Bolt set the 100m world record of 9.72 seconds in 2008 before lowering it to the current mark of 9.58.
In the women’s division, Richardson is considered a heavy favourite for the title. This status is reinforced by the decision of treble world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to compete only in the 200m this week. Richardson, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist, will thus face less competition for the sprint crown.
Other notable results from the opening day included Woody Kincaid winning the men’s 10,000m in 30 minutes 13.66 seconds, ahead of 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Grant Fisher who finished in 30:14.46. Sydney Vaught won the women’s 10,000m in 33:36.98. In the field events, Isaac Grimes claimed his second straight men’s long jump title with a leap of 8.18m on his final attempt, while Malcolm Clemons finished second with 8.07m. Kenny Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medallist at 200m, also won his 100m heat to advance.
