Noah Lyles is through to the 100m semifinals at the Toyota USA Track and Field Outdoor and Para National Championships after winning his first-round heat in 9.97 seconds at Icahn Stadium in New York City on Thursday.
The 2024 Olympic 100m gold medalist described it as a useful opening effort, saying it felt like a good warm-up and that he could use about three more runs like that to get the engine firing. With the men’s and women’s 100m semifinals and final both scheduled for Friday night, Thursday’s heats were all about staying in position for a same-day push at the title.
Lyles takes care of business in New York
This was not a performance built on drama. It was built on control. Lyles did what he needed to do, clocking 9.97 to advance safely and keep himself on course for the business end of the U.S. Championships.
That matters because this meet has a clear recent history of change at the top. A different man has won the 100m at the last six nationals, which underlines how difficult it is to dominate this event for long, even for the very best.
Carl Lewis remains the benchmark in the men’s sprint, having won the first of his five U.S. 100m crowns in 1981. Lyles, though, arrives with the kind of profile that makes every round feel significant, and every clean advance a marker rather than a formality.
Richardson also moves on
Sha’Carri Richardson also advanced to the women’s 100m semifinals on Thursday, adding another major name to Friday night’s line-up. The women’s first round is now complete with the event set to sharpen quickly as the title race moves closer.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, meanwhile, is racing strictly the 200m this weekend, which leaves the 100m picture centred on the established sprint names who moved through on Thursday.
For Lyles, the task now is straightforward: keep building rhythm and deliver when the rounds come back around quickly on Friday night. The heat was only the first step, but it was exactly the kind of step he needed.
That same progression is also what makes this meet worth watching closely. With the semifinals and final arriving on the same night, there is very little time to reset. Noah Lyles has already handled the first part. The next part will tell us much more.
