Noah Lyles qualifies for Olympics with electrifying 9.83sec 100m | Paris Olympic Games 2024

Noah Lyles staged a come from behind victory in the 100m at the US Olympic track trials on Sunday – a 9.83-second sprint that secured his spot in Paris, where he has his sights set on electrifying his sport.

“This was basically the plan, and the plan is working right now,” Lyles said.

Lyles came from the back half of the field to match his best time ever in the 100m. He beat 200m specialist Kenny Bednarek by 0.04sec. Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champion, finished in third and will also go to Paris. Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion, was in the lead with about 30m left but finished fourth.

Lyles is on a mission to lift up a discipline that has been dimmer ever since Usain Bolt exited stage right after the Olympics in 2016.

In keeping with that theme, the 26-year-old Lyles showed up to Hayward Field in a neatly tailored sports coat and pants and was handed a box with his freshly pressed racing uniform. He wore white pearls for the race, and when he was introduced, he leaped and jumped 30 yards down the track, imploring the crowd to get on their feet.

Snoop Dogg was at the stadium and has taken in some of the action with Lyles’s mother, who is almost as entertaining to watch as her son. Up in the stands, she fell to her knees after her son reeled in Kerley to his right, then Coleman and Bednarek to his left.

“Every step I took felt more powerful than the last,” Lyles said. “I was like ‘I got this race.’ I told myself I wasn’t going to ease up.”

But he did, lifting his index finger in the air just before the line and beating his chest after he crossed it.

This marks the first national title in the 100m for Lyles, who has three 200m world titles but reimagined his goals after a disappointing third-place finish at the Tokyo Games in that race. Last summer, the world saw the work start to pay off.

Lyles won the world championship at 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay last year in Budapest. His 100m time on a cool, still night in Eugene matched the time he ran to win worlds.

“He’s the package,” Lyles’ coach Lance Brauman said. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to do some things to get better and keep going forward. But he enjoys that part of it. He loves to be at the track. He loves to be at training. I mean, he loves the race. It’s just who he is.”

Lyles, who races next weekend for a spot in the 200m, may even be in the mix to win four medals. No 4 could come in the 4x400m, and if he does so he would be in the company of the likes of Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens.