Noah Lyles won his first race Thursday (31 July) at the USA Track & Field Championships 2025 – but fans won’t see him again until Sunday (3 August).
The Olympic champion in the 100m roared across the finish line in the first round of that event, clocking a 10.05. But he later withdrew from Friday’s (1 August) semi-final, and will focus on the 200m, which isn’t set to race until Sunday.
“No more 100’s,” a Lyles representative said via USATF. “Next race is the 200m.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for Lyles after his glittering Paris 2024, an injury setting him out for a spell. He had two Diamond League podiums earlier in July, having not raced since mid-April.
“I was running that like a final,” Lyles said of his 100m first round, where he clipped Ronnie Baker at the finish (10.07). “I only have one round in the 100m [and] two rounds in the 200m. I’m in plenty of shape, you know, in terms of endurance-wise and rest and recovery.”
Lyles’ absence in the final rounds of the 100m leaves the door ajar for a slew of other top Americans, including two-time Olympian Kenny Bednarek, who was the only man to go under 10 seconds in the opening round with his 9.95.
T’Mars McCallum was second fastest at 10.01, while a resurgent veteran Trayvon Bromell (10.04), Courtney Lindsey (10.05) and Christian Coleman (10.08) were all strong.
Fred Kerley, the two-time Olympic medallist and 2022 world champion in the 100m, withdrew from the U.S. Championships earlier in the week.
The first round of the 100m turned out to be a jumpstart of sorts for Lyles, who said about this season: “I have to get the engine firing and get that urgency into my body.”
More to come.