EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles’ audacious goal of four Olympic gold medals is starting to look less and less improbable.
The decorated American sprinter continues to back up his boastful talk with notable performances in major races.
Lyles kept hopes of an Olympic sprint double alive Saturday night when he roared from behind to win the 200-meter final at the U.S. Track and Field Trials. His world-leading time of 19.53 seconds broke a 28-year-old U.S. Olympic Trials record and was just over two-tenths of a second off the American record he set at the 2022 world championships.
Lyles had to run a fast time to overtake Kenny Bednarek over the final 25 meters of the race. Bednarek lowered his personal best to 19.59 seconds, but settled for second behind Lyles when his legs tightened just before the finish.
Joining Lyles and Bednarek in earning their ticket to Paris was Erryon Knighton, who claimed third place in 19.77 seconds. Christian Coleman settled for fourth, missing out on the Olympics by one spot, just as he did in the 100m final at Trials last Sunday.
