Christian Coleman edges Noah Lyles, wins 100m showdown at Bermuda Grand Prix
The 2019 world champion in the event got off to a fast start - and then held off a charging Lyles. Olympic champ Steven Gardiner captured the 400m.
Tally another one in Christian Coleman's 100m column.
The 2019 athletics world champion held off a hard-charging Noah Lyles, the two-time and reigning 200m world champ, on Sunday (21 May) at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix. Coleman's 9.78 edged Lyles at 9.80, with Jamaica's Ackeem Blake third at 9.87.
Americans Coleman and Lyles both ran faster than any other 100m this season, though the race was registered as wind-aided at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.
"It's cliche, [but I] just stay in my lane," Coleman said of taking on Lyles to U.S. broadcaster NBC. "[I wanted to] just execute everything that we have been working on. I knew I would be hard to beat if I do that."
He was unbeatable, in fact, Coleman pumping his fist and shouting out in celebration after the win.
Overnight, current world champion in the 100m Fred Kerley - another American - won the Continental Tour stop in Yokohama, Japan with a 9.91 (and 9.88 in the semis).
Also in Bermuda, Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Steven Gardiner won the men's 400m, clocking a 44.42. An injury forced the Bahamian out of Worlds last year, but he said Sunday: "I think I'm back... I feel good."
Reigning women's 100m hurdles Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Cuba won with a wind-aided 12.99, while Tara Davis-Woodhall came up clutch in a showdown in the women's long jump, beating fellow American Quanesha Burks with her final jump of 7m 11cm (23 feet 4 inches).
USATF Bermuda Grand Prix: Steiner gaining steam in 200m
It was a busy day at Flora Duffy Stadium at the National Sports Centre in Bermuda, as both track and field competitors fought through blustery Atlantic winds.
American Abby Steiner claimed the women's 200m in 22.06, the 23-year-old coming off of NCAA titles in the 200m both indoors and outdoors, having competed for Kentucky. She also won the U.S. Trials before finishing fifth at Worlds.
"I think it's exciting; I know where I'm at in my training and this is when it gets fun: I feel lighter, faster," Steiner said about her prep for the U.S. Championships, set for early July in Eugene.
She won world titles on that same track with Team USA last year in both the 4x100 and 4x400m relays, but said she's learning how to handle expectations on the big stage as an individual: "I have to remind myself that everyone else is also feeling nervous and excited and all those emotions too," she said on NBC. "I'm trying to shout out the noise and focus on what I need to do."
American Elijah Murrow (20.11) surprised reigning Olympic champion Andre De Grasse (20.28) in the men's 200m, though De Grasse said he continues to feel more fit after a bumpy 2022 season. Lyles, the reigning world champ, watched from the sidelines.
In the women's 100m, Tamari Davis won with a 10.91.