Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman go sub-10 seconds to breeze into men's 100m semi-finals at U.S. Trials
Noah Lyles let it be known in the first round of the men’s 100m at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - track & field: The reigning world champion is ready.
In the opening heat on Saturday (22 June) in Eugene, Oregon, Lyles clocked the fastest time of the night with a 9.92, moving him into Sunday's semi-finals.
Lyles' mom Keisha Cane cheered him on with Olympic-fan-turned-NBC contributor Snoop Dogg.
The men’s 100m featured three world champions advancing, including Lyles and Christian Coleman (9.99) as the only two men to break 10 seconds on the night, as well as Fred Kerley (10.03) in fifth overall.
Kenny Bednarek and Courtney Lindsey both hit the Olympic Standard with a 10.00 flat to take third and fourth.
Lyles' time was his second-fastest time of the year; he clocked an impressive 9.85 on 2 June at the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica.
"It's amazing to finally be here," Lyles told a group of reporters after his win. "Coming off of Tokyo [in 2021], I was like, 'Gosh, I felt like I had blown a huge opportunity.' [But] the more I look back at it, the more I'm like, 'Wow, if I never had that moment, I would have never produced what I've done up to now.'"
"So now I'm coming in as the the world champion, the triple world champion, American record holder."
Noah's brother Josephus Lyles also advanced to the semi-finals, as did Kyree King, who had told Olympics.com this week he was ready to "stir things up" in the event.
Surprise 2023 U.S. champion Cravont Charleston did not make it through, however. You can see a full list of qualifiers here.