Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton win respective heats in men's 200m opening round at U.S. Trials: 'It felt really smooth'

By Nick McCarvel
3 min|
Noah Lyles is looking to qualify for Paris 2024 in the 200m, too
Picture by 2024 Getty Images

The men's 200m is building into a blockbuster at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - track & field.

Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton led a who's who list out of round one on Thursday (27 June) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, with Lyles going fastest at 20.10 and Knighton just behind at 20.15.

Lyles, the reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m, is looking to build off his 100m victory earlier in the week here, which secured him his spot at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

He's set to be joined there in the 100m by both Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley. Kerley scratched out of the 200m, while Bednarek had the fifth fastest time into the semis (20.28).

Other names to know into the semis: Courtney Lindsey, Christian Coleman, Josephus Lyles and Kyree King, among others. You can see a full list of qualifiers here.

"It felt really smooth, really loose," Lyles told a small group of reporters after his win. "It's really hard to come back to the 200m and have that explosive aggression in the first round. But we mapped out how I wanted the race to go. It was [about] the first 120 metres.

He added: "The last few days I've been getting massages, getting stretched out, trying to get that elasticity back in my body. Now that the [200] is here, it was about getting that explosiveness back."

Knighton did not stop to speak with NBC or a small group of reporters. He was recently cleared by USADA for a doping sanction, which the organisation said he bore no fault for.

Noah Lyles: 'The bigger the moment, the better I perform'

Is Noah Lyles ready for Paris? He certainly appears to be - both on the track and off of it.

Lyles has been open about the work he's done in the 100m since finishing seventh at Trials in 2021, going on to win the world title last year and claiming the aforementioned U.S. Trials win on Sunday (23 June).

He has not taken his foot off the gas in the 200m, however, and looked every bit prepared in his heat triumph.

"It was a great race; I felt like I did exactly what I needed to do," he said. "I saved extra energy at the end there."

The expressive Lyles has been known for his love of music, cartoons, fashion and more, and this week has been sporting a pearl necklace and pearl-adorned painted nails.

How doe she feel like competing at the Games, in the fashion capital of the world?

"I'm ready for it. I feel like every year since [Tokyo]... the arenas have only gotten bigger," a smiling Lyles said. "I'm ready now for the biggest stage. I'm open to hearing the roar of the crowd; hopefully I won't even be able to hear my thoughts.

"It gives me nothing but excitement, to know that that is the biggest stage," he added of track at the Olympics, which is set to be held at Stade de France.

"I feed off of pressure and the big moments. The bigger the moment, the better I perform."