Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson both absolutely flew in the 100m first round on Thursday, locking in their spots for the semifinals at the Toyota USA Track and Field Outdoor and Para National Championships in New York City. Lyles, the 2024 Olympic 100m gold medalist, clocked a blistering 9.97 seconds to win his heat, showing he’s here to dominate.
Lyles Sets Up an Epic Showdown, History on the Line
This dude is a force, right? Lyles’s 9.97 was seriously fast, but he wasn’t the only one pushing it. We saw 2019 World champion Christian Coleman run a 9.96 and 2025 U.S. champ Kenny Bednarek hit 10.04 to win their heats, too. You know who everyone’s watching? Lyles versus Bednarek. These two have history, with Lyles overtaking Bednarek by four hundredths in the 2025 U.S. 200m final , that race even had a stare and a shove! Lyles has actually beaten Bednarek in their last seven 100m finals head-to-heads. What’s even wilder is that a different man has won the 100m at the last six nationals. Lyles, who’s already won the last two U.S. 100m championships he entered, can totally break that trend tomorrow night. Talk about high stakes!
Sha’Carri Richardson Is Just Faster Than Everyone
On the women’s side, Sha’Carri Richardson, the 2024 Olympic 100m silver medalist, made a huge statement. She ripped through her heat with a 10.90, the fastest time of the entire women’s first round. Nobody else was even close! Richardson is gunning to become just the second woman since 2000 to snag three U.S. 100m titles, a feat only Carmelita Jeter has accomplished. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the 2025 U.S. and world champion in the 100m, isn’t even in the 100m this weekend, making Richardson’s path even clearer. She’s looking unbeatable heading into Friday.
Get ready, because the men’s and women’s 100m semifinals and finals are both happening Friday night. You can catch all the action live on Peacock and NBCSN. Lyles breaking that six-year trend and Richardson chasing history? Friday is gonna be absolutely wild!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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