EUGENE, Ore. — By the time Noah Lyles settled into his starting blocks Saturday night at Hayward Field, the other two prominent sprinters had experienced different outcomes. Gabby Thomas celebrated another championship, while Sha’Carri Richardson surprisingly finished just off the podium.
A surprise awaited Lyles in the final stretch of his signature race: someone kept pace with him. Lyles often turns the final segment of a 200 meters into a victory lap, but at these U.S. Olympic track and field trials, he needed his world-class speed to fend off the highly skilled and often overlooked Kenny Bednarek.
Lyles’ final push allowed him to hold off Bednarek, finishing in 19.53 seconds to Bednarek’s 19.59, breaking Michael Johnson’s meet record of 19.66. Bednarek, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist who also finished second to Lyles in the 100 meters at these trials, ran faster than all but nine men in history. Unfortunately for him, one of those men was running two lanes to his left. “I felt like I was winning,” Bednarek said. “I just tightened up at the end. That’s the only reason I got beat. Just make sure nothing tightens up, and I’ll get the win next time. He got the better of me this race. What matters is getting him at the Olympics.”
“After we came off the turn, I was like: ‘All right, don’t panic,'” Lyles said. “‘I’ve been here many times before. We’ll get to the last 80 meters, he’ll fade, and I’ll get faster.’ And that’s what happened.”
Usually exuberant even when discussing his breakfast, Lyles walked slowly after crossing the finish line, pausing before raising his arms and smiling. He then hugged long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall, knocking her celebratory cowboy hat off her head.
