From Third Place to Gold: Noah Lyles’ Journey to the Paris Olympics

Noah Lyles, the reigning world champion, qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics after winning the 100m race at the US Olympic trials. Lyles had missed out on competing in the 100m event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after finishing seventh in the trials before the event. In this year’s trials, he equaled his personal best time of 9.83 seconds in Eugene, Oregon. Kenny Bednarek came in second with a time of 9.87 seconds, while Fred Kerley finished third in 9.88 seconds.

Lyles was ecstatic about his performance and expressed his satisfaction by stating, “Three years ago I got second to last. This year I came and won it.” He demonstrated his consistency by also running a wind-assisted 9.80 seconds in the semi-finals. Reflecting on his previous experiences at the Olympics, Lyles shared that if he hadn’t finished third in Tokyo, he wouldn’t have had that desire or fire burning to accomplish what he has achieved in the past. His bronze medal in the 200m in Tokyo remains his only Olympic medal to date.

In other events, Quincy Wilson broke his under-18 world record with a time of 44.59 seconds to qualify from his semi-final in the 400m race. Meanwhile, Christian Coleman missed out on qualifying after finishing fourth. In pole vaulting, Sam Kendricks set a meet record by clearing 5.92m to secure a spot at the Games.

The men’s 100m final is scheduled to take place on August 4th at the Paris Olympics, which runs from July 26th to August 11th where athletes from around the world will compete for glory in various sporting events.