US Track and Field Trials: Noah Lyles moves one step closer to goal of four Olympic gold medals

EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles’ audacious goal of winning four Olympic gold medals is starting to look a little less implausible.

The decorated American sprinter continues to back up his boastful rhetoric with remarkable performances in major races.

Lyles kept alive his hopes of an Olympic sprint double Saturday night by coming from behind to win the 200-meter final at the U.S. track and field trials. His world-leading time of 19.53 seconds broke a 28-year-old U.S. Olympic trials record and was just over two-tenths of a second shy of the American record he set at the 2022 world championships.

“If you say you’re going to win four medals, then the goal has to be to win the 100 and 200 meters,” Lyles said. “So the work is done. »

The 200m final mirrored Lyles’ Olympic Trials victory in the 100m six days before. The strongest competition came from “Kung Fu” Kenny Bednarek, the often overlooked former Olympic silver medalist who is enjoying his career-best season in both short sprints.

Lyles said his plan was to “devour (Bednarek)” in the first 50 meters, but the race went exactly the opposite way. It was Bednarek who opened up a substantial gap on Lyles approaching the turn and at the end of the final straight.

“After I came off the turn, I was like, ‘All right, don’t panic,’” Lyles said. “I’ve been here many times before. We’re going to reach the last 80 meters and he’s going to fall and I’m going to go faster.

Bednarek lowered his personal best to 19.59 seconds and qualified for Paris in the 200m, but he couldn’t hold off the tough Lyles after his muscles contracted as he approached the finish line . Coming so close has left Bednarek optimistic he can produce a different result if he and Lyles meet in the Olympic final.

“I’m healthy and dangerous,” Bednarek said. “That’s all I can ask for.” »

When asked what the word “dangerous” meant to him, Bednarek said, “It means they should all fear me. That’s what it means. Obviously, I’m on their backs and I’ve shown the world that I have a lot of potential and I have more in the tank.”

Erriyon Knighton, who took third place in 19.77 seconds, joined Lyles and Bednarek in punching their ticket to Paris. It was an impressive performance from Knighton, considering the reigning World Championships silver medalist had not raced in the months leading up to the trials.

On April 12, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended Knighton after he tested positive for a metabolite of trenbolone during an out-of-competition drug test. It was not until June 20 that an independent arbitrator cleared Knighton to return to competition after determining that his failed drug test was “more likely than not” caused by contaminated meat.

When asked how stressful testing positive was, Knighton said, “It wasn’t really stressful at all because I knew I never did anything wrong.” Knighton said he was confident he could make the U.S. Olympic team in the 200, even though he had barely raced this season before the trials.

“It just shows what kind of athlete I am,” Knighton said. “I can still get on the track at any time and in any shape, and still compete at the highest level. »

Once again Christian Coleman finished an unlucky fourth. The 60-meter specialist ran 19.89 seconds back-to-back in the semi-final and final, but missed the Olympics by just one place, just as he did in the 100-meter final at the trials last Sunday .

Lyles called his record time of 19.53 seconds an “average” performance. He hopes to drop below 19.4 and 19.3 seconds before the end of the summer. That’s what it might take to maintain hope of winning four gold medals, something no man – not even the legendary Usain Bolt – has managed.

Last year at the world championships, Lyles won the sprint hat-trick, winning the men’s 100 and 200 meters before leading the U.S. 4×100-meter relay team to gold with a dazzling final leg. Lyles hopes USA Track & Field will give him the chance to add the 4×400-meter relay to his repertoire this summer.

“I haven’t started negotiations yet,” Lyles said. “Let’s just say it’s going to be tough. But I’m going to let them know I’m available and I’m ready to go.