US Track & Field Trials: Noah Lyles takes another step toward goal of four Olympic golds

Eugene, Ore. – Noah Lyles’ audacious goal of four Olympic gold medals is starting to look a little less impossible.

The decorated American sprinter continues to back up his boasting with remarkable big race performances.

Lyles kept hopes of a sprint double at the Olympics alive on Saturday night when he roared from behind to win the 200m final at the US Track and Field Trials. Her world-leading time of 19.53 seconds broke a 28-year-old American Olympic trials record and was just over a tenth of a second off the American record she sets at the world championships in 2022.

“Well, if you claim you’re going to go out there and win four medals, the goal would be to win the 100 and 200,” Lyles said. “So the work is done.”

The 200 final mirrored Lyles’ Olympic trials victory in the 100 six days earlier. The strongest competition came from “Kung Fu” Kenny Bednarek, an often overlooked former Olympic silver medalist, who is enjoying the best seasons of his career in both shorter sprints.

Lyles said his plan was to “swallow Bednarek” in the first 50 metres, but the race went exactly the opposite way. It was Bednarek who completed the turn to create enough of a gap on Lyles to secure a place in the final. Immediately.

“After coming out of the turn, I said, ‘Okay, don’t panic,'” Lyles said. “I have been here many times before. We’re about to get to the last 80 and he’s about to fall and I’m about to accelerate.”

Bednarek lowered his personal best to 19.59 seconds and qualified for Paris in the 200, but could not hold off the hard-charging Lyles as his muscles tightened as he neared the finish line. Coming so close left Bednarek optimistic that he could produce a different result if he and Lyles met again in the Olympic final.

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

When Bednarek was asked what “dangerous” meant to him, he replied, “It means they should all be afraid of me. That’s what it means. Obviously I’m on their case and I told the world Showed I have a lot in me and a lot more in the tank.”

Joining Lyles and Bednarek in punching their ticket to Paris was Arianne Knighton, who finished third in 19.77 seconds. It was an impressive performance from Knighton, considering that the reigning World Championships silver medalist had not raced for several months before the trials.

On April 12, the US Anti-Doping Agency temporarily suspended Knighton after he tested positive for a metabolite of trenbolone during an out-of-competition drug test. By June 20, an independent arbitrator cleared Knighton to return to competition after determining that his failed drug test was “more likely” due to contaminated meat.

When asked how stressful it was to test positive, 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 2000, even though he had hardly raced in the season before the trials.

“That shows you what kind of athlete I am,” Knighton said. “I can step on the track at any time and in any shape and always compete at the highest level.”

The hard luck finisher in fourth place was once again Christian Coleman. The 60m specialist ran 19.89 seconds in back-to-back semis and finals, still missing out on a spot at the Olympics, as he did in the 100m final at the trials last Sunday.

Lyles described his record-setting time of 19.53 seconds as an “average” performance for him. He hopes to reach 19.4 and 19.3 before the summer ends. That’s all it would take to keep hopes of four gold medals alive, something no one man could do – not even the great Usain Bolt.

At last year’s world championships, Lyles claimed a sprint treble, won the men’s 100 and 200 and led the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter relay team to gold with a dazzling anchor leg. Lyles hopes USA Track & Field will give him a chance to add the 4×400 meter relay to his repertoire this summer.

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