EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — In the wee hours the night before his 200-meter final, Noah Lyles sent a shout-out on social media to the sprinters in Jamaica, egging them on to help make the upcoming Paris Olympics great.
Then, the final rolled around, and all Lyles had to do was look two lanes to his right to see he had his hands full Saturday night right here in the U.S.
Lyles had to bust it through the finish line to overtake, then beat, Kenny Bednarek at U.S. track trials, finishing in 19.53 seconds, the best time of the year, but a scant .06 clear of second place.
“I knew he was definitely working on something,” Lyles said. “So I came off the turn and said ‘OK, I’m fine. I’ve been here many times before. We’re going to get to the last 80. He’s going to fall, and I’m going to get faster.’”
It was more like the last 20 before there was any inkling that this race was wrapped up.
Still, the messages were the same: Lyles, who has only lost once at this distance at a major meet, knows how to win at his best distance, where he’s a three-time world champion, from ahead and from behind; and Bednarek, who also finished second to Lyles in the 100, is going to make him earn it.