Noah Lyles wins 200 at Olympic trials, qualifies for sprint double

EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles won the 200-meter final Saturday at Hayward Field, and his quest to earn at least one Olympic gold to replace the bronze he already owns is going exactly as planned.

Lyles won in 19.53 — a new world lead and a meet record — followed closely by Kenny Bednarek (19.59, a personal best) and Erriyon Knighton (19.77). Lyles had already qualified for Paris last week by winning the 100, and is sure to be on the 4x100 relay team.

The 200 is Lyles’ best event, and he has dominated it in the last few years. He has a cache of medals, including gold in the 100 and 200 at last summer’s world championships in Budapest (he also won the 200 world championship in 2022, held here in Eugene, and the 2019 world championship in Doha). He earned a bronze in the 200 at the Tokyo Games but has said plainly that he wants, an expects, more of himself.

As good a meet it's been for Lyles, it's been equally miserable for Christian Coleman, who finished fourth — again.

In June 2020 Coleman was banned after missing numerous drug tests, forced to sit out the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old has been one of the country’s top sprinters for years, and has world championships medals in the 100 and 4x100 relay. He finished fourth in the 100 last week at trials, making the 200 his final opportunity to make the Paris Olympics in an individual event.

It will be the second Olympic team for Knighton, who qualified for the Tokyo Games as a 17-year-old. He finished fourth at those Olympics. Knighton was allowed to run in Eugene at this trials even after testing positive for a banned substance, because an arbitration panel ruled that he tested positive because of contaminated meat.

Bednarek won silver at the Tokyo Games, edging out Lyles at the finish line.