Key keywords: Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, USATF Outdoor Championships, 100m sprint, 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA Olympic Track Trials, men's 100m, women's 100m, track and field, US sprint team, Hayward Field, World Athletics Championships The 2024 USATF Outdoor Championships, which doubles as the official U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials for the upcoming Paris Games, kicked off its first day of competition in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, with two of the biggest names in global sprinting cruising through their 100m preliminary heats to secure spots in the semifinal round. Reigning men’s 100m and 200m world champion Noah Lyles, who is widely considered the face of U.S. men’s sprinting ahead of Paris, won his first-round heat in a blistering 9.95 seconds, running well within his capacity to save energy for later rounds. The 26-year-old, who took home three gold medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, told reporters after his race that he is feeling stronger than ever this season, with his sights set on sweeping the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay gold medals in Paris to cement his legacy as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. “I don’t come to these trials just to make the team,” Lyles said. “I come to send a message to every other sprinter in the world that I’m still the one to beat, and I’m not leaving Paris without all three golds I’m targeting.” On the women’s side, reigning world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson also delivered a dominant performance, winning her preliminary heat in 10.76 seconds without pushing to full speed. The 24-year-old, who missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a suspension, has bounced back in spectacular form over the past two years, and has emerged as a fan favorite for her unapologetic personality and blazing speed on the track. “This meet means everything to me,” Richardson shared in a post-race interview. “I’ve had to fight through so much doubt and so many obstacles to get back here, and being able to step on this track in front of all these fans who support me means the world. I’m not just racing for a spot on the Olympic team – I’m racing for every little girl who looks like me and has been told they can’t achieve their dreams.” The top three finishers in both the men’s and women’s 100m finals at the USATF Outdoor Championships will earn spots on the Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, pending anti-doping clearance. Other notable sprinters who advanced out of the preliminary rounds include 2020 Olympic 100m silver medalist Fred Kerley, 2019 world 100m champion Christian Coleman, reigning U.S. indoor 60m champion Aleia Hobbs, and 200m specialist Gabby Thomas, who is doubling up in the 100m and 200m events at this year’s trials. The 100m semifinal rounds are scheduled for Friday evening, with the highly anticipated finals set to take place immediately after the semifinals, in front of a sold-out crowd at Hayward Field in Eugene. Track and field fans across the globe are already tuning in to the event, which is widely expected to produce some of the fastest 100m times of the 2024 season so far.