Lyles Runs World-Leading 9.79s to Claim Men's 100m Title at 2024 USATF Championships
Key keywords: Noah Lyles, 2024 USATF Championships, men's 100m sprint, 9.79s world leading time, Paris 2024 Olympic Games, USA track and field, World Athletics, men's 100m national title
The 2024 USATF Outdoor Championships delivered one of the most electrifying moments in men's sprint history on June 28, 2024, as 26-year-old American sprinter Noah Lyles stormed to a world-leading 9.79-second victory in the men's 100m final in Eugene, Oregon. The mark, achieved under a legal +0.8 m/s tailwind, surpasses the previous 2024 world lead of 9.82s set by Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala earlier this season, and ranks as the 7th-fastest men's 100m time in World Athletics history.
Lyles, long considered the world's dominant 200m runner with three consecutive world championship titles in the longer sprint, has spent the past 18 months prioritizing improvements to his 100m start, a previously noted weak point in his race profile. The adjustments paid off dramatically on Friday: he reacted to the gun in 0.142s, stayed level with pre-race favorites Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley through the first 40m, then exploded into the lead with his signature unmatched top-end speed over the final half of the race. Coleman finished second in 9.84s, a new seasonal best for the 2019 world 100m champion, while 2022 world champion Fred Kerley took third in 9.85s, marking the first time in national championship history that three American men have run under 9.90s in the same 100m final.
The result locks in Lyles' spot on the U.S. Olympic track and field team for the Paris 2024 Games, where he will compete in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay as he chases a historic triple gold medal haul, a feat last achieved by Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Speaking to reporters after the race, Lyles said, "I’ve been saying for years that I can be the best in the world at both sprints, and today is just the first step. Paris is waiting, and I’m ready to show the whole world what I’m capable of."
USATF CEO Max Siegel called the race "a defining moment for U.S. sprinting, proving that we have the deepest pool of men's 100m talent in the world heading into the Olympics. Noah's performance today sends a clear message to every other sprinter on the planet: he is the man to beat in Paris." The 2024 Paris Olympic men's 100m final is scheduled for August 4, 2024, at the Stade de France, where Lyles will face off against defending Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, Omanyala, and a host of other global sprint stars.
Featured Comments
As a long-time track and field fan, I’ve been waiting for Noah to put together a complete 100m race like this for years. His start was almost perfect, and that top-end speed is just unmatched right now. I can already taste how epic the Paris 100m final between Lyles, Jacobs, and Omanyala is going to be.
That 9.79 is no joke—legal wind, against the deepest 100m field in the world this year, and he won by half a meter almost. I think people are sleeping on how good Lyles is right now; he’s got a real shot at matching Bolt’s triple gold in Paris if he stays healthy.
As a former high school sprinter, I’m blown away by how much Lyles has improved his start in just a year. He used to be 2 or 3 steps behind the field out of the blocks, and now he’s right there with Coleman, who’s got the best reaction time in the sport. This is such an inspiring performance for young sprinters who think they can’t fix weak points in their race.