World Champion Lyles Rallies Past Bednarek In Final 50 Meters To Win In World-Leading 19.53 Seconds; Bednarek (19.59), Erriyon Knighton (19.77) Return To Olympic Team; Christian Coleman Fourth In Another Sprint Final

By David Woods for DyeStat

John Nepolitan photo

EUGENE – Noah Lyles has elaborated on how distraught he was to come away from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal in the 200 meters.

Twenty-five 200s later, he has not lost at the distance since. But don’t look now. Kenny Bednarek is gaining on him.

Lyles had to come from behind to add a victory to the one from the 100 meters, beating Bednarek in one of the fastest mass-finish 200s ever at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday night.

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Never have more than six men run under 20 seconds in the same race – that last year’s USA Championships at Hayward Field – and sixth place here was 20.00.

Lyles’ world-leading time of 19.53 seconds broke the national championships record of 19.66 set at the 1996 Trials by Michael Johnson, who broke what was then a 17-year-old world record.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke a world record with 19.19 in the 2009 World Championships at Berlin. Lyles tied Bolt’s record of most legal sub-19.60 times at nine each.

Bednarek was ahead of Lyles by .08 at 150 meters but said he tightened up afterward. He was second in 19.59 and Erriyon Knighton third in 19.77.

Christian Coleman was fourth, as he was in the 100, in 19.89.

It would be hard to identify who was more confident afterward – king Lyles, 26, or challenger Bednarek, 25. Lyles won duels by .04 in the 100 a week ago and by .06 in the 200.

“You claim that you’re going to go out there and win four medals. So the goal had to be to win the 100, win the 200,” Lyles said. “The job is accomplished.”

Bednarek, racing with an orange, anime-themed Nike bandana, posted PBs in both sprints. He said he comes out of the Trials healthy and dangerous. Dangerous?

“It means that they should all fear me. That’s what it means,” he said. “Obviously, I’m on their case right there. I showed the world I’ve got a lot more in me and a lot more in the tank.”

Lyles, too, claimed he had more. He said he was “drifting into the peak” but would be at his sharpest at the Paris Olympics. He is aiming for four gold medals, although it is indeterminate whether he would be included in the 4x400 relay.

He said he is where he needs to be, albeit not where he wanted to be to begin the 200 meters.

“The plan was actually to swallow him up in the first 50 meters,” Lyles said. “But he was making sure that job wasn’t accomplished. I knew he was different, working on something. So I guess that was it.

“After we came off the turn, I was like, ‘Don’t panic. 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. And that’s what happened.”

Lyles’ last 50 meters (4.64) was almost as fast as his third (4.59). Bednarek’s last 50 was timed in 4.78.

The 20-year-old Knighton, silver medalist behind Lyles at the 2023 worlds, conceded it was “kind of a relief” to make the team.

He tested positive for a metabolite of trenbolone on March 26 and was provisionally suspended April 12 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. An arbiter ruled the cause was most likely contaminated beef and cleared Knighton to compete.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.