World 100m champions Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles eased through their opening heats at the USA Track and Field Olympic trials on Thursday, sharpening their form ahead of September’s World Championships and the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Despite already securing automatic qualification for Tokyo as reigning global champions, both stars opted to compete at Hayward Field to build momentum. Richardson, 25, finished second in her heat with a time of 11.07 seconds, behind Kayla White’s 10.89, in what was her strongest performance since a disappointing ninth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic earlier in July.
“Felt amazing to run a qualifier, show fitness and take the rest of the time to get ready for Tokyo,” Richardson said. “It feels really good to not have that pressure and still be able to go to Tokyo.”
Richardson, who is currently outside the top betting favourites for Olympic gold, is embracing the opportunity to fly under the radar. “When it’s time to hit, it’s gonna be a bang where y’all see my name,” she declared.
On the men’s side, Noah Lyles posted a comfortable 10.05-second win in his heat, the fifth fastest of the round. The 2023 world champion admitted he needs races to regain sharpness after starting his season late due to injury.
“I just need more races, I’ve got to get the engine firing,” Lyles said. His main threat appears to be Kenny Bednarek, who clocked the fastest time of the day at 9.95 seconds.
In other action, Olympic women’s 800m champion Athing Mu-Nikolayev advanced to the next round with the second-fastest time of 2:00.06, while in the long jump, Tara Davis-Woodhall recovered from two early fouls to soar to a world-leading 7.12m and clinch victory, securing her spot in Tokyo.
The trials continue through the weekend with more stars looking to punch their tickets to the Olympic Games.
Written By Rodney Mbua
