EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles won the 200-meter final Saturday at Hayward Field, and his goal of winning at least one Olympic gold medal to replace the bronze he's already won is going exactly as planned.
Lyles won in 19.53 seconds, a new world and course record, followed closely by Kenny Bednarek (19.59, personal best) and Erion Knighton (19.77). Lyles had already qualified for Paris after winning the 100 meters last week and is a sure bet for a spot on the 4×100 meters relay team.
The 200 is Lyles' specialty and he's been dominant there for the past few years, winning multiple medals in both the 100 and 200 at World Championships in Budapest last summer (he also won the 2022 World Championships here in Eugene and the 2019 World Championships in Doha). He won bronze in the 200 at the Tokyo Olympics but has made it clear he aims and expects more.
It was a good tournament for Lyles, but an equally miserable tournament for Christian Coleman, who once again finished in fourth place.
In June 2020, Coleman was suspended for failing multiple drug tests, which prevented her from competing in the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old Coleman has long been one of the country's top sprinters, winning medals in the 100 meters and the 4×100 meter relay at the world championships. She placed fourth in the 100 meters at the trials last week, giving her the final chance to compete in the 200 meters as an individual at the Paris Olympics.
This is Knighton's second Olympic team. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics at age 17 and finished fourth there. She was allowed to compete at the trials in Eugene after testing positive for a banned substance because an arbitration panel determined the positive test was caused by consuming tainted meat.
Bednarek narrowly beat Lyles to win the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Noah Lyles wins 200m at Olympic Trials, aims for 100m, 200m double
