“Exactly,” Snoop Dogg replied.
“Can I hold your briefcase?” Lyles asked.
“I know you,” Snoop Dogg told him.
As they walked in, cameras captured Lyles' every step, his smile, every thread of his navy Gucci suit. In his briefcase was a bright red Speedo. “It's my favorite color to race in,” Lyles says.
Lyles has a two-pronged approach to his track and field ambitions: he wants to win gold medals and he wants to go beyond the sport. The latter will require him to dominate the sport's flagship event, the 100 meters, as he has done in his main event, the 200 meters. Lyles knows how to put on a spectacular performance and once again proved he can deliver on the track when it matters most.
Under the blue evening sky, Lyles sprinted through the cool air and once again proved he was the fastest man in America. Lyles entered the U.S. Championships in 9.83 seconds, tying his personal best. He raised his right arm as he crossed the finish line ahead of second-place Kenny Bednarek (9.87, 2021 Tokyo Olympic 200m silver medalist) and third-place Fred Curley (9.88, 2022 World Champion).
“All I have to do is be myself,” Lyles said. “I always tell my kids, 'Be yourself.' If people think I'm corny, that's okay. I'm corny. But you know what? I'm corny and I'm winning.”
Lyles will enter the Paris Olympics as the unquestioned fastest man in the world, even before he has even run his specialty event, the 200 meters. He won the 100 meters, 200 meters and the 4×100 relay at last summer's world championships in Budapest, and he'll be looking to match those records in Paris. He took a crucial step on Sunday night.
“Budapest was kind of a dress rehearsal,” Lyles coach Lance Brauman said.
It's nearly impossible to beat Lyles in a track meet, but 16-year-old Bliss School sensation Quincy Wilson nearly did just that. Wilson advanced to Monday's 400-meter final with his second historic performance in three days. He broke a 42-year-old high school record on Friday, but that record only lasted two days. He covered one lap of the Hayward Field track in 44.59 seconds, 0.07 seconds faster than his first time in the meet.
“This is one of the happiest days of my life,” Wilson said.
The third day of qualifying also featured a compelling women's hammer throw winner, a daring pole vault winner, an upset win by Kendall Ellis in the women's 400m and an exciting women's 800m semi-final.
Lyles, as always, captured the attention of the crowd. After being introduced, he ran down the track, waving his arms and urging the crowd to get louder. Despite his complete dominance of the sprinting world, Lyles never dominated the U.S. Trials. Three years ago, Lyles publicly battled depression that developed during the pandemic, halting his training. He only competed in the 100 meters to prepare for the 200 meters. Brauman said he considered not running Lyles if he had advanced to the final.
“It's a totally different year,” Lyles said. “First of all, I'm not down, so that helps. And I feel like I've been putting together a great year.”
Lyles is not as dominant in the 100m as he is in the 200m, but he is showing signs of being close at home, and maybe already is. Lyles made a name for himself as the fastest man in the world a few years ago. A mediocre start prevented him from breaking into the top 100m class. The conventional wisdom among sprint experts was that if Lyles could get even an average start, no one could keep up with him.
Lyles has developed an average start, but it's becoming more than that. He and Brauman have focused on perfecting his starting form and adding power with heavier, more intense weight training. “You can see he's built differently than he used to,” Brauman said. Lyles has focused on his form, creating the right angle with his feet, moving them off the blocks as if he's dragging his toes on the ground.
At the 60-meter indoor national championships in February, Lyles beat Christian Coleman, widely regarded as one of the greatest starters of all time, to win the title in 6.43 seconds, a time that only nine people have ever bettered.
A few days before the trials, Brauman told Lyles, “You're already a 6.43 runner. You've got to run like that.”
“Okay, coach,” Lyles replied.
In Saturday's opening race, Lyles took the lead after 30 meters and won in 9.92 seconds despite slowing down 40 meters from the tape.
“Every time I did a block start, I didn't really think about it, I just did it,” Lyles said. “It was pretty close to how I felt in the 200 meters. I've wanted that feeling for a long time. Every time I get that feeling, it gives me more confidence going into the race.”
In the final, Lyles had few challengers: he raced to the lead, overtaking Bednarek, Curley and fourth-place Coleman (9.93) with 20 meters to go.
“Every step felt right,” Lyles said. “Every step felt stronger than the last. I was like, 'I can do this race.' I told myself not to let up at the end, but I definitely let up to celebrate. Next time I run, I won't have to celebrate.”
As Keisha Cain Bishop, Lyles' mother, once said, “There's a difference between being famous for track and field and being a regular celebrity.” His dominance in the 200 meters made Lyles famous for track and field. Winning an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters, the event that crowns you the fastest man in the world, might make you a regular celebrity.
Another sprinter from the Washington, DC area will be competing. Wilson stunned Hayward Field in his first race by running the 400 meters in 44.66 seconds, the second-fastest time of the entire race and a world record for those under 18. The race put Wilson on the radar as a potential Olympic contender, but it also raised the question: Could a 16-year-old maintain this performance over three rounds over the grueling distance?
Wilson, sprinting in his lavender uniform, answered with aplomb. He finished third in the preliminaries behind veterans Bryce Dedmon and Vernon Norwood, but he still managed to improve his high school record to 44.59 seconds.
“Nobody has been able to break that record for 42 years and then I broke it twice in two days,” Wilson said. “This means a lot to me because it means my hard work has paid off.”
Wilson appeared to be struggling as he rounded the final corner in fifth place. He sprinted the final 100 meters in 12.06 seconds to comfortably qualify, and held his index finger high as he came off the track.
“What I do is just heart,” he said. “A lot of times 16-year-olds get scared when they're up against bigger competition. Vernon is 32. I'm half his age. When I go out there and I race for my life, I just run for my life. There's no race plan involved.”
Annette Echikunwoke won her first hammer throw with a flight of 74.68 meters (245 feet). The 27-year-old Echikunwoke, who works full-time in marketing in Cincinnati, is in her second Olympic Games but her first time competing.
Echikunwoke represented his mother's home country of Nigeria in 2020 and qualified to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, but never made it to Japan. The Nigerian Olympic Committee failed to conduct drug tests and check the whereabouts of 10 athletes, including Echikunwoke. Although no wrongdoing was suspected, all 10 were disqualified due to the committee's negligence.
“2021 has definitely been emotional, but I believed I was where I was supposed to be,” Echikunwoke said. “I'm very excited. I'm very happy.”
Sam Kendricks cleared 5.92 meters (19 feet, 5 inches) on his second attempt to win his seventh national championship in the pole vault. After Friday's qualifying round, Kendricks said he would consider withdrawing from the Olympics because he was upset that he was not cleared to compete in Tokyo due to a positive COVID-19 test. “I hate the Olympics,” Kendricks said at the time. But Kendricks is a U.S. pole vault powerhouse, and his performance forced him to make a decision. Despite the remaining animosity and his belief that the Olympics are overly celebrated, Kendricks said he would definitely compete in Paris.
The fiercest race of the night started in obscurity. In the women's 800-meter semifinals, rising Louisiana State University senior Michaela Rose set a blistering pace, pulling away from a field that included Olympic cash medalist Asing Mu by about 20 meters. As Rose lost steam in the closing stages, Mu and Kate Grace closed the gap.
Mew passed Rose on the outside just before the finish line and won in 1:58.84 in her second race of the year while recovering from a hamstring injury. Grace passed Rose on the inside and narrowly edged her at the finish line. As all three runners leaned over the finish line, Rose's elbow hit Grace, sending her flying over the rail and her left shoulder slamming into the clock post.
“I wish I hadn't pushed her,” Rose said. “I saw her on the ground and I hit her pretty hard. She seemed OK. She's a tough lady.”
Grace had no issues with Rose. “Everything was just honest,” she said. “Maybe I was a little tired and there was a lot of us just trying to get to the finish line.” Speaking to reporters afterwards, Grace showed off bloody scrapes on her legs, arms and hips but wasn't concerned about how the fall would affect her in Monday's final.
“I didn't hit my head,” Grace said. “The head is the most important part.”
As Grace lay on the ground, Rose asked her, “Are you OK?”
“Yeah, I'm OK,” Grace replied. “Well done. Hopefully I can make it to the finals.”
After two races, Rose learned that his time of 1:59.00 had stood and he was qualified for the final.
