U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials: Noah Lyles wins the men's 100 ...

EUGENE, Ore. — Noah Lyles won the men’s 100-meter final Sunday with a time of 9.83, earning him a spot on his second Olympic team.

Kenny Bednarek (9.87) and Fred Kerley (9.88) finished second and third, respectively, at the U.S. track and field trials and will also go to Paris.

Christian Coleman, an Olympic silver medalist who entered as one of Lyles’ top competitors, finished fourth with a time of 9.93. He won’t represent the U.S. in the 100 but is expected to be part of the 4x100 relay pool.

Lyles said coach Lance Brauman told him before the race to "go out there and handle business."

"Coach is a man of few words when it comes down to the finals," he said. "We both know that if I do what I’ve been doing in practice, the race is going to take care of itself. And that’s exactly what happened today."

Lyles, who will also run the 200 at the trials this week, said he's getting more and more comfortable in the 100.

“Every time I did a block start, there wasn’t a lot of thinking. It was kind of just doing," he said. "It was a lot closer to how I feel in the 200, which is what I’ve been waiting to feel for a very long time. Every time I get that feeling, it makes the race that much more confident.” 

Lyles ran his semifinal 100-meter heat Sunday in 9.80 seconds, the fastest time in the round at Hayward Field. He advanced to the semifinal with a 9.92 run Saturday night — the best time in the 35-man field.

The biggest non-final result of the night came in the men’s 400 meters. Quincy Wilson, a 16-year-old high school sophomore who attends the Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, near Washington, ran a 44.59 in the semifinal. That mark set the new U18 world record — besting his own world record of 44.66 set Friday.

If he finishes in the top three in Monday’s final, he’ll become the youngest male U.S. Olympic track and field athlete in history.

Wilson was in fifth place coming down the final turn in the semis. He said his mindset at the time was to “stay calm.”

“I didn’t get out the way that I wanted to, but like my coach said, the race starts at 300,” he said after the race. “Coming up from fifth to third, it means a lot. If you look at me, I’m not as strong, so it’s 100% heart inside.”

Lyles is seeking to become the “fastest man on Earth,” a title an American hasn’t held in 28 years and one that belongs to Jamaica’s Usain Bolt (9.58).

In August, Lyles claimed three gold medals at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, by winning the 100 and the 200 and anchoring the U.S. 4x100 relay.

His two individual victories at the event marked the first time anyone has accomplished the double at the worlds since Bolt in 2015 — and made him just the fifth man ever.

Lyles didn’t qualify for the 100 in 2020, finishing seventh out of eight runners in the Olympic trials final. He did claim the bronze medal in the 200, however.

Four years later, he said, the sadness he felt at coming up short fueled his run this year. 

“It’s amazing to finally be here,” Lyles said Saturday. “In Tokyo, I felt like I had blown a huge opportunity. The more I look back at it, the more I’m like, ‘Wow, if I never had that moment happen, I never would have produced what I have done up until now.’ I don’t think there would be the drive in me as much as it has the last couple years.”

Lyles said the experience has also forced him to ask himself how he can do better.

“Each year has been a huge improvement to where now I’m coming in as the world champion and the American record holder,” he said. “I didn’t have any of those titles back at the last one, so it’s a huge confidence booster.”

Coverage of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials for the 2024 Paris Games will continue live Monday on NBC, Peacock and USA.