Alexandria's own Noah Lyles claimed his third national title in the 100 meters at the 2026 USATF Outdoor Championships, running a world-leading 9.79 seconds at New York’s Icahn Stadium on July 24, tying his own personal best.
Lyles opened the meet by winning his heat in 9.97 seconds, then blistered his semifinal in 9.76, the fastest time of the round. He credited a training session earlier in the week.
"Last Thursday, in practice, I ran a hand-timed 9.6. So, yeah, I knew that 9.7 was coming soon," Lyles said.
He waved off any suggestion that his recent string of fast times has been anything but expected.
"Seeing it once is nice to see. Seeing it twice is a confidence booster. Seeing it three weeks in a row, that's no inconsistency. That's okay, it's gonna hit one of these days," he said.
In the final, Lyles held off Christian Coleman, who ran 9.93 to finish fourth after winning his own heat (9.96) and semifinal (9.90).
"Christian was on it. He was starting to look like 2019 Christian out there. I was like, put your hand in the pocket and don't let them go. Whenever you take the first two steps, my hand is right in that pocket. This is my race to win," Lyles said.
He framed the win as a response to offseason doubts about whether he remained the sport's top sprinter.
"I think I made that I'm-still-the-world's-fastest-man statement. Everybody's going to tighten up now, because if they're playing around, I must be winning tag," Lyles said.
Two days later, his bid for a record sixth national 200m title ended abruptly. After winning his heat in 20.51, he pulled up about halfway through the final with what he described as a cramping sensation in his hamstring, finishing the race at a jog in 50.88. Garrett Kaalund won the title in 20.04.
"Everything was going fine," Lyles told NBC Sports' Lewis Johnson afterward. "I came off the turn, and I just felt the grabbing sensation. I was like, this is the time to stop. It was somewhat of a cramp. I'm fine, I just need to be stretched out, get some electrolytes in my system, but I'll be good."
Also an Alexandria native, Noah's younger brother Josephus Lyles competed in both the 100m and 200m but didn't advance past the early rounds in either. A former USATF 200m finalist and longtime fixture on the national sprint scene, he won his opening 100m heat in 10.26 to reach the semifinals, then ran 10.16 in his semifinal, good for 8th in that heat and not enough to advance.
In the 200m, he was eliminated after the first round, finishing 6th in his heat in 21.14.
For Josephus, the 100m marked his first race back after a lingering Achilles issue. "It wasn't too bad. We've always had some Achilles issues, so it was my first race in a while. I'll try to get some practice in, some runs in, and I'll feel it better. But for a first race back, I'm pretty happy with it," he said.
He said the road back has only recently become consistent. "I had some issues in the past, so it's been off-and-on training. The last two weeks I've been able to train consistently, but before that, it was hit or miss," Josephus Lyles said.
Asked what part of his race has been hardest to recover, he pointed to acceleration.
"Definitely the acceleration. It's a lot harder to push really hard when you're still feeling it. But I'm still pretty happy with it. Can't complain," he said.
As for the rest of the season, Josephus wasn't ready to commit to a plan.
"We'll see. I'm taking it day by day," he said.
Noah, on the other hand, had a more concrete answer. With 2026 being the rare year without an Olympics or World Outdoor Championships, he made clear the 200m setback wasn't one he was too worried about, with his sights already set on the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this September.
"It is an off year, but some people take off year as a year not to do stuff. I'm winning and still doing stuff. We're not particularly looking to peak at any certain meet, but of course, we have ultimate this year. I plan to win that. I'm trying to stay in shape all the way till then, so that means I'm going to show up every time I race," Noah Lyles said.
