After facing different challenges earlier this season, Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson wasted no time returning to form on the national stage. Lyles was looking to bounce back from his first 100-meter defeat of the year at the Paris Diamond League, while Richardson arrived after a heartbreaking 0.01-second loss to Melissa Jefferson-Wooden at the Prefontaine Classic. Both stars needed to make a statement, and they did, cruising through the opening round of the USATF Championships and sending an early warning to the rest of the field.

Competing at Icahn Stadium in New York on July 23, Lyles comfortably advanced to the 100-meter semifinals. Running in Heat 2 of the men’s 100 meters, Lyles looked relaxed from the start and crossed the finish line in 9.97 seconds. Ronnie Baker followed in 10.00, while Lawrence Johnson finished third in 10.11. ZaChaeus Beard (10.19), Kyree King (10.28), and Taylor Banks (10.37) also earned automatic qualification from the heat.

Reflecting on his performance, Lyles made it clear he never needed to reach top speed. “Felt like a good warm-up. I could use about three more of those,” Lyles said. “I came back from Europe right as July started. I’m not going to be able to get another meet once this is over until mid-August. And I don’t want to wait that long for running again.”

Although Lyles impressed in his heat, he was narrowly edged for the fastest time of the opening round by Christian Coleman. Racing in Heat 1, Coleman posted 9.96, just one hundredth of a second quicker than Lyles’ mark. Kenny Bednarek also looked sharp while winning Heat 3 in 10.04, and Courtney Lindsey claimed Heat 4 in 10.06, as the men’s field produced several strong performances to open the championships.

So, Coleman and Lyles ultimately led the list of 27 athletes who advanced to the semifinals. Joining them were Brandon Hicklin, Lawrence Johnson, PJ Ize-Iyamu, Maximilian Thomas, Ajani Dwyer, ZaChaeus Beard, Cooper Bibbs, Marcellus Moore, Cameron Crump, Pjai Austin, Ty Davis and more.

But it was not just the men’s 100 meters that delivered strong performances. The women’s field also produced an impressive opening round.

Sha’Carri Richardson sets the pace in Women’s 100m prelims

In the women’s ring, Sha’Carri Richardson made a strong start in the 100m. The 2023 world champion delivered the fastest qualifying round, taking 10.90 seconds in Heat 4 to go straight through to the semi-finals. Second was Jaslyn Gardner with 11.13 seconds, then Nayla Harris in 11.20 and Jadyn Mays in 11.28 to also qualify.

Earlier in the round, Kayla White impressed by winning Heat 1 in 10.98 seconds, making her the only other woman to dip under 11 seconds in the preliminaries. Tamari Davis finished second in that heat with 11.07, followed by Celera Barnes in 11.18.

Heat 2 was won by Anavia Battle, who clocked 11.00 seconds, while Jenna Prandini advanced after running 11.11 and Taniya Looney qualified with 11.15. In Heat 3, Melicia Mouzzon secured the win in 11.30 seconds, with Brittany Brown (11.46) and Jasmine Montgomery (11.50) also moving through.

Overall, Richardson and White were the only two athletes to break the 11-second mark in the opening round, setting up an exciting semifinal battle. Now, all eyes turn toward the next rounds as the women’s 100-meter title race begins to take shape.