Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman received a rude awakening on Friday night as both men were upset in the 100m final of the US Championships when Cravont Charleston surpassed the field to claim his first-ever championship.
“I’m just blessed and privileged to be here,” said Charleston.
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Coleman made one of his signature starts, gaining a clear lead on the field for the first 40m. However, by the 55m mark, Charleston caught up with him and maintained the same pace, eventually outleaning Coleman with a time of 9.95 compared to Coleman’s 9.96.
Coleman seemed to have regained his 2019 form, running a seemingly effortless 9.95 to advance from the 100m heats. “I felt good,” said Coleman.
Lyles, the reigning 200m world champion, chose to utilize his bye privilege for Budapest and is only participating in the 100m at this meet. He finished in third place with a time of 10.00.
“This was the most challenging team I’ve ever had to make,” confessed Lyles, who recently recovered from a bout of Covid-19 earlier this week.
He later tweeted, “the double is alive.”
Responding to his race in post-race interviews, Coleman, the 2019 100m champion, offered a perspective. “The goal today was to make the team,” said Coleman. “We achieved that, and I believe all three of us have a chance to win medals.”
