Sprint fans got a scare Sunday when Noah Lyles suddenly grabbed his leg and pulled up short during the 200 meter final at the U.S. national championships — but the world champion quickly put concerns to rest.
Everything looked normal for Lyles as he came around the bend at Icahn Stadium in New York, until he abruptly stopped and clutched his leg, drawing audible gasps from the crowd watching in the stands.
Despite finishing last with a time of 50.88 seconds, Lyles was in good spirits when he approached reporters afterward, explaining that his left hamstring had started to cramp. Garrett Kaalund took the victory in 20.04 seconds.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, there’s no reason to keep pushing that’. So I just decided to cut it off. To be honest, it’s just a cramp. Just got some electrolytes here, just gonna chug them down,” Lyles said.
The 100m Olympic champion had turned heads Friday when he posted a world-leading time of 9.79 seconds to win the shorter sprint — following a wind-aided 9.76 in the semi-final. Lyles suggested that the intense effort from that day may have finally caught up with him.
“Running two nine-sevens in one day is kind of crazy. And I think I underestimated how fast that really was and trying to come back,” he told reporters.
He also used the moment to reflect on the greatness of retired sprinting legend Usain Bolt, adding, “This does show me what it takes to keep going, which, you know, kind of puts a perspective on how kind of great Bolt was.”
