Lyles and Richardson Blaze Through 100m Heats at USATF Championships

Olympic medalists Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson successfully moved one step closer to national titles on Thursday, securing spots in the 100m semifinals at the Toyota USA Track and Field Outdoor and Para National Championships. The event is taking place at Icahn Stadium in New York City, marking the first time the venue has hosted the nationals since 1991.

Lyles, who claimed the 2024 Olympic 100m gold medal, topped his heat with a time of 9.97 seconds. He faced strong early competition from Christian Coleman, the 2019 World champion who posted a 9.96 in his heat, and Kenny Bednarek, the 2025 U.S. champion who finished in 10.04. Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 200m, is expected to challenge Lyles in the final.

On the women’s side, Richardson set the pace for the field. The 2024 Olympic silver medalist recorded the fastest time of the first round at 10.90 seconds. Richardson is aiming to join Carmelita Jeter as the only woman to win three U.S. 100m titles since 2000. Notably, 2025 U.S. and world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is not competing in the 100m this weekend, focusing solely on the 200m instead.

The championships continue with significant market implications for the event’s broadcaster. Comcast Corporation provides coverage through its Peacock streaming service and NBC Sports networks. As the media rights holder, viewership engagement for high-profile events featuring stars like Lyles and Richardson is a key metric for the company’s sports portfolio. Comcast’s stock was trading at $21.92 on Thursday, down 7.35%.

The men’s and women’s 100m semifinals and finals are scheduled for Friday evening. The competition also features the 10,000m finals later Thursday. Lyles enters the semifinals with a notable historical advantage, having won his last seven head-to-head 100m finals against Bednarek, according to Tilastopaja.info.

What to watch

• Men’s and women’s 100m semifinals and finals take place Friday night.
• Women’s and men’s 10,000m finals are scheduled for Thursday evening.
• Comcast reports quarterly earnings, which may include Peacock subscriber metrics related to sports programming.

Source: original release