NEW YORK — Noah Lyles pulled up halfway through the 200-meter final at U.S. track championships Sunday, suffering a rare loss in his best race and allowing USC’s Garrett Kaalund to take the title.
In the women’s race at Icahn Stadium in New York — the site of Usain Bolt’s first world record, back in 2008 — reigning world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden cruised to her second straight national title in a season-best 21.69.
Lyles, the four-time world champion at the distance, was in decent shape rounding the turn, but as he pulled into the stretch, he slowed and shut it down. He made it to the finish line to congratulate Kaalund, a 22-year-old who won NCAA indoors at the distance earlier this year. Kaalund’s winning time was 20.04.
“I just felt a grabbing sensation. I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the time to stop. There’s no reason to push this,’” said Lyles, who stays tied with Michael Johnson with five U.S. titles at 200 meters. “It was a somewhat of a cramp. I’m fine. I just need to get stretched out, get some electrolytes in my system, but I’ll be good.”
This marked only the fourth time Lyles has lost a 200 since he started dominating the distance in 2018, shortly after Usain Bolt left the sport. Two of those losses have come at the last two Olympics. Earlier in the week, Lyles won the 100 meters, the distance where he is the reigning Olympic champion.
Kaalund said he came to nationals just “to train myself against the best.”
“I wasn’t looking for (any) medals, I just wanted to see where I was,” he said.
Joining him at the top of the medals stand was Jefferson-Wooden, whose main challenger, Gabby Thomas, has been running well but decided not to run at nationals.
There are no world championships this year, though world athletics is introducing the Ultimate Championships, where a $150,000 first prize will be on the line in a race expected to feature Jefferson-Wooden, Thomas and Julien Alfred, who finished runner-up to Thomas at the Paris Games.
The LA Games are two years away.
“I feel like with women’s sprints today it’s like that every single time we line up,” Jefferson-Wooden said. “I watch their races. They watch mine. These next few years are going to be interesting to see.”
Davis-Woodhall denied victory after protest of her final jump
In women’s long jump, Olympic and world champion Tara Davis-Woodhall appeared to have won in dramatic fashion after her last of six jumps placed her in the lead, much the same as what happened at the Olympic trials two years ago. But a review after a protest showed she had fouled. Judges upheld that call after she appealed the ruling and she ended up third. Alyssa Jones won with a jump of 6.96 meters (22 feet, 10 inches).
Others winners Sunday were Nia Akins (women’s 800), Cooper Lutkenhaus (men’s 800), Emily Mackay (women’s 5,000), Vincent Ciattei (men’s 5,000), Jordan Geist (men’s shot put), Vashti Cunningham (women’s high jump), Chris Nilsen (men’s pole vault), Valarie Sion (women’s discus), Christopher Robinson (men’s 400 hurdles) and Anna Cockrell (women’s 400 hurdles) .
Cordell Tinch closed out the meet with a lean at the finish line to take the 110-meter hurdles title over Bradley Franklin.
