It really feels like it’s Noah Lyles’s world and we’re just living in it.

The human embodiment of “main character energy” has a World gold medal in the 100m and four national titles in the 200m, but until last night he didn’t have a U.S. title in the shorter event. Now he’s knocked that one out with a decisive 9.83 victory over Olympic silver medalists Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley, all while putting on a huge show for the crowd before, during, and after the meet.

Team USA will surely have an uphill battle toward repeating its 2022 medal sweep of the event on the global stage, thanks to a pair of upstart Jamaicans and the resurgence of reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs. But with Lyles, Kerley, and Bednarek on the roster, the odds are extremely high that the trio will factor in to the podium in at least one spot, if not more.

Three women broke 50 seconds in the 400m final, but it was not the three women you’d have expected heading into the meet. Kendall Ellis hadn’t clocked a personal best since 2018, but she ran her fastest twice in two days and is now U.S. champ in 49.46. Neither Arkansas star (Kaylyn Brown or Rosie Effiong) made the team, but Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler finished second in a 49.71 PB after missing the final at NCAAs. And third-placer Alexis Holmes has been having a strong year, but she’d never broken 50 seconds in an open 400m before — until yesterday, when she took third in 49.78.

9x U.S. champ Sam Kendricks is back on top in the men’s pole vault, setting a meet record 5.92m/19’5” to qualify for his third Olympic team (he ultimately did not compete in Tokyo in 2021 after testing positive for COVID-19). Kenneth Rooks won his second-straight U.S. steeplechase title and made his first Olympic team, as did Annette Echikunwoke, who won her first national title in the hammer throw in a season’s-best 74.68m/245’0”. And through day 1, Anna Hall leads Chari Hawkins by only 10 points in the heptathlon with more action to come.

What To Watch On Day 4

After a whole bunch of sprint excitement, the middle-distance stars get their time to shine on Monday, with finals of the women’s 800m, men’s 1500m, and women’s 5000m. Athing Mu had to really work for her heat win in the semifinals… can she take another U.S. title and keep moving forward to another round of Olympic greatness? The men’s 1500m is shaping up to be a crazy affair with half the field in contention for a spot on Team USA, and the 5000m is shaping up to be a battle royale between Elle St. Pierre and Elise Cranny.

The jumpers will also get some time in the sun with the women’s high jump and men’s long jump finals, and the second day of heptathlon competition will continue to test a post-surgery Anna Hall. And of course, the men’s 400m final will put Quincy against Quincy (against Michael Norman).

Follow along with live results here and on the CITIUS MAG social channels.

Race Of The Day: Men's 100m

Noah Lyles is always doing the most, for better or worse. Fans can debate whether the reigning World champion’s dynamic, over-the-top stage presence on the track is charming or annoying, but they can’t deny that Lyles has always delivered on the performances to back up the theatrics.

First, there was Snoop Dogg sitting with Noah’s mom in the stands. Then we had a walk-in-slash-briefcase reveal featuring Yu-Gi-Oh cards and a bright-red uniform. The cards kept showing up throughout the rounds of the 100m, forcing non-anime fans to Google terms like “Exodia” and “Blue-Eyes White Dragon.” But the evening ended in Lyles doing what Lyles does best: winning and running fast.

The 26-year-old used to be thought of as a 200-meter specialist, but after years of work on his start, a World Indoor medal in the 60m, and a series of personal bests in the 100m, it’s hard to say the sprint star has any glaring weaknesses remaining. In these rounds, he was at least even with the better starters in the field by 40 meters, which meant that when he did finally unleash his top-end speed, the competition was left decisively in his dust. In each round of competition, Lyles clocked the fastest mark — a 9.92, then a 9.80w, then a 9.82.

Lyles’s teammates in this event will be two athletes who’ve had very different springs. Kenny Bednarek has been absolutely on fire all year, clocking lifetime bests in the 200m (his stronger event) and now the 100m, as he finished second in 9.87. Fred Kerley, on the other hand, has had a much rockier go, including some pedestrian early-season performances, parting ways with his former sponsor, and battling shoddy blocks in New York. But all that didn’t seem to matter when push came to shove, as Kerley got a season’s best 9.88 to make his second Olympic team.

World Indoor champion Christian Coleman entered this Trials arguably a co-favorite with Lyles, but Coleman was only able to manage a 4th place finish in the final and will be relegated to the relay squad for Paris. Just behind him was high schooler Christian Miller, who clocked another sub-10 performance with a 9.98 for fifth. While Coleman has delivered for Team USA when it counts on the 4×100m relay in recent championships, he’s struggled a bit in individual championships since his 2019 World title, finishing 5th in 2023 at Worlds and 6th in 2022 despite strong regular-season times and now missing the team here. But Coleman’s Olympic Trials is not over — he’ll be back in the 200m later in the week alongside all three of the podium finishers.

Athlete Of The Day: Evan Jager

It seemed like a fan fiction cooked up by old-timers and late-2000s Wisconsin fans that 35-year-old Evan Jager would find himself in contention to make one last(?) Olympic team.

The American record holder in the steeplechase has had a rocky few years since his last U.S. title in 2018, missing the 2019 season entirely and much of the 2021 and 2023 seasons due to injury. Generally, if you’re losing huge chunks of time in training as you enter the second decade of your pro career, it’s a clear sign your best days are behind you. But at the same time, Jager’s grit and talent came through every time he was able to stay healthy for a few months at a time, most notably with his 6th place finish in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

Jager came back to the steeplechase for the first time in nearly two years this spring, and it didn’t go… great, to say the least, at first. As recently as three weeks ago, it wasn’t clear Jager would even qualify for Olympic TRIALS, let alone for Paris. And Jager’s season's best is still only 8:25.77, but he is currently in the World ranking quota for the Road to Paris. So when Jager was able to navigate a hard kick in the prelims and a messy tactical affair in the final to eke out a fourth-place finish, he put himself in contention for Team USA as he’s currently going to Paris unless third-placer James Corrigan of BYU runs very fast very soon.

It’s a comeback story for the ages — and one that isn’t over yet. Noticeably, Jager looked more comfortable going over hurdles at Trials than any other race this season, and if he follows a similar improvement curve to 2022 he could find himself once again punching above his weight on a championship stage. The old-timers will surely be rooting for him.

Photo Of The Day

A crowded finish line and a nasty spill sent Kate Grace over the railing and into one of the scoreboards, but the 35-year-old mom was largely unhurt (save for a few scrapes) and advanced to the final with a 1:58.97, with a shot to make her second Olympic team.

Social Moment To Remember

Kendal Ellis says got locked in the bathroom an hour before her semifinal on Saturday… and still came out with her first personal best in the 400m in 6 years.

Then, the next day, she won her first national title in 49.46 and qualified for Team USA!