‘Just cramp’ – Noah Lyles pulls up early in 200m US title bid

NEW YORK – American sprint star Noah Lyles pulled up with a cramp in the 200m final at the US athletics championships on July 26, his bid for a title double undone as Garrett Kaalund claimed victory.

The 29-year-old, who won the 100m on July 24 in a world-leading 9.79 seconds, pulled up as he came off the turn and jogged to the line, telling reporters he felt a grabbing sensation in his right thigh.

“I’m like, yeah, there’s no reason to keep pushing that,” he said. “I just decided to cut it off.”

Fans at Icahn Stadium in New York were stunned, but the reigning 100m Olympic gold medallist downplayed potential injury concerns.

“It’s just cramp,” he said. “I’ve got some electrolytes here, I’m going to chug them down. I’m going to rest.”

Lyles walked over to give Kaalund a congratulatory hug after the 22-year-old captured the title in 20.04sec.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Kaalund said.

Brandon Hicklin was second and Maximilian Thomas third, both credited with a time of 20.29sec.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, a three-time gold medallist at last September’s world championships, won the women’s 200m in 21.69sec – just one-hundredth of a second off her personal best.

Jefferson-Wooden came off the turn in front and powered home with Cambrea Sturgis second in 22.22sec and Camryn Dickson third in 22.58sec.

Jefferson-Wooden had opted out of the 100m, which was won by Sha’Carri Richardson.

In a year with no world championships or Olympic team berths on the line, some well-known names opted out of the national championships or tweaked their programmes, but there were still plenty of familiar winners.

Tara Davis-Woodhall pushed her long jump winning streak to 19 competitions in dramatic style, unleashing a leap of 7.16m on her sixth and final attempt to triumph.

Davis-Woodhall has not lost in the event since a runner-up finish at the 2023 world championships, a streak that includes 2024 Olympic gold and 2025’s world title.

Her final jump carried her past Alyssa Jones, who settled for second on 6.96m, and Monae’ Nichols, who took bronze in 6.92m.

“Today I was like, ‘Let’s try to do one and done, please’,” Davis-Woodhall said. “And of course it never works out that way. It was a battle for sure.”

Close call

Cordell Tinch, the 110m hurdles world champion, won his first national title by the narrowest of margins, edging out Bradley Franklin by four-thousandths of a second.

Both were credited with a time of 13.00sec, but when the times were expanded Tinch got the nod at 12.993sec to Franklin’s 12.997sec.

Tinch said he knew at the line he had bagged the win.

“I knew when we crossed the line it didn’t matter how close he was,” he said. “I knew I took first.”

Two-time reigning Olympic champion and 2025 world champion Valarie Sion won her eighth-straight women’s discus title with a throw of 69.54m.

She held off Cierra Jackson, who took second at 67.40m just a week after topping Sion at the London Diamond League.

And Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old sensation who won the indoor 800m world title and has bagged two Diamond League victories in 2026, won his first outdoor 800m national title in 1min 43.48sec.

Lutkenhaus made his move with 200m to go and pulled away for a crushing victory over Wes Ferguson, who clocked 1:44.55.

“It was amazing,” said Lutkenhaus, who let out a mighty roar as he broke the tape to achieve his goal of winning both the indoor and outdoor US titles in 2026 in his final race of the season. AFP