Noah Lyles Wins 200M Title At The 2025 USA Track And Field Championships

Forbes

a day ago

The 2025 USATF track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, this weekend left fans in awe and ready for the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Tokyo this September. Olympic and U.S. championships, like Noah Lyles and Masai Russell, reclaimed their spots at the top. Others dealt with the difficulty of missing out on a chance to represent Team USA.
Here is a guide that details the most exciting stories from the weekend.
Noah Lyles Defeats Kenny Bednarek In The 200M Final
One of the biggest moments of the weekend was the match-up in the 200-meter dash final between Lyles and two-time Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek. Although Bednarek had an undefeated 2025 season up until today, Lyles spoiled his plan of remaining undefeated.
In the 200-meter dash final, Kenny Bednarek had an excellent start, controlling the first half of the race with ease. Lyles fought his way to the front and tracked down Bednarek until he caught him at the line. Lyles ran 19.63 for a new season's best and world lead. Bednarek was close behind in 19.67.
The build-up to Lyles' win was intense, as this was not a typical season for him. Lyles opted not to compete during the indoor season this year. He opened up his season in April at a meet in Florida where he ran his first-ever professional 400-meter dash. He was scheduled to run at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in the weeks following, but announced the day before competition that he would not compete due to ankle tightness.
When he released that statement, he took three months off from competition because of the injury. He returned to the track at the Monaco Diamond League in July, where he raced in a 200-meter dash against reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo. Lyles took the victory in that race in 19.88.
A week later, he went to the London Diamond League to run the 100-meter dash to compete against some of the top names in the event, currently including Oblique Seville, Akani Simbine, and more. Lyles would have to settle for second in that race as Seville took the victory in 9.86.
Lyles had only raced three times before lining up at this weekend's championships. Despite the lack of competition, the 200-meter American record holder was ready for anything that came his way.
During the London Diamond League, Lyles expressed that he would run all the rounds at the U.S. championships. However, running at the championships wasn't necessary for him since he had a bye in both events as the reigning world champion.
This weekend, Lyles only ran one round of the 100-meter dash and ran both rounds of the 200-meter dash. During the semi-final of the 200-meter dash, the Olympic champion ran 19.97 to qualify for the final easily. The head-to-head in the final between Lyles and two-time Olympic silver medalist Bednarek would be one to remember.
Bednarek has only beaten Lyles twice in their careers, both times being the Olympics, where Bednarek earned silver in Tokyo and Paris, with Lyles taking bronze.
After coming off his first U.S. title and a new 100-meter personal best, Bednarek was ready to continue his undefeated streak this 2025 season. Unfortunately, Lyles had other plans.
Lyles and Bednarek are the only two men who will represent Team USA in Tokyo in both sprint events. Robert Gregory will join these two to complete the 200 meter team.
Tara Davis-Woodhall Soars To New Long Jump World Lead
On the first day of the championships, Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall competed for a chance to represent Team USA again in Tokyo.
During the long jump prelims, Davis-Woodhall was in a tough, competitive situation. To qualify for the final, competitors needed to have a top-eight mark after three rounds of jumps. Davis-Woodhall fouled her first two attempts, meaning she only had one chance left to jump a mark that would qualify her for the final.
To avoid fouling again, she took off well behind the landing board, jumping 6.92 meters. That attempt could have been well over seven meters if she had jumped from the board. This jump also placed her in the lead.
After safely qualifying for the finals, Davis-Woodhall began to find her groove. Her fourth jump of the competition was 7.11 meters, bettering her previous world lead. On her fifth attempt, the Olympic champion jumped 7.12 to outdo herself yet again. She jumped 6.91 meters to close out the competition and take home her fourth U.S. title in the long jump.
Joining her will be indoor world champion Claire Bryant and Tokyo Olympian Quanesha Burks.
After jumping, I asked Davis-Woodhall how she would grade this competition and her overall thoughts.
"B+. Champion mindset at the end of it, I conquered what I needed to do…," said Davis-Woodhall. "It wasn't perfect, but I conquered everything that I wanted to do."
Davis-Woodhall, a 2021 Olympian, will return to the Japan national stadium in hopes of earning the victory she hoped for just four years ago.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden Earns Two National Titles In The 100-meter and 200-meter Dash
Olympic bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden remains undefeated this season. On Friday evening, Jefferson-Wooden earned her second U.S. title in the 100-meter dash, running 10.65. Her time ties for fifth fastest all time and third in U.S. history.
Joining her on the 100-meter dash team will be her training partner Kayla White and Olympic silver medalist Aleia Hobbs. White is no stranger to making championship teams. In 2023, she qualified for the Budapest World Athletics Outdoor Championships in the 200-meter dash. However, despite her success in 2023, White broke her foot in 2024, causing her to miss the season. In interviews, she's discussed how difficult it was watching her teammates Sha'Carri Richardson, Twasnisha "TeeTee" Terry, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden make the Olympic team without her. Now, she gets to join them after having a healthy season.
Hobbs is also familiar with representing Team USA and dealing with setbacks. The American record holder in the 60-meter dash was unable to compete in the final of the world indoor championships last season due to injury. This year, she battled recurring injuries with her hamstring and achilles, making it difficult for her to have consistent training cycles. Despite her setbacks, Hobbs managed to place third, earning her a spot on the Tokyo world championship team.
Coming off her 100-meter dash victory, Jefferson-Wooden prepared for the 200-meter dash. Easily making it out of the semi-final round, she was ready to do something big during the final. Jefferson-Wooden did just that as she stormed to a new personal best of 21.84, beating reigning U.S. and Olympic champion Gabby Thomas. She's the first woman since 2003 to sweep both events at the U.S. national championships.
Joining Jefferson-Wooden will be Tokyo Olympian Anavia Battle, who placed second, running 22.13. Thomas was a part of a three-way tie of 22.20 with Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown and Olympic finalist McKenzie Long. Thomas broke the tie by .002 to punch her ticket to Tokyo.
With Jefferson-Wooden's competitive momentum, the three-time U.S. national champion will be looking to earn two individual gold medals this September.
Cooper Lutkenhaus Shatters U18 World Record In The 800M, Donavan Brazier Makes Stunning Comeback
The men's 800-meter run left fans in shock as they witnessed some of the greatest racing track and field has to offer. The men's final was stacked with enormous talent. Josh Hoey is the current indoor national and world champion in the event. Bryce Hoppel holds the American record in the 800-meter run. Donavan Brazier is the only American man to win an outdoor world title in this event.
There was no doubt that this would be a difficult team to make. Brazier has dealt with injuries and setbacks over the years, which have caused him to miss out on running well and competing consistently. However, this was the world champions' first full year back in the sport. His patients paid off greatly.
Brazier ran 1:42.16 to win the national title this evening. This time is a personal best, and it is the fastest time he's run since 2019. As they came into the homestretch, it looked like Brazier was fading behind the competition. However, the world champion found another gear with 50 meters to go and pulled himself towards a victory.
Not far behind him was 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus. Lutkenhaus ran 1:42.27 to shatter the U18 world record. Lutkenhaus was sitting in seventh place with 200 meters to go. As they rounded the corner, he started to pick off the competition one by one until he was able to follow Brazier to a second place finish. It's clear that Lutkenhaus has a strong racing mindset. During the semi-final, he tripped but managed to recover enough to fight his way to the front and secure a spot in the final.
Joining Brazier and Lutkenhaus will be American record holder Bryce Hoppel. Hoppel ran 1:42.49 for bronze.
"It's got to be the best team we ever put forth in the U.S. with these guys," said Hoppel. "It's going to be a lot of fun."
Fans looking to stay updated on their favorite track and field athletes before the world championships can tune into the Diamond League races. For those who may not have qualified for the world championships by placing in the top three at nationals, they have a chance to earn a spot by winning the Diamond League final.