Noah Lyles Advances Despite Second-Place Finish in Olympic 100m Heat

Noah Lyles, the American sprinter and reigning world champion in the 100 and 200 meters, finished second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters with a time of 10.04 seconds. Despite a sluggish start and losing to British sprinter Louie Hinchliffe, Lyles advanced to the semi-finals, keeping his hopes for a sprint double alive.

Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters Saturday but still advanced, keeping alive his hopes for the sprint double.

The American sprinter, who is the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, had a sluggish start and clocked a time of 10.04 seconds, .06 behind British sprinter Louie Hinchliffe, trained by Carl Lewis.

Lyles' second-place finish means he won’t have the premier lane choice in the semi-finals on Sunday. If he advances from that, he will compete for the gold medal later in the evening.

“It is difficult,” Lyles said. “I downplayed my competitors for sure. I was like, there’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it. But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said alright, I can’t do that anymore. I promise that will not happen again.”

Also advancing in the early heats were Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who jogged the last 20 meters to win his heat in 10 seconds flat; Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who won his in 10.08; and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who won his heat in 9.99. Seville defeated Lyles at a race in Jamaica earlier this year.