Noah Lyles won the 100m in 9.96 seconds at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix in his first international outdoor race of the Olympic season.
Lyles, the reigning world champion in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, prevailed by 13 hundredths over Canadian 100m champion Aaron Brown on Sunday. There was a three meter/second tailwind, which is above the limit of two meters/second for record purposes.
“All together, I think it was a pretty well-put-together race,” Lyles told Lewis Johnson on NBC Sports. “I felt that I had a pretty average start, (and then) my acceleration kicked in.”
It marked Lyles’ second individual outdoor race this year. On April 13, Lyles ran 10.01 with a 1.7 meter/second tailwind at the University of Florida.
BERMUDA GRAND PRIX: Full Results
Lyles’ fastest wind-legal 100m time ever this early in a year came in 2023, when he clocked 9.95 with a 1.6 meter/second tailwind on April 15. That was the start of his best 100m season ever, as he ran a personal-best 9.83 last August to win the world title.
The world’s best wind-legal time so far in 2024 is 9.93 seconds, posted by 17-year-old American Christian Miller last weekend.
The world’s top sprinters either have not debuted yet this season or are still ramping up toward trials meets (in June for the U.S.) and then the Olympics in Paris in August.
The track and field season continues next weekend with the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, where nations can qualify for the Olympic 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
World Relays air live next Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET on Peacock and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.