I'm just having fun: Noah Lyles storms to third US 100m title with season-leading 9.77

New York: Olympic champion Noah Lyles reaffirmed his status as the world's premier sprinter after blazing to a season-leading 9.77 seconds to win the men's 100m title at the 2026 USA Track and Field Championships on Friday (local time), clinching his third national crown in the event.The victory, following his triumphs in 2018 and 2024, saw Lyles overcome a sluggish start before surging past the field in the closing stages at Icahn Stadium. As he crossed the finish line, the 29-year-old celebrated in trademark fashion, according to Olympics.com. "Yes sir!" he shouted before throwing his arms into the air.Ronnie Baker finished second in 9.88, while defending champion and two-time Olympic 200m medallist Kenny Bednarek also clocked 9.88 to take third. Lyles' training partner Christian Coleman, the 2019 world champion, placed fourth in 9.93.The winning time eclipsed Jamaican Oblique Seville's 9.82, set at the Jamaican Championships last month, to become the fastest 100m of the year.Lyles said he had anticipated a sub-9.80 performance after encouraging signs in training."Yeah, I knew that 9.7 was coming," he said, as per Olympics.com.The American believes the performance sends a strong message to his rivals as the build-up begins towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.He said, "I think I made an 'I'm still the world's fastest man' statement. I think that I was playing around, so I think that everybody's going to tighten up, because if they're playing around, then shoot, I must be winning tag."Despite not getting out of the blocks cleanly, Lyles said the race turned into one of the finest of his career after remaining composed and gradually reeling in the leaders."Technically, I think it was the best race I've had so far," he added.He credited his coach's advice and Coleman's fast start for helping him stay focused instead of panicking.Looking ahead, Lyles has no intention of easing off despite this being viewed as an "off year" in the international athletics calendar. The eight-time world champion is set to return for the men's 200m on Sunday, where victory would hand him a record sixth US title in the event."Shoot, I'm just having fun. Just because it's an off-year doesn't mean that I plan to run slow. I'm not showing up to run slower. This is me being me. Being me is dominant. Being me is consistent," said Lyles.With his world-leading performance, Lyles heads into the remainder of the season in formidable form, underlining why he remains the benchmark in global sprinting.