NEW YORK (AFP) — Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles powered to his third US 100m title in a world-leading 9.79 seconds on Friday at the US athletics championships.

Lyles, trailing at the start, surged over the final 30 meters for a convincing victory over veteran Ronnie Baker, who edged Kenny Bednarek for second.

Both were credited with a time of 9.88, with Bednarek taking third. Former world champion Christian Coleman came in fourth in 9.93 seconds.

“In my head, the distance was already made up,” Lyles told broadcaster NBC of the early gap he erased. “Coach said, ‘put my hand in their pocket, don’t let ‘em get away.’”

“I saw where Christian was, and I said: ‘Oh yeah, my hand is all the way in there,’ and I just pulled him back and I did what I do,” Lyles added.

He matched the personal best he set in winning Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 and improved on the previous world-leading time this year of 9.82 set by Oblique Seville at the Jamaican championships in June.

Sha’Carri Richardson, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist, clocked 10.77 seconds to win her third national 100m title.

The 26-year-old Texan, whose difficult 2025 campaign saw her finish off the podium in her 100m world championship defense, pulled away relentlessly from training partner Kayla White, who finished second in 10.90 seconds.

Tamari Davis was third in 11.00 seconds.

“It just feels phenomenal to be back in a better place, just healthy mentally, physically and emotionally,” Richardson said. “Everything me and coach have been working on, it’s starting to show consistently.”

Lyles will be back in action Saturday in the 200m heats.

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 programs at Icahn Stadium in New York City.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who swept 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold at last September’s World Championships, skipped the 100m and will launch her campaign in the 200m heats on Saturday.

Quincy Hall, the 400m gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, failed to advance from the heats as his 46.47 seconds left him in 16th place in a field led by Khaleb McRae’s 44.65 seconds.

Cooper Lutkenhaus, the 17-year-old sensation who has bagged two Diamond League victories this year in his first season on the elite circuit, moved safely into the men’s 800m final, winning his heat in 1:45.83.

Lutkenhaus clocked the third-fastest time of the first round, led by Wes Ferguson’s 1:45.17.

Donovan Brazier, the 2019 world champion who held off Lutkenhaus to capture the national title last year, failed to advance.