Noah Lyles pulled up halfway through the 200-meter final at U.S. track championships Sunday, suffering a rare loss in his best race and allowing USC’s Garrett Kaalund to take the title.
In the women’s race at Icahn Stadium in New York — the site of Usain Bolt’s first world record, back in 2008 — reigning world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden cruised to her second straight national title in a season-best 21.69.
Lyles, the four-time world champion at the distance, was in decent shape rounding the turn, but as he pulled into the stretch, he slowed and shut it down. He made it to the finish line to congratulate Kaalund, a 22-year-old who won NCAA indoors at the distance earlier this year. Kaalund’s winning time was 20.04.
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