NEW YORK: Noah Lyles powered to victory in the men’s 60m while fellow Olympic champion Grant Holloway extended his 11-year unbeaten streak with victory in the 60m hurdles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix meeting in Boston on Sunday.
American sprint king Lyles, the reigning Olympic and world 100m champion, scorched over the line to win in 6.52sec with the Bahamas’ Terrence Jones second in 6.57sec and P.J. Austin third in 6.60sec.
Italy’s Tokyo Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs was fourth in 6.63sec.
Lyles said afterwards he has finally put victory in Paris last year behind him as he prepares to tackle a new season.
“I’m not gonna act like it’s easy, it’s a little difficult,” Lyles said. “But I know there’s a job to be done and I’m trying to transcend my sport.
“My first job is to make sure that everybody knows that even though I won the (Olympic) medal, I’ll go everywhere and I’m gonna win because I’m the world’s fastest man.”
In other events on Sunday, reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion and three-time world champion Holloway scorched to victory in the men’s 60m hurdles in a season-best time of 7.42sec. Fred Crittenden was second in 7.54sec with Cordell Tinch third in 7.54sec.
Holloway has not lost an indoor hurdles race since 2014, and said afterwards that with world and Olympic golds in the bank, he is now running to cement his legacy.
“It’s just about building legacy, man,” Holloway said. “I’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve accomplished all my goals. So now it’s just about motivating the youth and then continuing just to build whatever I got to do.”
Holloway joked though that he has not been thinking about being remembered as the greatest sprint hurdler in history.
“I don’t even want to be the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time),” he said. “Usually, when people start calling themselves the goat, that’s when they get worse.”
Elsewhere Sunday, the US’ women’s Olympic 100m hurdles gold medallist Masai Russell was a comfortable winner of the 60m hurdles in 7.80sec, edging out second-placed Grace Stark (7.81sec) and the Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, who was third in 7.85sec.
In the women’s 300m, meanwhile, Julien Alfred — Olympic 100m gold medallist — impressed with a blistering victory in 36.16sec.
The 23-year-old Alfred — whose 100m gold in Paris last year was St. Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal — cruised home ahead of Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who took second in 36.87sec, with France’s Emma Montoya third in 38.37sec.
In the men’s 300m, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin secured a comfortable victory in 32.21sec, taking first ahead of compatriot Vernon Norwood (32.39sec) with Matthew Boling third in 32.82sec.
Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2025
