Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles will sit out of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship due to a hamstring injury that led to other health issues.
Lyles, who won the 100-meter gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and posted the world’s fastest 100 this year (9.79 seconds) at U.S. Nationals, will miss out on a chance to win $150,000 in each of his sprint specialties.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship, a $10 million event designed to be the premier event for track and field competitors between Olympics, runs Friday through Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.
The invite-only meet will feature just 16 competitors in each track event, eight in each field event and eight teams for relay. The gold medalist in each event earns $150,000.
Lyles, 29, used his X account to announce his absence, which was triggered when he tweaked his left hamstring during the 200 final in July at U.S. Nationals.
“It’s been kind of complicated,” Lyles said. “We thought it was very simple. Unfortunately, after running at USAs, I found out I had a small strain. Not very serious. And the rehab that we were putting together was going extremely well. Unfortunately, because of the strain, it caused some other things to flare up — and it’s made it hard for me to continue practicing.”
