'I didn’t have to do much': USA's Noah Lyles on successful World Championships campaign

USA’s Noah Lyles storms to victory in the last leg of the men’s 4x100m relay final in Tokyo on Sunday. Pics/AFP; Getty Images

Sha'Carri Richardson saved the day in her relay. Noah Lyles and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone put exclamation points on theirs.

The best in the USA splashed through the rainy relays on Sunday in Tokyo to capture three gold medals and close out the world championships on a night when track also bid a hug-filled farewell to Jamaica's sprint legend, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. "I felt like I ran with my heart because of the ladies I'm standing with," Richardson said, as she celebrated her first gold medal of a championships that was far from perfect. "I feel really good. It came back. I'm ready to start all over again."

The victorious men's 4x100m squad

Richardson holds off Smith

Richardson was actually trailing by .01 when she received the baton from Kayla White. It took a few steps for her to build a lead of her own, and she held off Jonielle Smith for the win in 41.75 seconds.

It also left Jamaica's Fraser-Pryce with silver. "No emotions right now," Fraser-Pryce said. "Just grateful to be able to finish this race. It's been such a remarkable moment."

USA's women's 4x100m team

Clocking 37.29 seconds, Lyles headlined a no-drama win in the men's 4x100m few minutes after that relay, and with the rain still falling, Lyles crossed the line first to give the USA its 26th medal and 16th gold of the meet - totals that are more respectable after what, earlier in the week, had the makings of a bad meet.

The 26 overall medals are the same number they captured in the same stadium four years ago at the Tokyo Olympics. Only seven were gold
that time.

USA's women's 4x400m team

‘Handoffs were clean'

"I didn't have to do much. These guys took care of business," Lyles said. "They made sure the handoffs were clean. It's a little anticlimatic, but at the same time, it's a great feeling because you know that the job has been done," he added.

McLaughlin-Levrone also kept it light on drama. She inherited a huge lead in the 4x400 from Aaliyah Butler and opened it wider from there. The Americans finished in a championships-record 3 minutes 16.61 seconds for a 2.64-second win over Jamaica.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever