The Toyota USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships begin this week in New York City with Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson at the center of a meet built around marquee races and field events. Lyles is entered in both the 100m and 200m at Icahn Stadium, while Richardson arrives as the fastest American so far in 2026 and the clear name to watch in the women’s 100m.
That is why the championships are drawing attention now. Lyles is chasing a record-breaking sixth U.S. title in the 200m and will line up in the 100m against Kenny Bednarek, after their last 200m showdown ended with a stare and a shove. Richardson, meanwhile, is aiming to become only the second woman since 2000 to win three U.S. 100m titles, a list that would put her alongside Carmelita Jeter.
Her case is hard to ignore. Richardson has already run 10.77, 10.79 and 10.83 in 2026, a sharp step forward from a 2025 best of 10.94 seconds. She crossed the line first in the U.S. 100m final in 2021, 2023 and 2024, though the 2021 title was later vacated, and this week’s field gives her the chance to add another win to a season that has already moved faster than last year.
The meet is stacked beyond the marquee sprint double. Quincy Hall is entered in the 400m, Tara Davis-Woodhall is in the long jump and the 100m hurdles, and Valarie Sion is entered in the discus. The women’s 100m hurdles is crowded too, with eight of the world’s 19 fastest women of 2026 in the field, including Grace Stark, Alaysha Johnson, Aaliyah McCormick and Brianna McNeal. KC Lightfoot, Sam Kendricks and Chris Nilsen give the men’s pole vault another headline line.
One wrinkle runs through the women’s sprint picture: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who swept 100m, 200m and 4x100m golds at last September’s World Championships, is entered in the 200m this week instead. That leaves Richardson as the favorite in the 100m, even with Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long in the mix after finishing third and seventh in the women’s 200m at the Paris Olympics, and Jenna Prandini bringing the experience of a two-time Olympian.
The men’s 100m may be even less settled. A different man has won the title at the last six nationals, and Lyles, the U.S. champion in 2018 and 2024, is trying to stop that churn while Bednarek arrives as the 2025 U.S. champion. Christian Coleman and Courtney Lindsey are also entered, and the four were part of the 2025 World Championships-winning 4x100m relay, which gives the race another layer of familiarity before the first heat is even run. Cooper Lutkenhaus, who finished second at nationals in 2025 at age 16 before becoming the youngest American to compete at a World Outdoor Championships, is another name in the wider meet.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will decide how much of that form holds. The semifinals and finals will show whether Richardson turns her 2026 speed into another title, whether Lyles can push through Bednarek and the rest of the men’s sprint field, and whether the meet’s best paper matchups become the results everyone remembers when it ends.
