Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek's drama, Sha'Carri Richardson's arrest: 5 biggest stories from the USATF Track and Field Championships

The 2025 USATF Track and Field Championships lived up to expectations with firecracker moments, record-breaking performances, and arguably the biggest post-race rivalry drama to cap off the world's most glamorous national athletics meet.

From Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek's post-race drama to Sha'Carri Richardson's arrest, and the jaw-dropping performance of high schooler Cooper Lutkenhaus, here are the five biggest stories from the 2025 USATF Track and Field Championships.

At just 16 years old, Cooper Lutkenhaus ran an incredible 1:42.27 to finish second in the men's 800m final and make the World Championship team.

With his time, he smashed his previous high school record by an enormous 3+ seconds, set a new U18 World Record, and will become the youngest athlete ever to represent Team USA at a World Championship.

Lutkenhaus moved from seventh to second in the last 200m, splitting a ridiculous 12.48 down the homestretch.

When the outdoor season started, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden dropped consistent fast times in the Grand Slam Track League, as most track fans and enthusiasts felt she had peaked too early and risked burning out before the USATF Track and Field Championships.

Gladly, she proved everyone wrong that her early-season incredible performances were no fluke, and she's a major force heading to the World Championships in Tokyo.

Jefferson-Wooden blazed to her second career 100m national title, clocking a jaw-dropping new Personal Best (PB) and world-leading time of 10.65s. Her time now makes her the joint third-fastest in American history and joint fifth on the all-time list.

Not resting on her exceptional run, she stormed to the 200m title, defeating pre-race favourite and Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, dropping another new PB of 21.85s.

By claiming both titles, Jefferson-Wooden became the first female sprinter to complete the sprint double at the US Championships since Torri Edwards attained the feat in 2003.

Heated men's 200m race between Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek as Lyles ran down Bednarek to defend his title in a world lead of 19.63s (0.2).

Before crossing the finish line, Lyles gave a wicked stare down, which didn't sit well with Bednarek, and he responded by shoving him off the track.

The two exchanged some words afterwards, to which Bednarek will later respond in an interview. “What he said doesn’t matter, just what he did. Unsportsmanlike sh*t and I don’t deal with that.”

With Lyles and Bednarek confirmed to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo, their rivalry has surely intensified, raising fans' anticipation ahead of their next clash.

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Olympic star Sha'Carri Richardson was arrested at SeaTac Airport after a dispute with boyfriend Christian Coleman turned physical, and was briefly booked into Score jail in Des Moines.

The couple was heading to the USA Track and Field Championships in Oregon when the altercation happened at the airport.

A public record shows that the reigning world 100m champion was booked at the South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Wash., at 6:54 p.m. on Sunday and released by court order on Monday at 1:13 p.m. ET.

She was arrested based on domestic violence assault and was briefly booked into Score jail in Des Moines for 4th degree domestic assault, held ~19 hrs, then released July 28.

Both Richardson and Coleman failed to secure their spots in their events (100m and 200m). However, Richardson will still run the 100m in Tokyo, having a bye as the reigning world champion.