NEW YORK, United States (AFP)—Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson eased into the 100m semi-finals at the US athletics championships on Thursday.

Lyles, who captured 100m gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, won his heat in 9.97sec to book his semi-final berth with the second-quickest time of the day behind the 9.96 posted by former world champion Christian Coleman.

Richardson, the 2023 world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist, topped the women’s heats in 10.90sec.

She will be a heavy favorite for the title on Friday, with Melissa Jefferson-Wooden — a treble gold medallist at last year’s world championships — opting to race the 200m only this week.

Lyles called his championships opener a good warm-up “just to get the engine firing”.

But he predicted a “fast final” on Friday on the Ichan Stadium track, where Usain Bolt set a 100m world record of 9.72sec in 2008 — a mark the Jamaican eventually lowered to the current 9.58.

Coleman, the 2019 world champion and the 60m indoor world record-holder, was also pleased with his “really smooth” start to the meeting.

“I was able to break 10 (seconds) without really hitting the gas like I know I can, so I feel good about it,” said Coleman, who topped the times despite racing into a slight headwind of 0.3m/sec.

Kenny Bednarek, a two-time Olympic silver medallist at 200m, won his 100m heat to advance.