(Reuters) - Young sprinter Noah Lyles got faster as the day progressed when he first matched the quickest 100 metres of the year before eclipsing the mark with a 9.88-second dash to claim the U.S. championships title in Iowa on Friday.
The 20-year-old clocked 9.89 seconds in the semi-finals to equal compatriot Mike Rodgers' world-leading standard before returning less than two hours later to lower the time.
Rodgers, who established the benchmark during qualifying the previous day, withdrew from the championships before Friday's semi-finals.
The win enabled Lyles, the 300m indoor record holder, to stake a valid claim of being the current leading sprinter in the world since he already owns a share of the 200m year's best of 19.69 seconds.
"Coach just gave me the ok to go all out for the final," Lyles had tweeted, and he did just that.
World indoor 60m bronze medallist Ronnie Baker finished second in 9.90 with collegian Kendal Williams third in 10.00.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by John O'Brien)