Sept 4 (Reuters) - Olympic 100 metres champion Noah Lyles has ended his season because of injury, ruling himself out of next week's World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest despite initially expressing confidence that he would be fit for the inaugural event.
The eight-times world champion from the U.S. announced the decision in an Instagram video on Friday, saying he and his coach had opted to end his campaign after a minor strain suffered earlier in the season led to other physical issues that hampered his training.
"Unfortunately, I come with some not great news. Me and my coach have decided that we're going to end my 2026 season due to injury," Lyles said.
"It's been kind of complicated. We thought it was very simple. Unfortunately, after running at USA's, we found out that I had a small strain, not very serious, and the rehab that we were putting together was going extremely well.
"Unfortunately, because of the strain, it caused some other things to flare up, and it's made it hard for me to continue practising."
Lyles had raised injury concerns at the U.S. championships in July when he pulled up during the men's 200m final after winning the 100m title in a world-leading 9.79 seconds, which matched his personal best.
He later described the issue as a cramp and had indicated he expected to compete in Budapest.
The withdrawal of one of the sport's most recognisable stars is a significant blow to the Ultimate Championships, World Athletics' new season-ending showcase that offers a record $10-million prize purse.
The 29-year-old said he still planned to attend the September 11 to 13 event.
"I am still going to be at Ultimate Championship. I still do have parties to throw and things to do behind the scenes to help support the athletes," Lyles said.
"I still think that this is going to be an amazing competition, and I'm excited to watch that. And I'm even more excited to see what the future is going to bring."
Lyles said the decision was made with an eye on the next two seasons, which include the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"We'll just end the season here, get ready for 2027, 2028, which are going to be humongous years," he said. "This is reassurance that we're going to kick 2027 off with a bang and give it our all."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; editing by Clare Fallon)
