Noah Lyles opts out of major track event; Christian Coleman and Tara Davis-Woodhall follow suit

Noah Lyles, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and Christian Coleman are among several American track and field athletes who won't be defending their World Indoor medals this year. Coleman and Davis-Woodhall were the gold medalists from last year's edition, while Lyles won silver.

The said trio didn't declare for the 2025 U.S. Indoor Championships, thereby opting out of the World Indoor Championships as well. Bryce Hoppel, Ryan Crouser, Elle St. Pierre, Cole Hocker, Monae' Nichols, Yared Nuguse, and Shelby McEwen are the other athletes who didn't declare for the event.

Meanwhile, the American athletes looking to defend their medals and having declared for the indoor nationals include Grant Holloway, Sam Kendricks, Hobbs Kessler, Alexis Holmes, Nikki Hiltz, Katie Moon, Chase Jackson, and Emily Mackay.

Lyles was at his relentless best in the indoor season last year and engaged in a heated rivalry with Coleman, who holds the world record in the 60-meter dash.

He clocked his lifetime best of 6.43 seconds to beat Coleman for the US Indoor National title but had to settle for silver at the World Championships. Lyles had matched his lifetime best of 6.43s in the final, but Coleman's fiery 6.41s was too fast for him.

"He's definitely put a fire under my belly. I'll tell you that," Noah Lyles said about the race via Netflix's SPRINT docuseries.

"I came more to his playground than he came to mine. His event was mainly the 100m, mine was 200m. I wouldn't say we're friends," he added.

While Coleman has yet to start his indoor season and is uncertain for the whole indoor season after opting out of the US Nationals, Lyles kicked off his 2025 campaign last month and is undefeated in four races so far.

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Noah Lyles recently won fourth consecutive New Balance Indoor 60m title

Noah Lyles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Noah Lyles started his season at the RADD Sports College Invitational and Multi-Event in Florida on January 29, winning the 60m heats and the final in identical times of 6.62s.

The Olympic champion was faster in his second meet of the season at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and clocked 6.55s to win the preliminary round. Lyles was clinical in the final and dominated the race right from the start to win his fourth consecutive 60m race at Armory in 6.52s.

Lyles also took shots at Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and held up his bib, which read "Tyreek could never," after the race. The two stars have been going back and forth with each other over a sprint challenge for a while now, but it remains to be seen whether this trash talk transpires into an actual race.