World champs Lyles and Kerley face 200m New York showdown

The June 24 showdown will serve as a tuneup for both American sprinters ahead of July’s US championships and the World Championships in August at Budapest.

Noah Lyles and Fred Kerley to compete in the 200m race at the New York Grand Prix in June. | Photo Credit: AP and REUTERS

Reigning world 200m champion Noah Lyles and world 100m champion Fred Kerley will race at 200 metres in next month’s New York Grand Prix, meet organisers announced Friday.

The June 24 showdown will serve as a tuneup for both American sprinters ahead of July’s US championships and the World Championships in August at Budapest.

Lyles won world 200m crowns in 2019 at Doha and last year at Eugene, Oregon, and took a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lyles, 25, set an American record of 19.31 seconds at last year’s worlds, moving to third on the all-time list.

Last week, Lyles won the 150m in 14.56 in Atlanta, the third-fastest time ever clocked at the distance.

Kerley, 28, took a 100m silver medal at Tokyo behind Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy and a 2019 third-place worlds finish at 400m before claiming a 100m world crown last year on home soil.

His 200m triumphs this year include at Melbourne in 20.32 seconds and at Doha in a Diamond League start at 19.92.