Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Jereem Richards edged USA Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles to win the Jesse Loubier men’s 300m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston.
The closely contested race saw Richards, 32, clock 32.14 seconds to narrowly defeat the American superstar, who finished just one-hundredth of a second behind at 32.15. The 400m specialist Vernon Norwood secured bronze with a personal best of 32.38, while sprint veteran Trayvon Bromell finished fourth in 35.36 in his official 300m debut.
Reflecting on his preparation, Richards shared, “I ran this race through my mind like weeks before, multiple times,” Richards revealed. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to win. My main objective was to get around the first turn and not see Noah, or not feel him. And when I got around there, I was like okay, you’re doing the right thing,” Richards said.
Despite his careful approach, the race wasn’t without its flaws. “I had a few missteps going in, coming out of the last turn, one misstep, but when he ran up on me, I was just able to hold composure,” he added.
Discussing his competitors, Richards observed, “He’s the one that doesn’t brake form, I’m somebody who brakes form, so it would have come down to a very close race, and I must say one of the most fun races I’ve ever had in my life.”
His ability to handle pressure, Richards noted, stems from his daily environment: “It’s always been somebody in my training group, so we think about it like training, and in training we’re always close to each other like that.”
He said his recent 4x400m relay was a “good precursor” to the win. Though he wished for one more race, he was satisfied to run the second-fastest time of his career.
Richards also shared a moment of gratitude and a glimpse into his future goals, stating, “I’ve been blessed with the ability to go this far, so thank you to God for blessing me with this. And I’m excited, I still want to dip back in the 200 though, because 19.77, right there… I want to leave with that 200 record also.”
