Noah Lyles won't compete at World Athletics Ultimate Championship due to injury

Olympic champion sprinter Noah Lyles shut down his season because of injury and will not compete for the $150,000 US first prizes in this week's track Ultimate Championship.

Lyles, who grabbed his left hamstring and pulled up in the final of the 200 metres at U.S. nationals in July, said on social media he discovered he had a "small strain" after that race that "caused some other things to flare up, and it's made it hard for me to continue practicing."

Lyles's name was not on the entry list released Monday by World Athletics for the first-of-its-kind event, which begins Friday in Budapest.

Noah Lyles pulls up mid-race at U.S. nationals, suffers a rare loss in 200 metres

The 29-year-old, who won the 100 metres at the Paris Olympics and is a four-time world champion in the 200, was set to be among the biggest names at Ultimate Championship. The meet will bring together world and Olympic champions from the last two seasons, along with other top-ranked athletes, to compete for a $10 million prize pool.

Lyles said he will still be in Budapest, where he'll have a role as an emcee and "creative adviser."

"I still think there's going to be an amazing competition and I'm excited to watch that," he said.

Lyles ran 9.79 at nationals for the best time of the year at 100 metres. Next is Olympic champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who ran 9.82 at his country's championships.

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The 200 will now feature American Kenny Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who won gold in Paris on a night Lyles finished third and revealed he had COVID-19.

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The women's sprints feature the