T&T sprinter Jereem Richards edged 100 metres Olympic champion Noah Lyles of the USA to the win when both faced off in the Jesse Loubier men’s 300m final at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, Saturday (January 24).
The Point Fortin-born Richards, 32, clocked a blistering 32.14 seconds to narrowly defeat the American superstar, who finished just one-hundredth of a second behind at 32.15. The podium was rounded out by 400m specialist Vernon Norwood, who secured bronze with a personal best of 32.38, while sprint veteran Trayvon Bromell finished fourth in 35.36 in his official 300m debut.
Richards, the 2018 meet record-holder and a former World 400m silver medalist, relied on meticulous mental preparation to navigate the high-speed turns. “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.”
Despite the tactical execution, 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,” Richards said. “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.”
The T&T star credited his ability to handle the pressure to his daily environment, noting, “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 added that his recent 4x400m relay appearance was a “good precursor” to the win, and while he wished he had one more race under his belt, 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 to take it 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.”
The T&T success continued in the women’s 60m sprint, where Leah Bertrand secured a third-place finish. Bertrand, the 2025 TTOC “Sportswoman of the Year,” crossed the line in 7.32 seconds, trailing only England’s Dina Asher-Smith, who won in a season-best 7.08, and Jamaica’s Brianna Lyston (7.11). Bertrand’s performance placed her ahead of a competitive field that included Americans Jada Mowatt and Destiny Smith-Barnett.
As the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Meet of 2026, the event served as a critical benchmark for athletes looking ahead to the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland from March 20–22.
