A world record, familiar champions and a few shocking upsets defined the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, this weekend.
Here’s what the top results mean for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, just 144 days out.
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Christian Coleman bests Noah Lyles in the men’s 60m
What it means for Paris: Coleman vs. Lyles is an Olympic rivalry to watch
Christian Coleman vs. Noah Lyles has emerged as an entertaining U.S. rivalry and is heating up as the Paris Olympics approach.
In Friday’s men’s 60m final in Glasgow, Coleman won with a time of 6.41 seconds, beating Lyles (6.44) by just three hundredths of a second.
“As far as the 60m goes, I feel like I’m the best ever,” Coleman told NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson moments after the race.
Coleman certainly has a case. He owns the 60m world record of 6.34 and is now a world indoor champion in the event for the second time.
Lyles previous edged Coleman by just one hundredth of a second last month at U.S. Indoors, but Coleman has exacted his revenge. The duo will soon shift their collective focus to the Olympic events, most notably the 100m.
Coleman has yet to race in an Olympic 100m final after he was suspended for the Tokyo Games because of missed drug tests. He’s vying to become the first athlete ever to win the indoor 60m world title and the Olympic 100m championship in the same year.
Lyles, meanwhile, has reigned supreme outdoors. He became the first runner since Usain Bolt in 2015 to sweep the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the world outdoor championships in Budapest.
“(Coleman) is probably my biggest competitor, and I’m so close to him at 60 (meters), and my best part is the next 40,” Lyles told Johnson. “Y’all ain’t got no chance.”
The U.S. Olympic Trials loom in just over 100 days.
SEE MORE: World Indoors: Christian Coleman wins 60m over Noah Lyles
Devynne Charlton breaks 60m hurdles world record ... again
What it means for Paris: Charlton is officially a contender for Olympic gold
Bahamian star Devynne Charlton broke the women’s 60m hurdles world record for the second time in 20 days.
After flying to a then-world record 7.67 seconds at the Millrose Games, Charlton took 0.02 off that record with a 7.65 to become the world indoor champion on Sunday.
American Tia Jones tied the initial record of 7.67 at U.S. Indoors on Feb. 16 but didn’t appear at worlds. Now, Charlton again stands alone and is riding a hot streak at the right time.
The 60m hurdles isn't an Olympic event, so Charlton will again compete in the 100m hurdles. She placed just sixth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics but will aim to earn a medal in Paris. Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won gold in Tokyo.
"I have not changed my technique much — just a few tweaks — but I have been working hard off the track, making sure my mental health is good and working with a sports psychologist,” Charlton told Johnson afterwards.
Charlton officially has the world on notice.
SEE MORE: Devynne Charlton sets another world record in 60m hurdles
Ryan Crouser wins his first indoor world title
What it means for Paris: Expect Crouser to make Olympic history
Ryan Crouser is already considered the greatest male shot putter of all-time. He owns two Olympic gold medals and the world record of 23.56m. Crouser has logged the top five outdoor and indoor throws in history.
Now 31 and having battled two blood clots in his leg, Crouser is incredibly aiming to win a third Olympic shot put gold in Paris, which would make him the first shot putter to do so.
On Friday, Crouser won his first world indoor title with a 22.77m throw. With the championship, he’s now accomplished just about all one can in the sport.
Crouser edged New Zealand’s Tom Walsh (22.07) and Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri (21.96) by wide margins and is the favorite to clinch that historic third Olympic gold in Paris.
SEE MORE: Ryan Crouser wins world indoor shot put title
Mondo Duplantis, Molly Caudery win pole vault titles
What it means for Paris: Repeat pole vault Olympic golds will be an uphill climb
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis and Great Britain’s Molly Caudery won the men's and women's world indoor pole vault titles. Both results uniquely shaped the perception of the upcoming Olympic competition.
For Duplantis, the reigning Olympic champion, it was a slog in Glasgow.
He eventually cleared a height of 6.05m to win gold, but that came after Duplantis at one point seemed on the verge of making an exit.
“This was the hardest I have ever worked,” he told reporters after the competition.
Before clearing 6.05, Duplantis failed to clear 5.85 and appeared visibly bewildered. At one point, he went to the stands to conference with his parents and regain his composure.
Duplantis, who was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, but represents his mother’s native Sweden, subsequently cleared 5.95 and 6.05 to win his second world indoor title.
He fended off American Sam Kendricks, one of his top rivals, who won silver a 5.90. Kendricks won bronze at the Rio Olympics but missed the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID. 2020 Olympic silver medalist Chris Nilsen of the U.S. placed fourth.
Duplantis is still the modern pole vault king, but his slight struggles in Glasgow show that perhaps a second straight Olympic title won’t come simply. No man has won back-to-back pole vault golds since American Bob Richards in 1952 and 1956.
On the women’s side, defending Olympic champion Katie Moon fell to third in Glasgow. The American took bronze, finishing 0.05m behind Caudery, who won gold at 4.80m.
Caudery is just 23 years old and has yet to appear in an Olympics. She won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and will contend for an Olympic medal in Paris.
Meanwhile, Moon has been at the top of the sport. She won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and again at both the 2022 and 2023 World Outdoor Championships. The 32-year-old will aim to become the second woman to repeat an Olympic pole vault championship in Paris, but the competition is clearly as stiff as ever.