TOKYO (AP) — America's two big-name sprinters, Sha'Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles, both walked off the track Saturday with reason to think they might have found what's been missing over a less-than-perfect 2025.

What a place to find it — at the world championships in Tokyo, a metropolis that's been waiting four long years for a chance to cheer on the world's fastest stars.

Both defending world champions won their preliminary heats in the 100 meters. Those results should surprise nobody but they still brought bursts of joy — both from the runners and from the loud sellout crowd that was absent four years ago, when Japan National Stadium was the centerpiece of a COVID-tainted Olympics.

“Last one, I could hear my own thoughts echoing off the wall,” Lyles said of the Tokyo Games. “So, co

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