Sprinter becomes the first man since Usain Bolt to win 100-200 golds at a major global meet, but it was another of Bolt’s accomplishments he was really after.
As he crossed the finish line, even Noah Lyles seemed to know his true competition in the 200 meters at the world championships had not been one of the eight men running beside him. One of the most exuberant athletes on the planet, Lyles glanced at the clock — 19.52 seconds, a time few humans on the planet could run — and exhaled with a look of both deep satisfaction and mild resignation.
at last year’s world championships to 19.31 seconds, Bolt’s once-unthinkable world record of 19.19 seconds came into view. Lyles declared he could and would break the mark.On Friday at National Athletics Centre, he separated clearly from the field around the turn, but a good-not-great start and first 50 meters ensured he would not threaten Bolt’s record. The pursuit is not over for Lyles, though, and the anticipation for the Paris Olympics can begin.
Lyles walked to the blocks last, the final sprinter announced even though he ran in Lane 6, a silver chain tightly around his neck. He came out of the blocks well, but not with the same explosion that allowed him to win the 100 meters. Lyles was even with Americans Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton for the first 50 meters. He surged ahead around the curve, then separated the rest of the way. Knighton claimed silver in 19.
As Lyles walked down the backstretch in celebration, he held two fingers in the air, one for each individual gold in Budapest. He also could have held up three, for the number of 200 meters world championships he owns. He became the only man with three consecutive 200 meters world championships other than Bolt, who captured four straight between 2009 and 2015. Lyles also could have held up five, the number of world championship gold medals he owns, including the 4X100 relay in 2019.
If Lyles is now chasing Bolt, the race really will begin next summer in Paris. The Olympics are where track and field athletes can transcend the sport, and they are the lone gap in Lyles’s resume. In Tokyo, after a
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