World Champs Men’s 200 — Lyles Joins Doublers Club

Ever the showman, Noah Lyles exuded bountiful confidence as he raced toward the first WC sprint double in 8 years. (KEVIN MORRIS)

IN THE END, it was inevitable. The stadium announcers saved 2-time 200 champion Noah Lyles for last, and timing it so that the rest of the field had to stand at attention at their blocks and watch as Lyles walked toward them, gesturing to the crowd as if he were already celebrating the victory to come. Yet as much as his competitors wanted to take him down, the day belonged to Lyles, who completed a double no man has succeeded at since Usain Bolt last did it in Beijing in 2015.

A convincing win in the 100 final three days earlier only tilted the odds more in the 26-year-old’s favor. Throughout the week, Lyles beamed confidence, and even being one of the passengers in a golf cart crash en route to the semis did not shake that vibe. Nothing could.

The Wednesday prelims saw him glide through with a 20.05 win. He wasn’t the fastest in the first round. That honor went to Britain’s Zharnel Hughes in 19.99, with Kenny Bednarek at 20.01. All of the prime contenders advanced.

The semis came on Thursday night, and Lyles turned up the heat. First, though, came the cart crash, which left Lyles unscathed but put a glass shard into the eye of Jamaican Andrew Hudson. They had both been scheduled to run in semi I. Officials quickly shuffled the races to give them time to collect themselves, and put semi II on the track first.

Bednarek won in 19.96, crossing the line with Motswana Letsile Tebogo (19.97). American Courtney Lindsey in 3rd (20.22) would not advance. Canadian Aaron Brown would be DQed for a lane violation.

Semi III came up next, and teen Erriyon Knighton showed his fitness with a 19.98–20.02 decision over Hughes. ’19 champion Andre De Grasse (20.10) and Joe Fahnbulleh (20.21) came next and would fill the two time-qualifying slots in the final.

Finally, semi I was up, and Lyles decided it was time to flex. He pulled away effortlessly on the straight, finishing his 19.76 with a smirk. The Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando (20.02) got 2nd. Hudson competed, though he said it was a bit blurry, clocking 20.38 in 5th. Officials advanced him to empty lane 1 in the final.

Expectations ran high for Friday night’s climactic race, with many observers surely thinking about the 19.10 World Record that Lyles had predicted several weeks earlier. He stood in lane 6, with teammates Bednarek (7) and Knighton (8) to his outside.

At the start, it was Bednarek who got out best. Lyles caught him coming off the turn, after a solid start of his own.

At the top of the homestretch, Lyles boasted a lead of a meter or more over a line of pursuers that included Tebogo, Knighton, Bednarek, Hughes, and surprising Hudson in lane 1. As Lyles pulled away, Hudson faded, then Bednarek and Hughes slipped back, while both Tebogo and Knighton came on.

Lyles flew across the line in 19.52. Knighton stayed ahead of Tebogo for silver, 19.75–19.81. Hughes would be 4th in 20.02, with Bednarek 5th in 20.07.

“I wanted to show I am different. Today I came out and showed it,” said Lyles, now the fifth man to complete the Worlds sprint double, and the first American since Tyson Gay in ’07.

“My day started with a good breakfast, then I talked with my mom a bit, we always do it. There was a little bit of a hesitation but I knew I could take this. Others are just as hungry for gold as I am. Today I came with that mentality.”

Knighton improved his medal a hue from last year’s bronze and said, “If I can keep going the same way, maybe next year the gold will be mine.”


MEN’S 200 RESULTS

FINAL (August 25; wind –0.2)

1. Noah Lyles (US) 19.52 (x, =14 W; x, =7 A)

(10.26/9.26);

2. Erriyon Knighton (US) 19.75 (x, 4 WJ, AJ)

(10.28/9.47);

3. Letsile Tebogo (Bot) 19.81

(10.32/9.49);

4. Zharnel Hughes (GB) 20.02

(10.39/9.63);

5. Kenny Bednarek (US) 20.07

(10.32/9.75);

6. Andre De Grasse (Can) 20.14

(10.59/9.55);

7. Alexander Ogando (DR) 20.23

(10.51/9.72);

8. Andrew Hudson (Jam) 20.40

(10.46/9.94);

9. Joe Fahnbulleh (Lbr) 20.57

(10.74/9.83).

(lanes: 1. Hudson; 2. Fahnbulleh; 3. De Grasse; 4. Hughes; 5. Ogando; 6. Lyles; 7. Bednarek; 8. Knighton; 9. Tebogo)

(reaction times: 0.138 Knighton, 0.141 Tebogo, 0.142 Hughes, 0.144 Lyles, 0.145 Ogando, 0.147 Hudson, 0.163 Bednarek & Fahnbulleh, 0.170 De Grasse)

HEATS (August 23)

I(0.0)–1. Hughes 19.99; 2. Aaron Brown (Can) 20.08; 3. Luxolo Adams (SA) 20.15; 4. Shota Iizuka (Jpn) 20.27; 5. Taymir Burnet (Neth) 20.31 PR; 6. Eseosa Desalu (Ita) 20.49; 7. Gediminas Truskauskas (Lit) 20.90; 8. Franko Burraj (Alb) 21.52.

II(-0.1)–1. Lyles 20.05; 2. Hudson 20.25; 3. Ondřej Macík (CzR) 20.40; 4. Tapiwa Makarawu (Zim) 20.64; 5. Ján Volko (Svk) 20.69; 6. Jorge Henrique Vides (Bra) 20.80; 7. Seung-Hwan Ko (SK) 21.09; 8. Leeroy Kamau (PNG) 21.18; 9. Jessy Franco (Gib) 22.04.

III(-1.4)–1. Tebogo 20.22; 2. Fahnbulleh 20.42; 3. William Reais (Swi) 20.50; 4. Joshua Hartmann (Ger) 20.51; 5. Blessing Afrifa (Isr) 20.73; 6. Aidan Murphy (Aus) 20.90; 7. Marcos Santos (Ang) 21.05 NR, NJR; 8. Hachim Maaroufou (Com) 21.29.

IV(-0.2)–1. Brendon Rodney (Can) 20.14; 2. Renan Correa (Bra) 20.44; 3. Shaun Maswanganyi (SA) 20.56; 4. Koki Ueyama (Jpn) 20.66; 5. Nadale Buntin (StK) 20.90; 5. Zoltán Wahl (Hun) 20.90 PR; 7. Mohammed Obaid Al-Hindi (Oma) 21.39;… dnf—James Dadzie (Gha).

V(-0.2)–1. Towa Uzawa (Jpn) 20.34; 2. Courtney Lindsey (US) 20.39; 3. Rasheed Dwyer (Jam) 20.40; 4. Tarsis Orogot (Uga) 20.44; 5. Chun-Han Yang (Tai) 20.82; 6. Ramil Guliyev (Tur) 20.89; 7. Mindia Endeladze (Geo) 21.20.

VI(-0.5)–1. Knighton 20.17; 2. De Grasse 20.28; 3. Sinesipho Dambile (SA) 20.34; 4. Filippo Tortu (Ita) 20.46; 5. Joseph Amoah (Gha) 20.56; 6. Sibusiso Matsenjwa (Swa) 20.88; 7. Guy Maganga Gorra (Gab) 21.04; 8. Yeykell Romero (Nic) 21.71.

VII(-0.1)–1. Bednarek 20.01; 2. Ogando 20.14; 3. Alaba Akintola (Ngr) 20.54; 4. Alonso Edward (Pan) 20.63; 5. Lucas da Silva (Bra) 20.86; 6. Taha Hussein Yaseen (Irq) 21.01; 7. Albert Komański (Pol) 21.16;… fs—Ryan Zeze (Fra).

SEMIS (August 24)

II(0.0)–1. Bednarek 19.96; 2. Tebogo 19.97; 3. Lindsey 20.22; 4. Dambile 20.28 PR; 5. Correa 20.43; 6. Burnet 20.65; 7. Akintola 20.75;… dq[lane]—Brown.

III(-0.4)–1. Knighton 19.98; 2. Hughes 20.02; 3. De Grasse 20.10; 4. Fahnbulleh 20.21; 5. Uzawa 20.33; 6. Dwyer 20.49; 7. Maswanganyi 20.65; 8. Reais 20.67.

I(-0.1)–1. Lyles 19.76; 2. Ogando 20.02; 3. Orogot 20.26; 4. Rodney 20.27; 5. Hudson 20.38; 6. Adams 20.44; 7. Iizuka 20.54; 8. Macík 20.71.