World Athletics Championships 2023: Noah Lyles completes sprint double at track worlds, retains 200m title; Erriyon Knighton second
Noah Lyles is the 2023 sprint king after successfully defending his 200m world title to add to his 100m crown. Erriyon Knighton took silver behind him, while Botswana and Africa won another historic medal through Letsile Tebogo.
Athletics
Noah Lyles is the undisputed individual sprint king of 2023 after he breezed to victory in the 200m final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday (25 August).
His stated dream of breaking Usain Bolt's track world record may not quite have come true but Lyles retained his 200m crown from 2019 and last year for a three-peat to add to the 100m title he won last Sunday.
The 26-year-old had a very fast start and was just ahead of teammate and one of his fiercest 200m challengers, Erriyon Knighton, at the bend.
But on the finishing straight, Lyles began to pull away, crossing the line with a comfortable margin to win in 19.51 seconds. Knighton took silver in 19.75, an upgrade from the bronze he won last year, as the two Americans immediately embraced to celebrate their one-two finish.
Afterwards, Lyles lifted two fingers up to the crowd and TV cameras to signify his sprint double. It was a somewhat understated celebration from a man who could still yet win a third gold in Budapest in the 4x100m relay.
"I definitely do [think I've achieved something special]," Lyles told the post-race press conference. "I've reached a level five other male sprinters have ever achieved, just became the double world champion. Still running fast, ran against an amazing field on both sides. And shoot, what a world championships."
Asked about his winning time, Lyles said he was not disappointed he did not reach his pre-meet goal times.
"Of course I wanted it to be faster, I at least wanted to break the American record again," he said, referring to his winning 19.31 from last year. "Of course I still have the ability to. But after my sixth race and I still run 19.5, I have to be happy with that."
Knighton, for his part, said of his experiences in the last three years, where he has successively finished fourth, third, and now second in major championship meets: "The main thing I learned is to just come on the line and be ready to run. People in every other lane just want to claim the first spot.
"For me it's an experience every time I get on the track."
There was another historic medal for Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who finished third in 19.81. Less than a week after winning his continent's first individual men's 100m sprint medal at a World Championships, he now has two medals. Before him, only Frankie Fredericks had reached the 200m podium for Africa.
"It means a lot. It really shows we're on the right track going forward for the Olympics and the other upcoming competitions," Tebogo said. "The 200m bronze was a bonus for us as it was just to see how my body was going to respond after six races at the world stage.
"Every time I got into my training ground, I would tell myself if (South African) Wayde (van Niekerk) did this as a neighbour to our country, so can I. And here I am."
Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes finished fourth outside the medals, not adding to his 100m bronze from Sunday, while Andre de Grasse is likely to leave Budapest without a medal after finishing sixth – the Canadian men'x 4x100m relay team has not qualified for the final, and de Grasse only qualified for the 200m individually.
Kenny Bednarek, last year's silver medallist, was fifth.