Less than 24 hours after securing the 100-meter gold, Noah Lyles embarked on his pursuit of the coveted Olympic sprint double, smoothly sailing through his 200m heat on Monday, clocking a time of 20.19 seconds. The American athlete, renowned for his prowess in the longer distance, boasts an undefeated streak of 25 races dating back to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he clinched bronze. He has also secured the last three world titles in the event.
Lyles is targeting a remarkable feat in Paris – four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and possibly the 4x400m relay. This ambitious goal would place him alongside illustrious American predecessors, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, who achieved a similar feat at a single Games, substituting the longer relay with a long jump.
“It feels good to be out here,” Lyles expressed to reporters. “It was in my head to win the 120, win the 150, check around, win the heat.” When asked about his experiences since his photo-finish victory, he shared, “I’ve been trying to get some sleep with my phone going off constantly. Right now I’ve got to rush over and get my medal.”
Following closely behind Lyles, finishing in 20.30 seconds, was the reigning champion, Andre de Grasse of Canada, the last competitor to conquer Lyles. American Kenny Bednarek, the silver medalist ahead of Lyles in Tokyo and the runner-up to him at the 2022 world championships, opted for an early finish but still managed to register the fastest time with 19.96. Bednarek also performed well in Sunday’s 100m final, though his time of 9.88 secured him only seventh place. “I’m on a mission for this 200,” he stated. “What happened yesterday happened. I’m taking it day by day.”
Erriyon Knighton, a world championship silver and bronze medalist in his teenage years, ensured the presence of three Americans in the semi-finals by winning his heat in 19.99, the only other sub-20 time recorded on a warm Paris evening. Now 20 years old, Knighton aims to deliver his best performance on the grandest stage, having been considered a rising star for years but yet to reach the top podium position.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who finished sixth in Sunday’s 100m final with a national record of 9.86 and secured a bronze medal in the 200m at last year’s world championships, cruised through his heat in 20.10.
Wayde van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder and former world championship silver medalist in the 200m, advanced as the third automatic qualifier from the first heat in 20.42, having chosen to skip the one-lap event in Paris. “The decision (to run only the 200) was purely based on getting back to a space of enjoying the sport,” the South African explained. “Finding peace in a sport that has helped me so much. “If I look at my performance so far, I’m obviously well off the top-tier guys. I’m going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to get among the top three.”
