We have long known that Noah Lyles has the personality and panache to transcend his sport. On a sweaty night in Budapest, the American superstar, fashionista and self-proclaimed influencer showed that he packs an almighty one-two punch, too.
Having already won gold in the 100m on Sunday night, the 26-year-old followed up with a dominant victory over 200m to become the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to win the sprint double at the World Athletics Championships.
At halfway Lyles was only 0.02 seconds ahead of his compatriot Erriyon Knighton. But then the afterburners came on, and with every raking stride his lead was stretched and his victory became all the more emphatic. His time of 19.50sec would have been even quicker if it had not been for a negative wind buffeting his face.
The 19-year-old Knighton took silver in 19.75, while the 20-year-old Letslie Tebogo from Botswana claimed bronze. You sense their day will come. But right now Lyles is the man.
As cries of “USA, USA” rang out across Budapest for the first time, he jumped into the crowd to celebrate. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes took a creditable fourth in 20.02sec, but he looked a little tired.
Earlier the Jamaican Shericka Jackson ran the second fastest women’s 200m in history to set a championship record of 21.41 and retain her world title. With the benefit of a greater than +0.1 wind in her favour she could well have broken Florence Griffith Joyner’s controversial world record of 21.34, which has stood for 35 years.
Behind Jackson, the American Gabby Thomas ran a superb race to finish second in 21.81, while her compatriot Sha’Carri Richardson, who won 100m gold, had to settle for bronze in 21.92.
Britain’s Daryll Neita was delighted to set a personal best of 22.16 but Dina Asher-Smith, who won bronze last year, was still feeling the injury she picked up in the 100m semi-finals and could only come in seventh in 22.34.
“It’s been a very tough week,” said Asher-Smith. “I was in incredible shape, but after 60m of the 100m semi-finals I just couldn’t feel anything below my waist. Sometimes when life hands you lemons, you have to make lemonade. I did the best with the curse I have been handed this week.”
Elsewhere Britain’s best shot for a third gold medal at these championships, Keely Hodgkinson, progressed to Sunday’s women’s 800m final with ease in 1:58.48 and said she was relishing a clash with the US Olympic and world champion, Athing Mu, as well the Kenyan Mary Moraa, who beat her in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “The stadium is amazing. The vibes are amazing. Good hopes for Sunday.”
Jemma Reekie also qualified with a victory in her semi-final, although she had to weave her way through the pack after switching off with 200m to go. “That wasn’t the plan,” said the 25-year-old, who won in 2:00.48.
Moraa won the third and final semi-final in 1:58.48, just ahead of Mu, who did well to recover after losing several metres after nearly being tripped by the South African Prudence Sekgodiso.
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Both of Britain’s 4x100m teams will compete in the finals on Saturday, although the men’s quartet needed a fine run from the “world’s fastest account”, Eugene Amo-Dadzie, on the anchor leg to book their place.
Britain’s men were in fourth when Amo-Dadzie picked up the baton on the anchor leg, but he stormed past the Brazilian team to finish third in their heat and qualify automatically for the final in 38.01.
Afterwards a defiant Jeremiah Azu, who ran the first leg, insisted the team were not thinking about Reece Prescod, who walked out of the relay squad last week. “We came together and said just qualify for the final,” he said. “We’re confident in our ability, GB relays, we win medals, for people to write us off is a very silly thing.”
Britain’s women also put out a confident message after coming second behind a strong Jamaican team in a season’s-best 42.33. “We can win whatever we put our minds to, I truly believe that,” said Imani Lara-Lansiquot.
Elsewhere on day seven of these championships, the triple jumper Yulimar Rojas retained her title with a last round leap of 15.08m. The Colombian world record-holder had been struggling and was down in seventh before a tremendous final jump took her ahead of Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, who had led all the way with a first round jump of 15 metres.
There was similar drama in the women’s javelin as the Japanese star Haruka Kitaguchi threw 66.73m on her final throw to move up from fourth to first and ahead of the Colombian Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado. The Australian Mackenzie Little was third.
