Even without the presence of 100m World Champion Fred Kerley in the final of the men's 200m, due to cramps he suffered in the semifinal round, conventional wisdom was that the US would sweep the event just the same. And swept it did, with near consummate ease.
The line up
The US sent its three juggernauts to the men's 200m final. The defending World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist, Noah Lyles, ran from lane 6 while the Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek ran from lane 5 and the Olympic fourth place finisher Erriyon Knighton ran from lane 3. Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic ran from lane 4 while Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago ran from lane 2. Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia ran from lane 7; Aaron Brown of Canada ran from lane 8 and Luxolo Adams of the Republic of South Africa ran from lane 1.
Lyles erased Michael Johnson American record
The race was faster than many had anticipated, as Lyles ran the first 100m in a blistering 10.15 seconds, to set up the victory. And while he was in hot pursuit by compatriots Bednarek and Knighton on his inside and by the fast-finishing Fahnbulleh on his outside, Lyles went into overdrive in the homestretch and disconnected from the rest of field. In fact, Lyles completed the second 100m in 9.16 seconds, the second fastest time in history for the second 100m, only next to Yohan Blake's 9.12 seconds. In the end, the American defending 200m World Champion stopped the clock in an amazing 19.31 seconds, eclipsing Michael Johnson's American Record of 19.32 seconds. This time makes Noah Lyles the third fastest human being in the event, behind the formidable Jamaican pair of Usain Bolt and the aforementioned Blake and the fourth fastest time overall, behind Bolt's 19.19, 19.30 and Blake's 19.26.
Bednarek & Knighton complete the sweep
The twenty-three-year-old Kenny Bednarek was second in 19.77 while eighteen-year-old Knighton was third in 19.80 to complete the second US sweep of the Championship. Fahnbulleh was fourth in 19.84 while Oganda was fifth in 19.93. The top five finishers constituted the sub-20 performers. It is interesting to note that relative to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Bednarek held firm to capture another silver medal while Knighton moved one place up to capture the bronze, his first global medal.
Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago was sixth in 20.08 while Aaron Brown of Canada and Luxolo Adams of the Republic of South Africa were seventh and eighth in 20.18 and 20.47, respectively.
What’s next for Lyles
It is noteworthy that the twenty-five-year-old Lyles won ahead of second place Bednarek by a massive margin of 0.46 seconds and ahead of third place finisher, Knighton, by 0.49 seconds; that's almost half of a second, thus underscoring Lyle’s dominance in the 200m at this time. The question is: has Lyles just delivered his career best performance, or will he eventually displace Blake on the all-time list before breaking Bolt's 200m Record? Could Lyles' 19.31 be the apocalyptic warning before he eventually closes the door on an old chapter while causing the time "flood" to displace Bolt and Blake in one fell swoop, even as he ushers in a brand-new chapter in the history of the 200m? Certainly, the young and braggadocios American has the next three cycles of global championships to do so. But will he? We wait with bated breath. Only time will provide the answers to these searching questions.
---------------------------------
Henley Taylor
Freelance Sportswriter
henleytaylor1965@gmail.com
Edited by Raymond Byfield
Noah Lyles picture courtesy of www.sourceathletics.com
Comments
Leave a Comment