Incredible American sprinter Noah Lyles produced a magical performance to win his third consecutive world 200m title at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The 26-year-old underlined his status as the fastest man in the category since the legendary Jamaican runner Usain Bolt.
Lyles matched the sprint double, which was last achieved in 2015 by Bolt, and it came just five days after he won the 100m dash.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist pulled away from the rest to cross the finish line in 19.52s, just shy of his world-leading time of 19.47s.
He is now the fifth man in history to achieve the 100m and 200m double after Bolt and the American trio of Tyson Gay in 2007, Justin Gatlin in 2005 and Maurice Greene in 1999.
Just after winning the 100m event, he shared photos on social media and added the caption:
"100m World Champion. They can doubt you, call you crazy, and even make fun of you, but as long as you believe in yourself, that’s all that matters."
Having finished in 19.13s in the 200m event, Lyles becomes the third fastest man in history and just shy away from the 19.19s record set by Bolt in 2009.
He said in an interview via the Olympics official website:
"I came here for three golds, ticked off one, others are coming. 100m was the hardest one.... I will have fun with the event I love now (200m)."
https://twitter.com/GracenoteGold/status/1695163302706319423
Just before the start of the Championships in Budapest, the reigning champion disclosed he would aim to smash Bolt’s record and even target a golden treble as a “start of a dynasty”.
Recall that before the 200m semifinal showdown, Lyles survived a scare after two buggies carrying athletes collided on the way to the National Athletics Centre.
The incident forced the race to be delayed; however, no athlete was hurt.
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