Noah Lyles Joins Jamaican Shericka Jackson In Elite 12 Member Club After World Athletics Championship 2023

The 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest is officially over. It was the 19th edition of the world championships and the tournament resulted in some iconic performances. From iconic rivalries to scorching heat and last-minute surprises, Budapest had it all. The 19th world athletics championship saw Sha’Carri Richardson besting her Jamaican rival Shericka Jackson in the women’s 100m. Another highlight was the weather conditions in Budapest, which posed problems for athletes, who could be constantly seen in front of air conditioners and sometimes even events being postponed. Budapest also witnessed a last-minute gold medal for Japan’s Kitaguchi, who had struggled during the majority of the women’s javelin final.

Overall, the tournament was full of surprises, but it was also a battleground for a number of athletes who had to defend their world championship crowns. As the event concluded, 12 elite athletes still stood strong, as they successfully defended their world titles against talented opposition in their respective sports.

Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson make the list

Noah Lyles came into the competition as the reigning men’s 200m world champion. He not only retained his 200m world title but also bagged a hat trick of gold medals and became the first athlete to win a 100m and 200m in the same tournament since Usain Bolt in 2015. Shericka Jackson also came into the tournament as the reigning women’s 200m world champion and she defended her title in style. Her dominant performance at the 200m event saw her besting her own personal best of 21.45 seconds as she recorded a time of 21.41 seconds, edging closer to Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record of 21.34 seconds. The list also included USA’s Grant Holloway, who successfully retained his third consecutive world championship title in a season-best time of 12.96 seconds.

After already setting 3 new world records this year, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon joined the list as she defended her 1500m world title with a time of 3 minutes, 54.87 seconds. She also became the first woman to win both 1500m and 5000m in the same tournament as she secured her 5000m victory in a time of 14 minutes, 53:88 seconds. 27-year-old Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali was also part of the list as he successfully defended his 3000m steeplechase world title in 8 minutes, 3.53 seconds. After missing out on the 1500m title, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten defended his 5000m world title against Spanish rival Mo Katir by recording a season-best time of 13:11:30. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei secured a third consecutive 10,000m world title with his 27:51:42 finish. Apart from these talented athletes, five more elite stars were able to join the list.

Remaining world title defenders

World record holder Ryan Crouser also made the list as he retained his men’s shot put world title by setting a new championship record with his 23.51m throw. Fellow American Chase Ealey also made the list as she defended her women’s shot put world title with her 20.43m throw to win gold. American pole vaulter joined the list in an epic fashion as she defended her title by sharing a world championship gold with Australia’s Nina Kennedy. This was the first time gold was being shared in the competition’s history. American-born Swede Mondo Duplantis also made the list with his pole vault gold as he jumped at 6.10m, narrowly missing a new world record.

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Completing this list was Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, who retained her world title after struggling throughout the women’s triple jump record. After some poor jumps, she won gold with her 15.08m final jump of the night. All these athletes performed incredibly in the tournament to retain their world titles and some, like Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson, completely blew all competition out of the water in their quest for glory.

Watch his story: Witness the Genesis of the Legend of Noah Lyles: The Finish You Know, the Start You Don’t