Usain Bolt Smiles in Silence as 14-Year Legacy Continues After Noah Lyles’ 200M Exit at Diamond League 2023

Last month, Noah Lyles failed to keep his promise. After breaking Usain Bolt’s record for most 200-meter races under 20 seconds, the newly crowned world champion promised to break another 200-meter record (19.19 seconds) of the track and field icon. However, despite Lyle’s best efforts, the athlete could not match the speed of the lightning Bolt and finished the 200m World Athletics final race in 19.52 seconds.

Following this event, the Lyles enthusiasts expected the 26-year-old to break the record at the Diamond League finals to be held from September 16–17 in Oregon. However, amid gearing up his spikes for the event, Noah Lyles dropped a disappointing update regarding his 200-meter appearance giving Usain Bolt a reason to smile in silence. This update has left the iconic 19.19-second record out of danger, leaving Bolt’s legacy to continue to stay strong for 14 years now.

Track and field star drops a disappointing update

On September 13, Travis Miller announced the names of top-notch athletes participating in the 200-meter diamond league finals on X. According to the tweet captioned “#EugeneDL entries: men’s 200m,”  Diamond league which will be telecasted on NBC and Peacock. The United States 200m team will be represented by the 19-year-old world champion Erriyon Knighton, Kyree King, and Kenny Bednarek.

But sadly, Noah Lyles, who is known to dominate the 200-meter tracks, will not be joining the team to give a heated competition to Aaron Brown and Letsile Tebogo. Interestingly, the athlete will be participating in the 100-meter finals to clinch the prestigious Diamond League trophy this year.

Noah Lyles will be joined by 2019 world champion Christian Coleman and Marving Bracy-Williams to compete against three Jamaican athletes, Ackeem Blake, Yohan Blake, and Kishane Thompson at the event.

Lyles track and field rival Letsile Tebogo will also be spotted at the 100-meter track. This decision comes one week after Noah Lyles decided to make a comeback for the Diamond League finals. Previously, the athlete had decided to cut his season short after his 200-meter win at Zurich.

Watch this story: Noah Lyles Eyeing on Shattering Another Record of Usain Bolt After Breaking the Sprinting Legend’s Record in Seven Years

On August 31, Noah Lyles clinched his last 200-meter victory of the season. The 26-year-old Noah Lyles won the Zurich Diamond League by clocking in at 19.80 seconds, followed by another US athlete, Erriyon Knighton, who secured silver in 19.87. This was followed by a confusing stream of X posts.

Noah Lyles going back and forth regarding his comeback

Interestingly, after the Zurich race, Noah Lyles announced ending his season early due to back-to-back participation. However, only days after this decision, the athlete decided to gear up for one last event. As Lyles announced on X he is “BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND.”

The sprinter was recently spotted training with his coach Lance Brauman ahead of the Diamond League finals to clinch victory on 100-meter tracks in Oregon. In the video, Lyles was seen undergoing training with Brauman wearing a resistance harness strapped to his back as he vigorously sprints. The video was captioned, “Noah Lyles back in the lab with Coach Lance Brauman for the Finals.”

Despite not being able to break Usain Bolt’s record, Noah Lyles remains the undisputed champion of this season. Now the fans await the track and field sensation to seal his season in a perfect way by winning the 100-meter diamond league final.

Also read: Noah Lyles’ ‘NBA World Champion’ Jibe Triggers Brutal 4-Word Response From Ex-World Cup Winner After Germany’s FIBA Triumph