“This Was 200 Right?”: Minutes After Noah Lyles Tying Usain Bolt’s Record, US Legend Baffled Over Dramatic Behavior of His Opponents

The sprinting spots remain a hotbed for modern competitive racers looking to break into the league of legends. The Jamaican legend Usain Bolt still rules the top of the track and field titles in the 100m and 200m. It is a sprinter’s dream to smash the records of the men from the golden era of the sport while establishing their legacy. While decades have witnessed no such powers, in recent years, many American sprinters have come up close to breaking the number one Bolt’s records.

One such 25-year-old American runner is Noah Lyles, who has previously broken the 26-year-old record of the greatest Michael Johnson. The sprinter continues to move steadily to match Bolt’s attempts to achieve a winnable time. Lyles just achieved a historic milestone, and Johnson was quick to poke fun at him for his post-race conduct.

Noah Lyles stands just a few miles away from Usain Bolt’s historical record

Noah Lyles just finished the 200 meters in under 20 seconds for the 34th time in his career in New York at the NYC Grand Prix 2023. He matched Usain Bolt’s record by finishing the race in a wind-legal 200m. This is a benchmark not quite significant to his previous personal bests or even career highest but remains special equating with Bolt’s tries at 200m. While Johnson took it to Twitter to react to his race, saying, “This was a 200 right? Why everyone but Noah look like they just finished a 400?.”

Lyles didn’t comment on the post, but the internet loved it, nevertheless. In an interview with NBC, Lyles referred to his 19.83s in the Grand Prix and remarked, “It’s not perfect, but it was very fun.” He is now placed just behind the top Jamaican sprinters to become the third-fastest sprinter in 200m history. While world’s fastest man Usain Bolt set the record at 19.19s in 2009, followed by Yohan Blake who ran 19.26s in 2011.

In the 200-meter event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Lyles finished third fastest ever. He was barely 0.12 seconds behind Usain Bolt’s record-breaking time of 19.19 seconds. The 25-year-old athlete ran the fastest to dethrone Johnson in the 200m with a record 19.31 seconds winning the World title. There have been many moments from Nyles’s career book where he woke up to smash records cementing his name in the track and field community.

A peak into Lyles’s near-record misses

Lyles’s near misses are now the talk of the sprinting world. Lyles has momentarily surpassed Usain Bolt’s 200-meter record in 2020. At the Inspiration Games with a timing of 18.90 seconds, however, it was later discovered that he had just run 185 meters as opposed to the complete 200. But now that he has broken the 20-second barrier an equal amount of times as Bolt, the feat does give him a power position in the chart.

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The sprinter has been setting records since high school and then in international competitions, preparing for the big win. Lyles has won a number of medals since earning a gold in 2014. It is interesting to note that his latest feat in Grand Prix timed 19:83 is not even close to his other top 22 times in the 200m races according to all-time athletics. His distinct running technique and outstanding track record keep him in contention. Do you believe he has a chance to break the record for the fastest man ever considering his performance?

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