EUGENE — Noah Lyles made it emphatic.
Lyles flew out of the blocks to win a wire-to-wire 200 meters Thursday in the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field with a scorching time of 19.31 seconds.
He still was pulling away when he crossed the finish line, and took down the U.S. record of 19.32 held by Michael Johnson since 1996.
It wasn’t clear at first he had broken the record. The clock at the finish line immediately after the race at first read 19.32. Lyles shook his head, and turned away.
But the clock corrected itself. When Lyles saw the revised time, his uniform top came off and he launched into a jubilant celebration at the finish line.
It’s the third-fastest 200 in history, behind Usain Bolt’s world record of 19.19 in 2009, and Yohan Blake’s 19.26 in 2011.
The crowd of 11,253 came to see something special on a warm summer night, and the fans didn’t go away disappointed.
Before the men’s race, they saw Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce go 1-2 in the women’s 100.
It was a good warm-up for the men’s race. Team USA had swept the 100 final earlier in the meet. They brought the broom with them again, Lyles leading the way.
“I got the best start I could possibly ask for,” Lyles said. “The race was basically set up for me. I was given Lane 6, an outside line. To be honest, every step was purposeful, going with the intent to win.”
The race was hyped as a showdown between Lyles and U.S. teenager Erriyon Knighton, the world junior record-holder.
But teammate Kenny Bednarek squeezed in for second in 19.77. Knighton, 18, was third in 19.80, and became the youngest medalist ever in a world championships 200.
Bednarek began the season on the shelf after breaking his right big toe when he dropped a cabinet on it during a home remodeling project. He was the forgotten man before the race despite owning an Olympic silver medal.
That changed with the gun. He started well, had a misstep coming around the turn, then lit out for the finish line.
“I just had to relax, pump my arms and try to get back what I lost,” Bedaraek said. “That’s pretty much all there is to it.”
He made it look simple on the track. It’s not quite the same when Bednarek tackles home repairs.
“I’m not a handyman apparently,” Bednarek said. “So, I have to have somebody else work on that. I learned my lesson. … I broke my toe, and then I realized I put the cabinet together wrong.”
Knighton didn’t seem too disappointed with his third-place medal. He only graduated from high school in May.
“Overall, it feels good to become the youngest medalist,” he said. “There is more to do in the future. I can tell you right now, I’m not going to stop.”
But this was Lyles’ show. He played it for all it was worth, including an impromptu piggyback ride on the back of Legend, the championships’ Bigfoot-themed, costumed mascot.
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (left) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce right celebrate after placing first and second, respectively, in the women’s 200-meter final at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field on Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Eugene.Vickie Connor/The Oregonian
The Jamaicans owned the award stand in the women’s 100 earlier this week, when they swept the top three spots.
They got two-thirds of the way toward another sweep in this one. Jackson started fast, roared around the curve and never was challenged, winning in 21.45.
In the process, she smashed the world championships record of 21.63 set by Dafne Schippers in 2015. It’s the second-fastest time ever run by a woman, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 in 1988.
Jamaican teammate Fraser-Pryce, 35, hot pink hair (her description) flowing behind her, was second in 21.81, adding a silver medal to the gold she won here in the 100.
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 world champion in the 200, broke up the Jamaican dominance by finishing third in 22.02. NCAA champion Abby Steiner of Team USA placed fifth.
Here are results from the World Athletics Championships.
— Ken Goe for The Oregonian/OregonLive
KenGoe1020@gmail.com | Twitter: @KenGoe
