Photo Courtesy of Noah Lyles / Instagram
Three-time champion Noah Lyles beat Jamaica’s Usain Bolt’s record at the London Athletics Meet 2023 Diamond League event on Sunday, July 23, the Olympics reported.
Clocking in at 19.47, Lyles dominated
his most formidable competitors, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (19.50) and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.73).Bolt held the record for the most sub-20s 200m races (raises completed under 20 seconds) at 34. But Sunday’s meet put Lyles at 35 sub-20s 200m races, becoming the titleholder.
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Following his victory, Lyles spoke
with BBC about his performance after winning the race.“I put myself under no pressure,” Lyles shared. “I came out here to give it my 100 percent. That time was always going to come once I got a start I wanted.”
He continued, “I said it was going to be fast. I told Zharnel he could easily break that British record, and he smashed it. The 200 will always be mine. She’s my wife. Fourth 200 of the year. I’m not letting go of her. She’s mine.”
He also took to Instagram to express his gratitude.
“All I can say is, ‘I [sic] been patiently waiting for Track to explode on,’” Lyles wrote. “Thank you to my family, thank you, God, for getting me through hard times. Thank you, everybody, who supported me and everybody who didn’t support me because you only make me hungrier and want to work harder!”
Lyles is no stranger to the track and field world. The 26-year-old is a product of world champ Kevin Lyles, whose personal best sits 21.09 seconds for the 200m race in Knoxville, TN, in April 1997.
“My dad (world 4x400m relay gold medalist) grew up in that era racing against Michael Johnson, and I remember the Americans sweeping everything,” he told BBC. “Then we had to watch the Jamaicans dominating. I said to myself, ‘When I get there, I want to make sure the USA is dominating again.’”
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The race was also a record-breaking moment for Tebogo, who created a new African record with his 19.50s time, surpassing Frankie Fredericks’ 19.68 time from the Atlanta 1996 Olympic final.