Noah Lyles produced a performance to match his favourite tag, blazing through a very tough field to win the men’s 200m title with a time of 19.83s at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
There was no doubt he would win, but the final was by no means easy as many anticipated, as the American was made to really work hard for to earn the victory.
Lyles was a bit boxed in the curve, but he to find a way to wriggle out of the cluster as they went into the home straight, applying a strong push in the last 80m to break free and then sped off to victory. All top three finishers in the race, dipped under 20s.
Yet again, as we witnessed in the men’s 100m, the trademark strong finish of Canada’s Andre De Grasse came to the fore again. De Grasse who already had a medal from these Championships, ensured he got another, this time a Silver clocking a time of 19.95s.
Ecuador’s Alex Quinonez who ran so well in the rounds, produced another good performance in the final to sneak into 3rd and complete the podium placements, taking the Bronze in 19.98s.
It was heartbreaking for Great Britain’s Adam Gemili, who had to settle for 4th place, running a Season’s Best of 20.03s, with defending champion Ramil Guliyev finishing in 5th place with a time of 20.07s.
For Lyles, it was a gusty job done, especially when considering that he had to forgo the 100m just so he could focus on the 200m. It would have been shattering for him, if he didn’t match the hype with action.
As for comparisons with the legendary Usain Bolt, the talks would still go on, but for now, Lyles will take the time to savour winning his first ever senior title.
