By News18,Rudransh Khurana

Copyright news18

American track and field superstar Noah Lyles scripted history by winning the men’s 200 metres title at the World Championships in Tokyo on Friday (September 19), clocking 19.52 seconds. It was his fourth consecutive world 200 metres title, matching Jamaican legend Usain Bolt’s all-time record.
Lyles’ compatriot Kenny Bednarek took silver in 19.58sec, with Jamaican Bryan Levell claiming bronze in 19.64sec. Botswana’s Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo, narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth by just one-hundredth of a second. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, originally from Anguilla, was the only other man to stay under the 20-second mark, clocking 19.78 for fifth.
Bolt won his four 200m titles from 2009-2015, going on to collect 11 world golds and eight Olympic titles. Lyles began his hunt in Doha in 2019, with the same results in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023.
The US’ Allyson Felix had a streak of three between 2005-2009 while Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and Merlene Ottey, among others, won two on the trot. Before Lyles’ Dafne Schippers won two in a row in 2015 and 2017.
Lyles clocked 19.51s in the semifinal, the fastest performance at that stage in history on Thursday, and commented afterward, “Don’t miss the final, it’s going to be magical.” He also said he wanted to lay down a marker for his opponents that they couldn’t beat him.
Lined up in lane six — positioned between Tebogo, Levell, and Bednarek, he ran just one hundredth slower in the final and recorded the 11th sub-19.6s half lap of his career.
A (relatively) slow starter as usual, Lyles trailed Levell early on but once again turned the tables with a brilliant curve to claw his way back into the race. His unmatchable closing speed propelled him from fourth to first in the final stretch.
As he crossed the line, Lyles let out a victorious roar, holding up four fingers to mark his fourth 200m world title before rushing to celebrate with his mother, Keisha Caine Bishop, in the stands.
(With agency inputs)