Aug 26 – Will the men’s 200m world record be broken in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023? Yes, if Noah Lyles has anything to say about it.
The American sprinter has set lofty aims for the upcoming track and field World Championships, including beating Usain Bolt’s half-lap record.
Bolt set a world record of 19.19 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. However, Lyles is one of the athletes who has come the closest – the American is third all-time, trailing only Bolt and his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake (19.26).
Lyles, whose lifetime best in the 200m is 19.31, has set a goal of 19.10 in addition to racing 9.65 in the 100m.
“They say they can’t shoot down your dreams if they don’t know what they are.” But I’ve always been more of a guy who enjoys hearing the screams from the heaters, it’s got a good ring to it,” Lyles wrote on social media.
The 26-year-old American’s current 100m fastest is 9.86 seconds, which ranks him 25th all-time. If he meets his stated objective of shaving more than two-tenths off his personal best, he will be second all-time, trailing only Bolt’s 9.58 from 2009.
