Noah Lyles emulates Usain Bolt with brilliant World Championship sprint double

USA track star Noah Lyles became the first man to win the sprint double at a World Championship since Usain Bolt in 2015 when he won both the 100m and 200m gold medals in Budapest at the ongoing championship.

200m world champion Lyles was one of the favourites heading into the competition in Budapest as he has shown his mettle as a top-level sprinter in recent years.

Lyles won his first gold medal in the 100m event, clocking a time of 9.83s to win the final ahead of Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (9.88s) and compatriot Zharnel Hughes (9.88s).

Following his 100m win, Lyles took to the field yesterday for the 200m final. He won the event comfortably in a time of 19.52s, with fellow American Erriyon Knight finishing second in 19.75s and Tebogo ending up on the podium with a time of 19.81s. Winning the gold medal made him the first man since Bolt in 2015 to win both events at the World Championship.

Lyles was not done yet as he then anchored Team USA to gold in the men’s 4×100m relay, with the Americans finishing the race in 37.38s ahead of Team Italy (37.62s) and Team Jamaica (37.76s). Lyles ran alongside Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley and Brandon Carnes.

Noah Lyles became the first American since Allison Felix and Tyson Gay in 2007 to win three gold medals at a single World Championship.