PARIS. – Less than 24 hours after winning 100 meters gold, Noah Lyles began his quest for the prestigious Olympic sprint double by cruising through his 200m heat on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) in 20.19 seconds.
The American has always been stronger over the longer distance, where he is unbeaten in 25 races dating back to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when he came third, and he has won the last three world titles.
Lyles is targeting a possible four golds in Paris, in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and, possibly, the 4x400m relay. That would emulate illustrious compatriots Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, who achieved the feat at a single Games but with long jump instead of the longer relay.
“It feels good to be out here,” Lyles told reporters. “It was in my head win the 120, win the 150, check around, win the heat.”
Asked what life had been like since his photo-finish victory, he said: “I’ve been trying to get some sleep with my phone going off constantly. Right now I’ve got to rush over and get my medal.”
Following him home in 20.30 was defending champion Andre de Grasse of Canada, the last man to beat him.
American Kenny Bednarek, silver medalist ahead of Lyles in Tokyo and runner-up to him at the 2022 worlds, shut down early but still clocked the fastest time with 19.96.
He too went well in Sunday’s 100m final, though his 9.88 was good enough only for seventh.
