Noah Lyles scorched to a fourth successive world 200 metres gold medal on Friday at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, delivering his trademark drive to the line to triumph in 19.52 seconds.
That performance pipped his compatriot Kenny Bednarek, who took silver in 19.58.
Lyles, third in his defence of the 100m title on Sunday, held four fingers in the air after crossing the line as he now matches Usain Bolt, who won four in a row from 2009-15.
As Lyles, sporting a new bleached hair look, celebrated, Bednarek looked distraught as he now has two world and two Olympic silvers in the event.
Instead of exchanging glares and shoves with Bednarek — the way it happened last month at U.S. championships — Lyles looked relatively calm, thrusting his fingers into the sky after his .06-second victory and shouting “That’s four, baby!” into the TV camera.
“This,” Lyles said, “is a very big win,.”
Bryan Levell took bronze in a personal best 19.64, edging Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, to win Jamaica’s first medal in the event since Bolt did the sprint double in 2015.
WATCH | Lyles claims his 4th world championship 200m title: 
Noah Lyles claims his 4th world championship 200m title
American Noah Lyles crossed the line in 19.52 seconds to win his fourth world championship 200-metre title, just ahead of compatriot Kenny Bednarek (19.58) and Jamaica’s Bryan Levell (19.64) at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
On the women’s side, American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became the fourth woman to complete the sprint double at the world championships by crossing the line in 21.68.
The 24-year-old American ran the fastest time of the year to cap a brilliant season with another gold medal to add to the one she won in the 100m on Sunday.
“I didn’t come into this knowing the history,” she said. “Now, I’m putting two-and-two together and I’m kinda freaking out.”
Gold medallist Noah Lyles celebrates by throwing up four fingers to represent his four world title win in the men’s 200m as he bites his gold medal on Friday at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo’s National Stadium. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Britain’s Amy Hunt was a distant second to take silver in 22.14, while bronze went to double defending champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica in 22.18.
Jefferson-Wooden matched Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2015) and Germans Silke Gladisch (1987) and Katrin Krabbe (1991) by winning both sprints at the same world championships.
WATCH | Jefferson-Wooden wins 200m to claim 2nd gold in Tokyo: 
After winning the world 100m title, American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden claims the 200m title
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden blew away the field, winning the women’s 200-metre world championship race with a time of 21.68 seconds, ahead of Britain’s Amy Hunt (22.14) and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (22.18) at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.Benjamin survives scare to claim gold
Olympic champion Rai Benjamin stormed to victory in the 400m hurdles in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal on Friday after two silvers and a bronze.
The 28-year-old American had a few nervous moments after initially being disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes as he raced for the line.
Benjamin’s appeal was quickly upheld, however, and he was restored to the top of the timesheet with World Athletics confirming he was the champion.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos briefly held another world title to go with his 2022 triumph after finishing second in 46.84, but will have to be satisfied with silver.
Qatari Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06, while Norway’s world record holder Karsten Warholm, who was gunning for a fourth world title, finished fifth in 47.58 behind Nigerian Ezekiel Nathaniel (47.11).
Ingebrigtsen, Hocker look for rebound
Norway’s double-defending 5,000m world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the United States’ Olympic 1,500m champion Cole Hocker advanced to the final of the 5,000m where they will hope to make amends for frustrations earlier in the week.
Ingebrigtsen, who has been battling to get into race shape after an Achilles injury, went out in the heats of the 1,500m, having been beaten in the final in the last two world championships and at last year’s Olympics, but on all three occasions he bounced back to win the 5,000.
The 25-year-old runner made his move approaching the bell but his usual smooth acceleration was missing and he ended up battling to the line to snatch the eighth and last qualifying berth.
“I gave my all but I’m not myself,” said Ingebrigtsen. “I had to do what I could today. I was not sure if I would make the final but here I am. I don’t have any idea what I am going to do in the final. I will try my best.”
Hocker, the shock 1,500m winner in Paris last year, was disqualified in the 1,500m semifinals this week after pushing his way through the pack on the home straight.
After leading for much of the first of the two heats on Friday, he again found himself boxed in, but, seemingly having learned his lesson, he remained patient and drifted into the safety of lane three to come home safely, and cleanly.
Canadian Moh Ahmed did not start in the men’s 5,000m heats. The 2021 Olympic silver medallist dropped out of last weekend’s 10,000m race with about 2km left due to a calf injury.
Trapeau’s PB not enough
Canada’s Maeliss Trapeau ran to a personal best time of 1:58.90 in the women’s 800-metre semifinals, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the final.
Coming up
The decathlon, featuring Canadians Damian Warner and Pierce LePage, and the women’s shot put, with Canada’s Sarah Mitton, get underway on Friday night in Canadian time zones.
AloJapan.com