Paris 2024: Lyles and Jackson chase records in the 200m or will their rivals catch them?
Noah Lyles is a man on a mission.
A lot is hanging on his shoulders. To be fair, no one who has ever said they want to do great things has ever found it easy. Lyles doesn’t do easy. That much we have established in the last few years. Sometimes, he has played the role of the villain to the dismay of many fans. However, if there is one thing you can’t berate Lyles for is his showmanship and how he has been able to deliver when it matters.
In the recent athletics documentary, ‘Sprint’ he talked about the 200m being his wife and the 100m being his mistress. Well, he has been faithful to his wife for the last three years as he has yet to lose a race since he finished third at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Since then, he has won two titles and set a new personal best and American record of 19.31s. He has a mission to break Usain Bolt’s world record of 19.19s.
Going into the Olympics in Paris, Lyles is the overwhelming favorite to snag Gold in the event, and how he does it will be very much telling. He has only raced the distance four times this year- all in the USA, but he still has the world-leading time of 19.53s. Surely, he can go faster and if he wants his quest for four gold in the French capital to come into fusion, then he has to put this event in the bag.
Letsile Tebogo is an athlete who is certain to push Lyles to his limits. The Botswana sprinter has shown remarkable growth and development. Like Lyles, Tebogo hasn’t fully revealed his capabilities in the 200m this year in his three races, but he has consistently demonstrated his prowess over other competitors, with Lyles being the notable exception. His season’s best over the distance is 19.71.
Budapest, Hungary
August 19-27, 2023, photo by Kevin Morris
Another youngster who will look to get his hands on an Olympic medal is Erriyon Knighton. Although it hasn’t been the best of the year both on and off the track for the American, he was been able to prove his mettle at the US trials.
Kenny Bednarek is one man who has drastically improved too. He has lowered his Personal Best twice this year, clocking 19.59s at the US trials. Andre De…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at runblogrun…