TOKYO (AP) \u2014 There were no stare-downs, shoves or heated words after this win for Noah Lyles. <\/p>\n
Just four fingers thrust into the air when he crossed the finish line \u2014 one for each time he\u2019s won the world title in his favorite race, the 200 meters. <\/p>\n
Lyles pulled ahead of his American rival Kenny Bednarek heading into the straightaway Friday night, then held him off down the stretch to win in 19.52 seconds and equal Usain Bolt\u2019s worlds title haul in the half-lap sprint.<\/p>\n
Instead of exchanging glares and shoves with Bednarek \u2014 the way it happened last month at U.S. championships<\/a> \u2014 Lyles looked relatively calm, thrusting his fingers into the sky after his .06-second victory and shouting \u201cThat\u2019s four, baby!\u201d into the TV camera. <\/p>\n \u201cThis,\u201d Lyles said, \u201cis a very big win.\u201d<\/p>\n Minutes after he won, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed the first women\u2019s 100-200 double<\/a> at the worlds since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013, winning in 21.68 seconds. It was a .46-second margin over surprise silver medalist Amy Hunt of Britain. It also made Jefferson-Wooden the first American to complete the double at the world championships.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t come into this knowing the history,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, I\u2019m putting two-and-two together and I\u2019m kinda freaking out.\u201d<\/p>\n In the men\u2019s race, Bryan Levell of Jamaica finished third and Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo was fourth.<\/p>\n This was among the most-anticipated showdowns of the worlds, one that\u2019s been in the making for the last seven weeks \u2014 or four years \u2014 depending how you look at it. <\/p>\n In 2021, Lyles was suffering after months in a COVID lockdown and came to Tokyo admittedly depressed.<\/a> Lining up in a near-empty stadium, he ran his semifinal poorly, landed Lane 3 for the final, and ended up with a bronze medal that he stored away, using it as fuel for what was to come. <\/p>\n More recently, there was his victory at nationals, punctuated by a stare-down of Bednarek, then Bednarek\u2019s shoving Lyles as they crossed the finish line. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was something where, guys are guys, you put two alpha-males in a room, you\u2019re going to get alpha-male stuff,\u201d said Lyles\u2019 coach, Lance Brauman. <\/p>\n Lyles also dealt with injuries all season, which played a role in his third-place finish in the 100 earlier in the week \u2014 a race he came into as defending champion.<\/p>\n \u2018Let\u2019s do what we always do\u2019<\/p>\n In the 200, Lyles didn\u2019t start perfectly but never panicked. He was in second place as he hit the turn, but that didn\u2019t bother him.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m anywhere near the front of the pack coming off the turn, in my head, I\u2019m like \u2018This is easier than what I used to have to do,\u2019\u201d Lyles said, mentioning his struggles when he first got serious about the 200. \u201cIt\u2019s never an idea of \u2018I\u2019m back here there\u2019s so much work to do,\u2019 it\u2019s \u2018OK, I\u2019ve been here before, let\u2019s do what we always do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He did, catching Bednarek as they hit the stretch, opening a two-step lead on him with about 50 meters left, then holding on for the win.<\/p>\n By doing it, Lyles wrote the latest chapter in a title run that began in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, but has hardly been a straight line. <\/p>\n