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Noah Lyles surges late to win fourth successive 200m gold

Updated / Friday, 19 Sep 2025 15:16
Noah Lyles celebrates with his four-finger salute as he edges Kenny Bednarek, once again, in the 200m final
Noah Lyles celebrates with his four-finger salute as he edges Kenny Bednarek, once again, in the 200m final

Noah Lyles scorched to a fourth successive world 200 metres gold medal as he delivered his trademark drive to the line to triumph in 19.52 seconds, pipping compatriot and perennial bridesmaid 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 celebrated, Bednarek looked distraught as he now has two world and two Olympic silvers in the event.

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.

American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became the fourth woman to complete the sprint double with victory in the 200 metres in 21.68 seconds.

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.

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.

Olympic champion Rai Benjamin stormed to victory in the 400 metres hurdles in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze.

The 28-year-old American, who had put on a golden crown following the finish, had a few nervous moments after initially being disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes.

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.

Pedro Pichardo won the world triple jump gold medal after the most extraordinary finale, as Italy's Andrea Dallavalle thought he had snatched it with a huge final jump, only for the Portuguese to respond with a massive 17.91 metres.

Returning to the site of his 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold, Pichardo, the 2022 world champion, seemed to be cruising to a routine victory after twice landing 17.55 jumps.

Dallavalle was sitting in fifth and struggling for rhythm, but somehow got it together to land a massive personal best of 17.64. Pichardo, though, was unfazed and duly delivered the longest jump by anyone this season to regain top spot and the gold medal.

Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez, silver medallist in 2023, finished third with 17.49, while Algeria’s Yasser Mohammed Triki, who was sitting in third all night after his opening jump of 17.25, slipped to an agonising fourth.

Femke Bol put the seal on a fantastic season by retaining her world 400 metres hurdles title in emphatic style as the Dutchwoman stormed home in a world-leading 51.54 seconds.

Jasmine Jones of the US finished like a train to take silver in a personal best of 52.08, while Emma Zapletalova got a surprise bronze in a Slovakia national record of 53.00.

Bol won eight races in a row through the season and started her Tokyo trip by anchoring the Netherlands to silver in the mixed 4x400m relay.

In the absence of Olympic champion and world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who won the 400 flat on Thursday, Bol was red-hot favourite on Friday and duly delivered.

Watch Cian McPhillips compete in the final of the 800m at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday at 2.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Coverage begins at 11am

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Accreditation: Reuters

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