Noah Lyles surpasses Usain Bolt to become the most consistent sub-20 200m athlete as he gears up for Paris Olympics

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 08, 2024 02:47 GMT

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Noah Lyles is breaking records with each passing day. The 26-year-old sprinter from Gainesville, Florida, is looking forward to adding more glory to his profile: the coveted Olympic medal. As he gears up for the Paris Olympics, there is a unique record that Lyles has created: he has become the most consistent sprinter to have run 200m under 20 seconds, surpassing even Usain Bolt and Michael Johnson.

Lyles had recently shown his commitment to an Olympic double, as he qualified for the men's 200m event at the U.S. Olympic trials in style, clocking 19.53 seconds overall. In this pursuit, Lyles broke the 28-year-old meet record set by world champion and Olympic legend Michael Johnson, who was once the world record holder in the men's 200 m.

So how has Noah Lyles surpassed Usain Bolt in terms of sub-20 consistency in 200m? Bolt has run 200m under 20 seconds on at least 34 occasions. The closest to him in this regard are Noah Lyles' teammate Kenny Bednarek and former Namibian sprinter Frank "Frankie" Fredericks, who have achieved this distinction 25 times.

However, Noah Lyles has run 200m under 20 seconds not once, not twice, but on 40 occasions. He ran under 20 seconds for the first time in 2017 when he clocked 19.90 seconds at an athletic meet in Shanghai. Since then, Lyles hasn't looked back.

Can Noah Lyles break Usain Bolt's record at Paris Olympics 2024?

Could Lyles surpass Usain Bolt? [Image Source: Getty]

With such an impressive track record, the question arises: can Noah Lyles surpass Usain Bolt in 200m at the Paris Olympics 2024?

In terms of Olympic record, it should be achievable for Lyles. He achieved a personal best of 19.31 seconds at the World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022, also winning the gold medal in the process.

This is just a hundredth of a second short of the Olympic record set by Usain Bolt at Beijing 2008, which stands at 19.30 seconds. Having already won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Lyles would be raring to go.

However, when it comes to the world record, Lyles would have to pull off the performance of a lifetime, since it wouldn't be that easy to surpass Usain Bolt's world record of 19.19 seconds. However, if he does it, Lyles can certainly restore some lost pride for the USA in the world of sprinting.