[imagesource: Chris Pietsch / The Register-Guard / USA Today Network]

When Michael Johnson ran 19,32 seconds in the men’s 200-metre final at the 1996 Atlantia Olympic Games, you knew you had witnessed something special.

Few would have predicted the record would stand as the fastest time by an American for all of 26 years.

Naturally, Usain Bolt holds the world record, having run a 19,19 in Berlin in 2009. Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake ran a 19,26 in Belgium in 2011.

In Thursday night’s men’s 200m final at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Noah Lyles first thought he had tied Johnson’s iconic time.

The trackside clock had 19,32 displayed before it changed to 19,31 and the celebrations started:

The 25-year-old said he had been willing the clock to “give me some slack”. Here’s NPR:

He crouched toward it, wondering if his hard work would pay off. Lyles targeted the record one summer after winning a disappointing (for him) bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It all came together in Oregon, where Lyles used a fantastic start to take command of a highly anticipated race.

Standing on the track afterward, it seemed like Lyles was having a personal argument with the clock. When he finally turned away, two things happened. The clock’s screen sliced one hundredth of a second off his time: 19.31. Above, it blared the magic word: “Official.”

This clip, filmed from up high in the rafters, captures that moment perfectly.

You can see Lyles walking towards the clock from 1:45 in, with the time switch soon after that:

18-year-old Erriyon Knighton, the high-schooler many have tipped to one day break Bolt’s records, claimed bronze and Kenneth Bednarek claimed silver.

To cap things off, Michael Johnson was actually in the stadium working as a commentator and popped down to the track to congratulate Lyles in person:

I’m framing this One!
2 fastest Americans ever! pic.twitter.com/sK8dNTz3ov

— Noah Lyles, OLY (@LylesNoah) July 22, 2022

Wayde van Niekerk continued his slow and steady return to action by qualifying for the men’s 400-metre final, although he could only claim fifth place with a time of 44,97 seconds.

It’s a long way off the 43,03 he ran in Rio in 2016 but points to some light at the end of a long injury tunnel:

in the world and the fastest man in Africa.

I feel more motivated and focused to get more than just a podium!!!

We stay locked in for more and give God the glory in our wins and loses. #QuietStorm #Fifteen27

— Wayde van Niekerk (@WaydeDreamer) July 23, 2022

[source:npr]