How Noah Lyles can make rare Olympic history in the 200m final
Having already earned the title of "Fastest Man in the World" at the Paris Games, Lyles stands on the brink of joining an elite group in Olympic history.
Noah Lyles is poised to sprint into Olympic history at the 2024 Paris Games. The Team USA star will compete in the men's 200m final on Thursday, aiming for a rare sprint double after his thrilling victory in the 100m final on Sunday. The 27-year-old Lyles won his first Olympic gold medal and secured Team USA's first 100m title in two decades with a late surge that clinched the race by a narrow margin.
Having already earned the title of "Fastest Man in the World" at the Paris Games, Lyles stands on the brink of joining an elite group in Olympic history:
How many sprint doubles have there been at the Olympics?
The men's sprint double—where an athlete wins both the 100m and 200m dashes at the same Games—has been achieved 11 times by nine athletes throughout Olympic history.
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When was the last sprint double at the Olympics?
The last athlete to complete the sprint double was the legendary Usain Bolt, who accomplished this feat at three consecutive Games. The eight-time gold medalist swept the 100m and 200m sprints at the 2008 Beijing Games, the 2012 London Games, and the 2016 Rio Games, making him the only man to achieve the Olympic sprint double multiple times. In 2012, he also became the first athlete—male or female—to complete the sprint double at consecutive Games.
Fellow Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah recently made history as the first woman to win both the 100m and 200m races at consecutive Olympics, achieving this in the 2016 Games and the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. She had previously become the first woman to complete the sprint double since American Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Games.
List of sprint doubles at the Olympics
Here's a look at every men's sprint double in Olympic history, with Carl Lewis' achievement in 1984 being the most recent by an American:
- Archie Hahn, USA: 1904
- Ralph Craig, USA: 1912
- Percy Williams, Canada: 1928
- Eddie Tolan, USA: 1932
- Jesse Owens, USA: 1936
- Bobby Morrow, USA: 1956
- Valeriy Borzov, Soviet Union: 1972
- Carl Lewis, USA: 1984
- Usain Bolt, Jamaica: 2008, 2012, 2016
Owens, Morrow, and Lewis, along with Bolt in 2012 and 2016, expanded their sprint doubles into triples by winning the 4x100m relay as well.
What is Noah Lyles' best time in the 200m?
The 200m is considered Lyles' stronger event compared to the 100m. After earning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, Lyles remained undefeated in 200m races until the semifinals in Paris, where he placed second in his heat with a time of 20.08 seconds, finishing behind Botswana's Letsile Tebogo (19.96). Lyles posted the third-best semifinal time overall, behind Tebogo and fellow American Kenny Bednarek (20.00). Bednarek is the reigning Olympic silver medalist, while the defending Olympic champion, Canada's Andre De Grasse, did not qualify for the final.
Lyles' personal-best time in the 200m is the American record of 19.31 seconds, achieved at the 2022 World Championships. His season-best time of 19.53 seconds came at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.
What is the world record in the 200m?
Usain Bolt set the 200m world record with a time of 19.19 seconds at the 2009 World Championships. Lyles has expressed his belief that he will eventually break Bolt's record—could it happen in the 200m final?
