Amid rising competition from new challengers, reigning world sprint king Noah Lyles remains the favorite for 200m sprint glory.
The last time Noah Lyles took to the track for a 200-meter race, it was under unthinkable circumstances. Battling COVID-19 during the Paris Olympic final, the American’s weakened body and labored breathing saw him finish third with a time of 19.70 seconds, a rare stumble on one of the biggest stages of his career. Kenneth Bednarek claimed second place in that race with 19.62, while Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo stormed to gold in 19.46.
That Olympic final was not just Noah’s final race of the 2025 season, but also his last 200 meters to date. Yet even with that setback, pundits and fans alike remain confident in Lyles’ supremacy when it truly counts.
“Noah Lyles has been better than everyone else in the world for a while. The biggest blips on the radar have come in those Olympic years, but outside of that, the 200 belongs to him,” said popular track and field analyst Coach Rob in a YouTube commentary posted on June 19, 2025.
“We cannot forget just how talented he actually is because Noah Lyles really doesn’t lose 200-meter dash races when he wants to run them.”
Indeed, apart from his Olympic outings, Noah Lyles has been nearly untouchable in the 200m. In the 2025 season alone, prior to the Paris semifinals, he had raced five times over the distance and won them all.
Coach Rob pointed out just how elite those performances were, reminding fans that Lyles opened his 2024 outdoor campaign with a blistering 19.77 seconds into a stiff -1.6m/s headwind at the USATF New York City Grand Prix.
“When we see world leads going 19.84, 19.83, or even wind-assisted 19.79, Noah Lyles started his season last year with a 19.77 into a minus 1.6 headwind. That’s the kind of athlete the world is up against,” Coach Rob emphasized.
The Rise of Kenny Bednarek and Co.
The 2025 season has seen Kenny Bednarek hit peak form, stringing together some of the most consistent performances of his career. Starting at the Kingston Grand Slam Track in April with a solid 20.07s, Bednarek quickly picked up steam.
At the Miami Grand Slam meet on May 4, he surged to a world-leading 19.84s, and followed it up with a 19.95s win in Philadelphia, claiming his third consecutive 200m title of the series. His string of victories earned him the prestigious Racer of the Year award and solidified his status as Lyles’ primary challenger.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo has continued to assert his authority on the international stage. He kicked off his 2025 campaign with a 20.23s win at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, thrilling a home crowd, and then edged out Courtney Lindsey at the Doha Diamond League with a 20.10s victory.
As the competition tightens, the track and field world waits eagerly to see if Noah Lyles can reclaim his 200m crown.
