Noah Lyles etched his name deeper into sprinting history on Friday night in Tokyo, powering to his fourth consecutive men’s 200m world title at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
In doing so, the American sprint star matched Usain Bolt’s record of four straight crowns in the event, achieved between 2009 and 2015.
Full Results – Men’s 200m Final
- Noah Lyles (USA) – 19.52 (0.167)
- Kenneth Bednarek (USA) – 19.58 SB (0.179)
- Bryan Levell (JAM) – 19.64 PB (0.147)
- Letsile Tebogo (BOT) – 19.65 SB (0.163)
- Zharnel Hughes (GBR) – 19.78 SB (0.126)
- Alexander Ogando (DOM) – 20.01 (0.149)
- Tapiwanashe Makarawu (ZIM) – 20.12 (0.136)
- Sinesipho Dambile (RSA) – 20.23 (0.169)
Lyles, who has battled through a season disrupted by injury, clocked 19.52 seconds to secure victory. He edged fellow American Kenneth Bednarek, who ran a season-best 19.58 for silver, while 20-year-old Jamaican Bryan Levell clinched bronze in a personal best of 19.64. Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, tipped as Lyles’ biggest rival, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in 19.65.
The 28-year-old American had already hinted at his form in the semifinals, when he posted a blistering 19.51, the fastest semifinal time in history. Though he didn’t quite match that in the final, Lyles’ composure and power down the stretch proved decisive, fending off a spirited challenge from Bednarek and Levell.
The triumph extends Lyles’ remarkable record in the half-lap sprint. Since finishing fourth at the 2016 Olympic Trials at just 18, he has been beaten only three times in outdoor 200m races over the past nine years, twice at the Olympics, where he settled for bronze, and once at a 2019 Diamond League race in Rome.
For Bednarek, the silver was his fourth at global level in the 200m, adding to his two Olympic and one previous world medal, while Levell marked his rise as Jamaica’s next big sprint star by edging Tebogo for bronze by just one-hundredth of a second.
Lyles’ latest triumph reaffirms his place as the dominant 200m sprinter of his era, despite the setbacks of an ankle injury earlier in the season.
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