Noah Lyles anchored the United States to victory in the men’s 4x100m relay on the final evening of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, capping a dramatic night for the American star.
Fresh from his 200m triumph on Friday, Lyles closed out a superb team effort by Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek and Courtney Lindsey to defend the world title and post a world-leading 37.29.
Full results (final)
- United States (USA) — 37.29
- Canada (CAN) — 37.55
- Netherlands (NED) — 37.81 (NR)
- Ghana (GHA) — 37.93
- Germany (GER) — 38.29
- Japan (JPN) — 38.35
- France (FRA) — 38.58
— Australia (AUS) — DNF
Under heavy rain at the Japan National Stadium, nerves around slippery handovers were understandable, especially after the U.S. relay saga at the Olympics, but the quartet produced slick exchanges and raw speed when it mattered.
Christian Coleman exploded from the blocks to give the U.S. a flying start, Jerome Blake and Andre De Grasse (Canada) supplied fierce competition on the middle legs, and Bednarek’s work on leg three ensured Lyles had the lead to defend on the anchor.
Lyles, who had already taken bronze in the 100m and won his fourth consecutive world 200m title, celebrated wildly as he crossed the line, adding relay gold to take his Tokyo haul to three medals and his career world titles to eight. Canada, anchored by Andre De Grasse, showed the depth that earned them Olympic gold, closing fast for silver, while the Netherlands produced a national-record performance to claim bronze despite the poor weather.
The U.S. reached its fifth-quickest time ever in the event, the Netherlands set a national record, Ghana continued to build on its sprinting momentum after a record semi, and Australia was forced to retire from the final (DNF) in the wet conditions. Individual split times highlighted the speed throughout the field, Jerome Blake and Dutch sprinters Taymir Burnet and Elvis Afrifa posted some of the quickest flying legs of the night.
With this victory the United States finished the championships with 16 golds and 26 medals overall, surpassing its previous best gold haul in Doha 2019, and Noah Lyles closed the track programme in Tokyo with a statement performance that underlined why he remains one of the sport’s most magnetic figures.
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