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SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles’ historic pursuit of an Olympic sprint double ended with a humbling defeat.
The world’s most unbeatable 200 meters runner, the man who just four days ago insisted he’d leave his rivals “depressed” when he came off the turn, lost his signature race.
Lyles didn’t appear to have his usual burst right from the start of Thursday night’s Olympic men’s 200 meters final. The American fell behind early and struggled to make up ground rounding the turn, leaving himself too far behind Letsile Tebogo of Botswana to overtake him before they reached the finish line.
Tebogo won in 19.46 seconds. American Kenny Bednarek claimed silver in 19.62 seconds Lyles settled for bronze in 19.70 seconds, well shy of his personal best and even further away from the Usain Bolt world record that he had aspirations of breaking.
After the race ended, Lyles sat on the track and appeared to receive medical attention.
Lyles had hoped to become the first American man to complete the Olympic sprint double since Carl Lewis 40 years ago. He seemed to be well on his way after he won the closest 100 meters in Olympic history on Sunday night, dipping at the finish line to edge Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five thousandths of a second.
That Lyles didn’t add the 200 gold to his haul is a massive surprise. This race is Lyles’ specialty, his first love, the event that comes most naturally to him.
The 100 penalizes Lyles for struggling to accelerate out of the blocks as quickly as other world-class sprinters. He has spent years tinkering endlessly with his start in an effort to find a way to remain in striking distance at 30 meters without sacrificing his ability to reach maximum speed and sustain it.
The 200 reduces the impact of Lyles’ mediocre starts and emphasizes the qualities that make him special. The two-time reigning world champion in the 200 holds his speed as well as any sprinter since Usain Bolt, typically enabling him to swallow up anyone in front of him as he rounds the curve and streaks toward the finish line.
When asked earlier this week how confident he felt about winning the men’s 200, Lyles grinned and said, “Pretty confident, can’t lie.”
Speaking specifically about fellow American Kenny Bednarek, Lyles added, “That man ain’t winning. None of them is winning.”
In retrospect, perhaps there should have been more concern on Wednesday when Lyles took a rare loss in the 200 semifinals. He sprang out of the blocks slowly, languished in third place as he came off the curve and never caught up to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
In the 100, Lyles also lost his semifinal but came through when it mattered. In the 200, his favorite race, Lyles couldn’t repeat that feat.
