The American 200-metre record was shattered by Noah Lyles at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
Lyles ran a 19.32, breaking Michael Johnson’s 26-year-old US record by the narrowest margin.
Kenneth Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton completed a clean sweep on the podium with silver and bronze, respectively.
Lyles’ time was third fastest in history, behind Usain Bolt’s 19.19 and Yohan Blake’s 19.26.
The race was expected to be a straight shoot-out between Lyles and 18-year-old sprint sensation Knighton, but the champion blew away the competition.
As Lyles raced off to an impressive start, he took off down the home straight and swept to victory.
Noah LYLES 🇺🇸 19.32 wins Gold 200m final clean sweep amazing, fantastic pic.twitter.com/NV7ZxcwUf4
— Ricardo Samuels (@RickyRicardo_77) July 22, 2022
The Americans are heavy favourites for the 4*100 metre relay, assuming they can pass the baton correctly.
During the US trials in June, Noah Lyles celebrated his victory over Knighton by pointing at him.
Afterwards, Knighton walked out of the interview, claiming, ‘it ain’t over yet,’ making Lyles’ victory even sweeter.
Lyles told BBC Sport after last night’s victory: “I put myself under no pressure.” That was my goal going into last night’s match.
19.31 🗣️
NOAH LYLES IS THE FASTEST MAN IN AMERICAN HISTORY 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qAfIDEB9iB
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 22, 2022
Once I got the start I wanted, that time was always going to come.
I remember my dad racing against Michael Johnson in that era, and the Americans swept everything.
Afterwards, we watched the Jamaicans dominate. As soon as I arrive, I want to make sure that the USA is dominating once again.”
The US has extended their lead at the top of the medal table with this result.
So far, they have won seven golds, six silvers, and nine bronzes, which is comfortably more than Ethiopia in second place.
Noah Lyles won the 200m title in 19.31sec on Thursday, becoming the third-fastest athlete of all time over the distance. He led a second American sprint podium sweep.
A bronze medalist at the Olympics, Noah Lyles led halfway and exploded through the finish, edging out his compatriots Kenny Bednarek (19.77) and 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton (19.80).
Although he has not been satisfied with how quickly he has been getting out of the blocks in some of his races, Noah Lyles said the first few metres of the race were “the start of my life”.