American Sprinter Noah Lyles Matches Usain Bolt Record at NYC Grand Prix

Lyles tied the 200m world record held by Usain Bolt on Saturday.

American sprinter Noah Lyles ran the 200m in under 20 seconds for the 34th time in his career on Saturday, tying Usain Bolt for the most sub-20 second 200m races in history.

Lyles paced the field at the New York City Grand Prix on Saturday, running the 200m in 19.83 seconds. The 25-year-old beat the field by 42 hundredths of a second. 

Lyles broke the American record in the 200m last year, running the race in 19.31 seconds. With that American record, Lyles became the third-fastest 200m sprinter in history behind Usain Bolt’s 19.19 seconds and Yohan Blake’s 19.26 seconds. 

As for this year, Lyles has the fastest 200m time at 19.67 seconds.

Although Saturday’s race wasn’t his best time he’s had historically, or even the best time he’s had this year, Lyles was still pleased with his first place result on Saturday.

“It’s not perfect, but it was very fun,” Lyles told NBC’s Lewis Johnson after the race.

Here’s the video of Lyles’ record-tying sprint on Saturday:

.@LylesNoah can't be stopped!

He cruises to victory with a 19.83 200m. pic.twitter.com/ou5pK2JoRR

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 24, 2023