Agency :
In-form American sprinter Noah Lyles insisted he was focused solely on nailing down gold in the 200m at the world athletics championships and not chasing Usain Bolt’s elusive world record. The 22-year-old claimed victory in a “chaotic” 200m at Friday’s Diamond League final in Brussels in 19.74 seconds.
The win ensured him of a second payday of $50,000 and trophy, having won the 100m title last week in Zurich. Lyles, however, will only race the 200m at the September 27-October 6 world championships in Doha.
“I’m very excited about the win,” Lyles said after the Brussels victory, which never looked in doubt despite him discovering a desperate need to go to the toilet before the race-something that had to wait until he’d crossed the finish line.
“I’ve got the 100, now the 200m, so now it’s the world championships.” Lyles added he was not concerned by a much-touted potential tilt at Bolt’s world 200m record of 19.19sec set at the 2009 berlin world championships.
“I’m not thinking about the world record,” he insisted. “If you get too caught up chasing the world record, you’re not going to get it.”
But in a broadside to rivals ahead of the Doha worlds, Lyles said his aim was to better his personal best.
In-form American sprinter Noah Lyles insisted he was focused solely on nailing down gold in the 200m at the world athletics championships and not chasing Usain Bolt’s elusive world record. The 22-year-old claimed victory in a “chaotic” 200m at Friday’s Diamond League final in Brussels in 19.74 seconds.
The win ensured him of a second payday of $50,000 and trophy, having won the 100m title last week in Zurich. Lyles, however, will only race the 200m at the September 27-October 6 world championships in Doha.
“I’m very excited about the win,” Lyles said after the Brussels victory, which never looked in doubt despite him discovering a desperate need to go to the toilet before the race-something that had to wait until he’d crossed the finish line.
“I’ve got the 100, now the 200m, so now it’s the world championships.” Lyles added he was not concerned by a much-touted potential tilt at Bolt’s world 200m record of 19.19sec set at the 2009 berlin world championships.
“I’m not thinking about the world record,” he insisted. “If you get too caught up chasing the world record, you’re not going to get it.”
But in a broadside to rivals ahead of the Doha worlds, Lyles said his aim was to better his personal best.
