After cruising through the semifinal of the 200 meters on August 24 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, American Noah Lyles will aim for gold in the final on Friday at 9:50 P.M. local time (3:50 P.M. ET) alongside teen sprint phenom Erriyon Knighton of the U.S. Lyles ran 19.76, the top time in the field of 27 competitors that competed across three heats.
Lyles and 19-year-old Knighton, the youngest-ever individual sprint medalist in world championships history, will be joined by 100-meter bronze medalist Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain as well as Kenny Bednarek of the U.S., silver medalist in 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Canadian Andre De Grasse, the Olympic champion in the event.
Just 0.12 seconds separate Lyles from tying the world record in his signature event, the 200 meters. He is currently the third fastest of all-time behind Jamaicans Yohan Blake and eight-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Usain Bolt, who retired in 2017.