The men’s 200m is hotting up nicely, with Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo cruising through their heats at the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Wednesday 17 September.
Lyles and Tebogo both triumphed in their races, with reigning world champion Lyles setting a time of 19.99 seconds in heat 4, and Botswana’s Olympic champion Tebogo 20.18 in the final heat of the evening.
But sterner tests most definitely lie ahead for both, who will be joined in the semi-finals by the likes of the USA’s Kenny Bednarek, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Australia’s 17-year-old sprint sensation Gout Gout, who brought loud cheers from the crowd after finishing third in his first race in a major international championships.
In heat 1, Alexander Ogando came through in first position in 20.10 seconds, ahead of South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk (20.19) – the Rio 2016 400m Olympic champion and world record holder. Ogando has high hopes for these championships, claiming the top step on the podium is his goal: “I’m going for gold and some records that need to be broken,” he said.
Heat 2 saw Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu (19.91) and the USA’s Courtney Lindsey (19.95) both dip under the 20-second mark to claim first and second in their heat. Jamaica’s Adrian Kerr (20.13) was third fastest to book his place in the semi-finals.
Bednarek looked calm and composed as he took the win in his heat in a time of 19.98. After narrowly missing out on the medals with his fourth-place finish in the 100m, the Oklahoma-native will be desperate for a place on the podium in the half-lap event.
Perhaps the tastiest heat of the night included Lyles, Hughes and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, as well as Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh. But if Lyles was feeling any nerves, he didn’t show them, as he smiled and stuck his tongue out playfully to the crowd before dominating his race.
De Grasse came fourth in the heat, with only the top three qualifying automatically, but his time was fast enough to see him through to the next round.
Tebogo was up last and, after a false start had ended his 100m campaign just days earlier, may have been forgiven for feeling a little nervous heading into this race.
However, after starting in the outside lane, the 22-year-old raced to victory to calm any jitters and keep hopes alive for a second consecutive major championships gold.
In heat 5, one of the biggest cheers of the night was reserved for Australia’s Gout, the teenage sprint star who is taking the world by storm.
And he didn’t disappoint in his race, coming home third to claim an automatic spot in the semis. The question now turns to whether he can make it through to a first final and continue to fulfil the enormous potential he has shown in his fledgling career.