Noah Lyles becomes first athlete since Usain Bolt to win sprint double at the World Athletics Championships

Noah Lyles has become the first athlete since Usain Bolt to achieve the sprint double at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. On day 7 of the championship, Lyles claimed his third consecutive gold in the 200m race. He achieved gold in the 100m race on Sunday, his first gold in the category.

Lyles recorded a stunning 19.52s timing at the 200m race to win his second gold medal at the world championship after the 100m race. In 2015, Usain Bolt sealed a jaw-dropping sprint double for the third time at the world championships.

The 'Lightning Bolt' had set the unbeatable world record, clocking 9.58s in the 100m and 19.19s in the 200m race earlier.

Previously, the legend scored a triple-gold in the 2009 Berlin World Athletics Championships, winning the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events. Moreover, at the 2013 Moscow World Championship, he claimed another double sprint gold, clocking 9.77s and 19.66s in the 100m and 200m race, respectively.

With his first sprint double win, Lyles has become the fifth athlete in world championship history to claim this honor. The 26-year-old’s double sprint win has got him a place among Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin, and Maurice Greece.

Talking about matching Usain Bolt, Lyles said to the reporters:

“Usain Bolt has done it and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it. It is amazing."

Lyles is looking to claim a triple-gold just like Usain Bolt if he competes in the 4x100m relay race on Saturday.

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Noah Lyles gets hyped by Usain Bolt in his documentary

Lyles at Day 2 - World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

Noah Lyles is sharing his athletic journey in his NBC Sports documentary, Untitled: The Noah Lyles Project. The docuseries shows his athletic and personal life also features his quest to defend his title in the world championships.

The two-part docuseries released its 'Part One' just a day before Noah Lyles walked into the National Athletics Centre to compete in the preliminary rounds of the 100m race. Moreover, in the series, Lyles was also seen receiving some encouraging words from Bolt.

The legend told the American athlete:

“Let me tell you something”

He further said:

“Keep your same attitude…we need a personality”

Before the world championships, Lyles had sought to break Usain Bolt’s 200m record. He aimed to clock 19.10s, leaving behind his personal best of 19.31s from last year's world championship and breaking Bolt’s 19.19s.

'Part Two' of the docuseries will be released on September 15, featuring his world championship experience.