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American sprinter Noah Lyles got an inch closer to winning the double sprint gold at the World Athletics Championships as he cruised into the men's 200-meter final despite being involved in a freak cart crash accident ahead of the race.
The reigning world 100m champion's race was delayed by 30 minutes after the golf cart transporting him and seven other athletes from the warm-up track to the stadium, crashed with another golf cart.
Noah Lyles was supposed to feature in Heat 1 but because of the freak incident, Heat 2 and 3 were conducted first and the Heat 1 was postponed.
During the accident, a volunteer was thrown to the ground. Also, according to the World Athletics statement, Jamaican Andrew Hudson received treatment after he felt something in his eye.
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Lyles, who wants to break Usain Bolt's world record of 19.19s set way back in the 2005 Berlin World Championships, made no mistake in the semifinals on Thursday (August 24). Just a few days after winning the 100m race, Lyles recorded the fastest time in the semifinals as he completed the race in 19.76 seconds.
Finalists of the men's 200m race at World Athletics Championships 2023
Noah Lyles, who headlined Thursday's semifinal, will be joined by Erriyon Knighton. The 19-year-old Knighton clocked 19.98s to beat Zharnel Hughes in the race. The Olympic bronze medalist clocked 20.02 in the semifinal.
Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek also made it to the final after a challenging race with Botswana's Letsile Tebogo. Bednarek clocked 19.96 to win the second semifinal, while 20-year-old Tebogo finished with 19.97s.
Two other fastest runners-up into the final are Andre de Grasse and Joseph Fahnbulleh. The Tokyo 2020 Gold Medallist from Canada, qualified to the final despite not being at his best. De Grasse had a nervous start to the race and managed to finish only at the third spot in his Heat. However, he clocked 20.10s which helped him to clinch a spot in the final.
The 21-year-old Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia also made it to the final of the World Athletics Championships on Thursday.
