USA’s Noah Lyles and Men’s Olympic Track and Field 200M Qualifying Results

Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu via Getty Images

Noah Lyles cleared his first hurdle in the quest for 200-meter gold by advancing out of his first-round qualifying heat.

Lyles crossed the finish line in 20.19 seconds, which was the sixth-fastest during Monday’s run. Fellow Americans Kenneth Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton paced the field with sub-20-second times.

NBC Olympics & Paralympics @NBCOlympicsOlympic champion Noah Lyles gets right back to work with an easy win in 200m heats. 😲 #ParisOlympics

📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/S3uA48gWGJ

Men’s 200-Meter Semifinal Qualifiers

Kenneth Bednarek, United States (19.96)

Erriyon Knighton, United States (19.99)

Alexander Ogando, Dominican Republic (20.04)

Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Zimbabwe (20.07)

Letsile Tebogo, Botswana (20.10)

Noah Lyles, United States (20.19)

Joseph Fahnbulleh, Liberia (20.20)

Shaun Maswanganyi, South Africa (20.20)

Eseosa Fostine Desalu, Italy (20.26)

Makanakaishe Charamba, Zimbabwe (20.27)

Filippo Tortu, Italy (20.29)

Joshua Hartmann, Germany (20.30)

Andre De Grasse, Canada (20.30)

Tarsis Gracious Orogot, Uganda (20.32)

Towa Uzawa, Japan (20.33)

Wanya McCoy, Bahamas (20.35)

Renan Correa, Brazil (20.41)

Wayde van Niekerk, South Africa (20.42)

Full results are available on the Olympics’ official site

Lyles backed up his title as the fastest man in the world when he beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by a mere 0.005 seconds in the 100-meter dash. He didn’t have much time to bask in his victory, though, as he had to shift his focus onto the 200-meter run.

The 27-year-old was only a bronze medalist in this event at the Tokyo Games in 2021. However, he’s a three-time world champion (2019, 2022 and 2023). He came into Paris as the clear favorite after coasting past Knighton at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest, Hungary.

The qualifying heats aren’t where Lyles is expecting to shine, so he was unlikely to empty the tank already and try to post the fastest time possible. He was third in the semifinals for the 100 and was four seconds slower than he was in the final.

A top-three time in his first-round heat was all Lyles needed to move on, and he still would’ve had the repechage if he had failed to achieve that relatively modest goal.

The repechage is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. ET with the semifinals slated for 2:02 p.m. ET on Wednesday.