Noah Lyles storms to fourth consecutive 200m world title in Tokyo

Noah Lyles cemented his status as the king of the half-lap sprint, blazing to a fourth consecutive world 200m title at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Friday night. The American star surged down the home straight to clock 19.52, defeating compatriot Kenny Bednarek (19.58 SB) and Jamaican youngster Bryan Levell (19.64 PB) in a thrilling final at the Tokyo National Stadium.

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Bednarek, the Olympic silver medallist, blasted out of the blocks and powered through the bend, holding a narrow lead as the finalists hit the straight. Lyles, running from lane five, stayed patient and began to eat up the track with his trademark top-end speed over the final 80 metres. He moved alongside Bednarek with 30 metres to go and surged clear in the closing strides.

Behind them, 20-year-old Levell produced a sensational late charge, dipping past Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo on the line to snatch bronze by one-hundredth of a second. Tebogo clocked 19.65 for fourth, while European champion Zharnel Hughes (GBR) finished fifth in 19.78 SB.

History made: Four in a row

Lyles’ victory makes him only the second man in history, after Usain Bolt, to win four straight world titles in the 200m (2019, 2022, 2023, 2025). The 27-year-old came into Tokyo as the overwhelming favourite after running a world-leading 19.51 in the semifinals.

Noah Lyles: “I can't wait for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing to become the only man to win five 200m titles I don't have good memories from Tokyo in 2021. At that time, I was depressed, but this time I am energised. I love what I do, and I am happy. I have the best support staff and the best crowd I could have ever asked for. My face is blasted everywhere over Tokyo. This is amazing and such a joyous moment I am going to keep with me forever. Being patient was the most important thing. I controlled the race. I knew some of the guys were going to tighten up but I just stayed relaxed and got the job done. I am proud to be able to show all my skills.

Rising stars on the podium

For Bednarek, the silver continued his reputation as one of the most reliable championship performers, adding to his 200m Olympic silver and two previous World silver medals. Levell, meanwhile, announced himself as Jamaica’s new sprint star, earning the country’s first men’s 200m world medal since 2015.

“This means everything,” Levell said. “To be on the podium with guys I grew up watching — it’s unbelievable.”

Final results

Women’s 200 metres final: 

Melissa Jefferson Wooden won her second world gold medal at these championships in 21.68 following her title in the 100 metres in 10.61. The US sprinter moved to eighth place on the world all-time list one place above US sprint legend Allyson Felix. Jefferson Wooden came off the bend with a slight lead over two-time world champion Shericka Jackson and pulled away in the final straight. She became the first US sprinter to win a world gold medal in the 200m since Allyson Felix in Berlin 2009 and the first woman to achieve the double since Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce in Moscow 2013. 

Melissa Jefferson Wooden: “Being the first American to win the women's 200m at a World Championships since Allyson Felix means a lot. I looked up to her so much growing up. It's amazing to be able to hear these statistics – they just make me feel blessed and grateful for the position I am in now. Starting out with the 200m this season, scared of that. To dominate the 200m tonight feels special. To be able to win the double is amazing. The last one to do so was Shelly-Ann – it speaks volumes. In my first professional year I didn't make the team but that didn't stop me. I came back stronger and made an Olympic team, and now I am here. It's just a testament to my journey and how much faith I have, not only in myself but the people around me. Now I have one more gold to win (in the 4x100m).” 

Amy Hunt from Great Britain came through to claim the silver medal in 22.14. Jackson faded in the final stages but she held on to win the bronze medal in 22.18 ahead of Anavia Battle (22.22), Dina Asher Smith (22.43), Brittany Brown (22.54), Marie Josée Ta Lou Smith (22.62) and McKenzie Long (22.78). 

Amy Hunt: "I have not stopped smiling or crying! As soon as I saw my mum, I burst into tears. I knew I could do it - as long as I put in a good turn and was with them off the bend. I am so proud of myself. Moments before the race, I just thought of my Grandad. I knew he was watching over me, I knew he was going to guide me. I have a tattoo of his name on my arm. I just beat some amazing girls and I can't believe it.

Men’s 400 metres hurdles final: 

Raj Benjamin won his first world gold medal in the men’s 400 metres hurdles in 46.52 adding this title to the Olympic gold medal he won in Paris 2024. Benjamin reached the world podium for the fourth time following two silver medals in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022 and a bronze in Budapest 2023. Benjamin was disqualified after clipping his final hurdle, inadvertently nudging a rival’s hurdle out of place on the neighbouring lane. The decision was overturned and Benjamin was reinstated after an appeal. 

Raj Benjamin: “It feels great. I am glad I finally got the job done. I got another individual medal under my belt. I am extremely proud.  It was a complete reversal on what happened here in 2021. We were sitting down near the elimination chairs, ironically, and Dos Santos said the referees were reviewing the race, and that it was about me being disqualified. I asked: 'Did I step on the line or what?' It might have been because of that last hurdle I knocked down, but it was all fine in the end. Unfortunately, I got really greedy in the end and that's why I hit the last hurdle.”

Benjamin knocked down the final hurdle, but he dipped to take the win holding off Alison Dos Santos, who won the silver medal with 46.84 adding this podium to the gold he won in Eugene 2022. Samba returned to the podium for the first time since Doha in 2019, when he won the bronze medal. 

This year’s NCAA champion Ezekiel Nathaniel improved his Nigerian record to 47.11 to finish fourth moving to 10th  on the world all-time list. World record holder Karsten Warholm, who felt a little strain in his left thigh, had to settle with fifth place in 47.58. Emil Agyekum from Germany dipped for the first time under the 48 seconds barrier to finish sixth with 47.98. 

Women’s 400 metres hurdles final: 

Femke Bol won her second consecutive world title in a world leading time of 51.54 in the women’s 400 metres hurdles final on the track where she won the Olympic bronze medal in 2023. USA’s Jasmine Jones set a PB of 52.06 to win the silver medal. Emma Zapletalova improved her Slovakian record to 53.00 to claim the bronze medal ahead of USA’s Anna Cockrell (53.13), Panama’s Gianna Woodruff (53.34) and Belgian record holder Naomi Van der Broeck (53.70).

Femke Bol: “The race always starts hard for me, but I know my strong points. We worked really hard on this and got this pretty comfortably. My job is just to keep running, keep the focus and do one hurdle at a time. This is my second gold medal in a row, which make me really proud. This means the world to me. At these world championships I had to keep my title. I am proud of myself and my team for doing it. This year we tried to change some things in training to get better at finishing first. The last 100m was the best I have had all season”

Men’s triple jump final: 

Portugal’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo set a world lead of 17.91m in the sixth round to win his second world gold medal following his victory in Eugene 2021. Pichardo also won the Olympic gold medal in the same National Stadium in Tokyo in 2021 and two world silver medals in Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015. 

Pedro Pablo Pichardo: "I was scared, but I always leave a bit for the last jump. My wife doesn't like it much, she always says I have to give it my all on the first jump, so if what happened today happens I have the energy to respond. And I did. In the fifth, I saved a little bit of energy and now we have a victory. I wasn't planning to use all my jumps and was ready to skip the last one. When Andrea took the lead, that shook me up a bit, but I knew I still had it in me to jump again. It's a city I will keep with me my whole life - Olympic champion, world champion. My father didn't let me stop. He asked me to do at least this year, 2025. I always say that he is the one who is going to decide when I should end up my career. This medal is for my father. It will stay in his house. He is the person who has been working and keeping me strong mentally. Last year my mind wasn't very good. I wanted to retire but my father and coach have been helping me a lot."

Pichardo responded to Italy’s Andrea Dallavalle, who improved his PB by 28cm to 17.64m to move into the lead in the sixth round. Dallavalle won his major second silver following his second place behind Pichardo at the European Championships in Munich 2022. In the same year Dallavalle also finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and won the European Indoor bronze medal in Apeldoorn 2025.  Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez set a seasonal best to 17.49 to win the bronze medal two years after finishing second in Budapest 2023.

Yasser Triki from Algeria placed fourth with 17.25m ahead of Jordan Scott from Jamaica (17.21m) and Diamond League champion Andy Diaz from Italy (17.19m). 

Andrea Dallavalle: “The final was strange, difficult. I made some good jumps from the start, but not quite what I wanted. When I saw myself in fourth in the sixth round, I told myself that I did not want to be fourth like I was in Eugene 2022. I thought all of the hard work I have put in throughout the year.”

Women’s heptathlon:

US star Anna Hall leads the women’s heptathlon with 4154 points ahead of Ireland’s Kate O’Connor (3906 points). Two-time world champion Katarina Johnson Thompson moved up back to third with 3893 points after a strong 200m race. Three-time Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam slipped from second to sixth after finishing sixth in her 200m heat in 25.52. 

Tallyah Brooks clocked the only sub-13 time with 12.93 in the final 100 metres hurdles heat ahead of Lithuania’s Beatrice Juskeviciute (13.03) and two-time world medallist Anna Hall (13.05). 

Jade O’Dowda from Great Britain improved her PB to 13.34 to win the first heat ahead of two-time world champion Katarina Johnson Thompson and Kate O’Connor from Ireland who shared the same time of 13.44. O’Connor improved her PB at this height. 

Emma Oosterwegel from the Netherlands set her PB with 13.28 to claim the win in the second heat ahead of Adrianna Sukek Schubert from Poland (13.47). 

Nafissatou Thiam was the first to clear 1.89m in the high jump. Hall needed three attempts to jump over this height. Both Thiam and Hall failed three times at 1.92m. Katarina Johnson Thompson cleared 1.86m on her third attempt  but she could not clear her third attempt at 1.89m. Kate O’Connor improved her PB to 1.86m but she failed three attempts at 1.89m. Sofie Dokter equalled her PB with 1.86m. 

Hall improved her PB to 15.80m in the shot put to extend her lead with 3125 points in the overall standings ahead of Thiam (2978) and O’Connor (2932). 

 O’Connor added a third PB when she clocked 24.07 in the 200 metres. The Irish athlete finished second to Dutchwoman Emma Oosterwegel, who won her 200m heat improving her PB to 24.03. 

Katarina Johnson Thompson: “Tough timetable today, normally the events are more spread out through the day but this was back to back to back - that shows in the 200m times. It was a solid day, I've had a lot better and a lot worse. Now I just need to go home and recover. My day two has got better in recent years. I'm excited for long jump tomorrow, also got my shot put, but third after day one is good overall”

 Women’s 800 metres semifinal: 

Reigning world champion Mary Moraa from Kenya won the first semifinal in 1:58.40 ahead of Georgia Hunter Bell from Great Britain (1:58.62) and Eloisa Coiro from Italy (1:59.19)

Lilian Odira from Kenya ran the fastest qualifying time with 1:56.85 in the second heat beating Diamond League champion Audrey Werro from Switzerland (1:56.99). Jessica Hull from Australia set the Oceanian record with 1:57.15 to take third place. 

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson won a close second semifinal in 1:57.53 edging world under 20 champion Sarah Moraa with the same time. 

Keely Hodgkinson: “I am happy the rounds are over. The race was not anything special. It was just about getting through. I am saving my fitness for the final. There are no pacemakers, no wavelights. It’s different and that’s what makes championships races interesting”

 Men’s 5000 metres heats: 

Isaac Kimeli from Belgium, winner at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, won the men’s 5000 metres first heat in 13:13.06 ahead of Matthew Kipchumba Kipsang (13:13.33), Cole Hocker (13:13.41) and Nico Young (13:13.80). 

Isaac Kimeli: “For me this was a big win. Winning my heat is a big deal. It gives me a lot of confidence”

Ethiopian 18-year-old Biniam Mehary won a slow second heat in 13:41.51 ahead of 10000m European champion Jimmy Gressier from France (13:41.64), Birhanu Balew (13:41.75) and British record holder George Mills (13:41.76). Jakob Ingebrigtsen clinched the final qualifying spot with his eighth place in 13:42.15 after failing to advance from the heats in the 1500 metres. Andreas Almgren did not reach the final after finishing ninth in the first heat in 13:16.38. Niels Laros dropped out of the race with two laps to go. 

Women’s javelin throw qualifying round: 

Two-time world under 20 champion Adriana Vilagos topped the first qualifying with 66.06m. The Serbian athlete was one of the six athletes, who achieved the automatic qualifying standard for the final. 

Adriana Vilagos: “I was a little surprised with my throw in the third round. In the last two qualifications at major it went so badly for me. I tried not to be too nervous here but I failed. Maybe tonight it was the time to come out, to throw what I am capable of”

Mackenzie Little improved her seasonal best  to 65.54m to achieve the second best mark. Anete Sietina from Latvia improved her seasonal best to 63.67m. Juleisy Angulo from Ecuador improved the Ecuadorian record to 63.25m. European champion Victoria Hudson from Austria secured her spot in the final with 62.85m. Tori Moorby from New Zealand qualified for the final with 62.78m. 

Reigning world champion Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan, who suffered from a recent right elbow injury, could only throw 60.38m, short of the automatic qualifying mark of 62.50m.