Noah Lyles new king of the 100m, Joshua Cheptegei undisputed ruler of the 10k

BUDAPEST: Noah Lyles stormed to victory to win the 100m world title on Sunday and then set his sights on a third successive 200m crown, something Joshua Cheptegei achieved in the 10,000m.

Lyles, the charismatic 26-year-old American who has battled depression, had said he was mentally in a good place coming into the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

It showed as he clocked 9.83sec — the fastest 100m time of the year — in front of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The blue riband event of the track was guaranteed a new champion after 2022 victor Fred Kerley followed Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Marcell Jacobs in failing to make the final.

“They said it couldn’t be done. They said I wasn’t the one,” said Lyles after forcing his way to the line first. “But I thank God I am.”

Cheptegei produced a magisterial display in what might be his final track championships as the Ugandan became the fourth man in history to win three successive world 10,000m titles.

“I am very excited and proud that I have succeeded in winning my third world title in a row,” said Cheptegei.

“This was the best possible way to end the season. This might be my last championships at the track, that’s why this gold medal means even more.”

Hungary traditionally has revered more the throwers than the runners and Bence Halasz did not let his nation down as he set the pace in the men’s hammer final with his first throw of 80.82m.

The 26-year-old brought the crowd to their feet and raised the decibel levels on what is the country’s national holiday, St. Stephen’s Day, but eventually had to settle for bronze.

Canada’s Ethan Katzberg took a surprise gold with 81.25m, with Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki