Noah Lyles ties Usain Bolt record for sub-20s; new 100m world leader at NYC Grand Prix

Noah Lyles tied Usain Bolt‘s record by breaking 20 seconds in a wind-legal 200m for the 34th time in his career, winning at the New York City Grand Prix on Saturday.

Lyles clocked 19.83 seconds, distancing the field by 42 hundredths. Lyles, who broke the American record in winning the 2022 World title in 19.31, is the world’s fastest man this year at 19.67.

“It’s not perfect, but it was very fun,” Lyles said of the 19.83 to Lewis Johnson on NBC.

Lyles is the third-fastest 200m sprinter in history behind Bolt (19.19) and fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake (19.26). But he is now even with Bolt in number of times breaking 20 seconds, 10 more times than retired Namibian Frankie Fredericks and 11 more than 1996 Olympic champ Michael Johnson.

Lyles can break his tie with Bolt later this summer — if he enters a Diamond League meet, such as in London on July 23, or at August’s world championships in Budapest.

Athletes are preparing for the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in two weeks in Eugene, Oregon, where the top three in most events qualify for worlds. Lyles has a bye into worlds in the 200m as reigning champion and plans to race the 100m at USATF Outdoors.

Full meet results are here. The track and field season continues Friday with a Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, live on Peacock.

Earlier Saturday, Zharnel Hughes ran the world’s fastest 100m of 2023, 9.83 seconds to break 1992 Olympic champion Linford Christie‘s British record of 9.87. The only European to run faster is Tokyo Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy.

Hughes, 27, was a teen phenom from Anguilla who came within three hundredths of a second of Usain Bolt in a 200m in New York City in 2015. His previous personal best in the 100m was 9.91 from