Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo wins men’s 200m gold; Lyles labours to bronze

Noah Lyles suffered an upset in the 200-metres Thursday, settling for Olympic bronze for the second straight time in the event as Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo won gold and American Kenny Bednarek got silver.

Lyles fell to his back after the loss and eventually sat up to be tended to by medics who rushed out onto the track. He was taken off the track in a wheelchair.

Tebogo, 21, led wire-to-wire and won in 19.46 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in history. Bednarek, who also won silver in Tokyo, finished in 19.62 and Lyles, four nights after winning a close-as-can-be 100, ran the curve in 19.70.

“It was really a beautiful race for me,” Tebogo said after his victory.

“When we made it to the final, my coach just told me, now my job is done, it’s up to you to see what you can do. Whether it’s a medal or not, just finish the race healthy. That’s all I could’ve wished for. I’m happy I finished the race healthier than before.”

Lyles had not been beaten in a 200m since that night in Tokyo, and after his win in the 100, he brought the bronze medal to the press conference, slammed it on the table and said that had been his motivation for three full years.

Thursday’s final marked the second straight night Tebogo beat him to the finish line in the Lyles’ favourite race.

In the semifinal, Lyles finished second and skipped his traditional meeting with reporters to head to the medical tent. His coach said he was fine.

This time, Tebogo was leading as the sprinters reached the curve. That’s the time Lyles usually puts on his trademark close, but there was no strong finish.

Usain Bolt accomplished the sprint double at three Olympics in a row — in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Lyles was crowned the “Fastest Man Alive” by edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second in the the 100-metre champion on Sunday.