Noah Lyles wins the men’s 100m gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships; Oblique Seville finished fourth again.
By Gary Smith
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Noah Lyles clinched the gold medal in the men’s 100m with a world-leading time of 9.83 seconds at the 2023 World Athletics Championships on Sunday.
“And you said I couldn’t do it,” exclaimed Lyles, moments after securing the top spot.
While Lyles is primarily recognized for his 200m achievements, he arrived in Budapest aiming for a sprint double. The two-time reigning champion in the 200m successfully accomplished the initial, and arguably more challenging, part of his mission with an outstanding run.
“They said it couldn’t be done. They said I wasn’t the one. But I thank God I am,” added Lyles, who finished third at the U.S. Championships in July.
“I have taken a lot of losses, even in the 100m,” he added. “Going to the USA championships with Covid I got a bronze medal, but a lot of people would cut me off right there and they probably did already.
“I knew what I had to do. I came here for three golds, ticked off one, others are coming.”
In a tightly contested race, the subsequent three finishers all recorded times of 9.88 seconds.
However, it was Botswana’s World U20 champion, Letsile Tebogo, who clinched silver with a national record. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes was a mere thousandth of a second behind, securing the bronze.
Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who previously finished fourth at the Oregon world championships, matched the 9.88-second mark but narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fourth place once again.