BRUSSELS: US sprint sensation Noah Lyles will look to bag a second Diamond League trophy when he competes in the 200 metres in the Brussels final on Friday.
The 22-year-old went to last week’s first final in Zurich and pipped American teammate and current world champion Justin Gatlin to win the 100m.
A shot at a second discipline victory offers Lyles a perfect chance to notch up a psychological booster ahead of the September 27-October 6 world championships in Doha.
“Two years ago I was watching the others win diamonds and this year I am trying to come away with two Diamond race wins. It is going to be something,” Lyles said.
Lyles will go into the 200m as favourite, having clocked 19.50sec in Lausanne last month, a time that made him the fourth fastest of all time over the half-lap race.
The good news for the American is that the track at Brussels’ King Baudouin stadium is a rapid one.
The meet record of 19.26sec was set in 2011 by Jamaican Yohan Blake. It remains the fastest time ever run over the 200m after Usain Bolt’s world record of 19.19sec set in the 2009 Berlin world championships. – AFP
