All season long, the University of Oregon’s SOJC Track Bureau has been following the drama in the men’s 200 meters. We’ve watched Lewis Johnson’s post-race interview after the U.S. 200-meter championship race so many times.
So for Thursday night’s final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, we decided to dive deep into the drama before, during and after the race, which was swept by the Americans: Erriyon Knighton with bronze, Kenny Bednarak with silver and Noah Lyles with gold and an American record of 19.31.
Here’s what the team learned:
THE SCENE: HAYWARD FIELD
By McKenzie Days
The crowd was already frenzied after the exciting women’s 200 meters, which was dominated by the Jamaicans and won by Shericka Jackson in a championship record 21.45. The sporadic sounds of horns were still audible from around the stadium, and some fans remained standing.
When the competitors appeared on the backstretch, other fans instantly stood up and cheered. During warm-ups, a section of Hayward started a rhythmic hand clap.
“I think you have a good resetting up here between Noah and Erriyon Knighton,” said long-time track fan Howard Powell. “Obviously Knighton comes in with the fastest time in the world this year. But Lyles beat him at USAs.”
Powell said it’s not fair that people are setting up Knighton as the “next Usain Bolt” because of his times. “Usain Bolt had to find his path his way, and you don’t know if Knighton will get to that stage,” Powell said. “It took him 10 years to master his craft.”
Another track fan, Arlinda Coleman, said the comparisons are “absolutely” fair.
“Knighton is coming,” Coleman said. “I hope they don’t overrun him. I think the thing that’s going to save him is that he’s skipping college. Like Abby Steiner.”
Coleman predicted that it was “not today” for Knighton and said the rivalry between Lyles and Knighton is good for Lyles. “He needs it,” Coleman said. “If he uses that to motivate him to win, I’m happy for him.”
Coleman also noted the off-track portion of the rivalry, which has included not just the Lewis Johnson interview, but Lyles pointing at Knighton/the clock when he won at USAs and some post-race pretend phone calling.
“People were discussing how they thought it was too much when he was doing the phone thing,” Coleman said. “But this is track and field. I bet you they eat dinner together.”
THE SCENE: GOLD MEDALIST NOAH LYLES
By Aaron Heisen
Noah Lyles stood by the finish line staring at the time on the clock. It read 19.32 seconds — the same time that Michael Johnson had run at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games to set the American record in the 200 meters.
“I was telling ‘him’ to cut me some slack,” Lyles said.
The clock wouldn’t budge, so Lyles turned his back, closed his eyes and dropped to his knees to pray. As he did so, the Hayward Field crowd let out a huge roar. His prayer was answered.
Lyles looked up from the track to see the time was officially clocked at 19.31 — in addition to winning the gold medal, he had broken Johnson’s record.
“I saw the one and my whole world changed,” Lyles said during the on-track interview.
After he broke the record, Johnson congratulated him. Lyles had watched Johnson’s record-setting race when he was first getting into running at age 13. At the time, however, he didn’t imagine himself breaking it.
That idea came into the picture as Lyles was leaving the Tokyo Olympic Games. He was disappointed with his third-place finish and felt he hadn’t enjoyed himself. He knew he would have to rediscover that love for track and put work into improving his starts if he wanted to sniff Johnson’s record.
On Thursday, that’s exactly what he did. Coming out of the turn, Lyles’ strong start helped him build a significant lead. “When I didn’t feel Erryion coming off the turn,’ he said, “I was like, ‘OK, I’m racing myself.’”
With the record in his sights, Lyles extended his lead on the straightaway and through the finish line. His margin of victory was huge: 0.46 seconds.
“I didn’t know who got second,” Lyles said. “I didn’t know Erriyon got third until we walked onto the podium, so that’s how big the gap was.”
THE SCENE: SILVER MEDALIST KENNY BEDNAREK
By Elias Esquivel
Kenny Bednarek ran in lane five, sporting brand new earrings with lightning bolts dangling from them. The look fit the overall theme of the race and was appropriate for Bednarek’s season-best performance of 19.77, which followed his silver-medal run at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know how fast we were running,” said Bednarek. “As soon as the gun went off, my mind went blank.”
Bednarek didn’t have the best start, struggling on the turn around the curve. He says he lost some momentum, but gained it back on the homestretch, pumping his arms and staying relaxed — something the self-proclaimed Silent Assassin doesn’t have trouble doing.
When the results flashed on the board, the time shocked him.
“I didn’t know what to expect on that time,” said Bednarek. “As soon I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh crap.’”
Bednarek said the American sweep is a testament to the hard work they’ve been doing and a message to the rest of the world. Bednarek, however, was simply happy to return to the podium after fracturing his toe in December while assembling a cabinet. It sidelined him for seven weeks, but provided a valuable lesson.
“I’m not a handyman, apparently,” said Bednarek.
He certainly isn’t. Bednarek dropped the cabinet on his foot, then proceeded to put it together wrong. He had to call someone to fix it.
THE SCENE: BRONZE MEDALIST ERRIYON KNIGHTON
By Madeline Ryan
The crowd was thunderous as Lyles’ and Bednarek’s names and times populated on the screen at Hayward, confirming the U.S. went 1-2.
There was a pause as all eyes watched in anticipation of a third name.
Erriyon Knighton. USA.
The stadium shook with noise as the crowd cheered with another victory — it was the second USA sweep of the meet.
Knighton, 18 years and 174 days old, finished in 19.80 seconds and took the first medal of his career. He became the youngest men’s 200-meter medalist in the history of the world championships and the second youngest individual medalist of all time, beyond Kenya’s Richard Chelimo, who was 18 years, 127 days old when he took silver in the 10,000 meters in 1991.
“It feels good to win my first one. And I mean, I hope for more in the future,” Knighton said. “It feels good to become the youngest medalist. And I can tell you right now that I’m not gonna stop.”
Knighton became known as a prodigy when he ran a 20.11 at age 17 and broke Usain Bolt’s under-18 record, 20.40. He came in third in the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer, also behind Lyles and Bednarek. Then at the Olympics in Tokyo, Knighton narrowly missed a medal after he finished fourth, just 0.19 from Lyles’ bronze.
After turning 18 in January, Knighton broke another one of Bolt’s records three months later, running 19.49 to best Bolt’s under-20 record, 19.93. This is the fifth-fastest time in history.
Then Knighton graduated from high school in May — he skipped his graduation ceremony to race at the Prefontaine Classic, where he competed in the 100 and got sixth.
“Noah Lyles told me I will be one of the greatest in the sport,” Knighton said. “It feels good coming from him.”
Knighton said he didn’t run as fast in the final because his right foot hit the block coming out, and it slightly messed up his race pattern.
When he was talking to journalists after the race, Knighton was brief. He had a hard time making eye contact. He scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. A journalist asked him if he was excited, then commented that he didn’t seem excited about being interviewed. Knighton smiled a little, and agreed.
“No, but I’m excited to talk,” he said, correcting himself after a moment. “I just have to think about it. I just gotta get some time to think about what I just did.”
