Since Usain Bolt's retirement in 2017, athletics has been desperately searching for a successor to the king of sprinting. Some have taken advantage of the power vacuum to make a name for themselves here and there, such as Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs, surprise Olympic champion over 100 meters in Tokyo in 2021, and American Fred Kerley, who claimed the world title over the straight in Eugene (Oregon) in 2022. But none had managed to establish a dominance similar to that exercised by the Jamaican for a decade.

The one who's come closest is American Noah Lyles. But so far, he's only won half the battle, for the 26-year-old Floridian has concentrated exclusively on the 200 meters, of which he is the reigning double world champion, neglecting the 100 meters, which remains the more prestigious discipline. He has decided to remedy this shortcoming at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where this time he will take part in both events, starting with the shorter one on Saturday, August 19 and Sunday, August 20.

At the Trials in early July – the US championships in which the top three finishers in each discipline earn qualification for the major international competitions – Lyles, already guaranteed a place in the 200 meters in Hungary thanks to his status as outgoing winner, had to fight hard to secure his place on the home straight. He finished third, in 10 seconds, behind Cravont Charleston and Christian Coleman. He'll have to go faster if he wants to dream of victory on a world podium.

Winner of the 100 meters at the Paris stage of the Diamond League in June, the sprinter told Le Monde of his confidence in this unprecedented double project: "I'm doing better than in other years." This season, Lyles has run twice as many short sprints as half-laps. "I want to get as much experience as possible on 100 meters so I'm comfortable with the race itself. The 200 meters has become natural for me, like automatic," he said. "My 100 meters is still not as consistent as I'd like. That's what I want to work on this year. And it's good to have programmed more of it into my schedule."

In early June, on Bolt's home turf, Lyles broke the Kingston meeting record in the 200 meters, clocking 19.67 seconds. The young American was greeted, almost adoringly, by the former champion himself, who came down to the track to say a few encouraging words. "It was a nice moment. He came to congratulate me," he said. "He told me to keep on being me and not to let anyone stop me."

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