2025 World Athletics Championships: Noah Lyles, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden complete American sweep of 200m
Noah Lyles won his fourth consecutive 200m world title on Friday, matching Usain Bolt's winning streak from 2009 through 2015.
Lyles finished with a time of 19.52 seconds, just beating out fellow American Kenny Bednarek's 19.58 and Jamaican Bryan Levell's 19.64.
NOAH LYLES DOES IT AGAIN! 😱
FOUR 200m world outdoor titles in a row! #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/wo8jm82hyp— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 19, 2025
Lyles entered this week's world's in Tokyo having already posted the fastest time in the 200m this year with a 19.63 at the USATF Outdoor Championships in August. He has now lost only three times in outdoor 200m races since 2016 and earned bronze medals at the past two Olympics.
It was an American sweep in the 200m on Friday as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the women's event after finishing in 21.68 seconds, the best time in the world in two years. She beat out Great Britain's Amy Hunt (22.14) and two-time defending world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica (22.18).
MELISSA JEFFERSON-WOODEN DOES THE DOUBLE!
She runs the fastest time in the WORLD this year to complete the 100m/200m sweep. #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/sxEnv6MpMe— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 19, 2025
The win earned Jefferson-Wooden her second gold medal after she won the 100m on Sunday. She is the first American woman to win both the 100m and 200m at the world championships. Silke Gladisch (1987) and Katrin Krabbe (1991) of Germany and Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2013) are the only other women to win both events at the same worlds.