The Jamaican Shericka Jackson and the Americans Noah Lyles this Thursday they became absolute kings of the 200 meters with resounding victories on a day in which the Spaniards Mariano García and Álvaro de Arriba were left out of the 800m final of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene (USA).
Hayward Field in Eugene had an electric Thursday night. First with a star-studded women’s 200m final.
great cast
On the track were the champion of the past world championships, Dina Asher-Smith; the fastest woman of the season in 200 meters, Jackson; the second classified in the world distance ranking, Elaine Thompson-Herah; and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a three-time Olympic champion and 10-time world champion.
But as soon as the starting gun was fired, the competition turned into a duel between the Jamaicans Fraser-Pryce and Jackson.
Shericka Jackson wins the womens 200M finals with a CR of 21.45 ?? pic.twitter.com/KNp6EUW14W
— Master (@maest8rmind) July 22, 2022
The first, known for her colorful wigs and world champion in the 100 meters, struck the first blow. But Jackson displayed her power in the final 100 meters and easily pulled away from her compatriot.
When she crossed the finish line, Jackson became the second fastest woman in the history of the distance with a time of 21.45, very close to the world record of 21.34 that the American Florence Griffith set in 1988.
Jackson’s record and the ease with which it was imposed on the rest of the competitors makes us dream that Griffith’s record could fall this season.
Victory by KO
The women’s final was followed by the men’s. And the race, in which the eight finalists had personal bests under 20 seconds, did not disappoint either.
Noah LYLES ?? 19.32 wins Gold 200m final clean sweep amazing, fantastic pic.twitter.com/NV7ZxcwUf4
– Ricardo Samuels (@RickyRicardo_77) July 22, 2022
The American Noah Lyles sentenced the debate on world hegemony in the 200 meters with an exhibition that ended with a time of 19.31, a new national record, leading an American triple rounded by Kenneth Bednarek (19.77) and Erriyon Knighton (19.80).
With his record at Hayward Field, Lyles, who is defending his title, beat the American record held by Michael Johnson since the ’96 Olympic Games in Atlanta by one hundredth and is now third in the all-time world ranking, only behind Jamaicans Usain Bolt (19.19) and Yohan Blake (19.26).
The Dominican Alexander Ogando, disciple of the double 400m hurdles world champion Félix Sánchez, culminated his great performance in Eugene with a fifth place and a mark of 19.93.
Spanish disappointment
Despite the good feeling in the previous rounds, Spain will not be represented on Saturday in the 800m final. His two semifinalists, Mariano García from Murcia and Álvaro de Arriba from Salamanca, fell in the penultimate round with respective times of 1:46.70 and 1:46.30.
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Mariano García, current indoor world champion, had felt “spectacular sensations” in the first round, but a day later the challenge he faced in the second semifinal was enormous. His personal best (1:45.12) was the worst of all.
Álvaro de Arriba, European indoor champion in 2019, ran the third semifinal in a theoretical situation almost as bad as that of the Murcian, with the second worst mark (1:44.85) of the participants, and suffered the same fate.