‘Major error’: American slows up in race he was winning and ends up third

Noah Lyles was cruising to victory in the men’s 200m when he began slowing up and fell all the way to third.

Noah Lyles slowed down before the finish line and ended up finishing third in a photo-finish.

World champion Noah Lyles endured a finish-line gaffe to send a major scare during the American camp during Tuesday’s 200m semi-finals.

The 24-year-old inexplicably slowed up with 10m of his semi to run and was promptly overtaken at the line by Canada’s Aaron Brown and Liberian Joseph Fahnbulleh, although all three were credited with a time of 19.99sec.

It meant Lyles didn’t qualify automatically as one of the first two finishers and instead had an anxious wait as the third and final semi-final went ahead.

Noah Lyles finished third.

He let up at the end.

And now he'll have to wait to see if he qualifies for the final. Wow.

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 3, 2021

Noah Lyles had a victory in hand, then slowed down in the final 20 meters of his 200 semifinal. He got passed by two runners. That nonchalance means he’ll have to make it on time. At best, he’ll have a bad lane for the final. Major and unnecessary error. 19.99 is the time.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) August 3, 2021

Man. Noah Lyles with some dangerous deceleration there. Will almost surely get through, but looking at a disadvantageous lane draw for 200m final,

— Tim Layden (@ByTimLayden) August 3, 2021

Letting up at the end could cost Noah Lyles a gold medal in 200-meter final. Top three ran 19.99, so they were separated by thousandths. If Lyles gets a bad lane, that will turn out to be quite a gaffe. #Tokyo2020

— David Woods (@DavidWoods007) August 3, 2021

That was won in some style by Brown’s teammate Andre de Grasse, the Rio silver medallist, who clocked a national record of 19.73sec ahead of American Kenneth Bednarek, in 19.83.

Lyles was left a sigh of relief as he qualified as one of the next two fastest, along with Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.

Relegated to lane three for the final, Lyles attempted to play it cool, saying he went with “the plan” and that he was never worried he’d miss the big one.

But he later admitted the situation “was a little risky” after almost suffering the same fate as women’s 200m runner Shericka Jackson.

Noah Lyles (lane five) finished third behind Joseph Fahnbulleh and Aaron Brown. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Jackson lost in the heats after beginning to slow down with 40m still to run, seeing her swallowed up by runners behind her after she appeared to casually stroll over the finish line.

US teen sensation Erriyon Knighton won the opening semi-final convincingly in 20.02sec, scoring a psychological blow by casually looking across the field no less than four times on the back stretch through to the line.

The 17-year-old will become one of the youngest ever 200m finalists when he lines up at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

It’s one of many highlights at the athletics on Wednesday.

Women’s 400m hurdles final

After Karsten Warholm’s thrilling world-record run in the men’s hurdles on Tuesday, arguably one of the best Olympic races in living memory, fireworks are also expected when the women take to the track.

Leading the assault will be American Sydney McLaughlin, who, like Warholm, set a new world record just before the Tokyo Games.

McLaughlin clocked 51.90sec to win the US trials after a superb tactical race against reigning Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad.

In what promises to be hot, humid conditions on a fast track, Dutch runner Femke Bol will be hoping to be the proverbial fly in the ointment.

Women’s 1500m semi-finals

Ethiopian-born Dutch star Sifan Hassan is back on the track in her quest for an unprecedented treble in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m.

There was drama in her opening heat of the 1500m when she was forced to pick herself up following a fall and forced to move through the gears as she hunted the leaders down to eventually finish first.

Incredibly she was back on track just 12 hours after that, crushing the field with a well-timed last-lap sprint to claim gold in the 5000m.

How she copes with the rough and tumble of the 1500m will determine if she can keep her audacious bid alive.

The moment Noah Lyles realised he'd messed up. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Men’s decathlon – Day 1

France’s Kevin Mayer won silver behind then-world record-holder Ashton Eaton, who is now retired, at the Rio Olympics.

Mayer went on to win the world title in London in 2017, going on to break the world record in Talence with 9126 points.

There was disaster, however, at the 2019 worlds in Doha, when he was forced to retired with injury.

Any weakness will surely be exploited by Canada’s Damian Warner, who has finished in the top five at the past six outdoor global championships, picking up Olympic bronze in 2016 as well as world silver in 2015 and world bronze in 2013 and 2019.

Germany’s world champion Niklas Kaul and American Garrett Scantling and Estonian world silver medallist Maicel Uibo will all be battling for a top-three spot.

The first day features the 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m.

Women’s heptathlon – Day 1

Thanks to injuries and the Covid-19 pandemic, world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Britain and Olympic champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium have not contested a full heptathlon since their clash at the Doha world championships in 2019.

Thiam’s breakthrough came when she claimed gold at the Rio Games and this year she won the European indoor title in March with a national record of 4904 points.

Johnson-Thompson suffered a ruptured achilles earlier this year but returned to competition at the end of June, testing herself in a range of disciplines.

The US trio of Annie Kunz, Kendell Williams and Erica Bougard will all seek to ascend the podium, along with Hungarian Xenia Krizsan.

The first day features the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m.

– with AFP