LYLES’ 200 ROUT EARNS DOUBLE
When Noah Lyles powered into the straightaway and started pulling away in the 200-meter final, only a few questions remained on a night when track’s best sprinters backed up the hype at world championships.
None of them had to do with whether he would win.
The man who wants to someday be more than a mere sports star stayed on that trajectory Friday in a 19.52-second runaway to become the first man to complete the 100-200 sprint double at worlds since Usain Bolt did it for the third time back in 2015.
This was Lyles’ third straight world championship in his better race, the 200.
As for the biggest questions left: Will he meet his stated goal of 19.10 seconds in the 200, and can he reach superstar status at the Olympics — well, those answers will be teased out between now and the Paris Games.
“I think I’ve said a lot of times that I want to transcend the sport,” said Lyles, who is currently the subject of two documentaries and arguably the most engaging character in track. “I am the guy who wants to move past just being ‘track famous.’ ”
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson ran the second fastest time in history, a 21.41, to win her second straight title at 200 meters. Four days after taking second in the 100, Jackson beat American
Gabby Thomas by .4 seconds and three steps in the 200, with
Sha’Carri Richardson taking bronze to go with her gold in the 100.
Yulimar Rojas, the Venezuelan world-record holder who has won every major championship in triple jump since 2019, was in eighth before she reached 15.08 meters (49 feet, 53⁄4 inches) on her last try to beat Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, who won Ukraine’s first medal of the tournament — a silver instead of a gold.
In the women’s javelin, Japan’s
Haruka Kitaguchi took the title with a throw of 66.73 meters.
College basketball
Bronny James went into cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California last month because of a congenital heart defect, according to a family spokeswoman.
The 18-year-old son of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was stricken on July 24. He was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and later was seen by doctors at the Mayo Clinic and Atlantic Health-Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey.
A statement issued Friday by Stephanie Rosa of the LeBron James Family Foundation said the probable cause of James’ sudden cardiac arrest has been identified.
“It is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated,” the statement said. “We are very confident in Bronny’s full recovery and return to basketball in the very near future.”
Gymnastics
Simone Biles sent a message on Friday night at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, putting together a thrilling performance that included a show-stopping vault and looking ready for another shot at Olympic glory in Paris next summer.
The 26-year-old, wearing a bedazzled purple leotard and with her family adorned in matching Tshirts that read “Still I Rise,” posted an all-around total of 59.300 to lead the field and put a record eighth national title on Sunday well within reach.
Motorsports
Justin Allgaier won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway in double overtime Friday night for his first victory in 26 starts at the famed track. He held off Sheldon Creed by 0.005 seconds after several late crashes led to two overtime restarts and 10 extra laps. It was the fourth-closest finish in the history of the series.
Soccer
The United States will play its first competitive match in Gregg Berhalter’s second term as coach in a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal at Austin, Texas, on Nov. 16.
A former Premier League referee has said he failed to correct a mistake while on video-review duty for a match last season to spare the on-field official “any more grief.”
Cameron Carter-Vickers is set to miss the United States’ next four matches after being ruled out for two months by Scottish club Celtic because of a hamstring injury.
Local colleges
The 13th-ranked University of San Diego volleyball team was swept in its season opener against No. 9 Oregon, 25-21, 25-22, 25-13, at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu.
Nemo Beach had 10 kills for the Toreros.
San Diego State’s women’s volleyball team started off the season with a victory, beating Cal State Fullerton 3-1 in the Rose City Showdown in Portland, Ore. Taylor Underwood had 14 kills to lead the Aztecs to the 21-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-19 victory.
The UC San Diego women’s volleyball team opened the 2023 season with a 3-1 victory over Fresno State in the Bulldog Brawl at Butler, winning 25-9, 25-23, 1825, 25-23. Ava McInnes led with 18 kills (.368), adding four blocks and two aces.
Also
Vice President Kamala Harris led a White House celebration Friday for the 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, praising the team for its “grit and determination” on the court and “ferocious” advocacy in support of colleague Brittney Griner during her detention in Russia last year.