Noah Lyles’ Recent Behavior Towards 200M Semi-Finals Leaves Athletics Community Divided

Challenges do not scare Noah Lyles. When he entered the 200m semifinals of the Tokyo World Championships, after posting a time of 19.99s in Heat 4 for the win, the only sub-20 of that race, he was allotted lane 7. The problem? Lane 7 challenges runners with a blind stagger start, an awkward in-between curve, and psychological pressure from being outside the favored middle lanes. There was a chance of him being slow after getting a bad lane again in the finals. But man oh man, this is Noah Lyles we are talking about, the defending world champion, and today he performed like one.

The Olympic gold medalist took the turn at the curve, and he just flew. He took the lead on the curve, and then he was just unstoppable. Sure, the rest of the field tried to catch up to him, but that kind of gap does not get covered easily. The defending world champions became the fastest man in the 200m as of the 2025 season, clocking 19.51 to win his semifinal heats. Zharnel Hughes was 2nd in 19.95s, and Sinesipho Dambile recorded a new PB of 19.97s. While Noah’s time has the fans in awe, they are questioning his behavior.

Before the race began, the Olympian, in true Noah Lyles fashion, was being dramatic. When the camera moved to the Olympian, He crouched, feet apart, one hand on the ground, the other on his knee. His head rose, eyes sharp, a crooked grin flashing. Slowly, he stood back up, with the crooked grin still on his face, and then he let out a roar. This was the Gear Second pose.

🇺🇸NOAH LYLES FASTEST EVER 200m SEMI IN 19.51! 😤 #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/dTe6mjoaIr

In Gear Second, Luffy (protagonist for One Piece anime) pumps his blood at an accelerated rate to increase his speed and strength, and his body emits steam. Lyles was making his epic anime protagonist entry into the 200m finals.  A fan felt, “did he need to do all that in a Semi Final??“. But his was all just before the race.

After he clocked the fastest 200m time of the season, Noah Lyles was seen pointing to his wrist, taunting the time he has recorded. While this is a classic Noah Lyles show, the track and field community has been left in debate. While some are in awe of what the 200m world champion did on the track, some are not very big fans of his theatrics.

Noah Lyles leaves the athletics community divided

While looking at Noah’s reaction, a person commented, “Noah back on that bulls- i see“. Lyles has been like that. Last year, when he claimed the 100m Olympic gold medal, he did the Kamehameha (a move used by anime Character, Goku from Dragon Ball Z) pose. He did it again after clocking 9.89s for 3rd position in the Men’s100 final, losing his world title to Oblique Seville in 9.77s.

Another person said, “The downside to what Noah Lyles did is that the other guys didn’t use as much energy as he did, they might be fresher tomorrow which might count against him.” It’s not his behavior alone, but also the time he clocked that has raised questions. The 19.51s would have taken a lot of effort from Lyles; there is no denying that. Kenny Bednarek won his heat in 19.88 while Letsile Tebogo was second in his heat in 19.95s. Now it is highly likely that they did not give their best in these races, so their legs might not be as tired as Lyles’ in the finals tomorrow.

“Noah lyles lays the marker . 19.51secs . World lead . Fastest in the semis . Cometh the hour ,cometh the champion Noah lyles” said one fan. Lyles did clock the fastest time of all the athletes in the semifinals.  His performances this season have not been anywhere near 19.50. The Monaco Diamond League in July saw 19.88. There was a close 19.63 in the USATF Championships on August 3, but then again, 19.74 in the Diamond League finals on August 28. But despite all the challenges, Lyles clocked the fastest time of the year as he steps one step closer to defending his 200m world title.

One fan also added, “I’ve just seen the semis, my prediction is1️⃣Noah Lyles 19.442️⃣ Bryan Levell 19.563️⃣ Kenny 19.654️⃣ Tebogo 19.76 Fast run from Noah but he didn’t really ease up at all. Bryan is looking scary, defo within 19.5 form, I haven’t seen enough from Tebogo this season tbh.” Jamaica’s Bryan Levell did create some hype with his win against Tebogo in 19.78s; he can be on the podium. But we cannot count out Tebogo; he is the biggest competition Noah Lyles has had this entire season. Who are you picking?