By Noel Francis
Tokyo, Japan – The men’s 200m final is gearing up to be a massive showdown with some of the world’s fastest half-lappers on show. Coming into these championships, only three names were worth mentioning to battle for the podium: two Americans and one Botswanan. However, an unlikely contender has entered the chat, and everyone was put on notice when the heats got underway.
Jamaica’s Bryan Levell, despite posting the third fastest 200m time of 19.69 seconds coming into the championships, was not seen as a medal contender. However, after opening his campaign with an effortless-looking 19.84 seconds, which was followed by another scintillating semifinal run of 19.78 seconds, Levell seems to be on a collision course with defending champion Noah Lyles, who scorched the track in a world-leading 19.51 seconds in his semifinal.
“The message today was that they can’t beat me. I knew I was running fast when I exited the curve, but I didn’t expect 19.51,” said a confident Noah Lyles. However, Levell was unfazed and responded, saying, “Definitely not worried about that time, I’m just going to focus on my lane and just run.”
Levell did not take the bait of predicting a winning time but only offered, “It will be a good, fast time.”
Other contenders in the final include Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo, who finished second behind Levell in their semifinal. “I felt great,” said Tebogo. “I wanted to test my calf because yesterday, I didn’t run straight. Tomorrow I’ll combine the two and let everything go out.”
Kenny Bednarek, who finished fourth in the men’s 100m final and is seeking redemption, won his semifinal in 19.88 seconds.