AMERICAN sprinter Noah Lyles thought he was the fastest man on the planet after smashing Usain Bolt’s 200m record – but then realised he’s made a huge mistake.
The 22-year-old had just clocked a time of 18.90 seconds at the Inspirational Games – significantly quicker than Bolt’s 19.19 he set in 2009.
Lyles was left in disbelief when he saw his original timeCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Lyles was racing in Florida, in a transatlantic virtual race against Churandy Martina in Holland and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre in Switzerland.
He blew away the rest of the field and looked almost in disbelief when he saw his own time show up on the clock.
When he crossed the line, BBC commentator Steve Cram said: “That cannot be right.
“Even he has got his hands in the air wondering what is going on.”
With a previous personal best of 19.50, it didn’t take long to determine why his time broke a world record.
The American had accidentally run 185m instead of 200mCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Usain Bolt broke the 200m world record in 2009Credit: Reuters
It then emerged that Lyles had been running in the wrong lane and had, in fact, only sprinted 185m.
The world champion later tweeted: “You can’t be playing with my emotions like this….Got me in the wrong lane smh.”
Lyles’ error meant he missed out on the £8000 winner’s cheque with Lemaitre taking the money with a time of 20.65.
Meanwhile Bolt has been making his mark again after sharing pictures of his baby daughter Olympia Lightning.
Usain Bolt having baby girl with girlfriend Kasi Bennett as pair throw extravagant gender reveal bash
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
