World Athletics Championships 2023: Top three contenders in men’s 200m sprint

With a season-leading mark of 19.47 seconds -- set at the London Athletics Meet -- in his bank, Noah Lyles is the hot favourite to bag another world championship.

FILE PHOTO: Noah Lyles of the Unite States. | Photo Credit: AP

The World Athletics Championships are set to begin in Budapest on Saturday and will conclude on August 27.

Here are the three favourites for gold medal in men’s 200m sprint:

Noah Lyles (USA)

Two-time reigning 200m world champion Noah Lyles will go into the evenT as heavy favourite.

With a season-leading mark of 19.47 seconds -- set at the London Athletics Meet -- in his bank, the American sprinter will be expected to bag another world championship.

A gold at Budapest will take Lyles to three gold medals in 200m at the World Championships, one behind sprint legend Usain Bolt, who leads the tally.

Lyles, who also holds the third-fastest time in 200m (19.31), which he set in the last World Championship, will face challenges from both expected and unexpected quarters.

PB - 19.31s

SB - 19.47s

Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)

FILE PHOTO: Letsile Tebogo of Botswana | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lyles will be much more wary of the explosive Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who has a Personal Best of 19.50 in 200m, which parks him right behind the American sprinter in the season charts.

Tebogo, the reigning African champion, will have a chance to become the first sprinter from his continent be the 200m world champion in 30 years, after Frank Fredericks of Namibia from 1993.

The 20-year-old has progressed drastically over the last couple of years, with the Botswanian shaving off nearly two seconds off his personal best in the duration. His 19.50, which came at the London Athletics Meet, behind Lyles, is also the faster time set by an African in 200m.

Tebogo is the frontrunner of a strong African contingent in the competition, which will also showcase the talents of Nigeria’s Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike and Ghana’s James Dadzie, who both feature in the top-10 in the season standings.

PB - 19.50s

SB - 19.50s

Erriyon Knighton (USA)

FILE PHOTO: Erriyon Knighton of the United States. | Photo Credit: AP

Erriyon Knighton, Lyles’ compatriot, became the youngest individual sprint medallist in the history of world championships when he won bronze last year in Eugene at the age of 18.

Knighton has been in solid form this season, winning the Diamond League meetings in Florence and Oslo while also clinching gold at the USA Championships.

PB - 19.49s

SB - 19.72s

Olympic champion Andre De Grasse and Fred Kerley are expected to be the dark horses in this event.

World Record - 19.19s (Usain Bolt at 2009 World Championships in Berlin)

World Championships Record - 19.19s (Usain Bolt at 2009 World Championships in Berlin)

Olympic Record - 19.30s (Usain Bolt at 2008 Beijing Olympics)

World-leading performance in 2023 - 19.47s (Noah Lyles at London Athletics Meet)