24/08/2023
: Noah Lyles Involved in Accident Scare, Qualifies for 200m Finals Alongside Tebogo, Knighton
By Cornell Rotich, P.N.S
What you need to know:
▪️Noah Lyles was in one of the cars that collided just before the 200m semifinals
▪️The defending champion and the rest of the round 1 semifinalists were being transported to the stadium
▪️The American shook off the scare to storm to the finals as he continues to chase double gold in Budapest
200m men's finalists at the World Athletics Championships survived a scare after two buggies carrying them collided on the way to the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
The two open-top cars, which are being used to ferry the athletes to and fro the championships venue, surprisingly rammed into each other, forcing the semifinals to be delayed.
Luckily, no major injuries were recorded, but Andrew Hudson, who was in semifinal 1 with defending champion Noah Lyles, appeared to get glass in his eye. The order of races was altered to allow the Jamaican to get some quick medical attention.
Newly-minted 100m champion Lyles, however, shrugged off the minor accident to record the fastest time of the round, clocking 19.76 seconds to storm into the finals. Other finalists include his fellow podium finishers in the 100m, Letsile Tebogo and Zharnel Hughes. U20 hotshot Erryion Knighton and Olympic champion Andre de Grasse will also be in the final scheduled for August 25.
Hudson did not make it through in the semifinals as one of the automatic qualifiers but was advanced to the finals due to the nature of his mishap in the accident.