Noah Lyles sets new record in rarely seen event with explosive performance that left Gout Gout ‘trailing’

Noah Lyles took a quarter of a second off the world 150m best at the Golden Spike in Czechia.

The American star, who is the current Olympic 100m champion, clocked a time of 14.67 seconds at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting on Tuesday.

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He takes the record from Kishane Thompson (14.92), who had lowered a 32-year-old mark just two months ago.

Sinesipho Dambile of South Africa, runner up to Lyles in the Czech Republic, clocked a 14.78 in a close race.

Australian teenage sensation Gout Gout finished third, with a time of 14.96, in what was a highly-anticipated showdown.

This does not register as a world record for Lyles as World Athletics does not recognise this event for world record purposes.

Nevertheless, this is his seventh win of the calendar year, and perhaps most significant.

“It was about time,” Lyles said post-race.

“The world record was quite slow.

“This feeling (to become the fastest in the world) — it is nothing new. I said I could have a better turn. It is very hard to get used to running in a staggered 150 start.”

As the time came through, Lyles was seen sharing his big moment with Gout, and the pair slapped a high-five as the crowd roared around them.

“Noah ran incredible. A world record in the 150,” Gout said.

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“This is the race that I’ve been needing. Today I had an okay start, but I brought it home for sure.”

Lyles, who boasts being a four-time world 200m champion alongside his 100m Olympic gold, was contesting the distance for the first time.

The rarely run event is pretty much tailor-made for the 28-year-old, and he used both parts of his sprinting range to full effect in Ostrava.

Lyles was level with Dambile coming off the bend, but eventually pulled clear to smash the previous record with a sunning 14.67 run.

Noah Lyles predicted 150m record with bold claim

On the eve of the race, he had talked up his chances of setting a new mark.

“I saw the world record and felt it was a bit slow, so we need to make that a lot faster,” Lyles told reporters.

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He also pointed to Ostrava’s history of record-breaking performances to justify his decision to stay away from the 300m event, and focus on the 150m.

Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa set the mark in that rarely-run event back in 2017, with a world-best time of 30.81.

The great Usain Bolt ran a 300m time of 30.97 seconds in the Ostrava rain seven years prior to that, but Lyles wasn’t interested in 2026.

“We decided the 300m wasn’t for me this year. The 150m felt like the perfect middle ground,” he said.

With a new accolade to his name, Lyles was proved absolutely right.

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