The men’s 200 meters in Tokyo is gearing up for a breathtaking final chapter. With the stalwarts of the game taking the spotlight, a question hangs over the possibility of a reunion that echoed last summer in Paris. Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, and Kenny Bednarek each advanced to the semi-finals on September 17 at the World Championships. 

Lyles, the reigning world champion, appeared untroubled in heat four. He clocked 19.99 and easily progressed to the next round. “The body is feeling good and definitely waking up,” he explained afterward. “The goal here was to blast through the first 100m and I got that done.” Bednarek, one of his fiercest domestic rivals, followed in kind, finishing his heat in 19.98. Letsile Tebogo made sure to prove his grit as the reigning Olympic champ by grabbing the win from the outside lane in 20.18. And now, the Paris 200m Olympic podium will progress to separate semifinals. 

Such a turn of events indeed considerably increases the likelihood of their names appearing together again in Saturday’s final. However, the central storyline revolves around whether Tokyo will indeed stage a repeat of Paris. Tebogo clinched Botswana’s first gold medal in 19.46, while Bednarek claimed silver in 19.62, and Lyles, already the 100-meter champion, settled for bronze with a timing of 19.70. Interestingly, the semifinal draw appears quite favorable for all three to go through. Bednarek leads the first group against the likes of Wayde van Niekerk and Alexander Ogando, while Tebogo spearheads the second group with Australia’s 17-year-old Gout Gout and Jamaica’s Bryan Levell. Meanwhile, Lyles anchors the third alongside Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Canada’s Andre De Grasse.

Surely, for Lyles, Tokyo represents another chance to assert his dominance in the 200m play. He is chasing a fourth consecutive world crown, something only Usain Bolt has achieved, and enters as the year’s fastest man with his 19.63 at the U.S. Trials. That race was notable not only for the time but also for its conclusion, when he edged Bednarek by 0.04 and turned to stare at him, provoking a shove from the two-time Olympic silver medalist. 

Tebogo has altered the balance of power since then. The 22-year-old has been consistent across 2025, with a season’s best of 19.76 in July, only days before finishing second to Lyles at the Monaco Diamond League. He closed in on the margin further at the Diamond League Final in Zurich, where Lyles got the job done in 19.74 with a slim lead of 0.02. Meanwhile, with the 200m Tokyo showdown heating up, Lyles will be wary about how his double gold aspirations in Paris faced a setback.

How Letsile Tebogo seized Olympic 200m gold as Noah Lyles’ double dream collapsed

Letsile Tebogo produced a moment of magic in Paris. At 21, the young sprinter from Botswana charged ahead of his rivals in 19.46 seconds, setting an African record and lifting his nation to its first ever Olympic gold. As Kenneth Bednarek followed in 19.62 and Noah Lyles crossed in 19.70, Lyles’ dreams faced a setback.

After the race, Tebogo lifted his spikes toward the cameras, revealing his mother’s date of birth, and said quietly, “It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field.” His words explained the conviction with which he held off the challenge in the final straight. Bednarek, as consistent as ever, matched the silver he won in Tokyo, but could not reel in the leader. Lyles, so often imperious over the half-lap, never recovered from a slow start and later required assistance from the track, his struggle traced to a positive Covid test that had gone undisclosed until the race was over.

Tebogo had already ended Lyles’s long streak of victories in the semi-finals, and in the final he confirmed it was no accident. The reigning world champion entered as favourite with the eyes of the world upon him, yet the decisive burst came from the younger man who had buried his grief in relentless drive. For Botswana, and for Tebogo himself, the night belonged entirely to him. Surely, now that the possibility of a Paris rematch is high, the fans cannot wait to see the trio light up the stadium again.