WORLD TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

For the United States it’s been a neat run in its first time as host for the annual Track and Field World Championships, and especially for the men sprinters.

For once again, it was the Americans sweeping the way, this time in the 200 meters in day 7 Thursday night after doing the same in the 100 meters earlier in the week at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Each time it was perhaps again unexpected with Jamaica and some other swift nations having plenty of speed. But after Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bronwell went one, two, three in the century in day 4 on Monday night, it was Noah Lyles bursting away from the starter’s gun and leaving the others on his heels in 19:31, which, just like that, erased the American record of 19:32 set by Michael Johnson. No ark for Noah, just a big night of breaking a long-time record.

Behind him in second and third was Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton from the USA, and thus the red, white and blue created the improbable back-to-back sweep. Bednarek raced 19.77 and Knighton dashed 19.80. And not a single Jamaican in the next five places, as that went to Liberia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and South Africa.

Lyles, who usually signals his victories at the finish to those behind him, didn’t have to this time. This time, he was all alone at the finish, then crouched down, putting his hands on his knees and glaring at the official clock. Not seeing what he’d hoped for, he waved his hand dismissible and walked back towards the track to celebrate what was still a long-awaited win at these world championships.

But quickly, he found out this night would just be getting better. The clock that, for a moment, read “19.32,” would adjust down a tick to “19.31”. And that meant he broke Johnson’s hallowed 26-year-old American record — a mark that for decades, appeared unreachable. Right after came the names and times turned in by Bednarek and Knighton, the youngest in the field at the age of 19 and just out of high school.

As for Lyles, he pounded his hand on the track four times, stood up straight and ripped off his jersey. He grabbed his medal from the medal from the presenter, then went over and hugged his family and grabbed an American flag — one of many that have been needed at these championships on home turf.

The sweep gave the United States 22 medals through seven days, with three more days on track with sunny days, breezy nights, and good crowds.

Lyles sped the third-fastest time in history, behind only Jamaica’s Usain Bolt’s 19.19 in 2009 and a 19:26 raced two years later by another Jamaican, Yohan Blake, while he was briefly pushing Bolt’s for supremacy.

But Johnson’s 19:32 time as the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 had a pretty big place in track history, too.

“I saw the time pop up and saw I tied Michael Johnson’s record,” Lyles said. ” I was like, really, you’re going to do me like that? Then, that number changed from two to one and my whole world changed.”

Jamaica also did equally well, but only among the women as moments later its Shericka Jackson gave her land another gold in the sprints by racing 21.45 in the 200 for the second-fastest time in history. Second was her teammate, 100-meter champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Only defending champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain prevented a back-to-back Jamaica sweep by finishing third.

Jackson’s time is shy of the 21.34 set by Florence Griffin-Joyner of the United States at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While the Jamaican medalists were two-thirds of the 100-meter finalists, the Americans put a completely different trio on the stand.

Kerley, Bracy and Bromwell dominated the 100. This time, it was Lyles, Bednarek, the Olympic silver medalist, and Knighton is now the youngest individual sprint medalist in worlds track history. The 19.49 he dashed earlier this year, made him a slight favorite in this race and set up what was being touted as a rivalry of sorts with Lyles, but Lyles wouldn’t allow it as he took a quick lead and increased it on the turn for home.

It was he who beat Knighton to the line at nationals and waved his finger as he crossed — a not-so-subtle message that he wasn’t giving in to his younger rival, who just struggled it off when interviewed.

But Lyles would be the first to concede that his biggest competition has been himself over the past few years.  Once, he was seen as track’s solution to its Bolt problem — namely, what to do without an outsized personality to capture eyeballs.

As for Kerley, a groin injury he suffered in the 200 qualifying will keep him out of competition for the remainder of the meet, which has truly been a blessing for his country in its first time of hosting it. The dressed-up venue brings a picturesque picture of the area that is near-by the University of Oregon campus. Hayward Field has had a complete touch-up on the oval and where the field events are contested.

And no doubt the U S of A is taking advantage of it.