Noah Lyles thought he had broken Usain Bolt’s 11-year 200-metre world record at the Inspiration Games on Thursday – only to find out that he ran 185m!
The 22-year-old’s time of 18.90 seconds would have smashed the 19.19-second mark set by the Jamaican great at the 2009 World Championships.
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However, shortly after his hugely impressive time it was revealed that he had ran 15m less than required.
Lyles ran alone in Florida as two other competitors, Christophe Lemaitre and Churandy Martina, simultaneously sprinted on other tracks in Switzerland and the Netherlands, respectively, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His previous 200m best was 19.50, so his time of 18.90 was immediately challenged.
After the race, Lyles tweeted: “You can’t be playing with my emotions like this…. got me in the wrong line smh [shaking my head].”
Lyles, who won the 200m world title last year, was placed on the wrong starting block and had a 15m advantage over his rivals.
It will go down as a major embarrassing gaffe from Inspiration Games organisers.
Lyles’ younger brother, Josephus, was in disbelief by the mistake. He simply tweeted: “Is this real??”
Subsequently, Lyles was removed from the race results as Lemaitre was crowned winner and received a $ 10,000 (£7,930) prize.
You’ve got to feel for Lyles!