Noah Lyles expressed his thoughts after setting a new world lead at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. The American athlete breezed through the semi-finals of the men's 200m with a performance of 19.51s, thereby setting a new world lead and displaying his dominance on the track.Lyles appeared to be in great form since the beginning of the race and came out strong from the curve towards the final stretch. The Olympic gold medalist said that his performance was a strong message to his competitors who would go head-to-head against him in the finals of the biggest track meet of the year.Noah Lyles expressed his thoughts about his race in a post-race interview in Tokyo and shared that he heard his fellow competitor, Zharnel Hughes, trying to catch him along the stretch; however, he decided to keep up his pace and finish with a safe lead to qualify for the finals with ease."No, it was more of a statement to everybody… you’re not going to beat me off the turn for these next two races. I thought I heard Zharnel breathing. So, I was like, yeah, I'm not getting caught by Zharnel. So, I decided to keep up the pace, and I had like 20m left, so I think I was like I should be safe now," he said.Moreover, speaking about his world-leading performance in the semi-finals, Noah Lyles shared that even though it was not the best decision to run so fast in the semis, he took it as a sign to push himself even further."I was stupid enough to run 19.5 in the heats, and I mean shoot, it also tells me that it’s time to kick it up a notch," he added.Noah Lyles opens up about targeting to break the world record at the World ChampionshipsLyles on Day 6 at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Source: GettyNoah Lyles has often spoken about breaking Usain Bolt's 200m world record. After becoming the third-fastest athlete in the 200m, Lyles has been targeting to break the world record.The American athlete spoke about breaking records at the Zurich Diamond League and shared that one of his biggest goals is to break the 200m world record."It's weird. I um, I don't know. This this idea has been like circulating in my head like of um, if there was option to get any color medal in the 100m but then break the WR in the 200m. I might take that WR," he said.Lyles will be in action in the men's 200m finals at the World Athletics Championships on September 19, 2025, at 9:06 am ET.