The back-and-forth between Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles just got a whole lot spicier. Kerley, who bagged a bronze in the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, recently took a shot at Lyles, saying the Olympic 100m champion is “not on my level.” Kerley pointed to his mental toughness and ability to overcome challenges as reasons why he thinks he’s superior. Classic rivalry drama, right? And guess what? Lyles didn’t take long to respond. So what did he say?
Well, Noah Lyles had quite a bit to get off his chest on the April 17 episode of his Beyond the Records podcast, where he sat down with Grant Holloway and Rai Benjamin. Things got interesting when Grant brought up a clip that had been floating around online—one that had Noah’s name getting tagged next to Fred Kerley’s face. Noah wasn’t even in the loop at the time.
He had just taken a much-needed vacation after pushing through the post-Olympic grind without rest. He said he hadn’t taken a real break since Tokyo and was finally recharging before the 2024 season ramped up—only to open his phone and see drama waiting. Instead of coming out swinging, Noah Lyles kept things calm but confident.
He explained that when people talk trash these days, it’s almost always about him—even when he’s not in the room. “Now, every conversation is, ‘Yeah, I could beat Noah,’ ‘Noah this, Noah that,’” he said. “I’m living rent-free in people’s minds.” And honestly, he’s not mad about it. If anything, it’s proof that he’s the standard now—the guy everyone’s measuring themselves against.
He went on to say that it’s been fascinating to watch how things have shifted over the past year. It’s no longer about just being the best—it’s about being better than Noah. But as far as he’s concerned, that’s just noise. He trusts fans to remember the receipts, like the fact that Kerley didn’t make the 2023 Worlds semis or that Noah has dominated when it mattered most, from Olympic gold to sweeping the 100, 200, and 4×100 at Worlds.
“You go back and look,” he said, “and people will see what happened.” He recognized the challenge of winning a world title and completing a 9.76. He remained unaffected by all the chatter that surrounded him. “If someone thinks they’re better than me, that’s good for them,” he said. “If they didn’t believe that, they’d be boring to compete against.” Noah skipped the task of analyzing Fred Kerley’s exact words since online sleuthing already covered that aspect. But what exactly did Fred Kerley say?
Fred Kerley throws shade at Noah Lyles’ Olympic gold
Fred Kerley started off the controversy in April 2022 by directly claiming that Noah Lyles operates at a lower level than him. He openly criticized Lyles’ Olympic gold while dismissing his claims. The American sprinter decided to state that Noah Lyles operated below his performance threshold. “Noah is really not on my level,” Kerley said.
“He got the gold, sure, but go and look at the record book and see who’s got more wins.” Kerley demonstrated his mental toughness during his third-place finish at the Paris Olympics by showing through his results that he comes from a different construction process. Fred made additional accusations against Netflix’s Sprint docuseries for showing him as the villain while portraying Noah as the hero.
Kerley claims the broadcast crew followed him throughout the season, yet displayed only selective segments that matched their preferred story. “If they actually put everything in the videos… I talk,” he said. “That’s not their reality on TV. I definitely talk and would not stop talking s**t.” Fred believes Netflix produced a flawed television show that failed to present a complete picture of his playing season.
And if that wasn’t enough, Kerley has had his fair share of drama off the track, too. He started the 2025 season with an arrest in Miami Beach after a run-in with the cops, which added to his growing list of personal struggles. Still, Fred isn’t backing down. He remains as confident as ever, saying, “I did what people do in a lifetime in three months.” For him, the journey’s far from over, and he’s still out to prove, especially to Noah Lyles, that he’s one of the best in the game.
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