August 2024, under the lights at Stade de France, Noah Lyles stumbled out of the blocks, trailing the pack early. Jamaican sensation Kishane Thompson surged ahead, powerfully leading the race through 85 meters. Then, in the last 15 meters, Lyles unleashed his trademark acceleration, closing the gap with thunderous strides. Lyles won the men’s 100m Gold, beating Thompson by 0.005s. Then came the 200 meters. Despite pushing through a positive COVID-19 test just two days prior, Letsile Tebogo surged ahead with a lightning-fast start. American Kenny Bednarek kept pace for silver (19.62s), while Lyles hung on crossing for bronze in the 19.70s. But what if we tell you the 2 Olympic medals were not enough for this American star?
The Olympic gold medalist wanted to be on the Mount Rushmore of track, and for that, he wanted to do something that even Usain Bolt hadn’t. Bolt landed a sprint triple at London 2012 and Rio 2016, having been stripped of the same feat at Beijing 2008, but Lyles wants to best the legendary Jamaican last summer but winning four golds – 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay, and even the 4 × 400 m relay. Although the plan hinted he might go for the sprint triple first. He had done it in the 2023 World Championships; the Olympics could have been next if not for COVID. After his 200m race, Lyles announced that he was done for that summer. Is the dream still alive now?
At the London Diamond League, Noah Lyles finished second in the 100m with a time of 10.00 seconds, trailing behind Oblique Seville, who won in 9.86 seconds. After the defeat, he appeared in an interview with FloTrack where he was asked by HS National Record Holder(9.82), Brayden Williams that if the sprint triple dream is still alive. His answer? Noah confirmed that he was not giving it up. He told the high school track and field sensation, “Why would it not be?… I see no reason why it should be a doubt. To the day that we get down to the last eyelash of that race, it’s always alive.”
A fan noted the statement and said, “Not the last eyelash. lol the clutch king has spoken.” It was Noah’s poetic way of saying that until the very last split-second—literally the tiniest fraction of a moment—his dream remains alive. But the praises for him stop there, and the track and field community believes the Olympian is once again just being a bigmouth.
Track and Field community throws heat at Noah Lyles
Noah Lyles has always had a love-hate relationship with the track and field community. They put the odds in Letsile Tebogo’s favor in Monaco, but Lyles outran him. They thought he was going to smoke everybody in the 100m in London; he clocked 10.00 for 2nd. Once again, the track and field community now stands against him. One person took to the comments to say, “Until it doesn’t happen and you blame covid 25 this time “After competing in the Olympic 200 m final at Paris 2024 while battling COVID‑19 and finishing second, the dream had already died. To put the final nail in the coffin, the 28-year-old officially withdrew from all remaining events, including the men’s 4×100 m relay.
Another fan said, “‘why would it not be’ i don’t know maybe that team usa can’t get a baton around the track for the life of them”. Ouch! That must have hurt right in the guts to the classic USA track and field fans. In Paris, the U.S. men’s team was disqualified during the final when Christian Coleman’s exchange to Kenny Bednarek occurred outside the zone, essentially crashing the takeover and ending their medal hopes. It wasn’t an isolated incident; this marked their ninth DQ or DNF since 1995, including baton drops (2008) and illegal exchanges across multiple Olympics (2004, 2016, Tokyo 2020).
Another fan said, “His confidence is warranted but Aint Noo WAY he getting (3) goals…” It’s not an easy thing to do. If Noah does that in 2028, he’ll be the first American track-and-field athlete since Carl Lewis to win that triple, and the first male athlete to do so since Usain Bolt in 2016. Another fan commented, “Arrogant response to the “kid’s” question…Plot twist … Brayden takes one of the golds in 2028.” For context, Brayden Williams could be in contention for Olympic gold in 2028. At just 17, he’s already run 9.82 (wind-aided) and a 10.01 (legal)—numbers only a handful of teenagers in history have touched.
Age can play a big role here; Williams would be entering his 20s while Noah Lyles would be knocking on his 30s. But you never know. What do you think, can Noah claim the sprint triple in LA28? Discuss…
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