Fred Kerley has found some surprising supporters to his viral claims. In one of the most bizarre fallouts, USA teammates Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles have been found going at loggerheads with one another. And all of this started from Kerley himself. Ravaged by sponsorship problems, Kerley pointed out in The Pivot Podcast how tough his life has been lately. And this is exactly when Kerley suddenly went off on Lyles. Taking a dig at the 100m Olympic gold medalist, Kerley stated that Lyles was not on his level! And, surprisingly enough, an US track and field legend has supported the narrative!
Kerley pointed out during his appearance on the pivot podcast that a comparison between the two will make things clear. “Noah [is] really not on my level…Go look at the record books and who got more wins, I’ll leave it like that,” said Kerley. And if this was not enough, Kerley also termed him as a ‘special’ athlete compared to others. Now, while the controversy was picking up pace, both the stars happened to run a 400m dash on the same day. And the results made Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green incline towards Kerley.
For the uninitiated, Lyles and Kerley ran the 400m on April 19, 2025. Lyles at the Tom Jones Invitational and Kerley at the Mt. SAC Relays. While Lyles dropped a timing of 45.87s, Kerley demolished his opponents clocking 44.73s. Speaking on the topic on the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin stated, “We know that he had a couple of viral soundbites that came from the podcast The Pivot,” said Gatlin.
Paris 2024 Olympics – Athletics – Men’s 100m Final – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – August 04, 2024. Fred Kerley of United States celebrates after winning bronze. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel
Supporting Gatlin in his claims, co-host Rodney Green re-iterated, “They really aged. They both ran a 400 on the same exact day. 44.70 to 45.3. That clip aged well.” While Gatlin rectified Green that Noah’s timing was 45.8, he went on to say that Kerley’s event was much better than that of Lyles. “That clip aged very well because 44.7. Fred has a lot more season in that event. He knows how to run it. He knows how to do it. Really good run,” Green opined. Surely, going purely based on timings, it does feel that Kerley has the upper hand. But let’s not forget that Lyles is not a regular 400m runner and the last time he ran was 9 years back! Quite expectedly fans quickly made their voices heard.
Fans lash out at Fred Kerley despite the support
As soon as the video went viral, fans started to flock to the comments section. Fans weren’t buying the argument that Kerley’s comments “aged well” just because he ran a faster 400m. One fan pointed out, “The clip aged well cuz Noah ran the 400 for the first time in 9 years? Meanwhile Noah has beaten Fred in their last 3 matchups. Oh well, what do I know.” This highlights how the comparison feels weak, especially given Lyles’ dominance in recent races.
Another fan sarcastically remarked, “Shouldn’t be talking to a non 400 sprinter that cooks you in your own events 100 and 200m while you yourself was a world class 400 sprinter with a sup 44 time.” The fan questioned why Fred would boast about being superior when Lyles consistently beats him in the 100m and 200m, his own specialties.
One fan acknowledged Kerley’s confidence. However, they quickly pointed out, “Fred is talkin that talk. That’s cool, but Noah still whooped him and won the gold medal the last 2 years in a row.” This comment underlines that Kerley’s talk doesn’t hold much weight compared to Noah’s consistent gold medal wins.
Another fan called for Kerley to deliver in the 200m. “Need Fred to bring that action in the two. Speed endurance shouldn’t be an issue. Right?”, added the YouTube user. They pointed out that Kerley’s comments would be more credible if he could match Lyles’ success in the 200m, where his “speed endurance” should help him.
One fan summed it up simply, mentioning, “Yeah, but Noah takes him out from 60m to 200m tho.” This comment dismissed the 400m debate entirely, emphasizing that Noah’s consistently beats Fred Kerley in the events that truly matter, making the comparison irrelevant.
We are definitely looking forward to the two Olympians settling scores on track. What do you think?
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