The three-time world champion has explained why Noah Lyles deserves praise, despite setbacks in the 200m and relay.
Jamaican-Canadian legend Donovan Bailey has explained why Noah Lyles had a great 2024 season despite losing the 200m at the Olympic Games and ending his season early.
The retired sprinter insisted that every 100m runner always dreams of winning the Olympic Games and Noah Lyles having managed to achieve his target was everything that mattered in his season.
At the Paris Olympic Games, Noah Lyles stunned the world, winning the 100m title in 9.79 seconds as Kishane Thompson came in second milliseconds later. Fred Kerley rounded up the podium.
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In the 200m, Noah Lyles finished third behind Kenny Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo and he later announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the race.
Bailey revealed that even though he failed to live up to expectations in the 200m and missed out on the 4x100m relay, Noah Lyles is one of the stars who enjoyed a great season since he achieved something that most sprinters are always working towards.
He also made history by becoming the first American to win the gold medal in the 100m at an Olympic Games since Justin Gatlin who did it at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
“It was great…every 100m sprinter in the world is always looking forward to winning the Olympic title. You can lose every race but make sure in the one race, you execute it well. And he ran a fast time, he went to the Olympics and didn’t run 10.10 seconds. He had a great year, I mean,” Donovan Bailey said on his podcast.
“Noah is always everywhere doing everything and he said he was going to win the 100m and I think he was shocked after that. at the end of the day, you have to give the guy his flowers. I don’t care if you don’t like his personality and personally, I don’t find him offensive.”
The two-time Olympic champion further lauded the American sprint king’s personality, admitting that he has changed many things in track and field and is continuing to grow the sport. Love him or hate him, Donovan Bailey revealed that Noah Lyles is a man of his word.
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The three-time world champion believes 2025 will be a turning point for Kishane Thompson, urging him to overcome injuries, and embrace high-profile races.
“He has been a great ambassador for track and field and can say that he is the fastest man in the world. To wrap up his season, he didn’t lose the Olympics and ran consistently the whole year. He talked about winning and he did it and there is nothing wrong with that,” the three-time world champion added.
Noah Lyles is the defending champion in the 100m and 200m at the World Championships and as all roads lead to Tokyo, Japan this year, he certainly has his work cut out.
