Usain Bolt has rejected Noah Lyles’ claim that he is the world’s fastest man, insisting the American must break his records to earn the title.
Double world record holder Usain Bolt has scoffed at Noah Lyles’ decision to brand himself the world’s fastest man.
After winning the Olympic 100m title, Noah Lyles labelled himself the tag, something that Usain Bolt believes he has yet to earn since he has not broken his 100m and 200m records and is not even close to them.
Usain Bolt’s 100m world record stands at 9.58 seconds while his 200m record is 19.19 seconds and he is regarded as the fastest man alive. He set the records at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
Noah Lyles has a personal best time of 9.79 seconds in the 100m, a time he set at the Paris Olympic Games. His 200m personal best time is 19.31 seconds set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Usain Bolt noted that if Noah Lyles wants to be called the fastest man in the world, he has to let his times speak for him and for now, he is yet to attain that standard.
“I find it funny…when I heard about it for the first time, I wondered if I would lose my mind. That’s desperate of him…that’s the first thing I thought,” Usain Bolt said in his interview with The Fix podcast.
“I was like, come on man, if you want it then earn it man, earn it, earn it. You are the fastest man today. This year. Something I just laugh it off, just laugh. That’s desperation. Simply, break the records.”
The fastest man in the world tag has been highly debatable with some sports fans and analysts arguing that winning the Olympic title in the 100m guarantees that.
Others have argued that the athlete, who finishes the season with the fastest time, is considered the fastest in that season until another sprinter runs faster than them.
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At the Paris Olympic Games, Noah Lyles clocked an impressive 9.79 seconds to cross the finish line first ahead of Kishane Thompson who came second milliseconds later. Fred Kerley rounded up the podium in 9.81 seconds.
Kishane Thompson ended the season with the fastest time in the world, the 9.77 seconds he clocked at the Jamaican Olympic trials.
However, one thing is evident, Usain Bolt who has the world record in the 100m remains, the fastest. From the interview, he insisted that Noah Lyles has to break his records first to be addressed with such high honours.
