Noah Lyles just announced he's skipping the Diamond League final. I'm trying to convince him to change his mind.

When you dont fundamentally understand him or his motivation, which is evident, there is no way you are able to convince him otherwise. You speak down to him as he is a teenager more interested in going to a concert than school. Waving the Adidas vs Nike in his face (as he cares) as a carrot in front of a horse.

Noah’s mind can only be influenced via anime references. You need to find an anime where the hero who thought he claimed the title of supermaster is forced to undergo an additional battle to mount the ultimate throne. He must go full super saiyan, just this once

Bummer, we are going down to Eugene watch Sunday which includes M200.

Who cares? Strange to care that the guy who has nothing left to prove this year doesn’t care to run more. Track isn’t getting popular with or without him.

rojo you gotta put on your Ash Ketchum baseball cap, flip it 180, and come up some real motivation.

Exclusive Studio Ghibli concept art, story boards, unreleased renders, something along those lines. Hard to get kinda stuff. Lyles ain't your run of the mill weeb who turns up for the promise of a Snorlax body pillow. And he definitely ain't another ninja guy like Kenny Bednarek. You need that thoughtful, introspective, coming-of-age storyline with an underdog reaching his goals and becoming the greatest among his peers. Borderline biographical in Lyles' case.

Only when you have this sorted should you follow up on the twitter thread.

Dude already hates LRC because of the gold medal comment by rojo. Last thing he's going to do is listen to that same person tell him what to do

i guess he caught SML/Kersee syndrome.

If he went to the NIKE meet he would be one of the biggest stars there. Or he can opt to no show it and ... well take a swing a Nike. Also, as another poster mentioned, he has nothing left to prove this season. He has beaten everyone, shown he's the best in the world, and made a bundle of cash in the process.

Normally, all the best Americans ran Pre because they were contractually obligated to make an appearance because they were sponsored by Nike. Thanks to adidas, On, NB, and others, man times are changing..........

let him enjoy his off season, he's definitely earned it

He didn't get to 3 golds by listening to random journalists telling him what to do

Good luck...

he could probably gain 50K from appearance and DL final win for running less than 20 seconds. I dont think he's that rich to turn down that kind of money.

He doesn't hate us at all. He shook Jonathan Gault's hand in the coffee shop in Paris. Guy is a class act - just a class act I wish was going to Eugene. Full disclosure, I get why he isn't going. No incentive. I won't be in Eugene either.

Here is our column on the matter:

letsrun.com

Noah Lyles Just Announced He's Skipping The First Diamond League Final Ever Held In The US

LetsRun.com

For the top US male track star to skip the first-ever Diamond League final held on US soil is disappointing to say the least.

Open link

He knows he’s not in WR record form, so he’s ending the season

Rojo -

I think in general you are a bit harsh on Lyles. He raced quite a bit this season and provided his money's worth. Judging by his Zurich performance, he probably is past his peak for the season.

He’s not one of your minstrels.

See if you can convince him to challenge the NBA players he's arguing with to some sort of hybrid sprint/basketball contest.

Rojo, I, of course like to see the stars compete but I am actually going to side with Noah Lyles on this one. While we do need meets to matter beyond the WC and Olympics, it makes no sense to have the DL finals in the same year as a world championships. In a sport where the casual fan won't care about more than a few races a year, you can't keep saying all of the meets are important or you become the boy who cried wolf. With the baseball season heating up and football in full force, how many casual track fans will actually pay attention to the DL finals.

Also, how many times is Noah supposed to peak in three months? The US championships, the WC and now the DL?

Third point - the last two years have proven that runners are getting less and less excited about competing in Eugene, regardless if Hayward is the best facility in the world. As Warholm said, flying to Eugene is no picnic. I would bet if the DL finals were in New York City at a legitimate facility, Noah would be going.

Love the podcast by the way.