Lyles sucks. He chokes in the 200m at the Olympics. Will never be great like Bolt or MJ.
Please explain the difference in competition between winning the world championships and winning the Olympics. 3 200m golds ain't nothing to scoff at
Yeah, 3 World titles in the 200m is impressive on paper, but let’s stop pretending that the World Championships are on the same level as the Olympics. They’re not. Ask any athlete, coach, or fan with a functioning brain — Olympic gold is the real currency of greatness in track. Worlds are like regular season MVPs; Olympic golds are Super Bowl rings. Noah Lyles had his shot in Tokyo. Came in hyped, fastest in the world, talking a big game — and he got smoked. Bronze. That’s not just a bad day; that’s a failure to deliver when it counts most. Bolt never folded like that. MJ didn’t either. They owned the biggest stage when the whole world was watching. Lyles running 19.31 at Worlds is cool, but it's like dropping 60 in a scrimmage. It doesn’t rewrite the legacy until you do it at the Olympics. MJ dropped his 19.32 in an Olympic final, under more pressure than Lyles has ever seen — and that still holds weight nearly 30 years later. Lyles can talk all he wants, but until he wins Olympic gold in the 200m — clean, dominant, no excuses — he’s not in the same breath as Bolt or Johnson. Right now, he’s the best of a weak era. Talented, for sure. But historically? He’s not there yet.
Winning an Olympics gets you on a Wheaties box, on Late Night Talk Shows, winning het worlds gets ya nothing.
So no athletic difference at all. Got it.
Shacarri no Olympic gold. Bigger name in america than Sydney and Noah. Took about 2s for me to come up with an example of a very marketable athlete with only a world champs gold.
Winning an Olympics gets you on a Wheaties box, on Late Night Talk Shows, winning het worlds gets ya nothing.
So no athletic difference at all. Got it.
Shacarri no Olympic gold. Bigger name in america than Sydney and Noah. Took about 2s for me to come up with an example of a very marketable athlete with only a world champs gold.
You don't try to compare a Worlds title to that Olympic Gold, that is the ultimate in the sport.
Please explain the difference in competition between winning the world championships and winning the Olympics. 3 200m golds ain't nothing to scoff at
Yeah, 3 World titles in the 200m is impressive on paper, but let’s stop pretending that the World Championships are on the same level as the Olympics. They’re not. Ask any athlete, coach, or fan with a functioning brain — Olympic gold is the real currency of greatness in track. Worlds are like regular season MVPs; Olympic golds are Super Bowl rings. Noah Lyles had his shot in Tokyo. Came in hyped, fastest in the world, talking a big game — and he got smoked. Bronze. That’s not just a bad day; that’s a failure to deliver when it counts most. Bolt never folded like that. MJ didn’t either. They owned the biggest stage when the whole world was watching. Lyles running 19.31 at Worlds is cool, but it's like dropping 60 in a scrimmage. It doesn’t rewrite the legacy until you do it at the Olympics. MJ dropped his 19.32 in an Olympic final, under more pressure than Lyles has ever seen — and that still holds weight nearly 30 years later. Lyles can talk all he wants, but until he wins Olympic gold in the 200m — clean, dominant, no excuses — he’s not in the same breath as Bolt or Johnson. Right now, he’s the best of a weak era. Talented, for sure. But historically? He’s not there yet.
Cmon man Olympic bronze is "smoked"? Lyles has absolutely seen the same pressure as Johnson. They've run. At the same meets. That's a weird comparison and Johnson didn't have to deal with social media scrutiny.
I have a functioning brain. There isn't an athletic difference in winning worlds or Olympics. It takes a nonfunctioning brain to boost the Olympics past the world champs only because more casuals watch it.
Lastly without hating on Lyles how is this a weak era? The Olympic 100m was the fastest ever for all 8 athletes and that was just last year. Kishane is a monster, Tebogo runs 19.4 and 43, Fred Kerley always shows up, Christian Coleman is the best 60m guy to exist. What are we really talking about here?
Shacarri no Olympic gold. Bigger name in america than Sydney and Noah. Took about 2s for me to come up with an example of a very marketable athlete with only a world champs gold.
You don't try to compare a Worlds title to that Olympic Gold, that is the ultimate in the sport.
Well don't wonder why things like Grand slam track won't work since as fans we don't want to care about anything for 4 yrs at a time. But you are doing mental gymnastics. Same way NBA players were saying that they are world champs.
Good question for you would be would you rather winning a Olympic bronze or world champs gold?
Tebogo is arguably the most talented sprinter competing today. I’m not betting against him until Gout Gout is in his prime and I don’t think Lyles will beat him over 200 ever again
Yeah, 3 World titles in the 200m is impressive on paper, but let’s stop pretending that the World Championships are on the same level as the Olympics. They’re not. Ask any athlete, coach, or fan with a functioning brain — Olympic gold is the real currency of greatness in track. Worlds are like regular season MVPs; Olympic golds are Super Bowl rings. Noah Lyles had his shot in Tokyo. Came in hyped, fastest in the world, talking a big game — and he got smoked. Bronze. That’s not just a bad day; that’s a failure to deliver when it counts most. Bolt never folded like that. MJ didn’t either. They owned the biggest stage when the whole world was watching. Lyles running 19.31 at Worlds is cool, but it's like dropping 60 in a scrimmage. It doesn’t rewrite the legacy until you do it at the Olympics. MJ dropped his 19.32 in an Olympic final, under more pressure than Lyles has ever seen — and that still holds weight nearly 30 years later. Lyles can talk all he wants, but until he wins Olympic gold in the 200m — clean, dominant, no excuses — he’s not in the same breath as Bolt or Johnson. Right now, he’s the best of a weak era. Talented, for sure. But historically? He’s not there yet.
Cmon man Olympic bronze is "smoked"? Lyles has absolutely seen the same pressure as Johnson. They've run. At the same meets. That's a weird comparison and Johnson didn't have to deal with social media scrutiny.
I have a functioning brain. There isn't an athletic difference in winning worlds or Olympics. It takes a nonfunctioning brain to boost the Olympics past the world champs only because more casuals watch it.
Lastly without hating on Lyles how is this a weak era? The Olympic 100m was the fastest ever for all 8 athletes and that was just last year. Kishane is a monster, Tebogo runs 19.4 and 43, Fred Kerley always shows up, Christian Coleman is the best 60m guy to exist. What are we really talking about here?
Yes, Olympic bronze is "smoked" — for Lyles. Let’s not do the participation trophy thing. Lyles came into Tokyo 2021 as: Reigning World Champion, World leader in the 200m, the face of U.S. sprinting...and he finished third, running 19.74 — while De Grasse (19.62) and Bednarek (19.68) outperformed him on the biggest stage. That is, by definition, getting outclassed under Olympic pressure. Bolt never got outclassed. MJ either. If Lyles wants GOAT status, then yeah — bronze = getting smoked.
You’re seriously claiming Lyles faces more pressure than MJ? MJ’s 1996 Olympics: Home crowd in Atlanta, running the 400/200 double, with no margin for error, 200m world record expectation after the 400, lining up against Frankie Fredericks, a 19.6 guy who just ran 9.89, ran 19.32 WR, the biggest 200m margin of victory in Olympic history against Frankie Fredericks. Meanwhile, Lyles 2021: no fans in Tokyo (COVID protocols), no MJ-level competition and…bronze. Social media isn’t greater than real-time national pressure on home soil. Let’s be serious.
So now twice — in Tokyo and Paris — Lyles has entered the Olympics as a reigning World Champion and world leader... and came out with bronze. Again. Let’s not spin that like it’s clutch. Tebogo, a 21-year-old, just torched the field with a 19.46 — something Lyles has never done at an Olympic Games. And Bednarek? That’s the second straight Olympics he’s outrun Lyles in the final. At what point do we stop pretending this is GOAT-level dominance? MJ faced more pressure, not lyles. If Lyles is so “built for pressure,” why is he 0-for-2 in Olympic golds in his signature event?
The Olympics define track history. Every legend’s resume starts with Olympic dominance. Worlds are great, but they’re abundant. You get twice as many shots at Worlds in a career. The Olympics are rare, high-stakes, unforgiving. Lyles knows this. He said before Paris: "This is my moment." And he left with a bronze medal, again.
You said this isn’t a weak era. Okay, let’s audit it: Tebogo is a rising monster, no doubt. But still a newcomer. He’s not Bolt, Blake, or MJ. Yet. Bednarek is consistent, but not a generational guy. Knighton is stalling at 19.7–19.9 Coleman? Great at 60m. Irrelevant in the 200m. Kerley? 19.7 PB. Not even on the start list in Paris 2024. Compare this to 2012: Yohan Blake: 19.44. Nuff said. This era’s ceiling is lower. Tebogo might raise it. But we’re not there yet.
TL;DR: Lyles is 0-for-2 at Olympic gold in the 200m. Got beat by Bednarek again. Lost to a 21-year-old in Paris 2024. Never replicated his 19.31 World Champs run when it actually mattered.
Call it whatever you want — “not choked,” “still great,” fine — but don’t call it GOAT behavior. Bolt and MJ won Olympic golds in dominant fashion. Lyles hasn’t. Period. He’s talented. He’s charismatic. But if we’re talking greatness? He’s still a tier below the legends.
Cmon man Olympic bronze is "smoked"? Lyles has absolutely seen the same pressure as Johnson. They've run. At the same meets. That's a weird comparison and Johnson didn't have to deal with social media scrutiny.
I have a functioning brain. There isn't an athletic difference in winning worlds or Olympics. It takes a nonfunctioning brain to boost the Olympics past the world champs only because more casuals watch it.
Lastly without hating on Lyles how is this a weak era? The Olympic 100m was the fastest ever for all 8 athletes and that was just last year. Kishane is a monster, Tebogo runs 19.4 and 43, Fred Kerley always shows up, Christian Coleman is the best 60m guy to exist. What are we really talking about here?
Yes, Olympic bronze is "smoked" — for Lyles. Let’s not do the participation trophy thing. Lyles came into Tokyo 2021 as: Reigning World Champion, World leader in the 200m, the face of U.S. sprinting...and he finished third, running 19.74 — while De Grasse (19.62) and Bednarek (19.68) outperformed him on the biggest stage. That is, by definition, getting outclassed under Olympic pressure. Bolt never got outclassed. MJ either. If Lyles wants GOAT status, then yeah — bronze = getting smoked.
You’re seriously claiming Lyles faces more pressure than MJ? MJ’s 1996 Olympics: Home crowd in Atlanta, running the 400/200 double, with no margin for error, 200m world record expectation after the 400, lining up against Frankie Fredericks, a 19.6 guy who just ran 9.89, ran 19.32 WR, the biggest 200m margin of victory in Olympic history against Frankie Fredericks. Meanwhile, Lyles 2021: no fans in Tokyo (COVID protocols), no MJ-level competition and…bronze. Social media isn’t greater than real-time national pressure on home soil. Let’s be serious.
So now twice — in Tokyo and Paris — Lyles has entered the Olympics as a reigning World Champion and world leader... and came out with bronze. Again. Let’s not spin that like it’s clutch. Tebogo, a 21-year-old, just torched the field with a 19.46 — something Lyles has never done at an Olympic Games. And Bednarek? That’s the second straight Olympics he’s outrun Lyles in the final. At what point do we stop pretending this is GOAT-level dominance? MJ faced more pressure, not lyles. If Lyles is so “built for pressure,” why is he 0-for-2 in Olympic golds in his signature event?
The Olympics define track history. Every legend’s resume starts with Olympic dominance. Worlds are great, but they’re abundant. You get twice as many shots at Worlds in a career. The Olympics are rare, high-stakes, unforgiving. Lyles knows this. He said before Paris: "This is my moment." And he left with a bronze medal, again.
You said this isn’t a weak era. Okay, let’s audit it: Tebogo is a rising monster, no doubt. But still a newcomer. He’s not Bolt, Blake, or MJ. Yet. Bednarek is consistent, but not a generational guy. Knighton is stalling at 19.7–19.9 Coleman? Great at 60m. Irrelevant in the 200m. Kerley? 19.7 PB. Not even on the start list in Paris 2024. Compare this to 2012: Yohan Blake: 19.44. Nuff said. This era’s ceiling is lower. Tebogo might raise it. But we’re not there yet.
TL;DR: Lyles is 0-for-2 at Olympic gold in the 200m. Got beat by Bednarek again. Lost to a 21-year-old in Paris 2024. Never replicated his 19.31 World Champs run when it actually mattered.
Call it whatever you want — “not choked,” “still great,” fine — but don’t call it GOAT behavior. Bolt and MJ won Olympic golds in dominant fashion. Lyles hasn’t. Period. He’s talented. He’s charismatic. But if we’re talking greatness? He’s still a tier below the legends.
I meant to say earlier. You also are comparing Lyles to the greatest of all time. Some people actually have Johnson as the goat not bolt. Insane standard to compare to. 12 golds.
Also Johnson didn't have the entire Internet scrutinizing him 24/7. You literally can't argue against that.
And Tebogo is not just some 21 year old lol. He could've made the final in any of the 3 sprints. He almost took down the Olympic 400 meter hurdle Chance from behind in the 4x4. This era has great runners too Since he was the 200 m Olympic champion does he get a pass for not getting a medal in the 100? No one seems to care about that but when it's Lyles everyone cares
Tebogo is so great to watch. He's a normal somewhat skinny guy who runs like the wind. Most sprinters look unnaturally muscular. It's nice to see a stealthy physique.