I don't doubt Noah, I just don't like him. Clowns around like Usain but never earned the right.
6xWorld Champion, Olympic gold medalist and American record holder hasn’t earned the right? I’m not a huge Noah fan but he usually backs his words up.
No world records, often loses. Not close to being in Usain's league.
After Noah jumping and prancing around before today's race, I could tell Tebogo was just as annoyed as I was. Usain's antics at least connected with the crowd. Lyles is off in his own world like Elmo from Sesame Street.
I don't like Noah Lyles, period, and I'll keep saying it.
Tebogo knows it too. Almost no reaction on getting beat in Noah's first race of the year.
Then he’s not unbeatable, is he? Tebogo will be ready at the end of the year, let’s see is Lyles is as well. Can Lyles get the balance right between the bulk he thinks he needs over 100m and how it can hamper him over 200m? I’m sure he’s less thirsty about a 4x400m cameo since it’s not an Olympic year, but can he give up the antics with American football players? 🤡
The point is he thinks he is bolt. Or better. It doesn’t sit right when he boasts he’s going to break the 1/2 WRs, or that he could break the 400 WR, or that he would rather have himself on the OLY 4x4 over Quincy Hall. These are things he’s said in interviews. It’s why people don’t like Fred kerley becuase we have sprinters running 9.8s and saying they are going to smash Bolts WR next race.
The point is he thinks he is bolt. Or better. It doesn’t sit right when he boasts he’s going to break the 1/2 WRs, or that he could break the 400 WR, or that he would rather have himself on the OLY 4x4 over Quincy Hall. These are things he’s said in interviews. It’s why people don’t like Fred kerley becuase we have sprinters running 9.8s and saying they are going to smash Bolts WR next race.
I understand what you're saying. It sounds crazy for anyone to say they're going to break Bolt's records, especially his 100m record (Lyles at his best was actually within striking distance of Bolt's 200m record). But watching the Sprint docuseries helped me to see Lyles and Kerley in a different light. Just about all the sprinters featured in that show talked about the importance of confidence.
Think about it. At the Olympics, sprinters have to line up against the fastest athletes in the world with millions of people watching them for a one-in-four-years chance of winning. In that pressure cooker of a setting, they have to find a way to stay relaxed because tensing up while they're running will slow them down. And they have to execute every part of their race with the utmost precision because there is almost no margin for error, and three-hundredths of a second can be the difference between winning gold (Lyles, 9.79) and finishing off the podium in fourth (Simbine, 9.82). Doing that requires the highest level of self-confidence imaginable!
Given all that, I don't mind any athlete believing in themselves, setting lofty goals, and trying to speak those goals into existence.
You’re right that confidence is the name of the game in sprinting. There really is no way around it.
That said, I don’t think the Lyles haters have a problem with his confidence per se. The problem with Lyles is that he doesn’t have enough confidence—which is why he always comes off as fake, cringey, trying too hard.
People on here have said versions of this before, and I’ll say it again: Lyles is a dork. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But a dork trying to be an alpha is a different story—and when the dork is trying to be Bolt level alpha, it’s a different story even from that…
You’re right that confidence is the name of the game in sprinting. There really is no way around it.
That said, I don’t think the Lyles haters have a problem with his confidence per se. The problem with Lyles is that he doesn’t have enough confidence—which is why he always comes off as fake, cringey, trying too hard.
People on here have said versions of this before, and I’ll say it again: Lyles is a dork. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But a dork trying to be an alpha is a different story—and when the dork is trying to be Bolt level alpha, it’s a different story even from that…
Yes, I agree, Lyles is a dork. He even admits it, although I think he uses the term "geek" to describe himself. He's also talked about being bullied in school. He's very open about it. I think it's cool that someone like that can rise up to reach the top of his sport.
He may not be universally liked (an unattainable goal anyway), but being the way he is and doing what he does has worked for him pretty well overall. He's the reigning Olympic and World Champion in track's marquee event, he's well-paid, and he got invited to the Met Gala. Very impressive for a dork/geek!
This post was edited 11 minutes after it was posted.