Noah Lyles Just Announced He’s Skipping The First Diamond League Final Ever Held In The US
By LetsRun.comOn X this morning, US sprint star Noah Lyles announced that he’s called it a season.
Noah, you've had a great season but the @Diamond_League final is in the US for the 1st time ever in two weeks!! Don't you want to get a big win for @adidas on @nike's home turf? There's nothing stopping you from going to fashion week or @GMA while tapering down. @NFL & @NBA…
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) September 1, 2023
What’s not said in the tweet though is it means that Lyles will be skipping the first-ever Diamond League final held in the US . This year’s Prefontaine Classic, which will be held in two weeks in Eugene, Oregon, is also the Diamond League final.
Lyles told our Jonathan Gault in Zurich yesterday that he wasn’t sure if he’d go to Eugene as he’s got some big promotional offers in NYC – like attending fashion week and going on Good Morning America. The options are not mutually exclusive. One can easily go on a tv show and go to fashion week while tapering down for the final meet of the season. Lyles also said he was disappointed that the US championships in Eugene earlier this year weren’t on NBC, but the Diamond League final is on NBC.
Track and field fans, agents and stars always say we need to have more meets that matter other than Worlds/Olympics. When the top stars skip out on meets like the DL final, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 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, particularly since its Noah Lyles – one of the few stars of the sport who has publicly said he wants to raise the profile of the sport.
Lyles in the past has talked about taking the sport to the fashion world and entertainment world, but to do that he needed to get his gold medals first. Well, he got the medals in Budapest. But now the message he is sending is all that matters in our sport is the World Championships and Olympics. And look we get why he isn’t going. The administrators and shoe companies have created a system where the superstars have little incentive to compete anywhere outside of the Worlds or the Olympics. The Diamond League winner receives $30,000 this year, that is less than they received 10 years ago. The Diamond League final prize money is down 40% from before Covid.
Lyles won’t be the only US star not in Eugene. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who has a minor injury, won’t be there. Athing Mu is on vacation. If fans watching the Pre Classic this year on national television get the impression that it’s not that important and they shouldn’t watch track and field outside of the Worlds or Olympics, can you blame them?
Talk about Lyles decision to skip the meet on our world-famous fan forum / messageboard. MB: Noah Lyles just announced he’s skipping the Diamond League final. I’m trying to convince him to change his mind.
