Noah Lyles advanced to the semifinals of the 100-meter dash, after qualifying from Heat 3 on August 3, at the Paris Olympics. However, his non-sub-10 performance raised many questions in the community about his Olympic gold ambition.
Heat 3, brought high expectations for Lyles, with fans anticipating an easy sub-10 performance. However, Great Britain’s Louie Hinchliffe surprised spectators by winning the heat with a time of 9.98, edging out the six-time world champion, who finished second with a 10.04.
Although it was only a qualifying round, Lyles’ performance stood in contrast to his American teammates. Both Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek clocked impressive times of 9.97 seconds in their respective heats, adding to growing concerns about Lyles’ form.
“No sub 10???”
Lyles posted an animated pic of him with his heat time on Instagram, where people made a direct comparison between him and Thompson who was in Heat 1.
“Ik it’s just the heats, but Kishane’s heat run looked way too easy while Noah looked like he was struggling a little to get in front. Obviously, the semis are going to be the huge indicator on who has the best chances of winning gold.”
Someone also reminded the athlete of his remarks about NBA players from last year and made a direct comment.
“All that s*** u was talking about Basketball you better back it up and bring home a gold cause them boys are doing their thing and u getting 2nd place in a heat wtf.”
There were lots of optimistic supporters, and one had a suggestion for the six-time world champion.
“You got this !!! Fix your start and believe in yourself.”
Fans did not want Lyles to stay away from his peak form because it may jeopardize his chances of making the finals.
“Dont take it light like in Tokyo. 100% every time!”
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As the semi-finals scheduled for August 4 at 2:05 PM ET, approach, all eyes will be on Lyles to see if he can silence the doubters and recapture the form that has made him a six-time world champion.
