Rai Benjamin Hits Back at Critics, Claims Noah Lyles “Changed the Game Forever”

“Noah Lyles really changed the game man.”

Rai Benjamin emphasized this in his recent X post about his fellow Team USA athlete. The 400-meter hurdle Olympic champion’s support for the 27-year-old sprinter came amid persistent criticism Lyles faced throughout the 2023 & 2024 season.

Lyles faced many concerns, but he eventually dispelled all of them with his gold medal not only in the 100-meter finals of the 2023 Budapest World Championship but also at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The American sprinter also made significant contributions to the sport of track and field, changing the perceptions of many people throughout the world. This fact is also something that can’t be ignored, as Benjamin stated, writing:

“You can keep fooling yourself but he really changed the game.”

Noah Lyles really changed the game man. You can keep fooling yourself but he really changed the game

— Rai Benjamin (@_Kingben_) August 21, 2024

Benjamin’s daring declaration on his X profile elicited a range of emotions in the comments. However, the American hurdler clarified his position in a follow-up tweet, highlighting Lyles’ ability to draw attention to the sport through his Netflix documentary ‘Sprint’, Olympic performances, and engaging personality.

Benjamin also added a remark for the critics who continue to criticize Lyles despite all of his achievements, stating:

“The Fact that that post even triggered you. Dude changed the game forever. Whether you like it or not.”

For everyone asking how. Being DENSE on purpose is so interesting to me lol. Nonetheless. The level of attention he brought after sprint/ during the games/ post OLY. The Fact that that post even triggered you . Dude changed the game forever. Whether you like it or not.

— Rai Benjamin (@_Kingben_) August 22, 2024

Benjamin asserted that regardless of criticism, Lyles‘ impact on track and field is undeniable. This aligns with Lyles’ pre-Olympics statement about his desire to elevate track and field beyond just an Olympic sport.

Lyles’ aspirations to change track and field

In an exclusive interview with Dazed Digital, Noah Lyles revealed that the sport’s fundamentals must change. He emphasized that, even though track and field has many events throughout a single season, viewership reduces dramatically between two Olympic Games.

This is extremely detrimental to the sport’s appeal since he claimed that it must be adjusted to meet the needs of fans. The six-time world champion further emphasized that track and field must attract new spectators while also keeping existing supporters interested in the events.

Lyles stressed the need to modernize track and field by changing the fundamentals to compete with other major sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, Formula One, and others.