As the 2024 Diamond League season comes to a close, there is considerable anticipation surrounding the potential future achievements of Noah Lyles, the 100-meter Olympic gold medalist. Track veterans are closely watching the rising stars nipping at his heels—namely Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and fellow American Erriyon Knighton.
In a recent Ready Set Go podcast, Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green discussed a scenario where Lyles participated in the Diamond League events following the Olympics. Green asked Gatlin to imagine the performance of the current 100-meter Olympic champion if he had competed in the subsequent races.
The retired Bahamian sprinter was mainly focused on a certain group of races, “Is he winning these Diamond Leagues? Or is he winning some and losing some?”
Green was aware that Lyles was suffering from COVID towards the end of his Olympic campaign, and he never raced again. However, he was still curious about his co-host’s thoughts on the American sprinter. Remaining forthright in his response, Gatlin said:
“I’m gonna say something that I usually don’t say. I’m not sure. Only because 19.5, 19.6 is Noah’s sweet spot. We’ve seen him run 19.5s and 19.6s consistently, over and over again.“
Gatlin had been closely monitoring Lyles and was aware of his consistent pace. However, at that speed, he doubted whether he could have secured those Diamond League triumphs if he had participated in them.
The four-time world champion then discussed an interview in which Lyles spoke with Wallace Spearmon and Eric Canard about his thoughts on Tebogo and Knighton.
Gatlin admired how the 100-meter Olympic champion described the young athletes as “talented.” However, he emphasized the worrying issue that will eventually occur to him from these new challengers:
“He’s only going to be worried when he sees their form change. When they got stronger, bigger shoulder caps, you know what I’m saying, traps. When they look like they are becoming a more powerful sprinter.“
While Lyles recognized that when the two youngsters improved their athletic form, they would challenge him significantly, Gatlin had a different perspective.
He claimed that if the 100-meter Olympic champion had competed in similar events after the Olympic Games, he would’ve had a difficult time racing them, and every race would have come down to the final few meters.
While Lyles achieved one of his key goals throughout his remarkable track career by becoming an Olympic champion, he now must safeguard that title, as the 2025 season will present a significant challenge for the American sprinter.
There will be many competitions to attend, but his focus will be on the Tokyo World Championships. He not only has a title to defend in the 100 meters but also in the 200 meters, which he won in 2023 at the coveted event in Budapest.
