The start of 2025 has not been the best for Noah. And many have been questioning his slow start. This is even more apparent when rivals such as Kishane Thompson are getting better and better. But this all reached a boiling point on 2nd Feb. After all, his performance at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix was supposed to put the critics to silence. But such was not the case.

Fans were eager to see him return at this event since he has been MIA since the Paris Olympics. The gold medalist reached new heights in the city of love with a 100-meter win. But it all came crashing down for him once he contracted COVID-19 before his 200-meter race. And while the sprinter got a consolation prize in the form of a silver, his season was done. But despite winning the 60m title at the NB Grand Prix, Lyles had to content himself with the title of second fastest. And the man to blame? One Ronnie Baker.

The champ gave a blistering performance, running 60 m within 6.52 seconds. On any other day, this would have resulted in Noah silencing the critics and taking his rightful place as the fastest. But veteran speedster Ronnie Baker stole all his spotlight after his win at the Ostrava 60m Finals. The race saw the 31-year-old win yet another race in his career with a time of 6.50 seconds.

While some might think 0.02s is negligible, in sprinting, this is what makes or breaks champions. And while the two sprinters won different races, the netizens were quick to point out the obvious flaws in Noah’s current season. But many also think that Noah’s slight delay can be excused. After all, Ronnie is no pushover. He has some serious weight to his cabinet of wins.

31-year-old Kentucky-born sprint star tops Noah Lyles with blazing 60-meter dash

Ronnie Baker has been a prominent figure in the track and field realm for a long time. Over the years, he has had a lot of success in the 60m category. For example, back in the World Indoor Tour in 2020, Baker won the tournament with an impressive run. He also clinched a gold medal at the 2017 World Relays, competing in the 4x100m category. 

Adding more feathers to his 60m prowess, Baker secured a third-place finish at the 2018 World Indoor Championships. However, all these accolades recently took a backseat as his latest 60-meter run shook the entire US track realm. After all, Ronnie Baker bettered the timing of Noah Lyles. Competing at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava recently, Baker had one of the best runs of his life. Dominating the competition, the 31-year-old secured pole position by running a blitzkrieg timing of 6.50s. This meant that Baker got the better of Lyles by 0.02s!

It is also quite significant, as Lyles looked to better his start and he himself looked quite impressed with the timing. Thus, such stiff competition from his fellow Americans would mean Lyles would have to put his foot on the pedal. Apart from bettering Lyles’ timing, 6.50s is also the fastest time in the world indoors this year. What will be more concerning for Lyles is the fact that, barring Baker, there were some more close calls from fellow runners. 

Reynier Mena and Romell Glave took the second and third positions. And their timings were incredibly close to Lyles’. While Mena clocked 6.55s, Glave took the bronze with a 6.56s dash. Coming back to Baker, this is far from the US sprinter’s best 60m performance. His personal best in the category stands at an incredible 6.40, which he clocked back in 2018. 

Thus, it is evident that Noah Lyles is having some steep competition at the moment. With a lot of races still left to be played, it will be interesting to see how things pan out for the Olympic gold medalist in the coming days.