Noah Lyles is once again ready to set the tracks on fire. The US sprinter has been on the moon ever since the Paris Olympics in 2024. Leading up to Paris, there was a lot of noise about how Noah Lyles would perform. Fans criticized him for his lack of speed in the races before the Olympics. However, once the 100m showdown began, the US sprint sensation gave it back to the critics. Lyles was indeed oozing confidence right from the start. 

While making his way out, the 27-year-old hyped up the crowd significantly. And to back his shenanigans aptly, Lyles ran a blitzkrieg of 9.79s. Tying with Kishane Thompson, Lyles was awarded the victory via a photo finish. However, what followed thereafter was far from perfect. Going for his second gold medal, Lyles faltered badly in the 200m as he later revealed that he had COVID-19. Winning the bronze, the 100m gold medalist bowed out of Paris. 

Since then, track fans are eagerly waiting for Lyles to back up his Olympic performance with more solid showings. Finally, after a significantly long wait, the Olympic gold medalist has announced his much-awaited return. In a recent update from the Track & Field Gazette on X, it was revealed that Noah Lyles will return at the RADD Invitational in Florida. While this is an exciting announcement, Lyles will not be coming back in a 100m race right away. 

As per reports, the RADD Invitational will be a 60m event. With a personal best of 6.43s, Lyles will surely like to better his timing this time around. The post has also revealed his opponents for the race. Co-incidentally, Lyles will be going up against his training partners namely, Israel Olatunde, Caleb Dean, Jaylen Slade, and Udodi Onwuzurike. 

Interestingly, this will not be an entirely alien experience for Lyles. After all, it was in the 60m category that Lyles had his famous showdown with IShowSpeed recently! Lyles’ comeback has not impressed fans though. Starting his season as an Olympic champion, the fans expected the US sprinter to appear in a more challenging race. 

Fans bash Noah Lyles for easy choice of race

As soon as the news about Noah Lyles’ participation in the race went public, fans chimed in with their criticisms. Despite winning Olympic gold, that too in the 100-meter sprint, netizens don’t seem to make peace with Lyles’ shenanigans. The backlash is all too similar to the one the 27-year-old had to face after he succumbed to defeat at the hands of Letsile Tebogo and later ended up informing the world of his COVID-19 infection. After Lyles’ season opener was announced, it did not seem to excite fans much. One fan even went on to comment, “Nobody cares”.

The race that Lyles would soon be competing in to start his 2025 season, does not have a name in the roster whom fans would consider as a strong opponent to the Olympic gold medalist. This could be another reason why fans don’t seem to look forward to the meet and witness his athletic feats. “Why call it a season opener if all of his opponents are training partners”, wrote another netizen. To several fans, it appears that Lyles would eventually outshine his rivals in the race. Maybe even more so because the opponents are his training partners. 

Another X user seems to have a different opinion on the scenario. Throwing light on the issue, the user commented, “Along as it’s an official clocking it counts as an opener. Could be him just running nobody else still an opener whether he drops 6.5 or 6.9”. They highlighted how Lyles might be aiming to clock better at the season opener. Yet another X user expressed admiration for Lyles, “Oh. The king is back!!!❤️🔥”

His competitor Caleb Dean, although secured the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, is still a college athlete. On the other hand, Nigerian star, Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike, an Olympian, specializes in 200 meters. 21-year-old US Sprinter Jaylen Slade too is a rising athlete and has not secured the opportunity to compete in any major events yet. And there’s Irish athlete Israel Olatunde who broke the national record in the 60 meters in 2023 with his personal best of 6.57 which is way more than Lyles’ 6.43 seconds.

If the feats that Lyles has already achieved are compared to those of his competitors for the upcoming race, stats would prove that it is obvious for Lyles to outshine them. Admitting the same, another fan shared their opinion adding, “I’m just saying lol might as well call it a practice session”. Echoing the same emotion, while also digging into the Kishane and Noah rivalry, one track enthusiast mentioned, “Attention seeking Noah. He wasn’t suppose to start until Feb 2nd lol. He only doing it because Kishane is getting all the Attention”

Thus, it is evident that despite making a comeback to the tracks, most fans are unhappy with Lyles. It will now be interesting to see how things pan out for the Olympic champion in days to come.