Noah Lyles had a fantastic outing in the recently concluded Olympic Games in Paris. Despite skepticism from many critics who doubted the US sprinter’s chances against competitors like Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville, Lyles was determined to prove them wrong. In the 100m final, the US sprint icon clocked a remarkable 9.79 seconds, tying with Jamaican Kishane Thompson. However, Lyles edged out Thompson by just five thousandths of a second to secure his first Olympic gold.

This triumph raised expectations for his 200m race. Unfortunately, Lyles finished third, leading to a storm of criticism over his perceived underperformance. The situation worsened when he disclosed that he had been running with a COVID-19 infection, with some critics alleging that Lyles was faking his illness to cover up his 200m performance. Despite the ongoing negativity, former track and field athlete Maurice Allen has praised Lyles, highlighting an achievement that no track star has accomplished in the past 20 years.

Maurice Allen is all praises for Noah Lyles

Former track and field athlete turned golfer, Maurice Allen, recently appeared in an exclusive interview with ‘Raw Room’ on YouTube. During the discussion about Noah Lyles, Allen noted his strong rapport with Lyles’ family. He then addressed the critics who had been questioning Lyles’ credibility.

Citing a special achievement of Lyles, Allen stated, “Noah Lyes did something that no one has done in the last 20 years in track and field. He PR’d in back-to-back meets in the hundred. He did. That never happens. So respect to that, he Doubled in the worlds too. That’s something that hadn’t been done.” Allen referred to the fact that Lyles upped his personal best back-to-back in the Olympics trials and then in Paris. While Lyles qualified with a dash of 9.83s, he further reduced the timing in Paris to 9.79s, to be crowned the champion. 

Allen also chimed in on Lyles’ energetic shenanigans on the track, saying that the athlete feeds off the crowd’s energy. He also foreshadowed that Noah Lyles, having already run 10.70s, will soon clock 19.14s in the 200m category. He also explained the reason why he was so sure. Allen stated, “And the fact that this brother ran 19.70 with Covid, I’m gonna tell it to on your podcast publicly. First he will run 19.14. Understand that he will run 19.14. Because number one, that man, one thing about Noah is this. He has, he is a sleeping giant. He was a sleeping giant.” Well, Allen might be confident of Lyles’ achievements, but his recent 400m remarks once again landed him in a big controversy. 

Lyles’ 400m comment met with a reality check

Noah Lyles recently expressed his desire to beat the 400m world record. While Lyles has not shown a keen interest in the 400m till now, he now wants to beat the 43.03s time set by the South African sprinter, Wayde Van Niekerk. Unfortunately, soon after Lyles’ comments went public, he was subjected to heavy criticism. 

Speaking on the Tidal League podcast with Justin Gatlin, Rodney Green stated, “Man, I ain’t even listening to Noah. I, I heard, I heard that tell Noah handle that 200 meter first, you know what I mean? Don’t bite off more than he can chew. But we gonna say you wanna see the 200, see that first 200?” Before the Olympics, Lyles had claimed he would break the 100m and 200m world records. When he fell short of those goals, critics were quick to pounce on his ambitious 400m claim. With Maurice Allen now supporting Lyles, it will be interesting to see how the Olympic gold medalist performs in the days ahead.