Noah Lyles seems to love the shine of the spotlight, regardless of the price he often has to pay. And this has been especially true since his 100-meter win at the 2024 Paris Olympics! Lyles went on to clock his personal best of 9.784 seconds, which pushed him past Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by a minute margin to win gold. Despite being at the top of his game and wearing the most coveted athletic crown, Lyles has not been shy about his plans for the future. And guess what?

The 200-meter races are not a part of those plans anymore! The same race that Lyles once called his “wife” is no longer even in the picture. Lyles, up until 2023, was the undisputed 200-meter king. He was even ranked No. 1 in the World Athletics ranking in 2023. However, after his 100m win, he has taken a jab at his old flame, the 200m. What happened to all the love?

Noah Lyles disses his “wife” as he searches for greater glory!

It is no secret that Noah Lyles has always been upfront with his thoughts. Unfiltered, as some like to call it. However, recently, Lyles was on LetsRundotcom for an interview where he went on to make some disturbing statements. Lyles was asked about his plans for the future, specifically if he would be doing the 100m or the 200m. The response? “Nobody cares about the 200,” said Lyles!

Now, that is a harsh one coming from someone who has two Olympic bronzes and three world championship golds in the 200m. So why say that “nobody cares”? As Lyles sees it, “I learned that very quickly after breaking the American record and losing the Mondo (Duplantis) for athlete of the year. I was like, ‘They don’t care; they don’t care about the 200.’” Ouch! But that’s not all!

Lyles went on to add, “It’s fun to watch, but at the end of the day, the common people, non-track and field athletes, they don’t care about the 200. It’s the 100.” It is true that the 100m is the most coveted race in any Olympic year. And Noah Lyles got a taste of that coveted glory after he won the 100m gold. So, his want to stay and continue to wear the heavy crown is an understandable one. However, his blunt words about the 200m have brought in questions and annoyed many in the track community!

Noah Lyles is yet again the focal point of fandom backlash!

As one can imagine, the track and field fandom was not the happiest to hear what Noah Lyles had said. One fan sarcastically went on to write, “That’s an HILARIOUS take…As for Usain, the only time he didn’t contest the 200m at a major championship was 2017, his farewell year.” Oops, Lyles stands corrected! The netizen is not wrong here. Usain Bolt did run both the 100m and 200m throughout his career!

And even today, his 2009 Berlin World Championships world record of 19:19 stands in the 200m. So, what was Noah talking about? Well, as the netizen pointed out, 2017 was the only year that Bolt did not do the 200m. And for fair reasons, too. Bolt was initially supposed to run the 200m, however, after finishing third in the 100m race. He pulled out of the relay and 200m due to a hamstring injury. Lyles stands corrected, but that’s not all!

Another fan went on to write, “I’m surprised Noah hasn’t said people don’t care about the 100m. After all, despite being the 100m Olympic Champion, he failed to make the final two for this year’s World Track Athlete of the Year, while the 200m Olympic Champion made the cut. How ironic.” Oops, the fandom schools Noah Lyles yet again! So, what’s the irony in question here?

Despite Lyles winning the most prestigious medal of the 100m Olympic Gold, he is not on the list for Athlete of the Year 2024! The men’s nominations include Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who is the 5000m Olympic champion. And the second name is the man who beat Lyles to win gold in the 200m, Letsile Tebogo. So what was Noah’s statement even about?

As another fan rightly puts it, “Didn’t you get the memo? America=world.” That was precisely the unfortunate point that Lyles made. So what happened? In 2022, Noah Lyles and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis both were nominated for the Athlete of the Year award. While Lyles had broken the American record at the World Athletics Championships, clocking 19.31, Duplantis had something else brewing.

Mondo Duplantis got the nomination after breaking his 6.19m world indoor record. He also broke his very own world record outdoors with 6.21 m. Evidently, a world record is a bigger deal than an American record. And for a man like Lyles, who has repeatedly questioned mainstream sports, asking, “World champions of what?” this should be a no-brainer! However, in the interview, Lyles says otherwise. And the dubious statement has gotten netizens enraged.

One fan even went on to write, “See….. sometimes I just wish he’d just shut up and stick to his running…. He sound bitter af.” So why bitter? The netizen perhaps said the same because of this year’s nominations as well as ranking. Lyles, who up until the 2023 end stood at #1 in the 200m, now stands at #5. Meanwhile, his nemesis, Lestile Tebogo, tops the chart at #1. In fact, Tebogo himself has mentioned Lyles’ antics and said, “I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah.” Lyles’s antics are beginning to make people question his love for the sport itself.

In fact, another fan even went on to write, “Is he a fan of the sport, or is he just vibing because that was a trash statement.” Netizens are evidently left wondering if Noah Lyles has forgotten the path he walked. It was, after all, the 200m wins that put him on the global maps. Additionally, his remarks are simply disrespectful to athletes like Tebogo or even Gabby Thomas, who has defended his antics in the past. Noah Lyles’ bold personality often grabs attention, but his latest statement has crossed the line for many.

What do you think? Is he simply speaking his truth, or has he disrespected the sport that made him the star of today?