Controversial Noah Lyles Sparks Fresh Track and Field Drama at 2024 Bahamas World Relays

Moments are made in track and field almost as quickly as a sprinter steps off the starting line. That often goes beyond the tracks. And when Noah Lyles is around, there is no scarcity of such moments, even off the tracks. Recently, he once again created one such after Team USA won the 4x100m relay at the 2024 Bahamas World Relays in Nassau.

With a time of 37.40, the USA team was sitting marginally ahead of the Canadian team (37.89), which included Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse. With Canada lagging closely behind Team USA in the men’s 4×100-meter relay, Lyles added a bit of controversy to the proceedings. After the event, Noah Lyles was caught by Citiusmag for his first reaction.

When asked about the “Budding rivalry between US and Canada” Lyles asked, “Rivalry between who?” In an apparent mocking, he continued asking, “Who?…Who?” every time the interviewer tried asking asked him the question. That drew a burst of laughter from the surrounding crowd. But is it only the USA vs. Canada or something more that Noah Lyles intended to indicate?

Notably, the Canadian squad that won silver in the Bahamas Relay included one of Noah Lyles’ rivals, Andre De Grasse. Noah definitely did not forget how De Grasse took away the gold in the 200m event in Tokyo while he had settled for the bronze. Even a few days back, Noah reminisced about the moment with an Instagram clip that showcased De Grasse crossing Noah at the finishing line.

“At that point, I was just…broken. Here was the moment that I dreamt for about six years…seven years…not getting the medal that you felt you deserved,” Noah said in the clip. But in the same post, he also declared, “This ain’t 2021 this is 2024!” Indeed, Noah showed a glimpse of this evolution in the 2023 World Athletics Championships itself. Interestingly, back then, it was De Grasse who made a prediction about Noah that came to be a reality.

Andre de Grasse had foreseen the historic triumph of Noah Lyles

In the 200m final of WAC 2023, Noah Lyles came out victorious with a time of 19.52. That marked his sprint double in the event, having already won the 100m race previously. De Grasse came up with a disappointing 6th-place finish in the 200m race. After the event, he however had all praise for Noah. In an interview, De Grasse commanded Lyles, saying, “Everything has worked out in his favor here. I’m proud of him to be able to do that because that is something that I’ve been chasing. It’s super amazing.” He then went on predicting, “This is Noah’s championships – he’s going to get the triple gold,” referring to the then-yet-to-be-contested 4x100m relay. Rest is history.

Proving De Grasse’s prediction correct, on the following day, Noah led Team USA to win the 4x100m relay, thereby completing the sprint treble, a rare feat to attain after Usain Bolt (2015). De Grasse quite aptly pointed out on that occasion, “He’s amazing…he’s going to be the future of the sport for sure.” So where did the reigning Olympic champion see himself in that future?

In WAC 2023, De Grasse had said, “…definitely, it’s going to be a challenge to race those guys next year [2024].” That year is already here. And that future is also here. Let’s wait to see how De Grasse places himself amid that, especially after the latest dig Noah took at Team Canada.