Let’s go back to the 2023 World Championships. Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles were on top of the world, having dominated their events. Two golds for Sha’Carri and three for Noah. So, coming into the Olympics this year, the expectations were quite high. But before they failed to accomplish part of their goals in Paris, a track and field legend had made a striking remark, one that seems to have resonated in a list that Sports Illustrated recently released.

In April, Michael Johnson tweeted, “Reporter just said ‘track & field lacks personalities like [Usain] Bolt, Carl [Lewis], and you.’ My personality wasn’t nearly as exciting as Noah, Sha’Carri, Shelley-Ann, Karston, or Jakob. There isn’t a lack of personalities. Problem is the sport is no longer a platform for great personalities.” Lyles and Richardson may have the aura that athletes like Bolt and Flo Jo once possessed, but the sport isn’t the same anymore.

So, when Sports Illustrated revealed its list of the 50 most influential figures and driving forces in sports this year, Sha’Carri (as an individual) and Noah didn’t make it. And after a season of ups and downs, their rather disappointing track record (no pun intended) seems to have continued… But before getting to the list, let’s go back a couple of days. And a couple of weeks.

Regardless of the list’s ode to the LSU, this season has been a rollercoaster for Sha’Carri Richardson, which surely was deserving of a standalone nomination. Yes, she couldn’t quite end it on a high, one she certainly felt after the 4x100m final at the Olympics. At the Diamond League finals in Brussels, the 24-year-old settled for eighth place in the 100m with an 11.23, subsequently withdrawing from the 200m event the following day and ending her season. As for Noah Lyles, he didn’t make an appearance at all.

At the Paris Games, Lyles contracted COVID-19 before the 200m final—the event he was most looking forward to, hoping to redeem himself after his bronze in Tokyo. However, he fell short yet again and had to settle for third with a time of 19.70. Due to his diagnosis, the 27-year-old withdrew from his last event—the 4x100m relay. Making an appearance at the US Open finals in New York, Lyles said, “I ended my season. We decided that after the COVID situation, we are just going to call it there.”

Fast forward to now, and Sports Illustrated’s second annual list of the most influential figures in sports featured titans from all across the world—the who’s who, from icons and athletes to executives and dealmakers—featured in four categories: Icons, Executives, Influencers, and Athletes—those who “push limits, redefine success, and have an outsized impact between and outside the lines.” 

Considering everything that USATF athletes have achieved this year—not just Lyles and Richardson—you would’ve thought they would’ve made it. But much to the track and field fans’ dismay, even after boasting supreme athletic prowess in this season’s events, it didn’t feature any track and field athletes!

Take Lyles, for instance. In what was the closest 100m finish in Olympic history, Noah Lyles clinched the gold in front of a thunderous crowd at Stade de France, edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. Coming into Paris, while he may not have had the world-leading time in the 100m (or the 200m), he did shave off two-hundredths of his personal best at the London Diamond League (9.81 seconds), further bettering it at the Olympics. Did you know he finished on the podium in every race he entered in 2024? This might lead one to wonder… could this have been a faux pas?

Or maybe, just maybe, it could’ve been because of the 27-year-old’s frequent controversial remarks:

• NBA champions shouldn’t be called “world champions,” considering the league is limited to North America: “You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals, and they have ‘World Champion’ on their head.”
•  Interview with TIME Magazine, where Lyles seemingly undermined NBA star Anthony Edwards while discussing his Adidas shoe launch: “You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? … And you’re giving him a shoe?” Although Lyles clarified he was upset about his own negotiations with Adidas—and even appreciated Edwards’ talent—this didn’t sit well with many.
• Calling himself the “fastest man in the world” before the Olympics despite not having the fastest time in either the 100m or 200m in 2024—let alone times close to Bolt’s records of 9.58 and 19.19, respectively: Explaining how the title is awarded to the 100m winners at the World Championships in response to widespread backlash, he wrote, “We do not intend to disrespect or discredit past records or times set in the new season. This is simply how the title is determined.”

As for Sha’Carri Richardson, she and her LSU mate Mondo Duplantis were mentioned in passing, but that’s about it. Clubbed under “LSU Tigers Talent” in the list, the publication read, “At the Paris Games, Sha’Carri Richardson won silver in the 100 meters and anchored the U.S. team that won gold in the women’s 4×100 relay. Her former LSU classmate and pole vaulter Armand Duplantis won gold for Sweden, proving that the LSU effect extends well beyond the US.”

Like Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson finished on the podium in every race she entered this season, barring two—one at the Diamond League finals and the other at the 200m US Olympic Trials. Apart from them, the likes of Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who asserted themselves as icons of the sport this season, missed out, too!

McLaughlin-Levrone ran the 400mH at the Paris Games in 50.37 seconds, adding another Olympic gold to her name. But more importantly, she broke the event’s record—and her own mark—for an astounding sixth time. As for Gabby Thomas, she walked away from the Olympics with three gold medals: 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m. Moreover, she’s also partnered with entrepreneur and track and field enthusiast Alexis Ohanian to host Athlos, a women-only event showcasing the world’s fastest athletes competing against each other in New York.

Coming back to Sports Illustrated’s list, among the four categories, a few Olympians like Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Lebron James, and Ilona Maher were named one of the 50 most influential athletes of 2024. As for last year’s power list, it only mentioned one icon from the track and field circuit: Allyson Felix. Could this be a recurring pattern?

Stade de France hosted an array of exciting events from August 1 and 11. A record-breaking crowd showed up to cheer on their favorite athletes—be it a sprint, long jump, pole vault, javelin throw, or more. If that wasn’t exciting enough, many even witnessed upset wins, smashed records, and more. And Richardson, Lyles, and the rest of the USATF contingent were smack-dab in the middle of it all.

Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles’ highs and lows at the Paris Olympics

The 24-year-old couldn’t make her much-awaited debut in the Japanese capital three years ago. But after punching her ticket with her riveting performance in the US Olympics Trials, she looked forward to making heads turn. Richardson’s first event was against a stacked lineup in the 100m finals at Stade de France. However, she only focused on the prize—an Olympic gold medal. Much to her dismay, she missed first place by a whisker, crossing the finish line in 10.87 seconds compared to Julien Alfred’s gold medal-winning 10.72 dash,

But she had one more chance to redeem herself in the City of Light. Sha’Carri Richardson ran the anchor leg in the 4x100m finals. However, a clunky baton pass between herself and Gabby Thomas nearly derailed their chase for glory. But the 100m silver medalist’s stellar sprint led them to the top of the podium with 41.78 seconds on the clock. On the other hand, Noah Lyles still reeled from his heartbreaking result in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Hoping to clinch his maiden Olympic gold, the sprinter had to settle for a third-place finish instead. With renewed vigor, the 27-year-old looked forward to redeeming himself in the French capital. With an astounding time of 9.784 seconds in the 100m finals, the Olympian proved he was willing to walk the walk as he clinched the gold. He then shifted his focus to the 200m finals next. But with a time of 19.70, the sprinter fell short.

History had repeated itself, but it only went downhill from here. Having contracted COVID-19, the sprinter withdrew from his last event—the 4x100m relay. However, fans hoped to watch Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson back on the tracks at the Diamond League meet. But the former had already ended his season in the French capital. On the other hand, Richardson momentarily redeemed herself in the 100m event at the Zurich Diamond League. Alas, she couldn’t do the same at the finals in Brussels. Could this have played a part in their absence from the power list?