With the Paris Olympics knocking at the door, the age-old rivalry between Jamaica and the USA is about to be ignited. The Jamaicans have been enjoying the upper hand so far with the likes of Usain Bolt having dominated the realm and now with the mantle passed onto Shericka Jackson, Yohan Blake and the like, it’s about to get more electrifying than ever. However, this time around, there is a very good chance of Team USA making a level playing field. The likes of Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles have been making ripples in the athletic domain recently. What’s more? Both the stars have also expressed desires to break Usain Bolt’s world record in the 100m and the 200m disciplines. 

Unfortunately, the reality has been quite the opposite. At least till now. Both Lyles and Coleman haven’t looked in their best of forms and have not even been able to take the world lead even once. And now, to make things even worse for the US, a new fiery entrant, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, has emerged as a new threat. 

Ferdinand Omanyala is here to stay 

Competing at the recently concluded Olympic trials in Kenya, Ferdinand Omanyala whizzed past everyone. His 100m time of 9.79s not only won him first place but also made him the Fastest Man of 2024. Mark Otieno and Meshack Babu completed the podium, with timings of 10.12s and 10.20s, respectively. Such a dominant performance would do a world of good to Omanyala, as this is the first instance of an under 9.8s performance by an athlete.

The previous world lead was held by Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who clocked 9.82s. While these might be promising numbers for Omanyala and Seville, for Lyles and Coleman, things are quite concerning. Christian Coleman’s situation is looking even more complicated. He currently stands 10th on the list via his Eugene timing of 9.95s. Other US stars like Rony Baker, Kenny Bednarek, and Fred Kerley have fallen significantly behind in the race. 

Lyles, on the other hand, has somehow managed to diminish the gap as he stands third on the list. His time of 9.85 seconds in Jamaica was surely his 2024 best. However, it was a tad bit slow as Seville took away the victory in a classic Usain Bolt-style finishing glance. With the US trials coming up in 6 days, Lyles and co. would definitely need to pull up their socks. Especially Noah Lyles, who has constantly been bashed by the fans for his time. 

Lyles has an uphill task ahead

Noah Lyles debuted this year at the Tom Jones Memorial. Although he did win the gold, Lyles’ time of 10.01s did not interest the fans. Next, he ran at the Bermuda Grand Prix and clocked 9.96s. Again, unimpressive for someone who is aiming to break 9.58s. His latest outing at the Racers Grand Prix saw him throw an open challenge to Oblique Seville as he lost by a whisker. Lyles, in his X post, said, “Oh yah… I’ll remember this! See you in Paris @ObliqueSeville.”

Unfortunately, even then, the fans did not stop taking shots at Lyles. In fact, even before touching Usain Bolt’s record, Lyles has 13 more records to take care of. His 100m personal best is 9.83s, which positions him at number 15 on the list. Thus, in order to reach the pinnacle, Lyles would have to get past thirteen contenders. Surely, it is definitely a tough ask. But come Paris, it will be interesting to see if Noah Lyles can show his character and conquer the athletic realm.