“I’ll Remember This!”: Noah Lyles Throws Shade at Jamaican Rival After He Uses Usain Bolt-Like Mockery at Racers Grand Prix

Noah Lyles doesn’t seem to be getting into his groove yet. While the hype was through the roof when Lyles entered the Racers Grand Prix 2024, the outcome was quite a somber one. Expected to dominate proceedings in the men’s 100m event, Noah Lyles was toppled by Oblique Seville, much to the dismay of the fans. Unfortunately, Lyles’ woes did not end with just losing the race. While Seville was crossing the finish line, he mocked Lyles by taking time to stare at Lyles to further ascertain his dominance. 

This gesture of public mockery was not at all well received by Lyles. Taking to his X account, the US sprint star challenged Seville for a face-off at the Paris Olympics. Lyles’ words read, “Oh yah… I’ll remember this! See you in Paris @ObliqueSeville.” With this, Lyles also posted a shot of the viral picture where Seville stared at the American moments before picking up the victory.

Running at the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica, the home crowd was treated to the fullest by Seville. Aided by a tailwind of 0.9m/sec, the 23-year-old Jamaican blazed past his opponents in 9.82s. While cruising to victory, Seville broke quite a few records. For once, this was his overall personal best, overshadowing his previous fastest timing of 9.86s. Next up, Seville is now the fastest man of 2024, breaking Christian Miller’s feat of 9.93s. While Seville basked in the warmth of glory, Noah Lyles yet again, fell short of expectations. His time of 9.85s might be an improvement but was not enough as per the high standards set by him. Especially when he claimed to dethrone King Usain Bolt in Paris. 

Noah Lyles aiming to beat Usain Bolt and getting mocked in his style 

Speaking about his Olympic goals, Noah Lyles mentioned that he wanted to be the fastest man on Earth. Lyles commented, “Title of the fastest man in the world… title of the 100m champion… running the world-leading time… that is the one I have been reaching for.” This meant that he would have to go beyond his limits to run 100m in less than 9.58s. While this might have seemed improbable, going by Lyles’ personal best of 9.83s in 2023, the feat did look achievable. 

What’s more, Usain Bolt himself felt that “The possibility is there” for Lyles to dethrone him. Unfortunately, since then, his performances have failed to match his talks. Making his debut at the Tom Jones Memorial, Lyles clocked a moderate 10.01s and backed it up by 9.96s at the Bermuda Grand Prix. Such a timid start has resulted in Lyles being ranked at 13 in the men’s 100m fastest times of 2024 list. However, Lyles’ run at the Racers Grand Prix was the fastest of the season. Sadly, it is still significantly slower than his goal of breaching 9.58s. 

Interestingly, Oblique Seville’s gesture of looking back at Lyles was a signature move performed by Usain Bolt. As Bolt generally used to outpace his opponents by a significant distance, it became normal. But with Seville, doing the same thing to Lyles only intensifies the offense in the future. And now, with Noah Lyles responding publicly, the battle lines are surely drawn. Thus, it looks like come Paris, the reignited Jamaica v US rivalry is going to set the stage on fire.