The Olympics might be over, but the track and field rivalry is just getting started as a fresh season is underway. After a cutthroat competition in both the men’s and women’s disciplines in Paris, the battle for glory has now spilled over to the upcoming races. The ongoing Diamond League meets are already taking the Olympic excitement forward. All these events will lead up to the World Athletics Championships 2025 in Tokyo, set to be held from September 13 to 21. But will the Olympic champions reiterate their success or new stars will emerge? 

In Paris, the men’s 100m competition featured one of the fastest runs in Olympic history. To provide context, the athlete who finished the last clocked 9.91 seconds, and a photo finish, was needed to finally declare Noah Lyles the winner. Similarly, the women’s division also saw the blitzkrieg run of Julien Alfred making headlines as she defeated pre-race favorite Sha’Carri Richardson to win the first-ever Olympic gold for her country, St. Lucia. Looking at all these, predictions about the upcoming stars are rising. 

In a conversation with Rodney Green, Justin Gatlin was asked about the top 5 sprinters to look out for in Tokyo. Listing them one by one on the ‘Ready Set Go’ podcast, Gatlin expectedly first mentioned Julien Alfred. Apart from the 100m triumph, she also grabbed the silver medal in Paris behind Gabby Thomas of the USA. One reason that Gatlin chose Alfred over Sha’Carri might be that the St. Lucian sprinter now stands 2-1 against Sha’Carri.

Last year at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Alfred had stunned Sha’Carri. The American had her redemption at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, where she ran a personal best 10.65s to be crowned the world champion. Alfred only secured a fifth place. Fortified with her Olympic win, she would look to topple Sha’Carri from the World Champion’s throne. The rivalry is set to be reignited on September 5 as they meet at the Zurich Diamond League. Interestingly, snubbing Sha’Carri, Gatlin chose Tamari Davis from the USA.

One factor that might propel Tamari is that she is also seeking redemption after missing out on qualifying for the US Olympic squad. And she hinted at that after securing the second place at the Lausanne Diamond League days back. Tamari clocked an impressive 10.97s in the meet.

After her performance, she said, “It went well tonight. I am just trying to bounce back after not making the Olympic team and I am pleased with the result. This was my first race back and I’m happy and healthy and that is what matters most.” Notably, she was part of the 4x100m squad that won gold at last year’s world championships with a championship record time of 41.03s.

On the men’s side, Kishane Thompson had to be there on the list. Commenting on his performance, Gatlin stated that the Paris result was a setback for the Jamaican. Thus, Tokyo could be his tour of revenge and redemption.

Speaking about Thompson’s chances, Gatlin said, “We all gonna be curious to see what Kishane gonna do yeah, so a healthy Kishane coming back um like I said I think he knew that was his race to win at the Olympics. I think it’s going to be his revenge tour, it has to be his revenge tour.” As Kishane put it, he will put his Olympic experience to use in the upcoming races.

“The first thing I’ve learned after going through something like this is I have to be more patient with myself. The second thing is I need to understand that the last part of the race is the most complicated, and the third is when it’s such a close final, I have to big up myself even more,” Kishane told Spain’s Relevo in the days after his race. Moreover, he also has hinted at plans to run in the 200m. “I’ll soon be there at that distance. I like it,” he told Olympics.com just days back. One interesting pick Gatlin made was Erriyon Knighton. And why not? After all, he is the fastest teenage runner on the planet.

The now 20-year-old Knighton holds the world under-18 best in the 200m (19.84s), set on June 27, 2021, and the world U20 record (19.69s), set on June 26, 2022. Apart from that, he is the 2023 U.S. Champion in the 200 meters and the 2023 World Championships silver medalist. Though he could not medal in Paris, he took the third spot at the trials to seal his spot for Paris. So his dreams are lofty: breaking 200m world record set by Usain Bolt.

“That’s what I constantly think about. Just trying to be number one on the list all the time and I think that’s what that’s gets me going is just wanting to be the world record holder,” Knighton had said Olympics.com. An interesting fact is that he has already broken Bolt’s record once! Last year, then the 19-year-old Erriyon Knighton ran the 200m in 19.77 seconds at the Oslo Diamond League, crossing the line with a time 0.02 seconds faster than Bolt’s previous meeting record. Indeed, he deserves a spot in the top-5.

One unconventional and fifth choice from Gatlin was the Botswana 4x400m relay squad in Paris. This was the team that did let the USA get a hall pass in the absence of the Jamaican squad. The nail-biter was decided only in the last leg of the race as Rai Benjamin held off Letsile Tebogo. The team pulled off a striking African record of 2:54.53 against the USA’s Olympic record of 2:54:43. Amid all, though Gatlin chose to stay away from Sha’Carri and Noah, let us not forget their heroics from Paris.

Apart from the gold, Noah Lyles clinched bronze in the 200m race despite suffering from COVID-19. On the other hand, Sha’Carri Richardson ran a blistering anchor leg in the 4x100m relay to earn the gold for the USA. But Noah seems to be in a rough spot when it comes to track and field analysts taking a look at his claims. Just days back, Lyles’ 400m ambitions were heavily questioned. 

Rodney Green advises Noah Lyles to focus on his forte first

Noah Lyles is currently on cloud nine after winning the Olympic gold. However, soon after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, Lyles revealed his next big goal- to break the 400m world record. Truth to be told, the 400m is an uncharted territory for Noah Lyles. He has been specializing in the 100m and 200m races so far.

Despite Lyles claiming to win a quadruple gold in Paris, his ambitions were cut short by COVID-19. But Lyles’ recent statement did not please a lot of people. For once, Lyles previously vowed to beat Usain Bolt’s timing in the 100m (9:58s) and 200 m (19.19s) disciplines. Unfortunately, till now, those records stand intact. 

Thus, speaking of the 100m Olympic gold medalist’s recent goal, track personality Rodney Green stated that Lyles must focus on conquering the 200m first. On ‘Tidal League’ podcast, Green said, “Man, I ain’t even listening to Noah. I, I heard, I heard that tell Noah handle that 200 meter first, you know what I mean? Don’t bite off more than he can chew. But we gonna say you wanna see the 200, see that first 200?”

Gatlin immediately showed his support and began chanting, “200, 200, 200.” Thus, with Noah Lyles getting dismissed for his big talks, it is now up to him to prove himself and emerge on the winning side of things. 

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