The time of release of the Netflix documentary ‘Sprint’ was superb. The plan to release it in the Olympic month was to turn more eyes to the sport, already reeling with a lack of viewership. After its release on July 2, track and field enthusiasts did look at it. But the plan somewhat backfired. Although the 6-episode docuseries claimed to represent the journey of a pack of athletes from the 2023 world championships leading up to the Paris Olympics, a raging allegation of favoritism came up. One athlete at the center of all this is Noah Lyles.

Noah has an undeniable presence on the track and beyond it. But according to a major share of track fans, that showmanship found too much presence in the Netflix documentary, at the cost of focusing on others. That eventually took away the goal of showcasing the sport, according to the enthusiasts. Not only that, Noah’s confident comments that keep the track and field realm vibrating all the time, also seemed to have become a bane.

After watching the documentary, several apparently boastful comments by Noah Lyles offended the fans. What’s more, they didn’t even like his attitude in the docuseries and this was what primarily got them riled up. 

Being brazen seems to be the new curse for Noah Lyles

Noah Lyles is full of passion. And that is exactly what he channeled to express himself in the SPRINT documentary. In episode 5 of the series, Lyles opened up about his mindset going into the World Championship. For the uninitiated, Lyles posted his goals of running the 100m in 9.65s and 200m in 19.10s. Such a claim invited significant criticism, to which Lyles reacted in SPRINT. He said, “I say I’m going to run 9.65 and 19.10. The amount of hate was astronomical. What the heck does me saying my goal have to do with you?”

Surely, this statement did not sit well with the fans and was interpreted as arrogance. Things escalated further when in one episode, Lyles mentioned, “If people think I’m corny I’m still getting the medals.” Well, this was not the end of controversial statements from Lyles. Looking at the uproar after the release of the documentary, Noah Lyles took a dig at the fans, calling them negative and saying that the naysayers should have no bearing on his neon-sign aspirations. 

Lyles’ X post read, “Ight Twitter, y’all too negative for me right now. I’ll catch y’all after the Olympics.” What is your thought? He is too much confident about himself? We have more. Let us have some from the docuseries.

• “I’m the third fastest human to ever live. Soon to be the first.”
• “You have to have the mindset of a God.”
• “I feel like I’m an almost artistic director.”
• “I’m a true believer in that the moment isn’t bigger than me, the moment was made for me.”

Thus, with all these comments coming from Noah Lyles, it was certain that the surrounding heat would only worsen further. And it did. 

Is Noah Lyles over-hyped? Fans battle over the answer 

Following the recent events, fans were quick to express their opinions on X. One fan highlighted Jamaican fans’ discontent with Noah Lyles being labeled the fastest man in the world, possibly overlooking their own star sprinters. In reality, Noah’s personal best of 9.83s in 100m places him at the 17th position on the all-time list. On the other hand, his 200m personal best of 19.31s is the third. Beyond the standings, if we look at the timings, Noah is quite some distance away from Bolt’s 9,58s (100m) and 10.19s (200m).

So, Jamaican fans’ disagreement is evident and one user expressed that with a hilarious post.

Another fan took a shot at creating a contrast between Noah Lyles’ attitude in the documentary and Usain Bolt’s demeanor. Bolt is someone who has very politely declared that records are made to be broken after Noah boasted about breaking his records. On the other hand, Noah has continuously voiced his lofty goals. Pointing that, the comment read, “Noah Lyles is the arrogance  and insecurity to someone like Bolts confidence and self awareness.#sprintnetflix #sprint #netflix.” 

One fan felt frustrated about Noah’s dominant presence in the docuseries. Let us take an example from Episode 3 of the docuseries, named “Belonging”. The episode shows Britain’s Zharnel Hughes. But the focus is on Noah, his coach Lawrence Brauman, and his mother Keisha Caine Bishop. It prominently shows how Noah looks at the 200m and 100m events. “The 200m is my wife, the 100m is my mistress,” Noah was heard saying. However, nothing of that sort was shown for Hughes. Eventually, it shows a race where Noah defeats Hughes.

Looking at that, one X user added “Way too much Noah Lyles who’s not likable at all.” Alongside, Noah Lyles’ self-assured remarks have drawn heavy criticism. In episode 3, Noah gets a question, about what it will take to win. His reply: “Whatever I run.” Referring to such claims and portrayal of himself in the docuseries, an X user humorously took a dig.

Noah once stated that he was not someone who would just come, run, and go away. So he has often arranged pre-race walks, which are fashion parades that show off the athletes in their fashionable selves. One fan thinks these stints have made Noah a favorite with the brands to promote themselves. Eventually, that made Noah believe more in his antics, which probably came out as his boasting. The post of the fan read, “Noah Lyles fell victim to these “branding” schemes that agents use to pump up already inflated egos. “I’m going to transcend the sport”?  Selfish.  Should have been “I want us all to be recognized for what we do and I want to lead that effort”  Selfless. #SprintNetflix” 

One netizen humorously manifested a desire to channel Noah Lyles’ unshakeable confidence in facing life’s challenges. Referring to Lyles’ bold statements and attitude portrayed in the Netflix documentary “SPRINT,” despite criticism, the fan commented, “I summon the confidence of Noah Lyles over my life 😭🕯” 

Well, with things getting pretty much heated, it is now up to Noah Lyles to prove himself. Whether he can or not will be the big question lingering as Paris draws nearer.