The last week of June took the athletic world by surprise. The beginning of the week belonged to Noah Lyles, who equaled his personal best time of 9.83s in 100m to earn a spot on the US Olympic team on June 23. The timing placed him third in the lineup of world lead. The weekend turned the attention to Jamaica and for good reason. A 22-year-old prodigy pushed Noah to the fourth position in the world lead at the Jamaican Olympic trials on June 28.

It was Kishane Thompson who clocked a blistering 10.77s in the 100m dash that stunned the track and field community. Understandably, once again, Usain Bolt’s shadow loomed large as one more contender seemed to have been entered in the race to touch the coveted 9.58s mark. Among the impressed pack of enthusiasts is a former world champion.

Adam Gemili, the British sprinter, saw Usain Bolt running firsthand in the 2017 World Championships being a part of the British 4x100m squad that won gold. The race was also Bolt’s last race. While Jamaica won the heats comfortably, Bolt could finish the last leg of the race in the final because of a hamstring injury. Gemili thinks that Noah will not be alone in usurping Bolt’s records, at least not after the fiery trials.

Rather, he is counting on Kishane Thompson highly to carry out the hefty task soon. In his conversation with Talk Sport, the former world champion said, “But Noah, he can get close to it. Kishane Thompson, the Jamaican, also. He’s run really well.”  However, Gemili took another name as well, which can’t be written off from the probable list. 

He is Lamont Marcell Jacobs. Speaking on his part, the 30-year-old said, “you can’t count out [Lamont] Marcell Jacobs, who is the Olympic champ”. So, to Adam Gemili, the fight to dethrone Usain Bolt should be a contest between the three. But in reality, the situation may turn out to be far more competitive. In both 100m and 200m events, many more names could pull off the unthinkable in the D-day.

In 100m event: 

In 200m event: 

Adam Gemili seems to already have an idea about such a lineup chasing the Jamaican legend’s milestones. Proving that part, he concluded his statement by adding, “So, on the day, who can beat who.” Notably, amid this crowd, one prominent face is already out of the contention, at least for the time being.

Christian Coleman, who has the staggering record of beating Usain Bolt at the 2017 world championships, could not qualify for Paris in 100m or 200m. However, both Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson had many things to add when it comes to their urge to walk off the records that have been standing for more than a decade. 

Noah Lyles vs Kishane Thompson: War of words and techniques 

Since last year, specifically after his treble victory in the Budapest World Athletics Championships, Noah Lyles has been speaking about thumping Usain Bolt’s records. Not for just personal glory, he wants to settle for those records because of making the sport far more competitive. 

A similar attitude was prominent when he revealed the reason why he is chasing the four gold medals from the Paris Olympics. “There have been multiple doubles, not a lot, but there have been plenty. I can grab three but Bolt has done that,” he went deeper. But as he mentioned later, only four gold medals can set him up in history, moving ahead of Usain Bolt. In that way, Noah Lyles would be able to set a new milestone for the upcoming athletes. Recently, after leaving the Olympic trials grounds, he gave out something, clearing the air. 

Noah Lyles has already an Olympic medal and six World Championship gold medals. But he is far away from having an Olympic gold and a world record. Therefore, that made him say, “Grabbing an Olympic gold and then two, grabbing a world record. It’s just that I aim for being greatest.” Interestingly, their path to achieve that looks remarkably different. Let us take a look at their distinct running style.

Noah Lyles’ weakness with the starts is well known. Though he has been taking interesting steps like working with a biochemist to putting on some 30lb muscle to get a better angle during start, the concern is there. However, Noah’s strength is the last half of the race that finds him pulling off literally at a blazing speed to get the job done. In fact, in the Olympic trials as well, Noah was trailing in the beginning at the 100m races. But the latter half of the races changed everything. On the other hand, Thompson’s approach looks diagonally opposite. 

At the Jamaican trials, Thompson’s start was one of the best. The commentary went on like, “Thompson got away like rocket.” That initial momentum gave him so much power that it was enough to obliterate a fiercely competitive field that featured the likes of Ackeem Blake and Oblique Seville. “My coach instructed me to just run the first 60, nothing more. After that, I should just shut it down,” Thompson revealed his strategy after the race. His coach Stephen Francis testified to that.

He asserted that had Thompson maintained his initial speed during the distance between 40m and 60m he might have run 9.6 or 9.70. We all understand what that transcribes to. As both Lyles and Thompson head to Paris, both the approaches will surely be put to their greatest tests!