Poised To End a 20-Year Drought, Noah Lyles Led Team USA Lineup Gets Declared a ‘100m Favorite Powerhouse’

As the anticipation builds for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the track and field world is abuzz with excitement, especially surrounding Team USA’s star athletes. Among them shines Noah Lyles, the reigning 2023 World Champion, who has already exceeded expectations in the 2024 indoor season, winning the 60-meter US indoor title and two silver medals at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.

Even the legendary Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history, has bestowed his stamp of approval upon Lyles to break his world record, recognizing his potential to dominate. With his intention to claim “all the Olympic medals,” he embarks on a mission to end Team USA’s 20-year gold medal drought at the Olympics. With Lyles leading the charge, a track insider has branded Team USA’s lineup as a ‘100m Favorite Powerhouse,’ setting the stage for an epic showdown.

Track and Field insider predicts Noah Lyles could bring home gold for USA

During a recent episode of the Ready Set Go podcast, track veterans Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green, along with CEO Andrew Martin, discussed America’s chances of reclaiming gold at the Paris Olympics. Gatlin humorously recalled his mom’s reminder about his last Olympic gold in 2004, sparking a discussion on the nation’s dry spell.

Justin then asked Andrew Martin if he saw red, white, and blue getting back on top of the podium at the Paris Olympics. In reply, Andrew Martin acknowledged Noah Lyles’s impressive season in the 60-meter event, which led him to win gold in the 100-meter race in Budapest last year.

Although sharing that it was still early in the season to declare a favorite, he said, “America, like the United States right now, has to be like a 100-favorite powerhouse. I’ll just say the whole country is a favorite, not an individual athlete so it could end the two-decade-year dry spell for the states on the men’s side.” As we reflect on these words, let’s take a closer look at America’s gold drought in the 100-meter event.

Team USA’s 20-year gold medal drought

Since Justin Gatlin’s gold medal win for the USA in the men’s 100m at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Usain Bolt of Jamaica had dominated the event for three Olympic cycles. Bolt secured three consecutive gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, earning his GOAT status in sprinting. After Bolt’s retirement, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Marcell Jacobs of Italy claimed the gold, ending Jamaica’s long streak.

This year, the recognition of Lyles’ potential by none other than Usain Bolt himself underscores the massive potential Noah Lyles holds. Noah Lyles stands as a promising contender to break America’s 20-year spell in the men’s 100m at the Olympics and also Lightning Bolt’s world records. Could Noah Lyles achieve this feat? Comment below!

Also read: Missing Paris Olympics Berth by a Hair, 32-Year-Old Arizonan Runner Remains Hopeful As ‘The Best Alternate’