The Paris Olympics has no intention of leaving the new cycle anytime soon. And how can it be? With the number of moments that it has given us this year, there are only many more to come. At the Olympics, while many made it to the headlines, there were two Americans who stood apart in track and field. It was none other than the ever-so-rapid Noah Lyles and Gabby Thomas. As the world knows, Lyles took the heaviest crown of them all when he won the 100m race. And Thomas?

Well, she went on to win the race that once used to be Lyles’ domain. Thomas won the women’s 200m Gold. While the two ran two different races this season, if there is one thing they both align on, it is about the effort that comes with being a track star. While Thomas had perhaps the homecoming of the season, Lyles’ story was quite different. He was stuck in a rut of online drama. He was trolled over his relationship with Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield, his outspoken opinions, and even his antics on the track. Unfortunately, the time to face music has come yet again for Noah Lyles. But this time, he has some backup!

Sportsmanship in play as Thomas backs up Lyles

Recently, Noah Lyles indulged in a race that caught YouTube’s attention real quickly. In a collaborative video between Lyles, popular streamer IShowSpeed, and YouTuber MrBeast, Speed and Lyles went head to head in a 50m race. Right before the race, Speed even went on to say, “I never lost a race.” In response to a rather confident statement, Lyles, with a smirk, went on to say, “The idea that people think he might be able to beat me, and we’re going to use that to our advantage.” But did it, or did it just cause the new cycle of speculation?

As the race began, the world saw Speed in the lead. This caught everyone by surprise. But let’s not forget Noah Lyles is an Olympian. He caught up real quick and went on to cross the finish line. The aftermath? Speed playfully swore he’d won. And thus began the speculations. Fandom took the matter to social media and went on to dissect every angle. But when one troll claimed it was a photo finish, Gabby Thomas stepped into the ring with a bunch of comebacks defending Lyles. She took it to X, reposting the race video, and wrote, “This wasn’t close…like at all.” And thus began the flood of reactions from the fandom!

Gabby Thomas has some comebacks for the raging fandom

One fan went on to declare. “To be the world’s fastest man and a kid that streams all day be that close…” There was no way the netizen was getting away with that. Gabby Thomas had a quick clap-back waiting. She went on to write, “Speed is fast, but this race wasn’t close. lol idk how far you expect somebody to be at 50m. And it looks like Noah wasn’t even running fr?!” And she is not wrong!

Noah Lyles is no ordinary sprinter; He has been training and winning against the best in the world. And, let’s not forget he wears the same 100m crown that once upon a time was worn by Usain Bolt. Additionally, when you take a close look at the video, there is not much debate that Lyles had a clear win. But the interesting part was that Speed was close. However, the real rage kicked in when the fandom, caught Lyles slacking during the race!

An eagle-eyed netizen went on to write, “Noah knew it was too close for comfort, so he plays around at the end so he can say ‘oh I was messing around at the end’…” The point is not without its merit. The moment the race begins, Speed does take the lead. And towards the end, you see Lyles’ speed going up and him looking back at Speed. The moment almost seemed like he was trying to catch up to Speed’s pace. But hold your horses; Thomas has some wisdom to share on this!

Gabby Thomas went on to talk about how impossible it is to run at full speed while “dancing” and turning your head mid-sprint. “Idk, it’s just not possible to run 100% with your head turned to the side and dancing toh. I would know, but l agree Speed probably ran faster than we all expected.” Fire away, Thomas! While her words are strong enough, let’s not forget Lyles’ stats. He has numbers that went from 9.83 in Budapest in 2023 to 9.79 in Paris. Those numbers are statements that speak for themselves. But unfortunately, there were many more who went on to support Speed.

One fan went on to sum it up and wrote, “To be fair, Speed has never trained in track while Noah is an Olympic gold medalist. Speed is just a content creator who streams.” That one struck a chord with Thomas. She shot right back, writing, “Exactly, lol he ran well for a streamer, so props to him!! Noah just beat him bad.” He sure did! But since the online world and Speed himself felt like he was fast, Noah even agreed to a possible rematch!

Noah Lyles has never lacked confidence. So when Speed posted the 50m went on to say, “Let’s do a rematch.” Lyles, perhaps having known the Speed antics, gave a better solution. He went on to say, “You should practice with me, and then at the end of the week, we’ll race again. You’ll be faster, you’ll know what to do, you’ll have the techniques, you’ll have the advantage.” Now that’s the kind of confidence that screams, ‘There is no way to beat the fastest man.’ But as always, there were those who went on to find the whole thing a shallow PR stunt!

As one fan puts it, “Please do not give either of these people your attention – even your acknowledgment is the clout they’re chasing.” And what if Gabby Thomas doesn’t even know who Speed is? Would it still be a mere stunt to promote the race? Well, that is exactly what happened. She responded by writing, “I don’t know who Speed is, tbh, but I respect people who show up to run/race.” To her, it seems like being on track is no gimmick but a chance to bring track and field into the spotlight yet again. As the comments got heated over debates, one fan went on to challenge Gabby!

The fan went on to write, “I know for a fact he’s cooking you in 50m.” While the netizen thought that would rattle Gabby Thomas. It actually ended up doing the exact opposite. She responded by writing, “I mean…I guess I’d race a guy, why not.” When has Gabby backed out of something because it’s hard? Let’s not forget that she won three Olympic Golds at the 2024 Paris Olympics. And her 200m sprint was clocking 21.83! Bring it on, Speed, Gabby Thomas is not one to back away from challenges. She will respect the ‘Show (of) Speed’ and then beat him like it is habitual!