2 Olympic Champions Rally Behind Noah Lyles Amid Controversy Over USATF’s Alleged Favoritism

Noah Lyles‘s hurried inclusion in the American relay team in the Glasgow Indoor Championship left the USATF with a silver medal and a heap of criticism. The stringent attack came from Fred Kerley, Noah’s comrade in the outdoor relay team in Stars and Stripes. He lambasted the decision-makers for ignoring him completely for the last 3 years to give him a cemented position in the lineup. As the discussion went on, the 3x world champion earned several like-minded individuals supporting his argument. However, for Noah Lyles, the self-supporting statements were there as well. 

But the gravitas were in the place where certain promotes pointed to the bigger pictures. That veered the discussion entirely to a different plane of operation, with Noah Lyles finding succor in these allies. 

Bianca Knight and Michael Johnson keep betting on Noah Lyles 

On March 5, the Olympic champion Bianca Knight made a lengthy X-post to clarify her stand in the ongoing fiasco. In a literal shout-out to Noah Lyles, she penned, “Outside of his talent, he actually shows up. Indoor, outdoor … he doesn’t even take the bye. And that’s what separates him.” Echoing Noah’s statement on the startling politics in track and field, the 35-year-old homebody also argued, “Our sport is dying. Yes, mainly due to politics.” But in that perspective as well, Bianca banked her belief on the 100m world champion to balance the weights. 

In the supporting statement, she added, “Outside of Tara Davis & Noah right now, we don’t have those athletes who WANT TO BE IN THE FIRE AT ALL TIMES…You r only as good as your last performance. Show up. Throw. Jump. All that.” Eventually, on March 4, Michael Johnson pointed to the same annotation on X. 

Even after throwing some banter at the World Athletics Indoor Championship, the 4x Olympic champion batted for Noah Lyles, focusing on the Paris Olympics scenario. “US putting Noah on the 4×400 relay makes sense. US indoor 400 team is weak. No finalist in the open 400. Noah has expressed a desire to run both relays in Paris. This is an opportunity for him to prove if he deserves it,” the legend said. However, after all these run-ins, the ball was in Noah Lyles’s court to make a statement. He did that eventually, but this time not on camera, but on X. 

Noah Lyles chimes in with his thankful gesture 

After facing a whirlwind for the last two days, Noah Lyles seemed to be in the happy zone after receiving such vigorous support. Eventually, he proved his thankful gesture by commenting on Bianca Knight’s detailed X-post: “Thank you Bianca I appreciate that”. That invited the Olympic relay champion to request the 26-year-old champion on a certain measure. “Keep being you. I don’t need to tell you that, but you’re doing what needs to be done,” she added eloquently. 

Read more: Breaking: Noah Lyles Drops Absolute Shocker for America at World Indoor Championships

Moreover, Bianca Knight vociferously voted for Noah’s prominent target to earn four Olympic medals in the coming days. In a comforting manner, she pacified the 6x world champion, forbidding him to measure himself as a child of partiality. Rather, statements like “If you want 4 Golds, go get em” might help the champion move ahead to his ultimate goal. 

Also read: Controversy Surrounds Noah Lyles’ Relay Run in Glasgow Indoor as Startling Revelation Emerges