Which Other American Runners Does Noah Lyles Needs to Outpace to Beat Christian Coleman?

After his recent exploits at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Christian Coleman isn’t in the mood to slow down any time soon. While Coleman flies high on Cloud 9, his arch-enemy and Olympic medalist Noah Lyles reels from his loss in Scotland. After their nail-biting race, Coleman commended Lyles for the competition he came up with, but the latter maintained that the 60m dash isn’t the event to judge him by. With Lyles eyeing to match Coleman’s legacy in the event, he will need to face more challenges on the way.

With some of the best times, the three-time World Championships gold medalist Coleman is considered one of the greatest 60m racers of all time. Despite 100m being Noah’s natural habitat, it’s understandable that he wants to prove his greatness in his national colleague’s domain as well. However, several other A-listers stand in his way.

Noah Lyles’ has an arduous task ahead

In a recent post on X by the official NBC Olympics & Paralympics, Coleman’s legacy has been shed light on emphatically. The post is captioned “Christian Coleman is a rocket.“, and the accompanying data shows exactly why. According to the statistics, Coleman reigns supreme in the 60m sprint with four mentions in the top 11 all-time best times. The first three sports are all under Coleman’s belt and Noah Lyles will have to up his game significantly if he wishes to usurp the first spot.

While Coleman is justifiably a towering figure in the event, he sits comfortably ahead of other national icons who pose a formidable challenge in Lyles’ climb to the summit. The three sports immediately after Christian boasts the name of the four-time Olympic medalist Maurice Greene. The 49-year-old held the 60m world record for nearly two decades and won’t be giving up his spot to Lyles easily.

Coleman’s run at the 2018 World Indoor Championships (6.34) currently leads the pack, while his latest 6.41 at Glasgow is the eight-best time on the list. Along with him, Ronnie Baker and former track and field runner Andre Cason also have their places secured on the list and Noah Lyles’ latest 6.44 time will have to see him go back to the drawing board to edge past them in the foreseeable future.

Lyles isn’t shy to dish out spectacles of his own

On the third day of the World Indoor Championships, Team USA came achingly short of winning the gold after Belgium walked away from the 4x100m relay as the winners. Lyles took part in the indoor relay event for the first time in his career, and despite his best efforts the final leg of the race didn’t come bearing the gifts the nation had hoped for. Noah Lyles continues to acknowledge Coleman as one of his biggest inspirations, but matching up to his breakneck speeds will require him to find the strength to conquer unfamiliar lands.

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In January’s USATF Indoor Championships, Lyles took the first prize beating Coleman by 0.01 seconds in the 60m sprint. With one victory to his name against the icon, Lyles’ fans believe he can surely find the grit necessary to turn things around soon as the Olympics’ beckoning gets stronger.