Even if it’s the off-season in track and field, there’s no rest for a man like Noah Lyles. He has been engaged in various activities after becoming the 100m Olympic champion, and recently he participated in Mr. Beast’s charity run against YouTuber IShowSpeed. While the race was close, Lyles was able to cross the 50m dash’s finish line first, winning him a whopping $100,000.

This was a big prize money considering it was just a single race, which wasn’t even official. However, this friendly sprint caught a ton of attention online, as many fans and big personalities out there noticed it. Recently, when Lyles visited GQ’s Men of the Year 2024 red carpet, he met Fanum, who also offered to run against him. But this time the Olympic champion had a different answer.

No running for Noah Lyles without the dollars

If you’ve been a fan of track and field for a long time, you might be aware of the sport’s finances, which are a bit on the lower side compared to big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and others. So, whenever a sprinter is offered an amount like the $100,000 from Mr. Beast, it is something that they can’t deny. Lyles does make money professionally by running in official events, but considering that large amount of money in just a single 50m dash was just too much for him.

This time, while the Olympic champion was present on the red carpet of GQ’s Men of the Year 2024 award ceremony, he met Fanum. The streamer acknowledged Lyles’ race against his friend Speed, but for the guy who “Fanum Taxes” everybody out there, he wanted a sprint on the same red carpet against the gold medalist.

So did Lyles accept Fanum’s offer? The answer is no. “How much money you got bro? I don’t run for free no more,” said the 100m Olympic champion. After racing in a charity run, Lyles is aware of the money that he could take away from any professional events, especially during a time like the off-season. Even though fans would’ve loved a race between these two, Lyles wanted the dollars first.

While Noah Lyles did decline the offer to race against Fanum, both had a wholesome interaction on the red carpet. The Olympic champion has been on the radar of many after securing his career-first Olympic gold in Paris, and such charity runs also brought in even more fans for the sports star. However, the race between Speed and Lyles was close, which made many new fans assume that the streamer would’ve beat the sprinter if given another chance. But a track legend’s analysis of the 50m dash immediately overshadowed this claim.

Did Speed have a real chance against the Olympic champion?

The question became so popular among the track community that it eventually caught the attention of Justin Gatlin. The retired four-time world champion shared his thoughts on his Ready Set Go podcast, presenting a crucial detail, stating, “Um, but like I told people, Noah is, this is November. Noah is in no shape whatsoever. He’s not in speed and dirt in shape. He’s not in speed shape. That’s just his raw wake-up, not in-shape speed right there, and that’s what he gave.”

He was straightforward, putting up the facts that if this race happened during the time when professional events were going on and Lyles was focused on his regular training routine, Speed would’ve zero chance against the sprinter. However, just racing against an Olympic champion was something that Gatlin was impressed about the streamer and acknowledged his athletic prowess.