People know Noah Lyles for his strong takes, as he’s not afraid to talk about the ongoing issues in the sport. Indeed, he loves track and field like any other fan, but he knows about the problems that make it not shine among the competition of major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and others. Similarly, to reform the sport, he has always brought in suggestions.

However, not all of Lyles’ demands have been met, and he has been frustrated with the direction the sport is going. Recently, when a fellow Team USA athlete made a suggestion to add interest to track and field, the 100m Olympic champion offered his own perspective on the matter.

Noah Lyles had demanded this before

On the Beyond The Records Podcast, in a behind-the-scenes video with Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, Rai Benjamin opened up about his suggestion for track and field. Yes, after looking at other sports, he had an idea, stating, “I was like the person to be like, ‘Oh, we should do walk-ins.’ You know what it is; it’s like I feel like it has to be organic. I mean, WNBA and NBA players, they walk off the bus, they go to a locker room, they change into their shit. For us, bro, we get to the track and go sit under a damn tent.”

Many sports popularize walk-ins, introducing players to the crowd in a glamorous manner. Even track and field does it, but it isn’t the same way as the NBA and the WNBA, as pointed out by the 400mH Olympic champion. And this particular suggestion was once given by Noah Lyles. For which he gave his own opinion, stating, “It’s been so hard for me to be like, ‘Guys, can we like get a tent changing room?’ Like what they did at Prefontaine or even in the USA this year was way better than what I had them doing, because usually it’s like you got to go to the bathroom, and the bathroom is disgusting. You know, it’s hardwood floors that have been cleaned for obviously a day or two, and it’s like, come on, guys, we could do better than this, obviously.”

Lyles has been to a lot of track meets in the 2024 season. However, even if he hasn’t made it to a certain event, he always pays attention to the way they are representing the athletes to the crowd. While he liked the walk-ins for a few events, most of them didn’t excite him at all. Benjamin had already highlighted the significant distinction between the NBA and track and field in terms of walk-ins. But the athletes do demand a better place than just a tent. And Noah? Once, when he did, he had to start from the bathroom area, which was nothing but disgusting, according to him.

Such issues have always plagued track and field as a sport. Indeed, a variety of circumstances prevent fans from becoming engrossed, which explains the sport’s decrease in viewership. However, athletes like Lyles have been engaged to transform track, but what about field? Don’t worry, because this Olympic champion in long jump has something planned that she shared about recently.

A few ambitions that could reform her sport

Just like Noah Lyles wants to bring in changes in track, Tara Davis-Woodhall also wants to reform field. While track and field are not so different, they do not have much in common either. The two respective divisions also have two respective fanbases, and many are not much into field due to the lack of popularity. And this is something Tara wants to change.

But what does the Olympic champion want? “It’s intimate setting; it’s not big, so you don’t have to like fill a freaking Stadium. It’s lights everywhere, there’s music, there’s cameras, there’s flashing lights, there’s fire everywhere like it is a show. I want to show someone how far I can jump, like I am defying gravity, like in a human body, in a 5-foot-3 human body.” Her idea is simple. Tara is confident that, given the chance, she would like to organize her own event, and the idea she shared has the potential to capture the attention of many fans.

However, did Tara announce any particular date for this competition she’s talking about? For now, she prefers to keep it a secret, as she is waiting for the ideal opportunity to generate significant excitement among the field fans.