'Be careful what you ask for'- American sprint legend advises Noah Lyles as he seeks to transform track & field

'Be careful what you ask for'- American sprint legend advises Noah Lyles as he seeks to transform track & field

Abigael Wafula 10:57 - 29.08.2024

Justin Gatlin has warned Noah Lyles to be cautious about his demands as he looks to transform the track and field scene.

The 2004 Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin has advised Noah Lyles to be cautious of some of his requests as he looks to make track and field better.

In a previous interview on the Night Cap show, the triple world 200m champion pointed out that the major problem facing track and field at the moment is that fans don’t have multiple sources where they can watch live action.

The American sprint king added that he is reluctant to join Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league since they have not been clear about the TV or sprinting platforms, something that Gatlin agrees to but has some reservations.

“I’ve been in talks between me, Michael and my agent. We’ve been in talks since the day I heard about it. Trying to get as much information. Trying to get as much of a feel for what’s going on. There’s a lot that I like that he’s doing. There’s a few things that I think could be a little better,” Lyles said in the interview.

“The thing that’s stopping me at the heart of it is I have yet to hear of a TV provider. Again, what good is it if we’re producing these great times, great shows, these great rivalries and we have nobody seeing it. I need to hear a TV provider and I need to know that it’s going to be seen consistently,” he added.

Speaking on his Ready Set Go podcast, two-time Olympic silver medallist Gatlin explained that he agrees with Lyles about having a platform for fans but it does not necessarily have to be on TV.

He noted that having track and field events on TV is not ideal since there are races that will be late in the night or early in the morning and people will not be able to watch the events. Gatlin added that stations have different channels which might not be accessible for all the fans.

He was of the idea of having a streaming platform where fans can engage and offer insights when a race is happening.

“I personally think that track and field needs to be streamed. It needs to go to a streaming service that is going to be a strong provider. I understand what Noah was saying like even though he was apprehensive of the Grand Slam Track because he was like, where is the TV deal at? We need to be on TV,” Gatlin said.

“TV is good but be careful what you ask for. You don’t want to be on TV and your races are at 11:30 at night or 6:00 in the morning. Do you know what I mean, time slots are critical and when you are watching, it could be on ESPN, you think you are about to get on ESPN but you are about to the on ESPN 3,” he added.

“With streaming, when they get a streaming service that is available for everyone and allows people to give feedback, that is what track and field is about to me.”

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