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Botswana's Nijel Amos respects Noah Lyles for elevating his competitors and bringing attention to athletics beyond his own performance, a quality he believes Usain Bolt lacked.
Botswanan 800m star Nijel Amos has explained why he has a lot of respect for Noah Lyles as he singled out the one quality that makes him superior to Usain Bolt.
The former Olympic Games silver medallist noted that Noah Lyles has revolutionalised the sport in the sense that many people are becoming aware of athletics and he has also managed to bring his competitors to the limelight, including countryman Letsile Tebogo and Jamaican wunderkind Kishane Thompson.
Nijel Amos added that Usain Bolt was only known for his performance on the track but none of his competitors were known while with Noah Lyles, his life on and off the track is known by many.
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16:00 - 29.09.2024
Noah Lyles explains Fred Kerley's role in hindering Kishane Thompson from snatching Olympic 100m gold
Noah Lyles has lauded US teammate Fred Kerley for playing a critical role in preventing Jamaican rival Kishane Thompson from clinching the 100m gold during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“He is a great energy to have in the sport…Usain Bolt took the results of the sport to the people, Noah Lyles is taking the sport to the people, the next athlete and everyone around the sport. Usain Bolt was the fastest man in the world, everyone knew that but who was he racing next to? It was never about that but Noah is bringing the sport, people are talking about athletics, they are talking about sports,” Nijel Amos told the Punchline podcast.
“I think it’s a great energy to have in the sport and a great marketing tool that came at the right time now we are having protégé trying to fight to get to that level, Letsile is there so it’s going to be a great show for the two athletes for all these years which should really build a great competition and healthy one for sure,” he added.
Going into next season, Nijel Amos believes Noah Lyles is still the man to beat despite Letsile Tebogo’s dominance in the short distance from the Paris Olympic Games to the series of Diamond League Meetings he has competed in.
At the Olympics, Letsile Tebogo stunned three-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles to take the crown but Nijel Amos believes the latter will be back to take what is rightfully his next season.
“He will still be there, the guy is a 19.3 runner and for me, I’d never put money for Noah to win the 100m, for the 200m, I would have put money for him but not 100m. I still have a lot of respect for him and I’m still waiting for him to come back to the level where Letsile is in and see competition,” Nijel Amos disclosed.
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