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Noah Lyles is no doubt the man to beat in 2025 given he is the world 100m and 200m champion but it will not be a walk in the park for the American. So, who is likely to give him a hard time?
Olympics 100m champion Noah Lyles did not have an entirely satisfactory 2024 season despite winning gold at the Paris Games.
Lyles won silver in the 60m dash at the 2024 World Indoor Championships and at the Olympics, he won 100m gold by the tiniest of margins against Jamaican Kishane Thompson, while in the 200m, his bread and butter, he was floored by Letsile Tebogo.
That means Lyles is looking to get some things right in 2025 but it will not be a walk in the park as his rivals are lying in wait.
So, heading into 2025, who are sprinters set to give Noah Lyles nightmares in 2025?
Letsile Tebogo
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Olympics 200m champion Letsile Tebogo already laid down the marker in Paris and in 2025, he will be looking to claim the world title over the distance.
Tebogo managed bronze in 200m at the 2023 World Championships but his profile is bigger this time and with more experience, setting up great battles with Lyles before, during and even after the Worlds.
It is not just the 200m as Tebogo is also adept at 100m, even if the race lets him down sometimes. He is the world silver medalist over the distance, after coming second to Lyles in 2023, but is this the year when he takes the shorter sprint more seriously?
Kishane Thompson
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Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson lost Olympics gold by just five-thousandths of a second when he clocked an identical 9.7 seconds with Noah Lyles in the 100m final.
It was a disappointing outcome for Thompson, who still holds the world’s fastest time of the year and following that heartbreaking loss, Thompson is itching to get his revenge this year.
The 23-year-old has not been seen or heard since the Olympics but those close to him know he is ‘cooking’ something, which is not good news for Lyles.
Kenny Bednaek
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Like last year, Lyles will have to contend with competition from fellow American Kenny Bednarek who won Olympics 200m silver and also challenged him in 100m.
Bednarek has also made the 200m his specialty with his most impressive performances coming from the race and he is an extra source of competition for Lyles while he will want to get it right in 100m after his poor outing at the Olympics.
Oblique Seville
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Jamaica’s Oblique Seville is another sprinter set to make life difficult for Lyles this season despite his poor outing at the Olympics.
Seville may have finished eight at the Olympics but he knows one or two things about beating Lyles, having stunned him at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston last June.
That will give him confidence of finally getting one over Lyles at a major championship added to the fact that he finished fourth at the 2023 Worlds, coming close to winning a medal.
Trayvon Bromell
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Having been hampered by injuries in the last couple of years, American Trayvon Bromell is now back and ready to reclaim his place among the elites.
A Diamond League winner in 100m in 2022 and two-time world bronze medalist, Bromell, the 2016 World Indoor Champion, has plenty of experience and has promised to make 2025 his season.
American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has also warned Bromell’s rivals to be on the lookout and that is not good news for Lyles, even if he never back away from a challenge.
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