Noah Lyles: World's fastest man airs frustration after winning Athlete of the Year Award

Photo Credits - @worldathletics

Noah Lyles: World's fastest man airs frustration after winning Athlete of the Year Award

Funmilayo Fameso 09:02 - 13.12.2023

Noah Lyles was left frustrated and unhappy after being named the Male Track Athlete of the Year at the 2023 World Athletics Awards.

Triple world champion Noah Lyles wasn't happy with how events turned out at the 2023 World Athletics Awards in Monaco.

Lyles, who was named the Men's Track Athlete of the Year, was frustrated with the fact that the awards were split into six categories as against two (Male and Female Athlete of the Year) in the previous years.

The American speedster achieved a rare feat in the 2023 season by winning the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m gold medals at the World Championships in Budapest, thus sealing his name as the best male sprinter in the world this year.

Noah Lyles was crowned the 2023 Male Track Athlete of the Year. Photo Credit - Mattia Ozbot @WorldAthletics

Off track, Lyles has also been the most influential male athlete, as he's put athletics on the world map, making it a topic of conversations and various controversies.

The multiple world champion was expecting to be the only winner of the Men's Athlete of the Year Award, but instead was awarded for the track category. Mondo Duplantis and Kelvin Kiptum were each given the Field and out of stadia categories - meaning there was no particular standout athlete of the season.

Noah Lyles expresses frustration on change at World Athletics Awards
Noah Lyles, Kelvin Kiptum, and Mondo Duplantis - Photo Credit: @WorldAthletics

Speaking on this change by the World Athletics, Lyles aired his opinion on the unexpected categorization.

"Not what I expected, I wasn't expecting that. Nobody was prepared for what really happened tonight, everybody was caught off guard especially when we heard. It's a little confusing at the moment.

I don't think I can digest what happened tonight, give me a few weeks, then I think I can breakdown what happened today," said Lyles.

The world's fastest man will later post on his X page after receiving the award.

"Idk what to say… There is so much I want to say and so much Ik I shouldn’t say. I need time to truly get my feelings together before I start speaking on what happened tonight."

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