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Noah Lyles feels runners are not properly being “presented to the world” compared to other sports such as the NBA and NFL.
Noah Lyles became the fifth male athlete in history to complete the sprint double at the World Championships, then insisted the sport’s stars are not properly being “presented to the world”.
The American, who is the first man since Usain Bolt eight years ago to capture both the world 100m and 200m gold medals at the same championships, said “the bar is low” when asked about how he wants to raise athletics’ profile around the globe.
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05:00 - 25.08.2023
ATHLETICS Interesting reason why Omanyala loves smiling in the face of adversity
Omanyala was bidding to become the first African man to medal at the global showpiece but Botswana’s wonder kid Letsile Tebogo beat him to it.
With his own docuseries on air and the Netflix cameras following his every move ahead of their sprint project which will air next year, Lyles did not hold back on the subject of how track and field is viewed back in his home country.
Despite what he has achieved, the man who clocked 19.52 (-0.2) to hold off fellow countryman Erriyon Knighton (19.75), Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.81), and British record-holder Zharnel Hughes (20.02) will earn a fraction of the money and have a smaller public profile in the US than the big names in the NFL or, as he pointed out, the NBA.
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16:00 - 21.08.2023
Mark Otieno offers Omanyala shoulder to lean on after Budapest disaster
He, unfortunately, fizzled out to finish a disappointing seventh and cross the finish line in 10.01.
“The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have world champion on their heads. World champion of what?” asked the 26-year-old. “I love the US – at times – but that ain’t the world! We are the world.
“We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving putting on a flag to show that they are representative. There are no flags in the NBA.
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18:51 - 20.08.2023
9.83s! Noah Lyles obliterates field to win first 100m world title in Budapest
Noah Lyles produced an impeccable performance to win his first 100m world title in a thrilling final at the World Championships in Budapest.
“We’ve got to do more. We’ve got to be presented to the world. I love the track community, but we can only do so much within our own bubble. There’s a whole world out there.”
The medals will help Lyles to realise his dream of bringing a greater audience to what he and his fellow athletes do.
Without them, as he puts it: “Who’s going to want to pay attention to you?”. These World Championships have helped to grow his collection and, he says, offer a route towards fashion, music, connection, and collaboration with the kind of people that bring with them a greater spotlight.
But Lyles added that he feels there are ways in which athletics could also better be helping itself and calling on the help of some of its most stellar names.
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19:39 - 24.08.2023
ATHLETICS Down but not out: Why Omanyala should be celebrated more despite his seventh-place finish in Budapest
The sprint sensation has already achieved what no Kenyan had managed before in 100m and the country can only feel proud of him with the 2024 Olympics around the corner.
Few people have ever done more to draw the eyes of the world towards sprinting than Bolt, but he has not been seen at a World Championships since his retirement in London six years ago, for example.
“As I look around this World Championships, I don’t see Bolt, I don’t see Asafa [Powell]. I don’t see Yohan [Blake] and he’s still running! Where are all these great champions?” said Lyles.
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11:00 - 23.08.2023
ATHLETICS: Noah Lyles eyeing Usain Bolt's legacy with double sprint triumph
The American sprinter fresh off his world 100 meters championship victory, sets his sights on breaking Usain Bolt's legendary record.
“We look at them, as we’re walking through the tunnel [being presented to the crowd], at all of these previous world champions. Why are they not here?”
Earlier this week there had been a gathering of 22 past world champions, Olympic champions and record-breakers in Budapest, but Lyles’ point was still an entirely valid one.
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20:00 - 22.08.2023
Smiling to the bank: Mouthwatering cash Ferdinand Omanyala will earn for 7th place finish in Budapest
Omanyala opted to stay optimistic after the match, wearing a broad smile, as if to suggest that it was not all doom and gloom considering the amount of money he is set to earn.
And, while the star names he mentioned might not have been there to see it in person, the current generation served up a thrilling finale to day seven of the championships.
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