It was only a matter of time'- Noah Lyles insists why he was

Noah Lyles insists why he was unruffled by Letsile Tebogo’s fast times

Noah Lyles has revealed why he was not shocked about Letsile Tebogo’s explosive times as he insisted on why he is still the man to beat in the 200m.

Reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles has insisted that he was not shocked with Letsile Tebogo’s impressive form this season.

Speaking in an interview with Letsrun.com, the triple world champion revealed that he expected Tebogo to blow up, and it was just a matter of when. Noah Lyles explained that he expects every athlete to grow, and Letsile Tebogo was no exception.

Lyles added that he started signs at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where Tebogo became the first African to win a medal in the men’s 100m at a World Championships. He went on to win a bronze in the 200m with Noah Lyles taking gold in both the 100m and 200m.

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“First of all, I’m not going to say anything is Noah Lyles level, that’s Letsile level since he is his own human being and he is running very fast and he is showing that he is a 100m and 200m runner. He has already shown that by winning the silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m in 2023,” Noah Lyles said.

“It was only a matter of time before we saw him getting faster and faster and I think that if anybody says that they were shocked at the time that he ran, then you don’t really know track and field. I’m not going to say that I was shocked by his performances since he has already run faster times and I expected him to grow.”

The American sprint king added that the 200m is one of the most overlooked events and he does not that much effort into that since no one cares about it. He pointed out that Usain Bolt focused on the 100m more and that’s what made him one of the greatest sprinters of all time.

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Noah Lyles revealed that he has achieved a lot in the 200m including breaking the American record but he has been overlooked on many occasions and his achievements over the distance don’t really matter.

He added that many people are always eager to know about the 100m and the thrill that comes with being the fastest man in the world. However, he noted that there are things he still wants to achieve in the 200m and is not giving up.

Going into next year’s World Championships, Noah Lyles will be the man to beat since he is the defending champion. However, the stakes are very high following the rise of the likes of Letsile Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek.

“Nobody cares about the 200m and I actually learnt about that after I broke the 200m American record but lost to Mondo as the athlete of the year. None of the track and field athletes care about the 200m, it’s the 100m and that’s why when Bolt was winding down, it was always the 100m, there was no way the 200m would get him money,” Noah Lyles said.

“It was all about the 100m, everybody wants to know the fastest man in the world. I definitely have unfinished business but I’m not going to get it through the World Championships, it’s an Olympic title in the 200m, that’s what I want. However, it does not mean that I don’t want to win, you will have to beat me in the 200m.”