The legendary American sprinter Justin Gatlin has discussed his views on fellow citizen and Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles’ aspirations.
Gatlin claims that Lyles is intent on rewriting the history of sprinting, hoping to surpass records held by some of the best athletes in history, including those set by the legendary Jamaican Usain Bolt.
Co-hosted by Gatlin and Rodney Green, the Ready Set Go podcast, featured a recent episode that explored Lyles’s ambition to surpass the achievements of both past and present champions.
Lyles is renowned for his audacious goals. He won gold in the 100 meters and bronze in the 200 meters at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Furthermore, the American sprinter isn’t scared to aim high, according to Gatlin.
Gatlin stated on the podcast, “Noah is more so about like chasing retired athletes.”
“And the top five athletes—Usain Bolt, Asafa, and others—would be considered retired athletes, even though one of them is not. He wants to attempt to break the world record in the 200 and set the American record in the 100.”
While Lyles’s personal best of 9.79 seconds in the 100 meters at the Paris Olympics is certainly noteworthy, Bolt’s 9.58-second world mark, established in 2009 at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, still seems unbeatable.
Lyles is the American national record holder in the 200 meters, having run a time of 19.31 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Still, he is 0.12 seconds short of Bolt’s record-breaking 19.19 seconds, which hasn’t been surpassed since 2009.
Despite this, Lyles has never held back in declaring his intention to upend Bolt’s reputation, especially in the 200 meters, where Bolt is frequently seen as unbeatable.
In order to establish himself as one of the best sprinters in history, Lyles has stated his aim to break Bolt’s world record prior to the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Having watched Lyles’ ascent alongside Gatlin, Rodney Green also emphasised the American’s unwavering commitment and laser focus.
“Noah has always had a desire to go above and beyond what has been accomplished. He’s never satisfied, which is why he’s so dangerous. Every race he enters shows that he wants more.”
Lyles’ quest for greatness, according to Gatlin, is about more than just winning medals—it’s about carving his name into the annals of the sport.
“So if his concentration areas are in these two [events], he had a fair shot at it last year to try and see in both years what he can do,” Gatlin said.
“I think they can go back and find it where they can come back and try to be a triple crown champion again at the world championships.”
