USA Star Drops Harsh Reality Over Noah Lyles As Track and Field Star Airs Out New Aspirations
Noah Lyles—fast, flashy, and never shy about his confidence. When you think of him, it’s all about the 100m, 200m, and chasing records. But now, he’s thinking about something completely different—the 400m. Yep, the one-lap beast that’s part sprint, part survival test. Speed? He’s got that covered. But the 400m isn’t just about speed—it’s about endurance, pain, and that brutal final stretch where your legs feel like concrete and lactic acid makes you question all your life choices. And while Lyles is all in, a two-time Olympic champ had some thoughts to share.
The Florida native just dropped a promo video on Instagram, and it’s got people talking. It’s a highlight from his podcast, Beyond the Records, that he usually hosts alongside fellow athletes, Rai Benjamin and Grant Holloway. But this time, Holloway was MIA, so it was just Lyles, Benjamin, and their guest 400m specialist and Olympic silver medalist Vernon Norwood. However, the full episode will be out on March 5th on YouTube, but in the recent Instagram highlight, they discussed a particularly intriguing topic. During the conversation, Vernon Norwood, addressed Noah Lyles directly, expressing his interest, saying, “I want to see you do a 400 one day.” And Lyles? Oh, his response might just shake things up!
Lyles casually admitted, “It will come one day,” which got Vernon pushing even more, suggesting he try it at USA’s. Lyles acknowledged there’s a “nice slot” open, and Norwood pointed out that in the first round, everyone takes it easy—giving Lyles the perfect edge. Supporting the 32-year-old’s statements, Rai Benjamin added that the 100m Olympic champion could cruise through the first 200m in “21.2 or 21.3,” to which Lyles confidently responded, “Easy.” The 400m expert agreed, reminding him that at some point, he’d probably want to be part of a 4×400 team at Worlds or the Olympics. But is it really that easy?
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Before Lyles could relax, Vernon hit him with a reality check—if Lyles ever steps into the 400m, he has to give it everything, because if he gets named for a relay spot without proving himself, people will come for him. The 27-year-old didn’t deny it but made one thing clear—when he commits to the 400m, he really wants to commit, “I don’t want half ass it.” Looks like the 100m Olympic champion has made up his mind to crush the 400m. But wait, the hurdler Rai Benjamin has a trick up his sleeve to make Noah Lyles run even faster!
“Put a baton in his hand, and he’ll run even faster,” joked the New York native, making Lyles laugh, saying he’d run whatever was needed. But Vernon made it simple—if Lyles runs a 44, he will be making history and nobody can say a word. There’d be no debate—“Nobody on Twitter could call it politics.”But the real question is—can Lyles take on the 400m or relays?
Noah Lyles takes the heat in the politics storm
Remember the controversy before the Paris Olympics when Noah Lyles wanted to be part of the 4x400m relay pool? Yeah, that one. Despite all the debate, the sprinting sensation took a different approach that time, leaving the decision to the coaches. “Anyone who is on the US team can be in the relay pool. It’s the relay coaches’ decision,” he said, sounding far more relaxed than before. He seemed at peace with whatever call they made, trusting them to put together the best squad, even if that meant leaving him out.
That said, Lyles knew his chances were slim, given the stacked talent in the 400m, his best time in the event was 47.04, clocked all the way back in 2016. Still, he made one thing clear—if the team needed him, he was ready. “If they want to use me, I am here,” he stated, adding, “I’m not going to have hurt feelings about it.” And what hurt was he talking about? Back in March 2024, his inclusion in the 4x400m final at the World Indoor Championships sparked a major backlash, with critics calling it “pure politics.” Even Fred Kerley took a shot at USATF, saying, “Y’all play favoritism like mf. Y’all like puppets. For sure, yes men.” But this whole situation morphed into something even worse eventually.
 When the United States lost to Belgium, it only added fuel to the fire. The Olympic champion later admitted, “Some people got written up, other people were threatened with fires,” but his response to the doubters was simple: “Run faster, push me out!” Despite the backlash, he still considered himself eligible for the 4x400m in Paris under the current rules, though his primary focus remained on dominating the 100m and 200m. But before any Olympic dreams could become reality, he had to survive the brutal U.S. Trials in June, and that didn’t go as planned.
“You can’t make a team unless you go through the US championships, and as we know, it’s one of the hardest teams to make in the world,” he said. Still, he was fully locked in with the 4x100m squad, confident in their chemistry, saying, “I’ve seen some of the best passes I’ve seen from the U.S. in a long time.” But just when everything seemed set, disaster struck—Lyles tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of competition. Unable to participate, he had no choice but to bow out of the rest of the Paris Olympics to recover, ending his campaign before it even began.
Will you be down to watching the 100m sprint sensation take the 400m challenge? How do you think that might go? Take to the comments to let us know!
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