Now the biggest star in track, American sprinter Noah Lyles can shine much-needed spotlight on world indoors
Morgan Campbell | for CBC Sports | Posted: February 29, 2024 1:04 PM | Last Updated: March 2
Improvement in men's 60 metres has him trending toward generational achievement
Four days before his scheduled opening-round heat in the men's 60 metres at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, here came Noah Lyles, already breaking records … reportedly.
On Monday the American sprint star revealed that he had signed a contract extension with his shoe sponsor, Adidas, and some media outlets described the deal as "record-setting." We can't verify that claim, mainly because the financial details of track shoe deals rarely become public. The only context we have comes from Adidas itself, which said in a press release that Lyles's updated pact is "the richest in the sport of track and field since the retirement of Usain Bolt."
Sharp-eyed readers will point out that "richest since" doesn't necessarily equal "richer than," and so we don't know how close Lyles's new salary is to the reported $10 million US per year Bolt made with Puma. But the contract could make Lyles history's highest-paid track and field athlete in several categories.
American.
Best-paid track star named after an Old Testament prophet, beating out retired superstar steeplechaser Ezekiel Kemboi.
Striking at right time
This much is certain: as a pitchman in Olympic sport, Lyles is striking at the right time.
Yes, athletes win Olympic medals and quickly parlay their new fame into endorsement deals. But Lyles, like many of us, also lives in North America, where, within two weeks of the extinguishing of the Olympic fame, mainstream sports fans have already diverted their attention to the NFL regular season, MLB's pennant chase, or, for Canadians, the opening of NHL training camps. From a marketing standpoint, it's more lucrative to establish yourself as a competitor and personal brand 12 months out, then ride the sponsorship wave into the following summer.
Of course, a marketing push like the one powering Lyles toward Paris gains a lot more muscle if the athlete performs well against top competition, and, with world indoors set to start, Lyles appears prepared to deliver. In February he ran 6.44 over 60 metres, establishing a personal best and world lead, and a similar performance this weekend could shine a spotlight on world indoors, an event that can use the attention.
Lower priority
While the outdoor world championships are, justifiably, seen as the sport's biggest competition outside the Olympics, and reliably attract the top performers in every discipline, track and field's marquee stars don't always fit world indoors into their schedules.
In 2018, the dates lined up for Christian Coleman, who ran a championship-record 6.37 seconds to win 60-metre gold. Four years later, Italy's Lamont Jacobs, in his first global competition since his surprise Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres, ran 6.41 to top the podium at world indoors in Belgrade, Serbia.
But the sport's biggest names often skip indoor season altogether, preferring a longer buildup to outdoor competition in the spring and summer. So it's not a surprise that none of the generationally fast quartet atop women's sprinting — Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Sha'Carri Richardson or Elaine Thompson-Herah — have included indoor races in their 2024 seasons.
And Usain Bolt's epic duels with American sprint stars Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin?
They all took place outdoors.
Of those three men, only Gatlin, who won 60-metre gold twice, ever competed at world indoors.
Some outdoor track stars simply can't conform to indoor track's format. The longest race is 3,000 metres, much too short for a star who specializes in the 10,000. And if you throw discus, javelin or hammer, there's literally no room for your event in an indoor arena.
Bolt-like numbers
In past years Lyles might have encountered a similar obstacle — he spent the early stages of his pro career as a 200-metre specialist who occasionally dropped down to the 100. But last season's focus on the 100 paid off in a gold medal at worlds in Budapest, along with the 200-metre and relay titles he won the following week. And this winter he has hit the 60-metre dash hard, dropping his personal best from 6.55 in 2022 to the 6.43 he ran at U.S. nationals, and putting up Bolt-like numbers in the process.
WATCH l Donovan Bailey reacts to Noah Lyles's triple at World Athletics Championships:
That's not an exaggeration.
Go back and watch that Boston race from early February. Note how, 12 metres from the finish line, Lyles hits another gear while all his competitors appear to hit a wall. The eye test says Lyles was flying. The numbers say he was nearly supersonic.
According to the event's results page, Lyles covered the final 10 metres of that race in 0.81 seconds. A split that fast is nearly unheard of, and, as far as we can tell, has only been achieved by one other person.
Where he set the 100-metre world record.
Now is that split time 1,000 per cent accurate?
It's hard to say. Strange things can happen with stopwatches at indoor races. Just ask Christopher Morales Williams, the Vaughan, Ont., native who just ran an all-time best 44.49 seconds in the indoor 400 metres, but can't claim the official world record because of some non-conforming starting blocks.
WATCH | Morales Williams posts time of 44.49 seconds in 400:
But if Lyles is within sniffing distance of Bolt's top speed, he's also likely approaching the 6.40-second barrier, which is to indoor sprinting what 9.80 seconds is in the 100. It's territory reserved for the super-elite.
Showdown with Coleman
None of these numbers guarantees a gold medal for Lyles in Glasgow. Other 60 metre-contenders include Coleman, who holds the world record at 6.34 seconds, and is widely regarded as the best accelerator in the history of men's sprinting, and Jamaica's Ackeem Blake. When Lyles ran 6.44 in Boston, Blake ran 6.45. If he's on his game, he's in the hunt for a medal.
Still, Lyles's stunning improvement over 60 has him trending toward a generational achievement.
The last men's sprinter to win global titles at 60, 100 and 200 metres in the same year was Maurice Greene, who managed that triple back in 1999. If he executes this weekend, Lyles can be the next, especially if the improved acceleration he has showcased this winter can buy him a 10th of a second in the 100 this summer.
Probably not enough to earn him GOAT status. He'll need at least one world record to make that claim. But as a performer and a pitchman, Lyles has a chance to create the biggest footprint since you-know-who.
Bolt set the standard. Each blazing fast time brings Lyles a little closer to meeting it.
WATCH | Coleman defeats Lyles en route to 60m gold: