Forget the medals, podium finishes, and the national anthems. Because the real drama track and field drama of 2025 didn’t occur at the finish line, but rather away from the crowds and tension – off the track, both online and offline.

Many may remember Simone Biles’ controversy with Riley Gaines that went viral with 20m+ social impressions or Noah Lyles’ shove that made Kenny Bednarek retaliate, but what about everything that happened in between? There were more such moments that made 2025 interesting outside the races. As the year draws to a close, here are our top five picks:

Simone Biles vs. Riley Gaines

It all started in June 2025 when Riley Gaines quoted a post by a Minnesota High School’s softball team that became state champions. Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy,” posted Gaines. 

Simone Biles was having none of it when she quoted Gaines’ post with: “You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”

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Biles also pointedly advised Gaines to “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_.”

But Gaines didn’t back down. In response to Biles’ words, she wrote on X:  “This is actually so disappointing. It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces…You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports…”

Following the exchange, which had become very visible on X, even making headlines Biles wrote a follow-up: “I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful.”

Biles then publicly apologized to Gaines after posting a profane comment on social media in response to something she said. “It didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for.”

And shortly thereafter, Gaines accepted the apology, posting: “I accept Simone’s apology for the personal attacks… She’s still the greatest female gymnast of all time.”

But in the wake of the backlash, Biles went ahead and deactivated her X account, though it has since been reactivated.

Sha’Carri Richardson and Christian Coleman

This was not a competitive rivalry, but rather a personal one. The whole situation began in late July 2025, when Sha’Carri Richardson was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a fight with her boyfriend, Christian Coleman.

According to police reports and security footage, the incident began as Richardson and Coleman were being screened by TSA at the airport. The surveillance footage showed that Richardson appeared to have grabbed Coleman’s backpack, pulled it away, and then shoved him, forcing him into a wall as he tried to walk away. She also appeared to throw an item (possibly a pair of headphones) at him during the dispute.

Soon after, the Port of Seattle Police Department arrested Richardson on a fourth‑degree domestic violence charge, and she was held in custody at the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines, Washington for over 18 hours. She was released the next day.

In the police report, the officer said: “I was told Coleman did not want to participate any further in the investigation and declined to be a victim.”

After the incident, body‑cam and airport footage were shared by news outlets that showed revealed parts of the exchange. At one point Richardson is heard saying, “This is the position that Christian puts me into because he’s a coward and I don’t want anything to do with him from this point going forward. My name is Sha’Carri Richardson. Haven’t put my hands on him. We had an argument, I’ll be honest about that.”

Afterward, Richardson publicly addressed the situation, offering an apology to Coleman on social media.  “I apologize to Christian. He came into my life & gave me more than a relationship but a greater understanding of unconditional love from what I’ve experienced in my past,” she wrote.

Admitting past trauma had made her “blind & blocked off” to giving and receiving love, she added, “My apologies should be just as loud as my actions—honestly louder. To Christian, I love you and I am so sorry,”

Noah Lyles vs. Kenny Bednarek

At the 2025 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene on August 3, 2025, Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek were involved in a publicized confrontation after the men’s 200 m final.

During the race, Lyles edged out Bednarek by 0.04 seconds, winning in 19.63 seconds, with Bednarek second at 19.67 as the crowd looked on. But the story wasn’t just about the result.

As Lyles crossed the finish line ahead of his rival, he turned and stared at Bednarek in a way that many saw as provocative. Moments later, Bednarek shoved Lyles in the back as they slowed down after the finish. Soon after, the two were involved in a heated exchange of words.

Kenny Bednarek spoke publicly about the incident where he described Lyles’ actions as unsportsmanlike: “Noah’s going to be Noah. If he wants to stare me down, that’s fine…The summary is, don’t do that to me. I don’t do any of that stuff. It’s not good character right there.”

Lyles, for his part, kept things under wraps: “You know what, you’re right. You’re right. Let’s talk after this…On coach’s orders, no comment.”

And that’s seemingly exactly what happened as Bednarek later confirmed that the two had made up after privately hashing things out for over an hour after the race.

Noah Lyles vs. Michael Johnson

It all started when Michael Johnson launched a new professional track  aiming to create a high‑pay, championship‑style competition: Grand Slam Track.

Johnson publicly promoted GST as a way to bring more excitement and stability to professional track and field. “We’ve already signed our 48 racers… we have the most accessible (meets)…” He added, “We don’t need anyone else. We will take all of the fastest people,” when asked about the absence of stars such as Noah Lyles from the league.

Noah Lyles didn’t sign on with Grand Slam Track for 2025. Rather, he and other top sprinters chose to concentrate on the well established Diamond League and Alexis Ohanian’s track startup, Athlos. Lyles even backed the women-only Athlos, promoting its content and appearing at events, making it clear where his loyalties lay.

showed he was in favor of a league that has been more financially viable and consistent in compensating athletes.

Lyles also mentioned that he wasn’t always motivated by money but that for a league to be successful, it needs big sponsors, visibility and to have long-term stability, not just throw around big checks, taking a subtle dig at GST which has since filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

But at the time, Michael Johnson wasn’t impressed by Lyles’ reluctance in June 2025, suggesting the Olympic champion prove his salt at GST.

“Noah does a lot of talking about Grand Slam Track….Noah’s problem is, according to him, ‘I’m the fastest man in the world. I’m the fastest man in the world.’ If you’ve got to keep trying to explain to people that you’re the fastest man in the world because of something that you did last year, we are the answer to your problem, because you have to continue to prove to people that you’re the best.”

Rhasidat Adeleke and Sonia O’Sullivan

It all started when Irish sprint star Rhasidat Adeleke withdrew from the 2025 World Athletics Championships at short notice, citing, “I think my body was just breaking down, every time that I would get back healthy there was another niggle.”

But then in stepped Sonia O’Sullivan, offering her contrasting perspective on Adeleke’s statement in a public column.

“My first concern for Rhasidat Adeleke right now is that she’s not being entirely open or honest,” wrote O’Sullivan. “Not just with herself, but with some of the people around her…Even her posting a message on Instagram on Monday night struck me as odd … I don’t think putting out a vague message on social media was the best way to deal with her withdrawal.”

Shortly thereafter, Adeleke’s her coach Edrick Floreal, said, “She is honestly injured and cannot compete at a world class level.”

Even Adeleke herself addressed the criticism in interviews after O’Sullivan’s remarks. She said that she communicated her injury status as openly as she felt comfortable. As she puts it, “Because I’m naturally a bit more of a private person, I don’t over-explain myself in everything that I do,” she said.

Although the criticism that O’Sullivan made was formulated in the context of transparency and making strategic decisions, her phrasing was seen as accusatory or excessive by many fans and commentators toward a young athlete with an injury issue.

In all the scandals, competitions, and hot tempers, 2025 demonstrated that the world of sport is more than simple victories and losses.