Just a few days later, the current 100m Olympic champion, Noah Lyles, will be blazing through the track at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. While he has stunned the world already by announcing that he will be running in the 300m event, there’s a recent proposal he made for his fellow athletes out there.

As reported by FloTrack on Instagram, during a pre-meet press conference in Boston, Lyles pitched an idea, saying, “Shoot, let’s go anywhere and everywhere. Let’s have some fun. Let’s go and do some off events. Let’s get some matchups that you probably haven’t even thought of.” While he was enthusiastic about arranging a special event, he listed out a few problems, too.

“I think the harder thing is convincing other track meets and sometimes other athletes to get in on you with that,” Lyles said, talking about the struggle. However, still keeping it optimistic, he added, “But hey, this is my open challenge right now. If you’re an athlete out there, you got an idea for a race, let me know. Reach out to me. Let’s get it done.”

Lyles surely hasn’t achieved everything in track and field yet, but he still stands at the pinnacle of the sport. Three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze), ten World Championship medals (8 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), two World Indoor silver medals, and plenty more. So, now with more freedom and time on his hands, he wants to do something unique. And it’s not like the 28-year-old hasn’t participated in exhibition events before.

In 2024, there were two such moments where Lyles surprised many with something unique. That year, in May, many watched Lyles as he competed at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in a distance not many have heard of. Indeed, it was the 150m, and he not only participated but also won the event with an American record of 14.41 seconds, equaling Tyson Gay, who posted the same time in 2010.

A few months later, Lyles found himself with YouTuber IShowSpeed and raced with him in a 50m dash for a $100,000 prize. The race was organized by YouTube icon MrBeast, and the Olympic champion secured the win, but IShowSpeed gave him a challenge in the early strides. Such moments are examples of Lyles running in special events rather than official ones, and lately, he has surprised the fans by returning to a unique distance.

Noah Lyles took the unusual route in the 2026 track and field season

At the Jimmy Carnes Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, Noah Lyles posted a 32.60, winning the 300m race. He hasn’t run the distance since 2017, when he ran a blistering 31.87 at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

What surprised the fans more was his announcement regarding the 2026 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, which he wrote on an Instagram post, saying, “Boston. 300m. January 24, 2026. Season opener at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.” It was unusual because in this particular event, Lyles is known to open his indoor season in the 60m.

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However, some might have seen this coming, as the athlete was posting glimpses of his training and even coming up with a social media post that had the caption: “2026 Goal: Expect the Unexpected.” So, with the entire season still ahead, it looks like Lyles will continue to surprise fans with performances like this.