Noah Lyles is back and looking sharper than ever. After months away due to injury, the Olympic champion made a thunderous return at the Monaco Diamond League on July 11, 2025. In his first 200m run of the season, Lyles stormed to a 19.88s win, edging out Olympic champ Letsile Tebogo (19.97s). It was the kind of comeback only Lyles could script: smooth, defiant, and loud. Then came London. On July 19, in front of 60,000 fans, Lyles opened his 100m season with a 10.00s run, his fastest-ever opener, finishing second behind Jamaica’s Oblique Seville (9.86s). His next stop? The World Championships. And ahead of that, this track and field legend has weighed in on the odds…

“I think the one he has the best chance at is the 200, his bread and butter. The 100 is going to be very elusive. And not elusive because of just one man, it’s elusive because there are a couple of people in there who can knock him off that top podium,” said Rodney Green in the July 28th episode of Ready Set Go podcast, sitting with Justin Gatlin. And fair enough, the 100m is a stacked field, but undermining the athletes in the 200m was also part of the discussion. Justin Gatlin spoke about this.

For now, it does not matter if Noah Lyles wins or loses at the USATF Championships, because he is the defending World Champion, and he is going to be in Tokyo, in any case. That being said, he still would like to win the 100m in there, wouldn’t he? Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green talked on the podcast about this. The conversation quickly turned toward who could realistically take him down. The coaches layed out the picks: a frontrunner with strong form this season, a veteran known for consistency, and a dark horse powered by confidence and coaching

Justin Gatlin agreed with Rodney’s list. He said, “I’m going to go with Trayvon being the front runner because watching Trayvon develop through this season and his coming back into this season after being injured.” In May 2024, at a meet in Savona, Italy, Bromell suffered an adductor injury, which forced him to withdraw from the U.S. Olympic Trials and effectively ended his 2024 season. And in 2025, he is so back. At the Rome Diamond League, Bromell set the 100 m field on fire with a stunning 9.84s run, marking the world-leading time for the season at that point and his fastest legal 100 m since 2022.

“Number two on my list is going to be Kenny. Kenny once again. Kenny has shown a lot of growth. Kenny has been working on his start. He truly has shown through the Grand Slam through his 100 meters and his 200 meters that he has gotten stronger. He’s gotten faster. His mechanics has gotten better,” Gatlin further added. Bednarek absolutely dominated Michael Johnson’s inaugural 2025 Grand Slam Track circuit, winning every short‑sprint race he entered, sweeping both the 100 m and 200 m at Kingston, Miami, and Philadelphia to become the undefeated Men’s Short Sprints champion and inaugural Racer of the Year.

And for the third place, he finally said, “And I’m going to say for that third place, it is a guy who has been the dark horse this season, who has ran multiple sub 10, but hasn’t really got the recognition, which is Brandon Hickle.” Brandon Hicklin has emerged as a stealth dark horse in the 2025 sprint scene. He’s clocked multiple legal sub-10s races, including a 9.93s legal personal best in Clermont and wind‑aided 9.92s beating Christian Coleman; he can be a serious threat.

The other threats…

In the podcast, the track and field legend addressed the depth of competition Noah Lyles faces in his signature event. “So you don’t think the people that can knock him off that top podium in the 200 are as dangerous? Because now you’ve got Letsile Tebogo, who is the defending Olympic champion and just ran 19.7 not too long ago, and we kind of figured he’d be a little tired, so now he has some rest.” Letsile Tebogo clocked a 19.76‑second 200 m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in Eugene. This stood as the world‑leading time at that point in the season. After that, he slipped to the runners-up position in the next two races and 7th in the last one. He’s probably just worn out from all the racing, but once he’s rested for Worlds, watch out!

“And then you have Kenny Bednarek, who lit up the track earlier this season, who came away with a minor injury, but videos and highlights on IG and elsewhere show he’s back in training. I don’t know what his current skill level or sharpness is, but those two alone are formidable opponents,” Gatlin continued. Kenny Bednarek has not lost a single race this season. Bednarek withdrew from the 2025 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene just hours before the meet, citing “tightness” in his body as a precautionary decision ahead of the U.S. trials.

But with his socials hinting at a comeback, he is going to be tough competition for Noah Lyles. Gatlin also highlighted veterans like Erriyon Knighton and Zharnel Hughes, along with rising threats such as Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and Courtney Lindsey. He singled out Lindsey as a serious contender, pointing to his quietly impressive 2025 season: second in Doha (20.11s), a win in Rabat (20.04s), and a season-best 19.87s for second at the Prefontaine Classic.

He also said, “I know with Noah having more time and seeing how he runs these rounds at USAs, it’s going to help him. The more Noah races heading into Worlds, the better he’ll be.” The Olympic champion is indeed taking a stop at the USATF championships. Who’s winning there? Though Noah Lyles from both of them is surprising. Do you have a list? The comment section is yours.

With the World Championships in Tokyo set for August 17–24, the 100m and 200m fields are looking more loaded than ever. Noah may be the headline, but the plot is full of twists. Who’s your pick for the throne? Drop your predictions below!