Massive Debate Divides Track and Field Community as Noah Lyles Questioned Over Surprising Track and Field Move

Noah Lyles is full of surprises! Lyles was considered as a 100m and 200m specialist. While he did extremely well in the 100m discipline, Lyles’ best performances came in the 200m. With a personal best of 19.31s that he set in 2022 at the World Championships in Oregon, the Florida native raised expectations sky-high! Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Lyles also expressed his wish to get faster than Bolt and break his historic 19.19s world record. Unfortunately, all of that now looks like a distant dream. Has Noah Lyles permanently bid adieu to the 200m event? If he has, fans are not happy about it. 

Gathering at Stade de France, Lyles was a fan-favorite to secure the medal. He also seemed the most likely candidate. A personal best of 19.31s in the 200m event and a resounding victory in the 100m event at the Paris Olympics just 4 days ago had sent the message out loud: Noah Lyles was poised to win. The men’s 200m final met a surprising end when Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo ran to gold, and the 100m champion, running with a COVID-19 infection, struggled to the finish line to win a bronze. But Lykes’ struggled breathing didn’t miss the eye of track fans. Fans were hoping for a stellar 200m comeback, but with the new season coming up, the US sprinter has made some unexpected moves. Instead of improving his 200m timing, Lyles switched his focus to the 400m!

Right at the start of the season, Lyles announced that he would be running the 400m flat a lot more now. The announcement shocked track fans because the Olympic champion isn’t a 400m regular. But till now, he has only taken part in 60m, 100m, and 400m races. His new approach did not go down well with track fans, with controversial X user, Erin Brown, going as far as to proclaim that Kenny Bednarek, the Paris and Tokyo Olympics 200m silver medalist and the track sensation who recently made waves at the Grand Slam Track, is set to win all 200m races against Noah Lyles. 

Sadly, Lyles’ performance in the 400m too, does not look quite impressive. In a recent run at the Tom Jones Invitational, Lyles clocked 45.87s, ending up 14th out of 26 athletes. In what was a surprising co-incident, Fred Kerley too, had a 400m dash at the Mt. Sac Relays on the same day. Quite expectedly, he won the event by a time of 44.73s, further instigating doubts about his choice. With the frustrations brewing, fans quickly hopped on to the comments section. 

Fans clap back at Noah Lyles for his 400m decision

As soon as the news started to gain traction, fans flocked to the comments section to express their point of view. A fan defended Lyles’ surprising decision, stating “Lyles jumped in the 400m for a reason, in the lab reaching for the 2022 19.31 200m gears.” They believe this isn’t a random detour, but a deliberate attempt to rebuild the endurance and rhythm that once powered his historic 200m run. To them, the 400m serves as a stepping stone, not a distraction, aiming to resurrect his peak form.

Criticism came sharply from track enthusiast Erin Brown, who remarked, “He will never run faster than 19.4 again and may never break 19.5.”  He dismissed Lyles’ 400m shift as futile, arguing his prime was behind him. The underwhelming 45.87s at Tom Jones added weight to the claim, portraying the move as a misjudgment that reflects declining speed and misplaced training focus.

Following up on that, Erin Brown further doubled down with, “Since 2022 he’s has gotten worse in the 200 each year.” Such a comment suggested a clear downward trajectory in Lyles’ primary event. Instead of stabilizing or improving, he’s veered further from his 19.31 form. For critics, the 400m decision is just another sign of a fading dominance, not an evolution.

Offering a different take, one fan commented, “Its clear he’s been focused on the 100m for both the 2023 WCs and Olympics, given his emphasis on improving his start and indoor 60s. He ran 9.7 last year, and it looks like he trying to carry that speed into the 200m while maintaining his sprint endurance. PR def coming.” They suggest the 400m is just another layer in his broader sprint development plan—tying speed and stamina together to set up a major 200m breakthrough.

Hope mixed with caution surfaced in a fan’s message: “Boy 19.5 is baseline for Noah. I just he ain’t distracted. Kenny coming wit it this year tho!” While still optimistic about Lyles’ abilities, this comment reflects growing unease. The fear is that while Lyles experiments, focused rivals like Bednarek could surge ahead—especially with Noah straying from his strongest event.

Echoing broader skepticism, another fan declared, “Noah’s 200 hasn’t been the same since the 100. I think he’s a 200m specialist. I don’t even think these 400’s help.” For them, Lyles’ drift into multiple events has compromised his core. The 400m training, instead of boosting his range, is seen as a misstep that’s only hurting his true identity as a 200m runner.

Is the 400m switch just a calculated training move on Noah Lyles’ part? That would make sense because St Lucian sensation, Julien Alfred, has successfully run longer distances to build her endurance. So what’s next for Noah? Will he return to familiar terrain, or do more surprises await the track fraternity? That’s for us to wait and watch.