So picture this: You’re scrolling through track podcasts, probably expecting the usual “Noah Lyles is amazing” conversation we’ve been having for years, and then BOOM, some 400m specialist drops a nuclear bomb that has the entire sprint community losing their minds. Last year, everyone was obsessing over the trinity of American sprinting: Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman, and Kenny Bednarek. Makes sense, right? These guys are proven professionals, world champions, the faces of American sprinting. But 2025 isn’t the same. But why?

Well, that’s because Noah Lyles, the guy who’s supposed to be the face of American sprinting, hasn’t run a single 100m race this season. On the other hand, Christian Coleman, the former world champion who used to be untouchable, has been collecting losses like they’re going out of style. Kenny Bednarek is doing his thing with a world-leading 9.86 and a new personal best, but even that hasn’t stopped people from questioning whether these guys are guaranteed anything anymore.

And here’s the kicker: Noah Williams, a 400m specialist, is saying none of these legends are safe for the World Championships. Well, we know the trials are coming up, and the World Championships run from September 13th to 21st, but Williams is looking at the current landscape and seeing something that’s making everyone uncomfortable: “No one in the USA right now is capable of going sub-9.8.”

So, who’s got Williams so hyped that he’s willing to disrespect sprint royalty? Meet Jordan Anthony, a 20-year-old redshirt sophomore at the University of Arkansas who just casually ran the most talked-about race of the year. On March 31st, at the NCAA West First Round in College Station, Texas, this kid dropped a windy 9.75 100m with a +2.1 m/s wind and destroyed his competition by 0.16 seconds.

But here’s the part that’ll blow your mind—if that wind had been just 0.1 m/s less, Anthony would be the 6th-fastest human being in history. We’re talking about a college sophomore who came within a whisper of rewriting the record books, and Williams noticed. This is where Williams went full savage mode on his podcast “Track World News” with Colin Waitzman.

His breakdown was so clinical, so precise, that you could almost hear jaws dropping across the track world. “Jordan Anthony really quickly—he ran a 10 or a 9.75 with a 2.1 wind, right? I’ve run on that track; it’s not like the fastest track, no problem. Um, 2.1 wind is basically—let’s say he ran 9.79—that’s still a 9.7 early,” Williams explained, doing the math that most of us would need a calculator for.

But then came the moment that probably ended friendships: “So with that, his talent level, although he hasn’t competed with most of the guys, his talent level is better than 95% of the field that’s going to be at USA’s. There are guys who just straight up are not capable of doing that. A prime Christian Coleman was, but not in 2025. A prime Fred Kerley can do that, but not in 2025.”

The audacity was unreal as he delivered the final blow: “So that’s why I say he’s my favorite right now. Here’s where it gets interesting because while Williams is ready to crown Anthony as the future of American sprinting, his co-host Colin Waitzman isn’t buying it, setting up what might be the most heated debate in track and field this season.

The reality check Noah Lyles needs!

Colin Waitzman fired back with some cold, hard truth that had Williams scrambling for answers. “When it comes to the USA, that’s different when you’re lining up against these guys that you’ve never—you know, these pros you haven’t gone up against yet. Like, you know, he’s—he’s gone in most of these races that Jordan’s been in, he has been the favorite or had one of the best PRs, and he hasn’t had that competition like he’s going to have going up against some of these other big dogs in the US,” Waitzman argued

He was saying Anthony’s been beating up on college kids, not world-class professionals. He doubled down with his bold prediction: “But I would say, like, I just don’t see how Trayvon isn’t going to—he’s at least making the team in my opinion. I don’t think there’s any way I don’t see three people beating Trayvon in the hundred in the USA, but it should be good when we finally get—we finally get there in a couple of months.”

And honestly? Waitzman might be onto something, because just a week back, 2015 World 100m bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell made everyone’s jaws drop at the Rome Diamond League, stunning a loaded field with a world-leading 9.84 seconds that looked effortless—getting out like a rocket and creating serious distance over Emmanuel Eseme (9.99), Ferdinand Omanyala (10.01), and even American veterans Brandon Hicklin (10.04) and Fred Kerley (10.05).

Here’s where things get messy for Team USA’s sprint situation, and both Williams and Waitzman have valid points that make this debate even spicier. But where are the legends? Noah Lyles, with his personal best of 9.79 from last year, should theoretically be the favorite, but he’s got zero 100m wins this season—zero. Fred Kerley owns a lifetime best of 9.76, making him one of the fastest Americans ever.

But his 2025 season best of 9.87 looks pedestrian compared to his peak form. Kenny Bednarek matches Lyles with a 9.79 personal best, but his current season best of 9.86 suggests he’s also not firing on all cylinders. So, who’s right, Williams backing the untested college phenom with otherworldly talent, or Waitzman trusting proven champions who know how to perform when the lights are brightest?

With the USA Championships approaching, this isn’t just a podcast debate anymore; it’s about to play out on the track, and honestly, we can’t wait to see who gets the last laugh.