Diego Maradona vs Pele, Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield, Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal, Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov. The entire thread of names has one thing in common- greats of their respective disciplines rivaling against each other for ultimate glory. Since time immemorial, the realm of sports brims with intriguing tales of rivalry between iconic athletes of the generation. 

Continuing the trend, modern-day track and field greats Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman have emerged as arch-rivals. Not only have they challenged each other with their impeccable skills, but the duo have also been taking digs at each other for quite some time now. So how did it all start? What’s the fuss all about? Can they be touted as the next Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt? Let’s find out. 

Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman: The First Dance

Coming from different parts of America, Lyles and Coleman have differences rather than similarities. While Coleman prefers to work hard in silence, Lyles is known for his vibrant, animated nature. Thus, when the two crossed paths for the first time back in 2019, nobody anticipated that the tiny spark would develop into a raging fire within years. Unknowingly, the 2019 Shanghai Diamond League witnessed the crowning of a rivalry that would, in all probability, be etched in the track and field folklore. 

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Pitted against each other in the men’s 100m final, Coleman was like a cheetah chasing its prey. The race looked quite lopsided until the final 40m when a flash of lightning by the name of Noah Lyles darted towards Coleman. With both the athletes going toe to toe, Lyles gave a death stare to Coleman just as they photo finished with both clocking 9.86 officially. 

After an arduous few minutes of labor from the judges, Lyles was awarded the victory by six-thousandths of a second. While this race amused the crowd, all was not over. For a seed of dissatisfaction was planted in the mind of Coleman who would later try to sting Lyles like a Poison Ivy. 

Coleman targets Lyles on X: Sowing seeds for a legendary Armageddon

A few days after the heart-breaking loss, Christian Coleman took to his Twitter(now X) account and got back at Lyles. Criticizing his American counterpart, Coleman taunted him for running a PR. Although the 27-year-old did not directly call any names, Lyles was the only athlete to run a PR among the nine contestants. 

Coleman further doubled down on his earlier tweet questioning the intent of an athlete whose sole objective was to flex on social media.  While these tweets already had the community talking, more fire was ignited when Micaiah Ransby, Coleman’s girlfriend decided to get involved. A sprinter from the University of Georgia, Ransby mocked Lyles by tweeting, “someone gets an inch, or a win by .006 & they take a mile?” This tweet was the final nail in the coffin for anyone doubting whether a new-age 100m rivalry would brew after the likes of Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin hung up their boots. 

Lyles vs. Coleman: The new Usain Bolt & Justin Gatlin? 

The answer was a resounding “Yes”. In fact, the Lyles-Coleman rivalry might just be better than Bolt-Gatlin. Here’s why. Between the 2013-2017 period, the track and field realm saw the uprising of two undisputed kings- Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt. Although the fans craved to see them go one-on-one, the duo crossed paths only thrice in four years. Such scanty competition between the two dampened the excitement significantly. As a result, the Jamaican walked away with a dominant 8-2 record over Gatlin without the rivalry reaching its full potential. 

However, that is not how the Lyles-Coleman rivalry is panning out. Since 2019, the duo have faced off each other numerous times with the beam hanging in balance till now. While Coleman pulled off an upset by edging past Lyles in the men’s 100m at 2023 Eugene Diamond League, Lyles got back to clinch his maiden 60m victory in the USATF Indoor Championships recently. 

What’s more, validating the rivalry as a “special moment”, none other than Justin Gatlin commented, “It’s a special moment because these are two athletes who live for the moment. They rise to the occasion…They coming with the fireworks.” However, as intimidating as the duo might be, none of them are devoid of weaknesses. 

Coleman and Lyles: Titanic & Icebergs

Noah Lyles has always struggled to get off the blocks. He has been found wanting in the first 30m in most of his races. However, just like a true champion, the 26-year-old has worked on his weakness and has shown significant improvement lately. Lyles brought his A-game by improving to 6.44s in the 2024 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix from a sloth of 6.55s in 2022. Known as the 200m king, Noah Lyles dominated the 100m and 4x400m disciplines at the World in Budapest, further proving his mettle. 

“I Thank This Man”: Noah Lyles Opens Up About Beating Christian Coleman for the First Time

On the flip side, Christian Coleman boasts of having one of the most impeccable starts in a race. The 27-year-old is an undisputed king of the 60m division and his dominance can be attributed to the fact that since 2016, Coleman lost just a solitary 60m event at the 2022 Worlds final in Belgrade. However, an area that Coleman would desperately like to work on is his finish. As fast as he is off the blocks, the Atlanta native struggles with his finishes.

He has improved drastically and has also triumphed over his arch-rival Lyles thrice in the 100m face-offs, stamping his authority further. All in all, the newfound rivalry of Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman promises to entertain sports lover for a long time. If only the duo can keep their composure and stay fit, this rivalry has the potential to embellish themselves into track and field folklore.

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