The Olympics might be over, but the track and field rivalry is just getting started. After a cutthroat competition in both the men’s and women’s disciplines in Paris, the battle for glory has now spilled over to the upcoming races. Back in Paris, the men’s 100m competition featured one of the fastest runs in Olympic history. To provide some context, the athlete finishing last clocked 9.91 seconds! Similarly, the women’s division also saw the blitzkrieg run of Julian Alfred making headlines. With the Tokyo Championships 2025 approaching, excitement among track and field enthusiasts is rising.
In a conversation with Rodney Green, Justin Gatlin was asked about the top 5 sprinters to look out for in Tokyo. Listing them one by one on the ‘Ready Set Go’ podcast, Gatlin mentioned Julian Alfred, Erriyon Knighton, Tamara Davis, Kishane Thompson, and the athletes who competed for Botswana in the 4x400m relay in Paris. While the lineup looks quite promising, it is important to note that Justin Gatlin’s list does not feature a couple of big names—Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson.
Such an exclusion is utterly surprising because both U.S. sprinters have been in top form recently. While Noah Lyles clinched the gold medal in Paris, Richardson won silver in her 100m final. The U.S. track and field queen also showcased her incredible speed in the relays, where she single-handedly propelled Team USA to the gold medal. However, according to Gatlin, Olympic women’s 100m gold medalist Alfred will hold the aces over Richardson.
The U.S. track legend also elaborated that Kishane Thompson will have a lot to prove. Commenting on his performance, Gatlin stated that the Paris result was a setback for the Jamaican. Thus, Tokyo could be his tour of revenge and redemption. Speaking about Thompson’s chances, Gatlin said, “We all gonna be curious to see what Kean gonna do yeah so a healthy Kean coming back um like I said I think he knew that was his race to win at the Olympics I think it’s going to be his revenge tour it has to be his revenge tour.” Well, this was not the only harsh take from Gatlin about Noah Lyles. In a recent analysis, Lyles’ 400m ambitions were heavily questioned by Gatlin.
Rodney Green advises Noah Lyles to focus on the 200m
Noah Lyles is currently on cloud nine after winning the Olympic gold. However, soon after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, Lyles revealed his next big goal- to break the 400m world record. Truth to be told, the 400m is an uncharted territory for Noah Lyles. He has been specializing in the 100m and 200m races so far. Despite Lyles claiming to win a quadruple gold in Paris, his ambitions were cut short by COVID-19. But Lyles’ recent statement did not please a lot of people. For once, Lyles previously vowed to beat Usain Bolt’s timing in the 100m(9:58s) and 200 m19.19s) disciplines. Unfortunately, till now, those records stand intact.
Thus, speaking on the 100m Olympic gold medalist’s recent goal, track personality Rodney Green stated that Lyles must focus on conquering the 200m first. Speaking on ‘Tidal League’ podcast, Green said, “Man, I ain’t even listening to Noah. I, I heard, I heard that tell Noah handle that 200 meter first, you know what I mean? Don’t bite off more than he can chew. But we gonna say you wanna see the 200, see that first 200?” Gatlin immediately showed his support and began chanting, “200, 200, 200.” Thus, with Noah Lyles getting dismissed for his big talks, it is now upto him to prove everyone wrong and emerge on the winning side of things.
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