American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has weighed in on Noah Lyles’ future, advising the reigning 100-meter Olympic champion to test his limits in the 200 meters during the 2025 season.
Gatlin’s comments come after Lyles’ remarkable performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he clinched gold in the 100 meters with a personal best of 9.79 seconds, silencing skeptics who doubted his ability to excel in the shorter sprint.
Despite his 100-meter triumph, Lyles fell short of gold in the 200 meters, settling for bronze behind Kenny Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo, who took silver and gold, respectively.
Lyles, who was affected by a COVID-19 infection, had to accept his second consecutive Olympic bronze in the event. Now, with the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo on the horizon, Lyles is in the process of restructuring his plans for the upcoming season.
Speaking on his Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin expressed his belief that Lyles should focus on the 200 meters in 2025, aiming to challenge Usain Bolt’s world record in the event. “Noah has so much to choose from going into 2025.
“He was the world champion in the 100 meters and backed it up by being Olympic champion, and is also 200 meters champion. He has run 19.30. What do you do now? Do you defend your 100-meter title alone or the 200, or do you go for both?” Gatlin said.
The 2004 Olympic gold medalist made it clear that Lyles’ future success in the 200 meters could solidify his legacy.
“I think personally, I would like him to take that route of what 19.3 and beyond looks like. That is where the excitement is. Now you have a true contender who you can race against.
“You have people who can run 19.4s, and you can go out there and focus on that because you proved to a lot of people that what you say, you do. When people denied you and told you you cannot get it done, you went out there and won the Olympic gold.”
Gatlin also referenced Lyles’ previous remarks about his competitors, particularly Letsile Tebogo and his fellow American Erryon Knighton, both of whom are seen as rising stars in the 200 meters.
“He had an interview with Wallace Spearmon and Eric Canard, and he talked about what he thought about Tebogo and Knighton.
“ He said they were young guys and very talented, but he says he’s only going to be worried when he sees their form change. When they get stronger, bigger shoulder caps, traps, when they look like they are becoming more powerful sprinters—he said that is when he is going to worry.”
Gatlin acknowledged Lyles’ consistent excellence in the 200 meters but warned that the competition would only intensify.
“19.5, 19.6 is Noah’s sweet spot. We have seen him record those times consistently over and over again,” Gatlin noted.
“I think he will have his hands full. If he was running right now even without injuries or stress factors, and he was out there running, I think these guys would push him to the line.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 season, Gatlin believes Lyles will need to raise his game even higher. “It is not going to be a relaxed season, it would not be a restful season after the Olympics. He is going to have to run even harder post-championships. 2025, we need to know what the answer is.”
