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Following Letsile Tebogo being named the 2024 World Athlete of the Year, Noah Lyles has a first social reaction.
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles has reacted to the Athlete of the Year snub hours after Botswana's hero Letsile Tebogo was announced winner.
Lyles was initially among the six nominees for the prestigious Male Track Athlete of the Year award alongside fellow Americans Rai Benjamin and Grant Holloway, Kenya's young middle-distance runner Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigsten, and Tebogo.
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Following fans' votes, Ingebrigsten and Tebogo made the final shortlist before the Motswana Olympic hero was named the winner and the overall Male Athlete of the Year in Monaco on Dec 1st.
Tebogo's history-making 2024 season's exploits stood him out after he won the men's 200m final - the first-ever Olympic gold medal in any sport for Botswana, clocking an African Record of 19.46s – a time that moved him to fifth on the world all-time list. Also, the performance followed his sixth-place finish in the 100m final.
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12:59 - 01.12.2024
'I definitely have unfinished business' - Noah Lyles backs controversial world title 200m statement
In a controversial clip where Noah Lyles stated his preference for the 100m, a new cut emerged backing up his statement and why he's still the man to beat.
He went on to form part of Botswana’s silver medal-winning men’s 4x400m team. In addition, the youngster dipped under the 20-seconds mark nine times in 2024, with those performances topped by his Olympic title-winning mark, which remained the fastest of the year.
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With several congratulatory messages pouring in from legends in the sport - Usain Bolt, Facetimed him and Michael Johnson, Lyles also reacted for the first time on his X page.
The six-time world champion posted a social GIF with the caption: "Hardest choices requires the strongest will."
Lyles won the 2023 Track Athlete of the Year Award, following his iconic outing at the World Championships in Budapest, where he won three gold medals (100m, 200m, and 4x100m). Meanwhile, Tebogo's success this year makes him the joint youngest-ever winner at 21.
With their rivalry already established after this season's escapades in Paris and post-Olympics, track fans can anticipate mouthwatering clashes between both speedsters in the next few years.
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