Noah Lyles heading into his favorite race at world championships, the 200: ‘I don’t plan to lose’

TOKYO AP Noah Lyles had a simple message about his favorite race the meters I don t plan to lose he explained Anyone who calls that brash arrogant or unsportsmanlike would fit right in with the sprinters trying to prove him wrong at world championships this week There s been a lot of chirping particular shoving and at least one not-well-received glare over the past year in sprinting s longer and sometimes less-appreciated race The meters has become a three-man drama between Lyles the three-time defending world champion along with his American counterpart Kenny Bednarek and Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo Opening heats for the start Wednesday with the title being settled Friday Though all three runners were in the it s the that s their specialty and that has overtaken the shorter race as the marquee sprint of these worlds and maybe the next ones and the Los Angeles Olympics too Sports breeds tension it breeds competitiveness Lyles explained If there s only one goal and multiple people you can t be all nice and grinning and say Yeah I m OK with somebody else winning No that s not how it goes A glare and a shove Lyles and Bednarek made headlines last month when Lyles stared down his rival as he passed him at the end of the -meter title race at U S championships then Bednarek responded by giving him a two-handed shove Unsportsmanlike expletive and I don t deal with that Bednarek explained in the heat of the moment after the race The racer nicknamed Kung Fu Kenny also explained that he took issue with Lyles preening when he hadn t run through the rounds in the the way Bednarek had A respect factor Bednarek called it then reminded everyone that he had beaten Lyles at the last two Olympics they finished - in both and next time we line up I m going to win A brief moment in the interview area after an early heat in this week s s stood out Lyles was talking with reporters while Bednarek breezed behind him Good job bro Lyles noted as he turned around and expeditiously slapped hands with Bednarek They are expected on the U S relay gang later this week so there s certainly selected benefit to building chemistry in a race where the American men are sometimes a tragedy But that tension has been the talk of the meet so much so that even Usain Bolt fielded a question about trash talk early in the week I don t think Noah s as crazy as dealing with Justin Gatlin the American who pushed Bolt the furthest over the years he reported I think Gatlin over the years was a different breed because he came up in an era where trash talk was just normal For me it wasn t really an issue I know when I m prepared and you could say whatever you want and it would never be a challenge A surprise winner from Botswana who stays under the radar The third runner in this drama is Tebogo a surprise winner at last year s Olympics in a race Lyles ran despite being afflicted with COVID Tebogo was appealed after that race if he could see himself as a front man for track and field He commented he possibly couldn t because he wasn t an arrogant or loud person like Noah He later clarified saying he and Lyles were friendly off the track but when you get onto the track it s all about business Earlier in these championships when required about the relationship with Lyles Tebogo declared he preferred to stay out of the spotlight and let my legs to the talking Regarding a widely held sentiment from that race that Lyles would have coasted to achievement had he been healthy there is this Tebogo won in which was faster than Lyles has run since when he clocked to beat Michael Johnson s -year-old American record Lyles My doesn t invariably translate into my All three sprinters were involved in the -meter final Only Lyles ended up with a medal a bronze after taking gold at the Olympics and the world championships before it Bednarek finished fourth Tebogo not a favorite by any means was disqualified after a false start and who knows if that one fewer race will play a factor in the split seconds that will decide Friday s final Lyles mentioned a scenario he was urged about just now Would he take several other color than gold in the in exchange for a world record in the I stated I think I might take the Lyles reported Half of that comment has already come true It s hard to imagine Lyles who got a late start in training this year because of a foot injury will put Bolt s in jeopardy over the next three days of racing at Tokyo National Stadium But he says his and don t perpetually correlate Also Lyles very much like Bolt before him once commented he considers the his wife and the more like his mistress The American had three world titles in this race though as Bednarek took pleasure in reminding everyone those bronze medals from the last two Olympics the first of which came four years ago in Tokyo will inevitably be part of his resume Usually when I have my best years my hundreds aren t as fast Lyles commented There s a lot of excitement going on in the Obviously I have the force Obviously I have the motivation I plan to go out there in full force and jump off the cliff so to say with all the enthusiasm in this race AP Summer Olympics https apnews com hub -paris-olympic-games Source