'Usain Bolt vs. Justin Gatlin was probably the biggest rivalry' - Noah Lyles hails sprint legends impact amid poor storylines in the present era

Despite being the face of track and field in the past few years, Noah Lyles still respects the impact Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin's rivalry had on the sport's image for the present generation.

In a modern sports landscape driven by compelling narratives and larger-than-life personalities, the reigning Olympic 100m champion believes that track and field is currently lacking a crucial element: powerful storytelling, which his predecessors enjoyed during their era.

"I think that if a rivalry is cared for in the correct manner, then yes, it can be good," Lyles stated in an interview with Olympics.com. "But calling every competition of an athlete going up against another athlete a rivalry is not the same. There has to be a story. There has to be a purpose. There has to be intent."

His perspective is born from a deep passion for the sport and a desire to see it achieve the same narrative depth as others. He points to legendary clashes like Ali vs. Frazier in boxing, Messi vs. Ronaldo in football, and LeBron vs. Steph in basketball—sagas that transcended individual contests and created global conversations.

However, he cited the Usain Bolt vs. Justin Gatlin dynamic as a recent high point but argued that even it fell short.

"I’d say the Usain Bolt vs. Justin Gatlin was probably the biggest, most memorable one," Lyles noted. "For a little while, there was the Shaunae (Miller) vs. Allyson Felix rivalry… But even with those, they’re not really rivalries. They just happened to show up at the same track meets... I don’t think they got everything they could have got out of these. They could have been pushed so much more."

According to the four-time world 200m champion, the key is to give fans a reason to invest emotionally. "When somebody has a dog in the fight, they’re more entertained and more willing to participate," he explained. "When you have no reason to cheer, you have no reason to care."

"I do it for myself. This is for me and the audience," he said. "I want everybody to have a good time. I want everybody to be excited when they come and watch me perform."

He added, "When they leave, I want them to say, ‘I would have never got that type of energy if I just watched it on TV.’ Like, that was amazing. I want to come back for more," he concluded.