Lyles' one-man show at the IAAF World Championships, a good replacement for the “canceled” Jacobs/Curley match.

It should have happened at the World Cup: a showdown between Marcel Jacobs and Fred Kerley. Between the defending Italian Olympic champion and the 2022 American world champion. This meeting was eagerly awaited throughout the season, but the match did not happen. Instead, the World Cup crowd was given a one-man show by Noah Lyles.

The athletics world has been complaining for years that the traditional 100-meter race has lost some of its momentum since the retirement of Jamaican runner Usain Bolt. With the extroverted Jamaican, it was a party in almost every race and every time the question was how fast she would go this time. Bolt was the perfect man, not just for speed racing, but for athletics in general. A global star known even to people who don't follow athletics closely.

Since his retirement in 2017, the search has been on for someone who can stimulate interest in athletics with the same verve. Given the rapid decline in interest in the sport in the United States, this search has become increasingly desperate.

Loss of 16 million euros

The consensus, especially in the United States itself, is that it is the fastest men in the world who should bring attention back to athletics. And also because the financial foundation of the sport is becoming increasingly fragile: the World Athletics Federation suffered a loss of almost 16 million euros last year.

Fred Curley certainly made a splash this year. The 28-year-old American, the 100-meter world champion in 2022, is a man who prefers not to share many of his thoughts with traditional media. But he sure knows how to stir things up on his social media channels. l'meat“, an exciting debate with Olympic champion Jacobs.

According to Curley, Jacobs is not one of the great runners, he never was.Real dog'. The Italian surprisingly won the Olympic title in Tokyo, but then struggled with injuries. More than once he had to withdraw from major competitions. But Jacobs did not let the American get him down and responded in a similar manner on Instagram. “A lion does not turn around when a little dog barks.” And so he went back and forth.

A treat for the fans

It was a delight for fans, because this online brawl seemed like a prelude to a fierce duel on the athletics track. It had to happen first at the Diamond League in Rabat, then in Florence. But that didn't happen because Jacobs was injured again.

Then on the world stage, in the World Cup. Everyone in Budapest was ready, although expectations for Jacobs had already been lowered as he narrowly reached the semi-finals. Then things went wrong in the semi-finals, and he did not qualify for the final battle. But Curley doesn't either.

But fortunately there was a solo performance by Noah Lyles on the Sunday evening programme. And there it was. He raced to victory in 9.83 after a powerful final shot. How did he manage to outperform his competitors? “By doing Noah Lyles things.”

Where Curley has a difficult, sometimes unpleasant appearance, and Jacobs is difficult to recognize, Lyles is a man who has everything in himself. This became clear again in the press conference after his world title. It was facing a hundred journalists in a room full of energy and contemplation. He showed himself arrogant: he will definitely win the 200 metres, which he has already won twice at the World Championships, next Friday, he assured his fans.

flattery

But it's a compliment too. He takes the microphone to tell Letsile Tebogo and Zharnell Hughes, who joined him on stage and at the press conference, that he's proud of them too. They achieved this, and these three are naturally over 200m runners.

He knows how to build excitement and deliver one-liners. If he does manage to win the 200 meters at this championships, he will at least follow in Usain Bolt's footsteps in an athletic way. Because in 2015, the Jamaican was the last to win both numbers, claiming the 'double'.

Lyles knows how much US track and field fans yearn for someone to make their sport relevant again alongside American football, baseball and golf. According to him, it is up to the media to better highlight athletics stories and the sport must do more to sell itself. The fact that he is a world champion in the 100 meters can help, Lyles said. “I'm very marketable.”