Noah Lyles Vs. Tyreek Hill: A Timeline Of Events

Forbes

7 hours ago

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - AUGUST 24: Noah Lyles of Team United States reacts after the Men's 200m ... More Semi-Final during day six of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 24, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by)
The long-awaited duel between Paris Olympic 100 meter champion Noah Lyles and 2020 NFL Super Bowl champion Tyreek Hill took a U-turn on Tuesday when it was abruptly canceled.
Why exactly, you may ask?
While Lyles clarified the end of the race was due to 'personal reasons,' for astute followers of the professional track and field space, another question remained: Just when was this hypothetical race supposed to take place?
The track and field season is in full swing, and with an important juncture coming – the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships in July – Lyles doesn't really have time to mess around.
Meanwhile, NFL training camps typically begin in the middle of July for players like Hill, a veteran wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins.
While the 31-year-old Hill showed he still has some gas left in the tank over the weekend, clocking a wind-legal time of 10.15 seconds for 100 meters at a last chance meet in Sherman Oaks, California, it still isn't competitive with Lyles, who hasn't run that slow since 2022.
So was this a race, or wasn't it? Lyles told a panel in France during an announcement for the SPORT Beach Program in Cannes, that no one thought the race was real.
Wondering where this all started?
Let's go through the timeline, month by month.
Many people believe the genesis of Lyles versus Hill began in Budapest, Hungary, following Lyles' sprint double at the World Championships.
I believe that to be false. My theory is that Hill's return to the track in 2023, following a nine-year hiatus, was the impetus for this years-long duel. The native Georgian is a former state champion whose 200 meter best still holds up as a top three performance in high school history.
Wearing his uniform from Coffee High School, Hill ran 6.70 seconds to win a U.S. men's masters indoor race against regular schmoes.
And we're off!
Following his wins in the 100 and 200 meters at the World Championships, the Virginia native went to the podium and explained his frustration with the sports world, namely his beef with basketball and football.
'World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong, I love the U.S., but that ain't the world.'
I will give Lyles credit here. This was likely the tipping point for Hill's annoyance with the sprinter.
If any professional football player had the credentials to challenge the world's fastest sprinter, it was Hill, who was a first team All-American and Big 12 champion at 200 meters for Oklahoma State over his freshman season in 2014.
A decade later, after listening to Lyles ham it up onstage after worlds, Hill officially challenged him to a race at 50 yards – maybe the most American thing to do, considering track and field is logged in the metric system.
Better yet …he issues the invitation just days after Lyles wins the Olympic 100 meter title in Paris in a time of 9.79 seconds.
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 02: Tyreek Hill talks to the media during a Miami Dolphins ... More press conference at PSD Bank Arena on November 02, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by)
The ultimate provocateur of track poured fuel on the fire in an interview about Hill's dare, forgetting his name entirely.
'What's that guy's …what's the cheetah guy from football? I can't remember his name. Mark? What's the football player who thinks he's fast name?'
Lyles wins again.
Twisting Hill's metaphorical arm, Lyles wins the New Balance Grand Prix in convincing fashion, clocking the world's No. 6 time for the year in 6.52 seconds, and then holds up a sign that reads, 'Tyreek Could Never.'
Maybe this is the first instance where we should have known that a race wasn't happening.
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 29: Noah Lyles of the United States speaks during a Team USA Track & Field ... More press conference on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Main Press Centre on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by)
With the indoor season coming to a close, Lyles and Hill both confirm the race is on.
People Magazine reports that the pair have never actually met in person.
The production company owned by actor Terry Crews, Super Serious, is reportedly involved and leading the charge. Lyles says the race, which he later confirmed would be at 60 meters, would reportedly happen before the U.S. Outdoor Championships.
'As long as we ain't putting people's mamas in it, I don't care,' Hill said. 'We can go as far as far can be. 'We're here for a good time.'
Midway through his appearance on the The Rich Eisen Show, wherein Johnson answers questions about his inaugural track league, Grand Slam Track, Eisen asks him about this Hill and Lyle race.
Johnson scoffs at the notion. 'If it's a track meet, if it's a track race, if it's 100 meters, that's not a race,' he said.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JULY 27: Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins looks on during training ... More camp at Baptist Health Training Complex on July 27, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by)
Impressively, Hill wins his 100 meter heat at the Last Chance Meet in California, running 10.15 seconds. He skips the final but logs the fastest time of the day.
Afterward, Hill holds up a paper sign with the inscription, 'Noah Could Never.'
Hypothetically, Lyles says, the Lyles versus Hill race was scheduled to take place at Times Square in New York City. 'We were deep into creating the event,' he told the Stagwell Sport Beach Event in Cannes, France. 'In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend.'
'There were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn't come to pass, but we were full on,' Lyles added. 'We were going to shut down New York's Times Square and everything, it was going to be a lot of fun.'
Later in the day, Hill tweets a Simpsons meme, superimposing Lyles' head on Homer Simpson.
'A lot of people didn't believe it to be true,' Lyles told the audience. 'They thought it was just, 'Oh, this is just them talking online.'
Lyles was in France to discuss Iconic Productions, his new production venture with Box to Box Films – the same company which featured him on the Netflix documentary 'Sprint.'