BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The American men who had won the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 relay at world championships before this year are known to track fans: Tyson Gay and Maurice Greene.
But some of the American men who have gone 3 for 3 in those races at the Olympics are known far beyond the shadow of any track stadium – think, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.
The sizable gap between “track star” and “global icon” is the one Noah Lyles is hoping he can bridge between now and next year at the Paris Olympics.
Lyles capped off his own historic world championships by anchoring the men’s 4×100 relay team to victory Saturday night to capture his third gold medal in the sprints, joining Gay and Greene, but also track’s last true superstar, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who last accomplished that feat eight years ago.
Lyles made no secret that he would like to fill the void left by Bolt — a once-in-a-generation character who transcends sports and stands out as much on red carpets as on the track. Lyles also confronted the uncomfortable truth that since Bolt retired in 2017, his sport has struggled to maintain an audience outside the hardcore track fan.
“It’s a conversation I have every day with my agent, about how we’re going to better this sport,” Lyles said.
It’s a plight felt most keenly in the United States, which is now only five years from hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles. In one sign of the hurdles the sport faces, track and field has yet to find a viable host city for a major event — i.e., Olympic trials, national championships or worlds — outside of Eugene, Oregon.
Much has been made in the States this summer about how nationals and even some of these world championships have been aired on NBC’s harder-to-find cable affiliates instead of the main network. That might not matter anymore in an era of ever-fragmented viewing options.
Still, the numbers…
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