PARIS. American sprinter Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man in the world at the weekend when he captured the 100m Olympic victory in a top-class and even final with a time of 9.79.
However, Lyles is not only on the athletics people’s lips because of his speed. Before the 100-meter final, Lyles arrived on the track in an introduction, running a long way down the front straight, jumping and bouncing. He made the audience tear up their vocal cords more than any other competitor.
– It was very entertaining. The fans went crazy. It’s great TV. When I was running, this was not the case. Since then, I have liked how the sport has developed and started to take advantage of the media, in 2012 the Olympic gold in hurdles and the world record Aries Merritt quoth.
Urheilu met the American Merritt on Tuesday at the Monnaie de Paris money museum, where the legends of athletics celebrated Paavo Nurmen record of Olympic victories from a hundred years ago.
Long fences 1992 Olympic champion and former ME man Kevin Young was on the same lines as his countryman.
– I loved it. He has attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, which affects the amount of energy he has on the track. I think his behavior is not bad. On the contrary, Young said.
– In my own career, before I left, I used to walk to the tenth fence and touch. As I walked back to the starting stands, I tried to soak up as much energy as possible from the crowd. If there had been similar announcements as now, I might have acted differently, Young said.
The Brit who won silver at the World Championships in high-speed hurdles in 1987 Jon Ridgeon shared the view of the US paddlers.
– I was really happy when Noah won. He works hard to grow the sport. We need people like him, Ridgeon said.
Härkönen is boring
However, not everyone likes Lyles’ show.
– Yellow card place. He disturbs the other contestants. You have to respect your opponents on the field, a manager legend in athletics Jukka Härkönen quoth.
Härkönen, 71, has closely followed international athletics for five different decades.
Own shield or not, Härkönen requires behavior according to the “code”.
– Linford (Christie) was a sphinx. Frankie (FredericksHärkönen’s athlete) never did anything other than run. Likewise Donovan Bailey and Carl Lewis. Maybe Lyles is having a hard time in the US, but I have no respect for him whatsoever. His behavior is indecent, Härkönen said.
Lyles repeated his 100m preliminary show on Thursday before the 200m Olympic final, where he surprisingly missed out on bronze. The win fixed Botswana Letsile Tebogo With the African continental record of 19.46.
– At that level, the most important thing is the respect of fellow competitors. Tebogo’s victory was the best thing that could have happened, Härkönen said.
After the final, Lyles received a yellow card for hitting a sound system on his track during his show.
When the 21-year-old Tebogo was asked at a press conference late Thursday night if he sees himself as the face of athletics, the Botswanan’s answer contained a barb in Lyles’ direction.
– I don’t. I’m not arrogant or loud like Noah. “I think Noah is the face of athletics,” Tebogo said.
Can’t find a rule
A long-time referee of the International Association of Athletics Federations Pasi Oksanen according to Lyles’s presentation, there is no clear precedent for the celebration.
– The rules do not define such presentations. The only thing you can think about within the rules is not to disturb a fellow competitor. If he had started jumping and squealing when we said to your seats, then he probably would have received a warning, Oksanen estimated on Wednesday.
According to Oksanen, the technical delegation in charge of competition rules could approach the US team if they felt that Lyles had crossed the line.
– This was an exceptional case. Hardly anyone had thought that someone would do this.
What do you think, will a similar show be seen next year at the World Championships in Tokyo?
– Good question. After all, it’s a kind of circus if everyone starts doing this.
– Introductions are a relatively new thing. It should be defined what is allowed and what is not. Okay, Lyles gets the crowd going, but the flip side is that he’s out there trying to impress his competitors. This thing shouldn’t be completely free game. Now it is, Oksanen said.