"It’s going to take a dog" - Justin Gatlin advises Noah Lyles for his Olympic quadruple quest

The retired American sprinter, Justin Gatlin recently offered a few tips to Noah Lyles as he set his sights on securing four gold medals in the upcoming Olympics.

Lyles has always been assertive about disclosing his goals. Following his stellar performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, the 26-year-old has now fixed his gaze on securing four gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m events.

However, the former sprinter believes it is a formidable challenge and advised Lyles that achieving this feat demands dogged determination.

"He would be one of one…Noah, talk to your ish dog. That boy be talking, I’ll tell you right now that he tells his whole game plan in the post conferences," Gatlin said.

"It’s going to take a dog, it’s going to take someone who says ‘You know what? Enough is enough and I’m coming to punch this dude in the mouth."

"That’s the mentality that they have to possess and right now, I’m not seeing anyone who is going to step up and do that," continued Gatlin.

Noah Lyles has targeted for the fourth gold medal at the upcoming Olympics after a close friend reminded him of his notable achievements in the event during his high school competitions.

Apart from the Olympic medals, the American sprinter has aimed for a gold medal at the 2024 World Indoor Championships to be held in March at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.

"We can start having stars walk almost this red carpet" - Noah Lyles on garnering engagement for athletics

Noah Lyles celebrates with the gold medal after winning the Men's 200m Final during the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 in Hungary.

Noah Lyles has consistently advocated for athletics to receive more attention, passionately discussing methods to increase the appeal.

Lyles believes that recognizing the prominent figures of the sport will result in more engagement from the spectators. During a candid discussion on the Total Running Production podcast, he spoke about honoring the former athletes and introducing walk-ins during the competitions.

"One of the actual reasons that I wanted to do you know the walk-ins you know is because I wanted to - one, have a place for athletes to show their own personalities," Lyles said. "Two, bring in this idea that we can start having stars walk almost this red carpet into our sport. Showing that people outside of the sport are coming and watching makes other people wanna watch."

"And three if you have a platform for the older generation to come in and be treated like celebrities, now how can we say to other celebrities to come to our track if we don't even treat our own celebrities with respect?"