Noah Lyles hypes up Grant Holloway after Ben Shelton explained his post-match celebration at US Open 2023

Noah Lyles recently cheered for the three-time 110m hurdles world champion, Grant Holloway. He was impressed when 20-year-old Ben Shelton admitted Holloway to be the inspiration behind his unique celebration style after winning in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open against Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday.

American tennis player Ben Shelton made headlines for defeating Tiafoe to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. He saved a set point in the third set to go on and win the match 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2. After claiming a proud victory, the young player was spotted mimicking the act of speaking on the phone and then hanging up.

Clearly, his celebratory gesture was noticed by the media and was later asked about it in the press conference. While Shelton expressed that it was his way of saying “I'm saying I'm dialed in”, he also revealed that the primary inspiration behind his gesture was the track and field athlete Grant Holloway. He spoke of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist saying,

The first time that I really saw it (the celebration) is, I'm really close friends with a lot of track and field athletes who train at the University of Florida where I live in Gainesville," Ben Shelton explained.

Furthermore, the tennis player appreciated Holloway's achievements till now in his career and also shared that many athletes are inspired by his style. Sharing the heartwarming video on his Instagram story, Noah Lyles wrote,

"@flaamingoo is now crossing over"

Noah Lyles was proud to see Holloway making an impact on tennis players as well.

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Noah Lyles makes a controversial statement about NBA players

Lyles at Day 7 - World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

After Noah Lyles made history by achieving a triplet at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he made a controversial statement on the NBA’s ‘world champion’ title.

In a press conference, he stated,

"You know the thing that really hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head," he said.

"World Champion of what? The United States? Noah Lyles questioned.

Furthermore, Lyles explained how he perceived the world champion title in the track and field championships,

"Don’t get me wrong. I love the US at times, but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA."

Naturally, his statement left sports lovers divided while many NBA players tweeted to give it back to the American athlete.