Track legend Michael Johnson recently shared his take on the most anticipated Noah Lyles vs. Tyreek Hill challenge, which was initiated by the latter. Johnson is all set to commence his new track and field event, Grand Slam Track League, in April.
One of the most talked about topics in the track and field community is the clash between Noah Lyles and Tyreek Hill. Both athletes have been trash-talking each other for a long time on social media. However, they recently decided to compete with each other in an event between 40m and 100m. While a lot of people are talking about this, Johnson recently appeared on Rich Eisen's show and spoke about the ongoing spat between the athletes.
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He pointed out the difference between being fast and sprinting and said Hill cannot beat Lyles since he is not one of the fastest people in the world, but Lyles is. Highlighting Lyles' dominance in the 100m, he said (via Rich Eisen's Instagram):
"If it's a track meet 100m, that's not a race. Tyreek can't beat the 20 or 30th ranked 100m runner in the world, no more so than a track athlete who's fast can't go over and play reciever and run routes like Tyreek and score touchdowns. That just doesn't happen. Now if you create some sort of some sort of special exhibition you can even it out a little bit because Tyreek is quick, if it's about quickness, it might be compelling but just come on, this is just enterainment man. Its just entertainment but it's not real sport."
Michael Johnson further explained:
"Either you're fast or you're fast but that doesn't mean you can be a world class sprinter. Sprinting is different than just being fast. There's a whole lot that's happening in that race to actually run fast and get your fastest time and beat other people. You still gotta race other people. How many times has Tyreek raced? Anyone? Noah is the fastest man in the world, I'm aware of that and Tyreek is not one of the fastest people in the world. He's one of the fastest football players but he's not one of fastest people in the world. Don't buy the hype Rich."
Michael Johnson opens up about the issue of track athletes being underpaid
Most track athletes usually complain about being underpaid and have shared ways in which the problem can be solved. This situation was kept under the microscope by track legend Michael Johnson, who revealed that he is coming up with a solution for this with his new track meet, Grand Slam Track League.
He recently shared the statistics of the salaries of the 100 highest-paid athletes of different sports, including basketball, baseball, NFL, tennis, and others. He said the highest-paid track athlete won't be able to match the 100th tennis player when it comes to their earnings solely from races. Michael Johnson wrote on his X handle:
"Any guesses on how much the 100th highest-paid track & field athlete makes? This does NOT include endorsements so shoe contracts don’t count? Hint: Track & Field #1 doesn’t equal tennis #100. But I’m about to change that!"
Former track and field athlete Michael Johnson is bringing relief to this issue, as his Grand Slam Track League will offer $100,000 to the winner, $50,000 to the athlete in second place, and $30,000 to the athlete who earns a third-place finish. Following this, all the finishers will be getting an amount based on their final positions.
