"This is my worst race and I'm kicking everybody's b**t" - Noah Lyles on silver medal performance at World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024

Six-time world champion Noah Lyles has labeled the sprint race at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024 as his worst race after losing against compatriot and rival Christian Coleman in the 60m finals.

In a much-anticipated battle between the two American sprinters, world-record holder Coleman narrowly beat Lyles, clocking a world-leading 6.41s to win his second gold in the championships’ history. Lyles, meanwhile, finished with a time of 6.44s to take home the silver medal.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake defeated the Commonwealth and African Games gold medalist over the 100m, Ferdinand Omanyala, to clinch the bronze medal (6.46s).

In an interview with NBC Olympics & Paralympics, reigning world 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles expressed his thoughts behind what resulted in winning his World Athletics Indoor Championships medal.

“I went out there, I cleared my mind. I let God run through me. I felt that in the semis, it took a little while to wake up from the first round,” he stated.

“But after I got back I was up and excited and I was ready to run and each round just kept getting faster and faster and eventually I just got to a point where I was like ‘All right, we're just going to go out there and run.’ And there was definitely a point where I saw where Christian was and I’m like, I’m about to catch him,’” Lyles added.

Although Lyles was happy about clocking 6.44s at the event, he expressed his disappointment in losing the race, adding:

“I just kind of didn’t do what I normally do. But, 6.44 I am never going to complain about that. Like, I have dreamed of this moment where I’m just running 6.4s back to back to back. These aren’t inches into 6.4. This is deep into 6.4 territory. I came in as world leader and I’m leaving as the second-fastest. But, this is my worst race and I'm kicking everybody's b**t.”

Noah Lyles receives a nomination for the Laureus Awards 2024

Noah Lyles of Team United States reacts after winning the Men's 100m Final during day two of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Noah Lyles has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award 2024 for his exceptional 2023 season. In 2023, Lyles captured a historic treble at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest. He bagged gold medals in the 100m, and 200m, and was a part of the USA’s 4X100m relay team that bagged the gold.

This made him the first person since Usain Bolt accomplished the feat in 2015. In addition, the season also saw Lyles beat another record of Bolt as he went ahead of the Jamaican legendary sprinter (34) in terms of clocking most sub-20s over the 200m distance as he clocked 19.47s at the London Diamond League.