What led to the controversy between Noah Lyles and Quincy Hall? Explaining the social media face-off between the two Americans

Once again, 100m and 200m World Champion Noah Lyles has found himself in a social media battle after his comments about the 4x400m relay. This time around, the controversy stems from the fact that when naming his relay team for the distance, he didn't choose Quincy Hall, a decision that drew the ire of both fans and the 400m sprinter alike.

While primarily a sprinter in the 100 and 200m events, Lyles showed his enthusiasm for running the 4x400m relay late last year when he announced he’d like to walk away from the Paris Olympics with four gold medals.

The statement itself resulted in plenty of backlash from the track and field world, with the criticism only increasing when the 27-year-old was allowed to race the 4x400m finals at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

In a recent appearance on the Track World News podcast, Noah Lyles chose a 4x400m relay team that featured Chris Bailey in the lead-off leg, himself in the second leg, Michael Norman in the third-leg, with Rai Benjamin bringing it home.

“Chris Bailey, let's go him right out the hole. Personally I'd want (the) second leg, but I also know that Rai (Benjamin) wants (the) second leg, but I feel like Rai is our best finisher, I don't know why, he just has it in him, he's our best finisher. So I'd put me, then I'd put Michael Norman, and then I'd put Rai Benjamin, and that would be my 4x400m.”

Notably missing from Lyles' team was Quincy Hall, the current U.S champion who set a world lead of 43.80 while running at the Monaco Diamond League. However, the defending 100 and 200m World Champion addressed this, saying,

“The only reason I wouldn’t use the current U.S. champion is because I don’t think he would be a starter. I feel like using him on the first leg would just be almost like a waste to his talent. I just don’t see him getting his full capability out of the first leg.”

Quincy Hall responds to Noah Lyles’ 4x400m relay snub

Quincy Hall responds to Noah Lyles' snub

After Noah Lyles' comments from the podcast went viral, none other than Quincy Hall weighed into the discussion, and he was understandably unimpressed. In a now deleted post, Hall wrote on his social media,

“I don’t bother nobody but my blocks ready anytime you feel like you can beat me in the 400 you was talking (too) much on my name on (your) little podcast. I don’t do the little slick comments and remarks I line up.”

After deleting his original post, the 400m sprinter put up a video on X saying,

“Y'all trying to defend what he said. I didn't say the man dissed me, he said I'm too good to be first leg, I was first leg last year bruh, what y'all saying. I popped it off last year. And I ain't never say the man dissed me, but if you think I don't deserve a spot, if you want my spot, then let's do something about it bruh.”

“Y'all scared of competition, we don't do that where I'm from, we line it up, we do what we gotta do. And I'm pretty sure the man not mad, he Noah Lyles, he don't care what I'm saying. I just want to make it interesting, we could run the 400m, we could make money together, we can put on a good show.

As far as 400m is concerned, Noah Lyles has not competed a single race in the discipline apart from the 4x400m competition at the World Indoor Championships. On the other end, all of Quincy Hall's races has come in 400m. He recently booked his place in the Paris Olympics after dominating the US Olympic track and field trials, clocking 44.17 seconds in the final.