Will Noah Lyles compete in 4×400m relay at Paris 2024? All about the American's desire to compete in the discipline after World Indoors performance

Noah Lyles' inclusion in the 4x400m relay team in the finals of the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024 has sparked a lot of discussion among track and field fans all over the world. People had different opinions about his participation in the finals of the event.

The United States Men's relay team won the silver medal in the 4x400m relay with Noah Lyles registering a performance of 45.68s in the third split of the race. Noah's inclusion came as a surprise and some players took to X to express their opinion on the latest developments.

Noah Lyles is a sprinter who primarily competes in the 100m and 200m events, with the latter being his specialty. Lyles holds a personal best of 19.31s which he clocked at the World Championships held in Eugene. This was the third fastest time ever recorded in a 200m race.

Lyles has often expressed his desire to repeat the 3-gold medal performance like Usain Bolt did at the Olympics. He achieved a 3 gold medal-winning campaign in Budapest, Hungary in 2023. That campaign became a testament to Noah's hopes to repeat that feat at the Paris Olympics. The athlete even expressed the desire to push his medal targets to 4 gold medals at the Olympics at the beginning of the Olympic season as he wishes to participate in the 4x400m relay as well.

Noah Lyles' inclusion in the relay at the World Indoor Championships just allowed him to prove himself to be a part of the Olympic team. However, he will have to qualify for the United States Olympic trials which will be held later this year to confirm his position on the relay team. He spoke about the same moments after winning the silver medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

"I haven't shown any 4x4's as a professional, so I wanted to make sure that they could trust me one and make sure that I could show everybody that I was fit so we if we get to Paris and I believe that I am in shape that I could actually be on that 4 x400m finals," he said.

The track and field world's reaction to Noah Lyles' inclusion in the relay

The track and field world had a mixed reaction to Noah Lyles' inclusion in the relay. Olympic legend Michael Johnson took to X to express his opinion on Lyles being on the team.

"US putting Noah on the 4x400 relay makes sense. US indoor 400 team is weak. No finalist in the open 400. Noah has expressed a desire to run both relays in Paris. This is an opportunity for him to prove if he deserves it," he tweeted.

Bianca Knight also shared her take on the topic.

"This is why you guys have to pay attention. Our sport is more about storylines than it is ability. If a big name says they want to get X amount of medals at a major championship, things will be moved around to make that happen. It’s been happening," she tweeted.