"I see a really epic battle for the ages"- Justin Gatlin weighs in on the clash for the ultimate sprint crown between Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo

Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin recently spoke on the growing rivalry between Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo. Both athletes have achieved remarkable success. While Lyles has delivered impressive performances consistently over the past few years, Tebogo rose to worldwide prominence after his outstanding 2024 season.

Renowned for being a six-time world champion, Noah Lyles bagged the 100m gold medal at the Paris Olympics with a time of 9.79s (9.784), in what was one of the most thrilling track events at the quadrennial games, to narrowly defeat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson’s 9.79 (9.789) in the finals.

Meanwhile, Tebogo was the star performer for Botswana, winning the country’s first-ever gold medal with a remarkable African record time of 19.46s in the men’s 200m. He later ran an incredible 43.03s split, the second-fastest split in history, and won another medal for the nation in the men’s 4x400m relay event. With this, the team ran 2:54.53s to win the silver with an African-record performance, finishing only behind the USA (2:54.43).

In the latest episode of the Ready Set Go podcast, former competitive athlete Justin Gatlin talked about how Lyles’ immense potential and IT factor make him stand out. He further talked about Lyles’ growing rivalry with Tebogo, adding (1:04:13 onwards)

“Sky's the limit for Noah [Lyles]. He still has that it factor and he brings to the table and he's athletically inclined to be able to walk it and talk it right and and why I say that because we're seeing the fact of someone who's comparably remarkable in talent as Tebogo is with Noah. We're seeing something really special happening right now and I'm not shading anybody else in this in their events but the fact is look at Tebogo.”

Gatlin then talked about Tebogo’s terrific 2024 campaign which he began by smashing the 300m world record, clocked 44.29s in the 400m in March, and then showed his exploits at the Paris Olympics despite the unfortunate passing of his mother. He then added:

“He [Letsile Tebogo] has a reservoir of talent and the fact is his issue is going to be which one is he going to pick, which one is he going to focus on cuz [because] he's that true hybrid athlete that he can do a little bit of everything and he could do it very well.”

The 42-year-old further talked about how he believes that the rivalry between Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo would be remembered as an epic battle for the ages during the podcast (1:06.18 onwards), stating:

“But what I'm saying like these two I I don't know for some reason I just see a really epic battle for the ages that's going to happen. It depends on what they're going to line up in, when they gonna line up.”

When will Letsile Tebogo and Noah Lyles next be in action?

Letsile Tebogo and Noah Lyles at Paris Olympics 2024. (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Noah Lyles ended his 2024 season after returning home with a gold in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He confirmed this during his appearance at the 2024 US Open in an interview (starting 0:57 onwards)

“No, I ended my season. We decided that after the COVID situation, we are just going to call it there and I didn't want to keep pushing.”

Meanwhile, Tebogo will compete in the 2024 Brussels Diamond League Finals in the 200m on September 14, Saturday, in a bid to earn his first-ever Diamond League title.