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Athletics legend Michael Johnson criticized World Athletics after sprinting star Noah Lyles expressed his amazement at six individuals being conferred the Athlete of the Year award.
For the first time in 35 years, multiple athletes, including Lyles, Kelvin Kiptum, Mondo Duplantis, Faith Kipyegon, Tigist Assefa, and Yulimar Rojas won the Athlete of the Year award. This broke the tradition of honoring only a single individual in both male and female categories with the coveted award.
Lyles, who dominated all events he competed in during the World Championships this year, stated that he agrees with the basic idea of awarding athletes from different events. However, the American track star feels that the federation should have communicated the changes to the athleties before implementing them.
"Nobody being prepared for what really happened tonight. I think everybody was caught off guard," said the sprinter. "Especially when we heard all of our names being called one after the other, it was a little confusing in the moment of what was actually happening.
"On one hand, I agree with the idea. I just wish we knew that this is what was gonna happen, instead of having it happen after the five finalists who were chosen and then groups were gonna be made," Lyles added.
The 100m world champion continued:
“I was confused as to why we had 10 athletes in the beginning. We were from all different categories. But we were all led to believe that we were all fighting for the same trophy. So again, very very shocking. Big plot twist," added the world champion.
Legendary former athlete Michael Johnson shared Lyles' video and expressed his disapproval at the decision taken by World Athletics, stating:
"This is not what you want from one of your biggest stars while holding the award. The handling of this by WA is pretty bad."
Noah Lyles crowned USATF Athlete of the Year
Apart from receiving the World Athlete of the Year Award, Noah Lyles also etched his name in history by earning his third USATF Athlete of the Year award. He joined the elite club of athletes to have won the award thrice, alongside Michael Johnson.
The sprinter was presented with the award at the Night of Legends held on December 2, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. He was crowned with the Jesse Owens Award for his exceptional athletic proficiency in the 2023 season, especially at the World Athletics Championships of this year.
At the World Championships 2023, Lyles clinched a gold medal in the men's 100m, 200m, and 4x100m men's relay. This, along with his three gold medals in previous editions of the event, make him a six-time gold medalist at the World Championships.
