"They probably have some type of history" - Noah Lyles explains what makes a true rivalry before Lausanne Diamond League showdown

Noah Lyles has shared his take on the rivalries in track and field. This comes just a day before his race at the Lausanne Diamond League on Wednesday (August 20), where he will be featuring in the 100m field.

Notably, across his career, Lyles has had some fierce rivalries within the sport. He has had rivalries with athletes such as Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek over the 200m distance. Besides, Lyles' recent rivalry with Kishane Thompson has also been taking shape ever since their staggering battle at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sharing his thoughts on rivalries, Lyles commented that he feels that they are good for the sport, as long as they have storylines in them and aren't just made out of sorts. The 100m World and Olympic champion also remarked that two athletes within a rivalry must also have a history between them and added (via FloTrack):

"I think rivalries are great, I love rivalries as long as they're done correctly, meaning that they have a storyline you know, we're not just making rivalries out of nothing. I get really kind of annoyed when there will be situations like you'll have one person who will have a race with somebody who has like 50 wins over somebody who has three, I mean, that's not a rivalry."

"If there's a rivalry, there's a story behind it, these two probably have gone back and forth multiple times, they probably have some type of history or they're creating history."

Notably, Noah Lyles' battle with Kishane Thompson couuld unfold a new chapter between them next month at the World Championships in Tokyo, where the former is set to defend his 100m title and the latter looks to claim his first World title.

Noah Lyles opens up on his 2025 track and field season so far

Noah Lyles (Image via: Getty)

Noah Lyles recently shed light on his 2025 track and field season so far and also highlighted his lack of races. Notably, the American athlete suffered a slight injury at the start of the year, owing to which he faced a delay in the start of his season.

Lyles said that in 2025 he hasn't been able to run as many races as he would have liked. He said (via Olympics.com):

"I’m usually a guy who has a lot of races under my belt. I love to run and compete, so this is a very odd type of season for me. I’ve never had a season like this before, where I’ve had so few races."

After the Lausanne Diamond League, Noah Lyles will have the chance to add another race under his belt in Zurich next week.