In the lead-up to the track and field season, Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles surprises fans

Surprises and excitement are par for the course when Noah Lyles is involved. The six-time world champion was scheduled to begin the season with an exciting 60-metre indoor matchup with former Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs on Feb 2 in Boston. Instead, he jumped the gun and got off to a flying start, winning the 60 metres at the Radd Sports College Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday (Jan 25).

FloTrack, the primary sponsor, put together a stellar field for the event.

Lyles won the race in 6.62 seconds. That was a letdown for some of his fans, who wrote on social media that they expected him to do better.  Indeed, he has run the 60 metres faster in the past. His fans will be hoping he will be inspired to excel in his next matchup with another Olympic great.

Lyles, who won the 100 metres at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be facing Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who won the 100 metres gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the Ralph Mann Memorial in Boston on Feb 2.

New Balance will be hosting the event in tribute to Ralph Mann, the American sprinter and hurdler who died on Jan 2 at the age of 75. He won the 400-metre hurdles at the 1972 Munich Olympics and later became a sports scientist.

This will be the first time Lyles and Jacobs will compete head-to-head in an indoor 60-metre event.

Noah Lyles made an incredible debut in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix last season, winning the men’s 60-metre opening event in a mere 6.44 seconds. He demonstrated his unwavering form later that day as he won the final in 6.54 seconds, leaving his competitors in his wake.

Lyles’ reputation as a strong force in the indoor 60m event was further cemented in February 2024 when he set a personal best time of 6.43 seconds at the USA Indoor Championship.

He opened his 2023 season, too, with a win at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. He won the 60 metres then in 6.51 seconds.

Lyles won the 60 metres at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston in 2022 also in 6.55 seconds.