Olympics-Athletics-Briton Christie says Lyles' comments may backfire on Reuters
Written by Lori Ewing
PARIS (Reuters) – British sprinter Linford Christie believes Noah Lyles would be better off just letting his running speak for itself, saying cheap American words fueled his rivals.
The ultra-confident Lyles is unabashed about her goal of four gold medals at the Paris Olympics, and has vexed her rivals with barbs, including British sprinter Zharnel Hughes.
“(Lyles) says a few things that people don't like,” said Christie on Saturday at a press conference at Puma House. “You can never provoke your enemy because it gives them 10 percent more adrenaline to hit them.
“It's never a good idea, because people will say, 'Well, I don't care if I come last as long as I'm in front of you.'
“You put pressure on yourself and you don't need pressure, you just need to run and be comfortable. But, you know, the good thing about him is that he's crazy enough to do it again.”
The 27-year-old Lyles won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100 relay at last year's world championships and said he would like to be part of the USA's 4×400 relay team in Paris to win four golds.
Hughes, a four-time European champion competing in Paris, recently fired back at Lyles with a takedown that appeared on the Netflix (NASDAQ: ) series “Sprint.”
Lyles said of Hughes: “If you don't have the power of the main character, the track and field is not for you.”
Asked recently about his reaction, Hughes said: “I was like: 'This guy, he just needs to shut up.'
Christie, who won gold in the 100m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, said Lyles' outspokenness could backfire.
“(Canadian Olympic 200 champion) Andre De Grasse is quiet, he's not saying anything, the other guys are quiet. The Jamaicans are quiet,” Christie said.
“I think it's going to come down to mentality. Noah plays good mental games and gets everybody out of the zone.”
Although Lyles is considered the heir to Usain Bolt of Jamaica, no one has threatened Bolt's 100m world record of 9.58 seconds. Christie doesn't think they will anytime soon.
“It's an amazing record, it's going to take a long time,” said the 64-year-old. “I'm not saying because it's a limit to how far people can run because I think people will run. But this year, I don't think so.”
Lyles, who is over 200, ran a career-best 9.81 at last week's Diamond League, third fastest in the world this year. Jamaica's Kishane Thompson is fastest at 9.77.
