Last week, new broke that NFL star receiver Tyreek Hill and Olympian Noah Lyles had agreed to race each other, yet it didn’t get the attention that it deserved due to being caught between the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar and NBA All-Star Weekend.
Hill, known as the Cheetah, and Lyles, holder of the World’s Fastest Man title after winning the 100m at the Paris Games last summer, had bantered back and forth after the Games about who was faster, yet nothing came of it but chatter.
Well that chatter has materialized into a race as the two, in a joint interview with People Magazine, said the race is on.
“This has been an ongoing thing for, quite some time now, and I mean, everybody’s seen the back and forth on social media,” said Hill, recognized as the fastest man in the NFL, to People. “I’ve been very adamant to show people what real, true speed looks like.”
Hill’s motivation increased two weeks ago after Lyles won his fourth straight 60m indoor title at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and flashed a sign saying “Tyreek could never.”
“I think it speaks for itself,” Lyles told People regarding the sign. “Everybody says that they’re gonna be the world’s fastest, but when it comes down to it, you gotta be the winner every time, each and every time, and every time I show up to the biggest moments, I win.”
And he’s right.
At the World Championships in 2022, he took 200m gold. A year later, he won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m and in Paris in 2024, Lyles won 100m Olympic gold.
“That’s why I’m the world’s fastest,” Lyles continues. “I did at the Olympics. I do it at world championships. I do it wherever it’s needed to be done. And if I gotta go down and, you know, beat up on Tyreek to prove that I’m the world’s fastest, then it’s gonna be done.”
This battle of speed egos between athletes isn’t new.
In 2021, months after seeing him run down safety Budda Baker after an interception, USA Track & Field extended an invitation to Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf to run the 100m at the USA Track & Field Golden Games in Southern California and Metcalf accepted.
Bragging rights and ego weren’t the only things on the line. If the 6’4, 235 receiver ran 10.16, he would qualify for the US Olympic Trials. If he ran a 10.05 or better, he would qualify for the Olympics.
Metcalf ran 10.36 and finished last in his nine-man heat. Overall, he placed in the bottom 4 in the field of 17 sprinters but he earned the respect of the track and field community for trying.
That was interesting to watch, but a race between Hill and Lyles could be even more exciting due to the speed they both have and the hype the race could generate.
Even better- this race isn’t personal. Instead, it’s a chance to represent for NFL athletes and an opportunity to prove how fast Olympic track athletes are.
The next step is to decide the location, date and distance, which both have agreed will be more than 40m but less than 100m. In addition, it has to be well before July as Lyles will be off to the World Championships that month to defend his titles.
Depending on the distance, Hill could have an advantage as Lyles’ speed kicks in after 60m.
But knowing track as well as I do, I have a feeling that Hill will learn that there’s speed and then there’s track speed.
