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The buzz was palpable, and the anticipation was through the roof. But just a few days before the big showdown, Noah Lyles dropped the bombshell that his highly anticipated sprint against Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was off the table.
At the Sport Beach event in Cannes, France, Lyles shared with reporters that the one-on-one race, originally set to unfold in the bustling heart of Manhattan, had been canceled due to personal reasons.
“We were very deep into creating the event,” Lyles said. “It was supposed to happen this weekend. Unfortunately, there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn’t come to pass.”
The event was meant to be huge, with Times Square shutting down, billboards, sponsorships, and cameras everywhere. Lyles and Hill had been building up the race for months through social media banter and playful interviews. What started as an online challenge turned into what Lyles called a full-scale production that sponsors didn’t initially take seriously.
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“A lot of people didn’t believe it to be true,” Lyles said. “The companies didn’t believe it’s real.”
The planned distance was between 40 and 100 meters, a middle ground between Hill’s football background and Lyles’ track specialty. It could have settled the ongoing debate about who the fastest man is. Lyles even won Olympic gold with a record time of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters just last year.
In the meantime, Hill kept running, just not against Lyles. The Dolphins wide receiver posted a personal best of 10.15 seconds in a 100-meter dash during a track meet in California. After finishing, he held up a sign saying, “Noah could never,” echoing Lyles' earlier message, “Tyreek could never.”
Despite the friendly banter and the build-up, it looks like the race will remain a what-if. Lyles admitted he tried to make it happen, but the timing did not work out. Hill has not commented directly on the cancellation.
